Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

Dark Curse
    she had no idea, now that he\'d tied them together, how they were going to manage. But it wasn\'t her problem, she reminded herself, it was his. He had uttered the words of the binding ritual.
    The love story between Carpathian life mates that her aunts had told her had been her only information on how relationships worked. Back then, it had been a fairy tale, now she thought maybe she was in the middle of a nightmare.
    What do you know of your mother?
    When Nicolas asked the question, Lara reached for the answer, but there was only a blank empty space in her mind.I don\'t remember her .
    He moved inside of her. Lara felt his presence, sharing her mind, not just her immediate thoughts. Wincing, she threw up a shield.I\'m uncomfortable with you doing that .
    Why?
    There was curiosity in his tone, but no remorse. No acquiescence. Certainly no reassurance that he wouldn\'t do it again. A small frisson of fear skated down her spine. What did she really know of this man? And why was she accepting him so easily?
    I have alarmed you.
    A little. I don\'t trust so easily.
    He sent her a small rush of warmth.That is a good thing. I would not want you to .
    Lara swept back her long wet hair and ducked under the water again, coming up to wade across to the flat rocks where she could sit. The cave was beautiful with gems and crystals sparkling in the flickering lights.
    Water lapped at the rocks in a gentle rocking motion, the sound almost a lullaby. She realized she felt a measure of peace for the first time in her life.Tell me about yourself . She crossed her arms under her breasts and tilted her head back to watch the light show the candles gave off.
    I have four brothers. I have spent much of my life in the Amazon rainforest. You would like it there. It is beautiful and wild. I cannot wait to return and see it in vivid color. Nor can I wait to look upon my brothers and feel, for the first time, in my heart, not just in my head, the love I have for them.
    She could feel the love he had for his family. She caught glimpses of four very intimidating men, handsome, with that same dangerous edge that Nicolas had.Four brothers? Did you grow up with them? There was no way to disguise the wistful note in her voice.
    She had been out in the world long enough to know what a family was supposed to be and she longed for one of her own. Maybe that was why she was so susceptible to Nicolas. She ached with loneliness. She had always needed the cool interior of the caves to hide the fact that she couldn\'t really take too much sunlight so she had little contact with others. If she had to work in the morning hours or late afternoon, she could manage with long sleeves and sunblocks, but she rarely set to work until evening. She told her colleagues she had an allergy to the sun. During the afternoon, she could barely manage to function, so she found that caving was a perfect solution to all of her problems-and deep in a cave, she didn\'t have to watch others interact with their families.
    Growing up with my brothers was always interesting. We all believed we were smarter, faster and had to prove it to one another. We did some crazy things.
    Page 57

    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    She caught images of several boys falling from the sky at alarming rates of speed from alarming heights, each struggling to shift right before hitting the ground. Each boy tried to beat the time of the one who had gone before. It was a dizzying, frightening scene.Your poor mother. Five crazy sons. I didn\'t think about what raising a Carpathian child would be like -especially a boy.
    The thing she found the most interesting was that the oldest boy in the memory was already a man in human years. She could tell by Nicolas\'s recollection that they were still fun-loving children, yet they looked grown.
    Flying is the best feeling in the world, soaring high, riding a thermal, diving through the clouds. I had forgotten the pure joy I had as a child until you came into my life. I will take you this next rising if you like.
    She could hear the joy in his voice-felt the emotion pouring into her mind, allowing her to experience some of what he was feeling. She hadn\'t ever felt like he had. Her earliest memory was of her aunts whispering to her, trying to console, disembodied voices, she thought for a long time were in her own head.
    That would be fun. Who wouldn\'t want to go flying?
    Lara pressed further into his mind, huddling there for a moment, basking in those