Carpathian 18 - Dark Possesion

could. And nothing would ever seem right with anyone else. But it wasn't love.
    "How do you know, sivamet , how do you know what love is with me?"
    "You're in my mind."
    "You merged with me." He kissed the smooth line of her back. "Easy, csitri , I am going to ease you down onto the mattress." She was trembling so much he was afraid she would fall over once he allowed his body to leave hers.
    The moment he moved, her muscles clamped down on him, sending fresh sensations through both of them.
    He kept his arm tightly around her waist as he let his body slide reluctantly from hers. Very gently he let her collapse onto the bed before rolling over, taking her with him so that her body was pillowed by his.

    "I do not think I can move." The truth was, he didn't want to move.
    "I know I can't," MaryAnn whispered, unable to so much as lift her head. Her body still quivered with small aftershocks. It was impossible to get enough air, her lungs burning and her body on fire. She lay beside him, listening to their combined heartbeats. "What did you mean when you said I didn't know what love is with you?"
    "How could I not love the woman who braves everything she fears to save me from the unknown? How could I not love you when you stand between me and the darkness? How could I not love you when you give me more pleasure than I ever dreamed possible?" He didn't say she brought him peace. That the moment he was in her company everything inside of him simply settled, calmed, became right. "It is you who do not love me yet, but you will learn to."
    He wrapped his arms around her shivering body and held her closer still, his chin nuzzling into her neck, warm breath against her ear. There was no censure in his voice, only a matter-of-fact statement.
    Her body throbbed and burned and craved his all over again, and that was just downright frightening. He had such confidence in himself, was so certain he could make her fall in love with him. Even if she didn't, she knew it would be nearly impossible not to want to be with him, not when he could make her burn from the inside out.
    "Don't you think that was just a little bit scary?"
    "You are safe with me." He buried his face in the wealth of her hair. "I want to stay here with you and sleep the sleep of humans." He had never once, in all of his existence, thought he would want that simple pleasure, but now he wanted nothing more than to curl his body around hers and fall asleep with her in his arms.
    "Why the sleep of humans?" she asked, snuggling against him. "That seems an odd thing for you to say."
    "I want to dream of you. Drift off to sleep dreaming of you, and wake up to you by my side."
    She rubbed up against him like a cat. "Well don't fall asleep. You have to go to ground, Manolito. Even I know that."
    He looked around the room. Light was already creeping in through the windows. It should have been burning his eyes, but instead he wanted to stretch and arch his body, bathe in the early morning glow. "Maybe I will stay here. We can cover the windows."
    Her heart jumped. "It isn't safe. No way. You have to leave."
    He propped his head on his hand and stared down at her, his eyes once again totally black. "You do not want me to stay, do you?" he said with sudden insight. "You want me to leave you."
    She swallowed the urge to deny his accusation. It would be a lie. "I can't think straight around you."
    "No?" The edgy aggression in his voice softened to a throaty purr of male satisfaction. His hand cupped her breast, his thumb sliding over her nipple so that she shivered beneath his touch.
    "No. Do you think I always act so—so submissive ?" She nearly spat the word. "I don't do bondage and submission."
    "Maybe I know more about what you like than you do," he said. "I am in your mind and look for the things that please you."
    She closed her eyes briefly, wondering if it was true. She had liked the things he had done. Like was a tame word for how she felt. She couldn't blame him for her own actions. She had wanted him fast and hard, almost brutal in his possession of her. She had wanted—still wanted—to belong wholly to him. To do whatever it was he asked of her. And that scared her on a whole different level. It was a major personality shift and needed consideration.
    Manolito studied her face. She was puzzled by her behavior, and in turn, he asked himself why he had needed to be so dominant with her. He was a dominant man, so much so that he had no need to prove himself to anyone