Carpathian 14 - Dark Hunger

and make certain they are safe, Juliette. If you care about them, then, of course, I care about them. There is no question this practice must be stopped."
    "I tried not to blame the males, I really did. Our species is dying out, but they don't care at all about the females, only that they want the race to go on." She shook her head sadly.
    "It isn't right. We have a right to our lives."
    He kissed her temple, the corner of her mouth. "I understand their desperation. Our species is nearly extinct also." He tipped her chin up so he could capture her mouth. His kiss was gentle, tender. "I bound you to me with no thought of your feelings, Juliette.
    Perhaps I am as guilty as these males." His arms circled her waist, pulled her onto his lap so that they half floated in the water, her body fitting into the cradle of his hips. "I never thought how selfish that would be. In my culture, lifemates are destined and must be together for survival. It is another world now, one where our women, perhaps, are not even from the same species. I should have thought more of what you wished to accomplish in your life and less of what I needed to survive."
    Juliette lay back against him, resting her head in the niche of his sternum. His hands cupped her full breasts, taking the weight in his palms, his fingers gently massaging her almost without thought. Pleasure shot through her. She thought she might never want to move again, yet his hands on her body created a molten heat that moved slowly through her bloodstream and licked at her skin.
    "I wasn't thinking either, Riordan, only how much I wanted you. I could barely think straight with wanting you. You hadn't bound us together at that point so I'm not so certain I would have said no." She turned over lazily and slid down his body, skin to skin, rubbing along his chest and rib cage, delighting in the differences between men and women. His belly was flat and ridged with muscles. She licked off droplets of water. The rain fell gently, cool drops that seemed to sizzle against her hot skin. She wrapped her arms around his hips, nuzzling his navel lazily. Her teeth nipped his skin.
    Riordan felt his body harden in response. Looking down at the clean line of her back, the rounded enticement of her bottom, her legs floating over his in the cool waters of the pool was enough to give any man pleasure. Her mouth wandered over him, tasting and licking.
    There was nothing inhibited about Juliette. She loved having sex with him, loved his body, and in her mind she let him know. With her body she let him know. It was exciting to have a woman so completely open and natural with him.
    "I should have given you the opportunity to at least discuss what it meant, Juliette," he said. His voice was husky. Her mouth was doing delicious things to his body and it was becoming much more difficult to think straight.
    "I don't think I wanted to discuss it." She slipped a little lower so she could breathe hot air over his heavy erection. She smiled when she felt his muscles contract and his hands clamp over her arms in reaction. Juliette lifted her chin so she could meet his gaze, reveling in the hunger darkening his eyes. "If I'd thought too much, I wouldn't have been able to have you. And I really, really wanted you." She lowered her head so she could lick along the head of his penis, a slow, leisurely exploration of the shape and texture of his body.
    His breath slammed out of his lungs. "I have to admit, I am eternally grateful you want me. I do not think we will ever have enough time to do all the things I have in my mind."
    Deliberately he let her see his every desire, his every need.
    Juliette laughed softly. "It's good we think along the same lines. I would hate to be tied to someone who isn't adventurous. I definitely need adventurous."
    It was his turn to yell. The sound ripped from his throat when her mouth engulfed him, took him deep into her throat and began a slow, sensuous foray. I thought I would find out how you taste. Whether you're hot and spicy and tangy. Her teasing laughter played over his senses and stroked at his body. He lost time, drifting in the waves of the pool lapping at his body, with her hot mouth and tongue bringing him to a fever pitch. When he could no longer stay still, he moved his hips into her, letting her take charge of the rhythm, set the pace. She teased him to the brink of an orgasm, sucking hard and lavishing attention with her tongue, only to slide her mouth loosely over