|
de9dea0
|
The sun seemed to take a long while to sink from the sky. The colors of the heavens were blood red, surrounded by shades of orange and pink. As the moon appeared, the clouds covered it like a thin veil. A ring appeared around the moon like some terrible omen. The forest was dark, eerily silent. Tendrils of fog wound low to the ground around tree trunks and bushes. A gentle wind lazily pushed the clouds, brushed at heavy branches, and tried ..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
22e1bd1
|
When his mind was once more clear and calm, Mikhail trotted back to the blackened ruins, changing back into his own muscular form, complete with clothes, as he strode toward his brother. He was well aware that all of nature, everything he was so much a part of, could feel his ice-cold rage. It was buried deep, seething below the surface, disturbing the harmony in the air, in the forest. His enemies would not escape. Jacques straightened slo..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
d3d3c84
|
Jacques straightened slowly, as if he had been waiting for hours. His hand went to the nape of his neck, rubbing at a kink. Mikhail and Jacques stared at one another, dark sorrow in their eyes. Jacques stepped forward and reached for Mikhail in an uncharacteristic show of affection. It was brief and hard, two stiff oak trees exchanging a hug. Mikhail knew Raven would have laughed at the two of them.
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
b5b82df
|
Mikhail found the rose-petal-soft skin of her face, traced her delicate cheekbones with gentle fingers. "You were right, little one. We will build our home together, stronger than ever. We will pick a place, deep within the forest, and fill it with so much love, it will spill over to our wolves."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
2503594
|
Listen to me, my love," Raven murmured. "Having a few friends and feeling affection for certain individuals of a race does not remove prejudice. You have lived with your abilities for so long you take them for granted. Because you can control the human mind, and you use them as cattle." He gasped, shocked that she could think such a thing. His hand circled her ankle where it was tucked up on the bed. "I have never treated humans like cattle..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
3b66b56
|
Mikhail felt at a loss. He could not fail her again, yet the work they needed to do was imperative. His plan had been to keep Raven somewhere safe in a deep sleep. He would have forced her to accept his blood without her knowledge. "Perhaps a walk would help," Jacques suggested. He stepped back in an effort to induce her to stand. Raven's gaze clung to Mikhail's for a long, slow moment. Her smile was genuine this time, reaching her eyes and..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
d5564c5
|
I think you've managed to put some kind of spell on me." "If I did," he whispered, "it backfired, and I managed to ensnare myself as well."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
a0dacf3
|
Raven stared up at his face, drinking in the strong lines and the way he looked at her with something close to adoration. She smiled at him. "I think you've managed to put some kind of spell on me." "If I did," he whispered, "it backfired, and I managed to ensnare myself as well." They lay together for a long while, holding one another. Mikhail traced each one of the angry lines along her chest and abdomen and then pressed kisses over them...
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
7fc1a3e
|
We will sleep here in the sleeping chamber where we will be safe. We have lifetimes for you to conquer your fears." She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling closer against his chest, allowing her long lashes to sweep down. Mikhail held her close to him, waiting until she was asleep before sending her into the deeper sleep of their kind. Only then did he allow himself to follow."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
2b5fb50
|
Send for Jacques. But go feed before you see him. You made me weak with your lovemaking, and if you'll forgive a little crude Carpathian humor, I'll expect you to bring me home dinner." Startled, he stared at her. For a long moment there was silence, and then they both burst out laughing. "Get dressed," Mikhail ordered with mock sternness. "I cannot have poor Jacques tormented by you." "I fully intend to torment him. He needs to learn not t..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
7a8f3af
|
Jacques is the least serious of all Carpathian males. He has retained his emotions far longer than most. It has only been a few centuries since he has lost them." "He is serious when it comes to ordering females about. He has definite ideas on how we should behave. I intend to take that up with him." His eyebrow shot up. "I am certain you will keep him occupied while we are gone. Do me a favor, little one, do not be too hard on him." They w..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
4f78ff8
|
he warned. Jacques sent them both a look of reprimand and extended his hand to Raven with Old World gallantry. She took it and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. Mikhail rose beside her, his arm sweeping her into the shelter of his body. She needed the contact, the closeness, the solid reality of his hard frame. Greogir, the instant bodyguard, scanned the air, the ground, moving fast as he did so. His body continually blocked the pr..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
e763af1
|
I can take them away completely," Mikhail offered gently. Raven flashed him a small smile, meant to reassure. Her body moved briefly against his. She was well aware of what a temptation that had been for him, how the other two males thought him insane for not taking the choice from her. "You know I prefer to keep my memories. All of them." Mikhail nodded, leaned over, and brushed a kiss over her temple. He felt the weight of Gregori's pale ..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
b347026
|
Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he asked softly. Her long lashes fluttered, lifted, so that her violet eyes locked with his. A slow, fascinating smile curved her mouth. "Maybe, just a little." She smoothed a line from his forehead. "I'll be fine tonight. Do what you have to do and don't worry about me." "I would prefer that you slept for a while." He shifted, eased his weight off her, surprised to find that he was still partially..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
84c263c
|
Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he asked softly. Her long lashes fluttered, lifted, so that her violet eyes locked with his. A slow, fascinating smile curved her mouth. "Maybe, just a little."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
5db7205
|
I would prefer that you slept for a while." He shifted, eased his weight off her, surprised to find that he was still partially dressed. "That's only because you have so much anger toward Romanov you don't want me to know what you're doing."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
75aa81b
|
She propped herself up on one elbow so that her thick mane of silky hair spilled across her body, a thin veil over her breasts. His gut clenched hotly at the sight, his dark eyes going black with a sudden flare of desire. She laughed softly, the sound sultry in the night. "I think you could have sex all night and never be sated." He bent down to taste temptation, his tongue bringing her nipple to a hard peak. "I would very much like to give..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
e8aa474
|
You think to protect Jacques by leaving him here with me as my bodyguard." "You see too much." "More than you know."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
4ddf180
|
You think to protect Jacques by leaving him here with me as my bodyguard." "You see too much." "More than you know." Her eyes softened, warmed. "You think you are going to do something I will be unable to accept, but I believe in you, Mikhail. I think you are a great and fair man. You have every right to despise Romanov, but I know you can put that aside and do what is right. He is a young man, confused and angry, shaken and traumatized by ..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
6fb49fc
|
How terrible a struggle all of you must have, and you more than most. To have to make so many life-and-death decisions, to sentence friends and even family to be destroyed, must be a burden beyond belief. You are strong, Mikhail, and your people are right to believe in you. The monster you battle daily is part of you, maybe the part that makes you so strong and determined. You see that side of you as evil when in fact it is what gives you y..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
0f55182
|
I cannot control my emotions at this time, Raven. I cannot lose you. You have no conception of what it was like--no daylight, no laughter, centuries of complete loneliness. I know a monster lives in me. The longer one lives, the more powerful he becomes. I fear for Gregori. He has had the weight of hunting the undead for centuries. In the earlier days, we would not see him for a quarter of a century or longer--until his responsibilities as ..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
ecd0b4a
|
Gregori suggested, clearly not understanding why Mikhail did not do the obvious. Gregori put a small edge in his tone. He sighed when Mikhail did not respond. Mikhail was well aware that Gregori thought he had lost his mind, but he knew Raven. She had her own courage, and her own ideas of right and wrong. She would not thank him if at some later date she learned he had removed her memories. There could be no untruths between lifemates, a..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
ab87d68
|
You helped us." Her fingers sought and found Mikhail's, entwined with his, yet her gaze never left Gregori's face. "You were so far away. The sun was out, yet you knew we were in trouble, and you were able to help us. It was difficult for you. I felt it even as you reached for me to take away what I could not endure." The silver eyes, pale in Gregori's dark face, narrowed to a slash of quicksilver. Mesmerizing. Hypnotic. The voice lowered a..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
4cc2ac0
|
Keep her still, Mikhail," Jacques encouraged. "The wounds are closing, but she is still losing blood. Not much, and we can give her more blood in a couple of hours." Mikhail rested his cheek against her silky head, allowed his eyes to close. "Go feed, Jacques, before you drop," he murmured wearily. "I will go when the others return. We will not leave you and your woman unprotected." Mikhail stirred as if he might protest, but then a grin tu..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
25cd31d
|
I couldn't reach you. I tried, Mikhail, for that woman." He brought her fingers to the warmth of his mouth, pressed them there. "Never again, Raven, will I fail you."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
01b2c40
|
Send for Jacques. But go feed before you see him. You made me weak with your lovemaking, and if you'll forgive a little crude Carpathian humor, I'll expect you to bring me home dinner.
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
555f1bf
|
If I had stayed human, how could you have remained with me as a lifemate?" She pushed her rounded bottom against the cradle of his hips, enjoying the sudden excitement as his body swelled and hardened in response to the pressure. She laid her head back on his shoulder. "I would have chosen to grow old with you and die when you died." His reply was husky, and one hand cupped the softness of her breast. Her hair was brushing his body like so ..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
e0ccf28
|
You have the kind of courage I've always wanted to have but lacked. New things frighten me. I hate being a coward..." He snorted inelegantly in derision. "Raven, stop being silly. You put your life in danger for complete strangers. That is not the act of a coward." She frowned at him. "That's not what I meant." She stepped close to him and circled his neck with her arms. "When it comes to my emotions being involved, I always hold back or ru..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
68b59c7
|
If I had stayed human, how could you have remained with me as a lifemate?" She pushed her rounded bottom against the cradle of his hips, enjoying the sudden excitement as his body swelled and hardened in response to the pressure. She laid her head back on his shoulder. "I would have chosen to grow old with you and die when you died." His reply was husky, and one hand cupped the softness of her breast. Her hair was brushing his body like so ..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
f805d3f
|
I would have aged right along with you. When your breath ceased, so would mine." She shook her head. "How can I resist you, Mikhail, when you steal my heart?" His grin turned her heart over, somersaulted her stomach. "You are not supposed to resist me, little one. I am your other half."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
ed0503f
|
Raven woke sobbing, her hands curling around Mikhail's neck, clutching him to her, hot tears spilling onto his chest. He dragged her closer protectively, holding her as tight as he dared without crushing her. She seemed so fragile and light, so ready to fly away from him. He let her cry, his hand caressing her hair with soothing strokes. When she began to quiet, he murmured softly to her, tenderly, in his own language, words of reassurance ..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
f3c2c30
|
Do you wish us to seek eternal rest?" Her fist thumped his chest. "Not us, Mikhail, me!" "There is no you or me. There is only us." She took a deep calming breath. "I don't even know what or who I am anymore." "You are Raven, the most beautiful, courageous woman I have ever known."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
f97f39a
|
Wanting to distract her, he bent to examine her abdomen, his fingers splaying possessively over her skin, touching each white scar gently. "Your wounds are nearly healed." She half sat, astonished. "That's impossible." He lifted his hands out of the way to show her the long scars. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Mikhail's eyes darkened and burned, brushed her bare breasts with heat. Raven's small teeth tugged at her lower lip, and a red flus..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
3abd86e
|
Mikhail's eyes darkened and burned, brushed her bare breasts with heat. Raven's small teeth tugged at her lower lip, and a red flush spread over her entire body. She clutched at the sheet and dragged it over her. His white teeth gleamed at her in a predator's smile, pure taunting male. He leaned close so that his mouth brushed across her ear as he spoke. His warm breath beckoned and enticed. "I have kissed every inch of your body. I have be..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
2163425
|
I have kissed every inch of your body. I have been in every secret corner of your mind." His teeth skimmed her earlobe, sent a shiver along her spine. "I will admit, the blush suits you." Raven found herself holding her breath, heat coiling deep within her. She pressed her forehead against the heavy muscles of his chest so that he couldn't see the answering flare in her eyes. "Mikhail," she warned, "there is no way you can change what I fee..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
e6434c6
|
Raven felt the soft dirt beneath her, his hard body imprisoning hers. There was a ruthless stamp to his dark features, a merciless slash to his mouth, and burning hunger in the depths of his eyes. When she touched his mind, there was savage, primitive arousal, the animal drive to claim, a Carpathian male's ruthless, implacable resolve to possess his mate. There was also a love so intense, she could barely conceive of it. Tenderness. A male'..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
86788b4
|
She moved a slow hand to push her hair aside. The small movement sent her muscles clenching around him. Mikhail. Who was this man who had so easily taken over her life and her body? Raven lifted her head and studied his face. So handsome. So dark and mysterious. His eyes held so many secrets; his mouth was so sensual; it took her breath away.
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
2db5a9e
|
Tell me what I've done, Mikhail." His eyes were fathomless, watchful. "You have given your life into my care. Rest assured, little one, you are safe in my hands."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
5c4cee8
|
Tell me what I've done, Mikhail." His eyes were fathomless, watchful. "You have given your life into my care. Rest assured, little one, you are safe in my hands." She touched the tip of her tongue to her suddenly dry lips. Her heart pounded in alarm at the enormity of her decision. She had the taste of him in her mouth, the smell of him on her body, his seed trickling along her leg, and they were still locked together, her body clenching se..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
4373ee9
|
I want to take you into the forest, Raven, forest, where the trees are thick and few people have ever set foot.
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
9f02007
|
Mikhail would be going into a dangerous situation, and a part of her knew he needed most of the night to complete his tasks, but there was no sign of impatience in him. He appeared relaxed and enjoying his time with her, wholly focused on her alone. She appreciated that in him so much--that ability to give her what she needed. He lifted his head and looked at her. "You always come first with me, Raven." "I don't know how I managed to get so..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
a9b6918
|
Someday my child will grow right here." "You'd like that, would you? I might get as big as a house." Mikhail kissed her tummy again and then kissed the path to her breasts. "You will have milk for our babies. That is such a miracle, Raven." She heard the ache in his voice. The need. He didn't quite believe they would manage to have children, not when his people had been unable to do so for centuries, but he was willing to dream of it--with ..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
c9e2725
|
We'll find a way to have children, Mikhail. You managed to convert me without becoming deranged." There was gentle humor in her voice. Mikhail's head went up, his dark eyes meeting hers. Raven laughed softly. "Did you think I wouldn't know your worst fear? I am adept at reading minds, and you, my love, have opened yourself to me often. I knew your fear and loved you all the more for facing it alone."
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |
|
ccd905d
|
Gregori stood wearily, very pale and worn himself. His silver eyes glittered down at Mikhail. "Do you realize the enormity of what has happened here? You have successfully converted a human woman. She is no deranged vampires, but a true Carpathian with our blood flowing in her veins. You have given our people true hope." Mikhail shook his head. "Who would ever want the woman they love to suffer as Raven has? And we have no idea what this co..
|
|
|
Christine Feehan |