Carpathian 21 - Dark Peril

please anyone.

    “That’s my woman.”

    He gave her a small, courtly bow that sent a ripple of pleasure through her. His manners were so Old World, as was his formal speech, but it seemed to suit him and make him, for her, all the more alluring.

    “What’s your plan?”

    His eyebrow shot up and she blushed. “Not that ,” she qualified. “The vampire camp. You told me you’d ingested vampire blood so they would recognize you as part of their conspiracy. Do you think the parasites in your blood alone will gain you acceptance?”

    “The vampires I have met so far have believed the call of the parasites, but they are never active with you around. I also took your blood a little while ago.” He held another orange slice to her lips and waited until Solange bit into it. “So if you are thinking you will accompany me in some way, it will not work.”

    She frowned at him. “Of course I’m going to have your back. I can’t imagine that you aren’t already thinking of ways to kill Brodrick.”

    “Naturally.”

    She forgot all about not wearing her warrior armor. Her green eyes went cat and she frowned at him.
    “Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking I don’t know what I’m doing. If you meant what you said about partners and respect and being equal, and knowing who I really am, then you have to know I’m going to be guarding your back.”

    She pushed out of the chair, forgetting the gossamer robe as she paced restlessly across the floor of the cavern, her cat prowling close to the surface. “You either accept me as I am, or you don’t. You can’t have it both ways. I would never be able to stay safe waiting while you’re in danger.”

    Only the sound of water falling into the basin filled the room. She became aware of her harsh, agitated breathing, her accelerated heartbeat, the rush of adrenaline in her body. His silence stretched out until the tension was nearly unbearable. He simply looked at her with that dark, unfathomable, very direct stare that spoke volumes.

    She raised her chin and stared right back. Protecting those she loved was her fundamental core. If he thought he could shape her into something or someone else with a few sexy outfits, he was very wrong. She wasn’t good at this kind of crap anyway. She’d just go back to being a jaguar and find her place in the forest. She felt the familiar itch run under her skin and the call of the wild raged inside of her. Escape . . . it was the only way.

    “You are a fierce fighter, Solange. When you cannot win a battle, what do you do?”

    She fought back her cat to try to make her vocal cords work. “Retreat and plan a different way.”

    “You cannot win a battle with me. Not you. Not your cat. We both would lose if you insisted on such an action.”

    “What exactly are you saying to me? Because you are not going to dictate to me.”

    “You are looking for a fight and I refuse to join you. You have a very bad habit of jumping to conclusions and putting me in the worst light possible.”

    She opened her mouth and closed it again, forcing herself to breathe away panic. And she was panicking.
    She wanted , even needed to run before he took this any further. Until she wanted him with every cell in her body and she would do anything to keep him. She had more self-respect than that.

    He stepped close to her, ignoring the warning look in her eyes, one hand spanning her throat, letting her feel his immense strength. More than physical strength, she could see the power and confidence the centuries had given him. The look in his eyes shook her. Censure. Pure, unadulterated censure. And it hurt.
    Maybe she deserved it, but it really hurt.

    “You cannot lie to me or yourself, Solange. I will not allow that. You want to run from me, not out of self-respect but out of cowardice. You do not want to trust me with your body or your heart, and I am getting too close to both.”

    “I would shatter into a million pieces,” she defended. “Don’t you see? I’m not this woman you want.”

    “How do you know what I want when you refuse to look—or listen? You were waiting for your opportunity and you thought you found it. Did I not tell you that I respected you as a warrior? That I believed you to be my equal and a partner? Do you think that I would lie to you? I am Dominic Dragonseeker, and the Dragonseeker honor has never been called into question, not once in thousands of years.” There was an edge now to that normally calm