Carpathian 23 - Dark Storm

it was. The entire problem. He professed to feel the same
     way, and last night, she’d been in his mind and had been so certain, but today, she
     could hardly bear being away from him.
    The separation clawed at her. She found she couldn’t turn her mind away from him.
     She felt as if she were holding her breath, waiting for his arrival. She detested
     that the women in her family were so close to their mates that they wanted to be with
     them every moment. She had made herself into an independent woman, well educated,
     able to take care of herself. She spent time with friends and truly enjoyed their
     company. She wasn’t dependent on a man for fun, or for her livelihood. Her ancestors
     had all died within weeks of their husbands—even her own mother.
    Riley had been so determined she would never be the same way and yet . . . she was obsessed with Dax. She needed to see him. She rubbed her hands over her face again, trying to think clearly, to
     assess the situation. There was no going back and if she could, she knew she wouldn’t.
     She was in love with him, more than in love. The moment his mind had shared hers,
     she was lost. There was no being alone ever again. She had only to reach for him and
     he was there. His devotion to her was easy to read. Dax didn’t attempt to hide his
     need or his admiration of her. For him, there truly was only Riley.
    She pulled the first aid kit from her pack and picked through it until she found the
     allergy cream. So why was she upset? She had no real idea of what she was getting
     into and she always, always , had a plan. Her mind just worked that way. She needed stability. A goal. She didn’t
     fling herself headfirst off a cliff and have no idea how she was going to land. She
     didn’t give herself to a man. No, not a man—a Carpathian who considered humans a food
     source. Ever since she’d set foot in the rain forest, things had been out of control.
    She smeared the cream over her swollen hand, sighing as the wind shifted, slightly
     teasing her face, telling her she wasn’t alone. “Weston,” she greeted without turning
     her head. Carefully she put everything back in the first aid kit and stowed the kit
     in her backpack. “I thought we had an agreement. You were going to stay away from
     my sleeping area. I like privacy.”
    “I wanted to talk to you, before the others got up.”
    Riley sighed and turned her boots upside down to make certain nothing had crawled
     into them in the middle of the night. She had to admit Don Weston sounded conciliatory,
     but still, she braced herself, grateful she had the gun Jubal had given her. She even
     went as far as to feel for it where it was hidden in her sleeping bag on the hammock.
     “Sure, what is it?”
    “Look, I know you don’t like me. And I have to admit, you have a good reason. I drink
     too much when I have to go out to these places. I hate the wilderness. I hate everything
     about it, especially the bugs. I know I was a jerk, but it was supposed to be harmless
     fun and it gives me a certain image.” Weston scowled and toed the buttress root of
     the tree closest to him. He glanced over his shoulder toward the other men and lowered
     his voice even more. “This is going to come as a big shock to you, but I’ve got a
     couple of sisters . . .”
    Riley’s head went up and she stared at him, very surprised. She couldn’t equate this
     man with a mother let alone sisters. “I never suspected.”
    Weston looked back toward Mack Shelton and pushed at the rotting vegetation with the
     toe of his boot. “Yeah, I have sisters, and I keep them away from my friends.”
    “So that’s why you came with us up the mountain instead of turning back with the professor.
     It seemed so out of character for you,” Riley said.
    He scowled at her, shrugged and gave a little sigh. “Let me just get this out. This
     man, Dax, I know you all said you knew him from before, but I don’t think you really
     know what he’s like. I talk a good game, and maybe I don’t come off as someone you’d
     trust all that much, but men like that . . .” He trailed off, shaking his head.
    Riley slipped the gun from her sleeping bag to her backpack. She began to take her
     hammock down, needing something to occupy her hands while she listened to Weston’s
     revelations. Besides, as soon as Dax arrived, they’d be on the move again.
    “He’s all charm and looks great, but he’s dangerous. I’ve seen a few men