Carpathian 22 - Dark Predator

me without permission.”
    Don’t you dare call me a whore.
    He had never seen true sparkling champagne diamond with such pure chocolate and it was an amazing color, especially sparkling as her eyes were now. “I believe I asked if you wished to be taken for a whore. I did not call you one.”
    He spoke very slowly and distinctly in case she didn’t quite grasp the difference. He also noted that along with her anger, she was much more adept at communicating telepathically. He could see her words in the impressions she sent and realized then what it must be like not to have an actual voice to express herself.
    His thumb slid over her pulse in a small caress. He felt her shiver in response. “You look quite lovely in your feminine clothes. You will wear them at all times.”
    She frowned. He thought she would like the compliment, but truly, she was difficult. Her eyes flashed with glinting fire, which was spectacular, but he had wished to please her. Females were difficult to understand.
    I won’t, you know. I prefer to wear skirts indoors, but not when I ride. And I love to ride, so no skirts. Her chin went up, those eyes sparkling more than ever.
    He studied her defiant little face for a long time. She never once looked away from him. Never in his life had anyone defied him the way she did. He was beginning to think there was nothing dim-witted about her after all. “You really are emni kuηenak ku aššatotello minan .” He couldn’t help the soft caress in his voice.
    What does that mean? I’ve heard you call me that and similar things.
    “My disobedient lunatic,” he answered honestly, expecting fireworks. He even took a firmer grip on her wrist.
    Her lips twitched, curved into a smile so that her white teeth flashed at him for a moment. He got the impression of amusement in his mind and the feeling warmed him. “You are getting very good at communicating through our blood bond. It will increase in strength when we exchange blood again.”
    A shadow crossed her face. She swallowed hard and nodded, refusing to look away. She was very afraid but she faced him with courage.
    “It will not hurt, Marguarita,” he assured. “You will enjoy the experience.”
    She didn’t look convinced but she nodded at him and then glanced again toward Julio. A roaring protest ripped through his body and he felt his teeth lengthen, exploding in his mouth before he could stop the reaction. She gasped, and he looked down at her wrist, still captured in his hand. His fingernails had lengthened into deadly talons.
    He could smell the man, until the stench of him nearly overpowered the subtle fragrance that was Marguarita. He didn’t want a male close to her, let alone in her bedroom. He recognized he was at his most deadly.
    “It is not safe for your friend to be here,” he admitted. Evidently some emotions were returning. Rage. The need to kill. Jealousy. Things he hadn’t experienced before and therefore had no way of anticipating or understanding what he was feeling, let alone the necessary knowledge to deal with such things.
    Marguarita slowly nodded her head. Should I summon Cesaro?
    His body rebelled, his heightened senses already in battle mode. “That is not a good idea. I will take him to his house and leave him to rest.” He didn’t want another man around her while he was adjusting to the new, emerging and uncomfortable emotions. He counted himself lucky that he didn’t have the same reaction to his lifemate that his brothers had had.
    She nodded her head, biting her lower lip a little anxiously.
    “Is the word of a De La Cruz no longer good here? I have said I will leave him to rest, yet you are still anxious. Is this man someone important to you?”
    He felt her struggle to make him understand. She looked around for a pen and paper but he shook his head. She was his lifemate and they needed to learn to communicate. She sent him one emotion-laden look, and then pushed the image of Riordan, his youngest brother, into his head. She pointed to Julio and then to herself.
    “This man is your brother? Cesaro’s son?”
    She nodded, frowning the entire time. Not blood.
    He didn’t want the man anywhere near her. “It is not safe for him. You understand me?”
    Marguarita nodded her head. Zacarias couldn’t stand the presence of the other male close to her, or the worried look in her eyes. He scooped Julio up and draped him over his shoulder. He took a step away from her.
    Señor De La Cruz?
    That soft