Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

was to survive.
    Go! He warned her again, his voice low and firm, but he failed to bury a compulsion in his tone. As much as a part of him wanted to save her, the other part, standing off detached and greedy for one moment of true life, of feeling before he ended his existence, couldn\'t quite be noble enough to help her escape.
    She turned her head, her gaze searching the shadows and rooftops for danger. He was almost on her when she turned back to him. Up close she was so beautiful. Breathtaking really. Her skin looked exquisite. Her scent was faint and alluring, drawing him. He felt almost in a trance, if that were possible for one such as him.
    His fingers circled her wrist like a bracelet, light, yet made of steel.
    She moved then, whirling around, into him, her elbow connecting with his sternum. Nicolas barely felt the blow that would have rocked a human. Suddenly his arms were locked around her and his face was buried in the thick mass of her hair. It was soft. Heaven.
    The blood in her veins ebbed and flowed like the tide, pounding through her, making him know he and she-were alive. Not existing, but living. Standing there in the beauty of the night with the scent of the forest surrounding him as he took his last feast.
    The whispers in his head turned to a possessive roar. This one was his alone. He didn\'t hesitate, he lowered his face to her shoulder, nuzzling the sweater aside to expose the bare flesh of her neck and the pounding pulse there. He made no effort to calm her, or put her under a compulsion. The adrenaline in her blood would heighten the experience, give him a rush of feeling so that he would always retain this moment. He sank his teeth deep and took the essence of her being deep inside him.
    \"Let go of me, you bastard,\" Lara snapped, shocked at the sudden pain, shocked that after all those years of swearing to herself no one would ever-ever-take her blood by force, she was locked in the arms of a vampire.
    As a child, she had been used solely for food. Her father and great-grandfather had ripped into her veins and taken from her as if she were nothing, not human, not Carpathian and certainly not mage. She had been a food source and nothing more.
    Rage swept through her. Shook her. Took her by surprise. She had never been so angry in her life. And yet, after the initial bite, the dark, erotic seduction made some part of her want to be a part of him, made her want to succumb to the fire and heat-to give her life for his.
    Clenching her teeth, she fought the sensation of need and desire pulsing through her body. She wouldn\'t go that easily, or give in. She had no idea a vampire could be so cunning. One minute triggering an alarm, the next warning her off and then the bite. The absolute seduction of that bite.
    She gripped the knife in her fist and tried to get a little room in order to move her hand toward his ribs, but she was facing away from him and it was difficult to feel where he was when lightning sizzled and crackled in her veins, robbing her of her ability to think.
    Nicolas was so far gone in the ecstasy of her taste and shape and feel that it took a moment to register that she had spoken. Let go of me, you bastard . The words echoed in his mind, burst through his subconscious and took a hold of his heart.
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    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    Emotion flooded in with dizzying speed. Fast and sharp and jumbled so that it was impossible to sort anything out. The love he felt for his brothers came tumbling into his heart and mind. Anger. Rage that he had been following an honorable path yet had been so close to turning. Shame. For the near brush with the monster he had been hunting for centuries. More shame for the sins he had yet to confess to the prince-sins committed against the leader of their people. Not in action, but in their hearts and minds of Nicolas and his brother. Joy for the woman in his arms who would save him from a fate that would have dishonored not only him, but his family as well.
    So much to try to sort out all at once. And all while his body was hard and hurting, his groin so full and thick the material of his clothes caused physical pain. He wanted her. Needed her. Had to have her. The taste of her was unlike anything he\'d ever experienced. This woman. His life mate. The woman he had searched for across several continents, the woman he had spent centuries looking for. The only woman who could restore his emotions.
    He opened his eyes and her hair dazzled him.