Carpathian 21 - Dark Peril

to show her that part of her was every bit as important as her warrior persona and that being a woman didn’t in any way take away from who she was.

    “ Pesäd te engemal— You are safe with me.” He whispered the words against the frantic pulse, his tongue swirling there, holding her while she calmed.

    Her wild nature was evident. Solange had lived her life on the fringes of society, never in the midst of it.
    Laws didn’t apply in her world. She didn’t need to learn the niceties of city life, or even life within a community. Her world was survival only—very much like his world had been.

    Zacarias went to slide his tongue over the laceration to politely close it, but Dominic pulled her wrist to his mouth. He took one drink, felt the fireball rolling through his body and then he closed the wound himself.

    “Thank you,” Zacarias said.

    Dominic knew the Carpathian hunter was thanking him, not Solange. In ancient times, lifemates were sacred and others didn’t speak to them without express permission. Zacarias was of that old school, and perhaps, if he was entirely truthful with himself, Dominic was, too.

    He lifted his head to meet Zacarias’s gaze. “The dawn approaches.”

    Zacarias nodded. “ Kolasz arwa-arvoval —may you die with honor.” He stood for a moment. “It is long since I have heard our own language spoken. For a moment, I felt the call of our homeland.”

    “Veri olen piros, ekäm —blood be red, my brother,” Dominic answered. The meaning was clear. Find your lifemate.

    Zacarias looked from him to Solange, her clothes and skin stained with blood. He shook his head. “My time is past for that. The world has changed and left me behind. I will aid you when you call, old friend.”

    He simply vanished, the vapor merging with the smoke from the dying fire. There was silence. Solange didn’t turn her head to look over her shoulder at Dominic, she simply stood waiting for his direction, holding herself very still, although he could feel the tremors running down her spine.

    Above her head, he smiled, the tension easing from his body now that there were no males near her and they were alone. He gathered her to him. “I will take us to a safe place where we can bathe and rest.”

    She wanted to just let go of him and drop to earth and shatter. Did other women feel this way? Wanting to please him, to do what he asked and yet feeling so terrified she couldn’t breathe? And what was he asking?
    A simple thing. Bathe and rest. He hadn’t said anything else. She could never, ever give her body to him.
    Not him. A shudder went through her body. Mutely, she shook her head.

    He heard the quick intake of her breath as he lifted her. “Courage,” he whispered against the nape of her neck.

    She didn’t fear the method of travel he chose, he knew that. He also knew she didn’t fear him—not Dominic the warrior. She trusted him or she never would have entered into battle with him. It was Dominic the man she feared, and he was the one who needed to earn her trust. More than anything else, he wanted all of her. He knew his need was selfish, but he’d had very little brightness in his life, and Solange shone like the brightest of stars. He took her into the skies, her body locked to his.

    Solange jammed her fist into her mouth to keep from protesting. She didn’t want to do anything wrong, but if she didn’t have an idea of how to act, she was bound to make a mistake. Her cat prowled back and forth, one moment purring contentedly and the next hissing and growling as she sensed Solange’s growing terror.

    How was she going to shed her clothes in front of him? Why hadn’t she listened to MaryAnn when she was trying to help Solange learn to be more girly?

    He leaned into her and stroked his tongue over the exact spot where he’d taken her blood. Her mind lost its train of thought. Heat flooded between her legs. Her stomach muscles bunched beneath his palm and her breasts suddenly felt full and aching. On top of everything else, she was going to react to him like a cat in heat. Except . . . she could never lay with him, never give herself to him because he would swallow her up, leave her with nothing.

    He nuzzled her neck. Stop thinking and just let yourself enjoy what is left of the night. Relax into me.

    She was holding herself stiffly, terrified of feeling his immense strength, petrified of the commitment just accompanying him meant. How much further would she go to please