Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

Or was Xavier really there, chasing her through the underground passages?
    He is not there. Your mind is playing tricks on you because you are allowing yourself to panic. I would never use your memories against you. He is not there. Nicolas would not allow her to be so terrified, remembering Page 61

    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    the monsters chasing her in ice caves.
    She didn\'t know what was true or what wasn\'t, nor did it matter anymore. She had to be free. Lara redoubled her efforts. She was betting on the fact that she could be out in the early morning sun with little repercussions.
    A sunburn. A few blisters. Her eyes would burn and bother her for a few days, but surely a Carpathian as old, with a soul as dark as Nicolas\'s, would have to seek cover before she would. She had to make it to the entrance and find her way to the village.
    She could see, just ahead, a bloom of dim light. Her heart leapt. She was going to make it. Lara drew in a deep breath and pushed herself to go faster. Her lungs burned. Her throat hurt, her legs cramped. There was a stitch in her side. She pressed her palm there and forced her body forward. The entrance was wide and rounded, mostly rock shaping the way in. Light spilled a few feet into the corridor, illuminating the narrowing tunnel.
    Lara stepped into the pool of light just feet from the opening. A shadow fell over her. A tall dark man with wide shoulders filled the entrance, blocking her exit. Nicolas stood there, his body still, arms folded across his chest, his jaw tight, mouth cruel, eyes as black as night, burning with some inner fire that threatened to consume her.
    Lara halted abruptly a few feet from him, a roaring in her ears and a vice around her heart. Guilt edged her mind, but she refused to accept it. \"I want to leave. Get out of my way.\"
    \"Where would you go when the sun has already risen?\" The question was issued in a mild voice, yet it carried the sting of a lash.
    He was furious. She could feel anger radiating off of him, although his expression remained blank and his voice quiet.
    She lifted her chin. \"I have a room at the inn.\"
    \"Which is occupied at the moment. It would be dangerous for you to go there and you are very aware of that.
    Also, the inn is a great distance away and you would burn in the sunlight. You cannot shift without me and risking your life getting off this mountain is ludicrous when there is no reason for it.\"
    \"I want to leave this place.\"
    \"We will leave together in the evening when it is safe to do so. For now, I brought food and drink for you.\"
    \"I\'ve said I want to leave.\" Lara\'s hand fluttered to her neck, her palm shielding the twin marks over her pulse. She could feel his mouth there, his breath warm-no-hot, the brush of his lips, soft and sensuous against her skin.
    \"You are obviously not thinking clearly, Lara,\" Nicolas answered. \"It is dangerous for you to leave. I cannot allow you to place yourself in harm\'s way.\"
    \"That isn\'t your choice,\" Lara snapped. She detested that he sounded rational while she was beginning to sound hysterical. This was madness, yet he stood there, real and solid, preventing her from leaving the cave-just as she\'d been prevented as a child. She fought down panic, determined to try to be reasonable in an unreasonable situation.
    \"It is not only my choice, and my right, but my duty as your life mate.\"
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    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    She touched his mind, more because she couldn\'t help herself than because she wanted to. As before, he was entirely open to her, allowing her to see both predator and man. He was angry at her defiance, certain of being right and unused to anyone questioning his authority. He was a dominant male, centuries on earth, a highly skilled hunter and it was an affront to his pride that his life mate question not only his ability to protect and care for her, but worry that he might harm her in some way.
    He didn\'t like anyone defying his orders, let alone his woman, and he had no intention of allowing her to leave the cave when he deemed it dangerous. As far as he was concerned, she was slightly hysterical and completely irrational.
    Lara forced down panic and took a deep breath. Nowhere in his mind could she see that he was attempting to control her mind. There was some relief in that, although she was fairly certain, unless she could convince him otherwise, that he had no intention of letting her leave.
    \"I think we don\'t understand each