This is what happens. This is the feeling and the emotions. It is very complex and intense and unlike anything we’ve had to deal with,he told them.
At least it is a new experience,Lojos pointed out.I could use a few new, unique experiences.
This is just the beginning,Tomas warned.
He had wrapped his arms around her, reveling in the feel of her soft, feminine body against the hardness of his. Her hair slid like so much silk over his face and arm. With a single thought, he removedhis shirt, the need to feel her hair against his skin overwhelming, too strong to deny himself.
He wanted to be very cognizant of the fact that he was doing this without her consent and should protect her from the unfamiliar desire, the raging lust that rose like a firestorm he couldn’t seem to tamp down. He allowed his brothers to feel that as well, although it shamed him. He was a man of honor, and he both respected and revered his lifemate. His job was to protect her—even from himself.
He had taken a deep breath, let it out and bent his head to her neck. He would have preferred her blouse open so he could really feel her soft skin and the luxury of her feminine curves, something he was very much looking forward to, but it felt wrong when she didn’t know what was happening to her.
He reminded himself he had a code of honor and he was already pushing it to the very limits by taking her choices from her. He shared those thoughts with his brothers.
She is the most important thing in your world, Tomas,Mataias reminded.That makes her the most important thing in our world as well. You have kept your honor under difficult circumstances.
He could always count on his brother to tell the truth as he saw it. Mataias held all three of them to a high standard. The longer they had survived, the higher those standards had become. All three were very aware of the demon growing inside, the one eager for the next bloodthirsty battle, because along with the battle came the rush. The only real feeling the triplets could count on. They’d grown to look forward to it, although they were aware it wasn’t a good thing.
Tomas moved the hair from her shoulder to expose her slender neck to him. The feel of all that thick, curly silk in his hands sent heat rushing through him. The sight of her bare neck and the pulse point open to him caused that heat to pool low until he was aching and full. Around her neck was a chain, and he took a moment to feel his way to find the pendant hanging between her breasts. The raised head of a jaguar gave off vibrations that told him it was very old.
He took his time to bend his head toward her bare skin. His heart sped up. The heat became a fireball rushing through his veins. The feeling was both exhilarating and disturbing. A pleasure he’d never known and a pain that was a continual aching reminder this woman was his. The one. His heart needed her. His body, his soul.
He ran his tongue over that beating pulse in her neck, tasting her, absorbing the faint, unique flavor that was Sarika. That taste, that scent, moved through him, producing a wave of pure pleasure. He found himself kissing that delicate spot, his teeth sliding into place. He bit down, tying them together in one of the most intimate ways of his people.
If he thought the taste of her skin was amazing, her blood was pure aphrodisiac. A thousand tongues stroked over his body. Her blood spread through his system like a slow-moving molten lava. The sensation was unlike anything he’d ever felt, and he didn’t want it to ever end. She moved, a small moaning protest that brought him back to his senses. He’d taken more than enough blood for a true exchange.
With great reluctance, he pulled back, sliding his tongue over the brand of possession he’d left behind on her neck. He wanted that mark there. He knew it wasn’t a good idea. It would be better not to tell her immediately that he’d done their first blood exchange. He knew it wouldn’t go over very well, but lifemates didn’t lie to each other. Not even by committing the sin of omission.
He gathered her closer, whispering to her, telling her the truth, that he’d never thought it would ever be possible to find her. That she was his personal miracle. That after centuries of searching, of relentless duty, there she was, the one person that made his sacrifices worth it. She was what every Carpathian hunter was promised, and she was more beautiful than anything he could ever have imagined.
He whispered the command to her, and just the soft demand to take his blood set his heart pounding. One fingernail lengthened. He drew a line over the heavy muscles on his chest, his breath catching in his throat. Bright red ruby beads appeared and slowly began to dripdown his chest. He fitted the back of her head into his palm and pressed her toward his chest, keeping up the whispered command because she seemed just a little resistant. He didn’t want her to be uncomfortable or feel fear. He kept his voice soothing, soft, a compelling temptation.
Despite Tomas being an ancient with a vast amount of power, and he was very used to being one of the strongest, most dangerous of the Carpathian hunters, his woman didn’t respond the way she should have. She had been sitting relaxed in his lap, but now she pushed against the lock he had across her back. She sat up straighter and tried to turn her head away from his chest.
The fact that she could resist his compulsion shocked him. Not just surprised him, shocked him. It had never occurred to him that this could happen. He shared that moment with his brothers, replaying the exact moment she seemed aware of what was happening and began to fight him.
I know you’re wondering why I didn’t simply take over her mind and force her acceptance,he said to his brothers.
It would have taken you seconds, Tomas,Lojos objected.Seconds. She wouldn’t have been upset because she wouldn’t know.
Tomas knew that was true. If he invaded her mind and shut down all resistance, he could see how her mind worked, look into her memories and figure out how she came to be strong enough to resist an ancient warrior’s command.
She asked me not to go into her mind without her consent. I didn’t make a promise, but it was important to her, so it was important to me.He knew his brothers wouldn’t understand. To them, they considered it a protection for Sarika, and that action would also give Tomas more of an understanding of who his lifemate was and how she thought. What her abilities were. All very important since she would be traveling with them as they attempted to track Justice.
I didn’t want her to wake, and she was in danger of doing so. I deepened the command, and she resisted for one short moment before she succumbed.Then her mouth was on me, and I swear my entire world imploded. I have never felt such a deep, intense need as I did in that moment.
The rest was too personal, and he held it back, merely showing that he had insisted she take enough blood for a true exchange. That had been an exercise in control. He’d never expected his body to be raging at him simply because his lifemate was taking his blood. It was a ritual as old as time, but no one had ever shared the feelings and emotions that swept through him like a tidal wave. He understood. It was far too intimate, too personal to share, even when trying to give his brothers a heads-up for when they hopefully found their lifemates.
I sent her back to sleep without examining her memories. I know I should have, but I wanted her to share with me. I wanted her to give me her consent.
Tomas glanced toward the screen and then switched to speaking aloud so Luiz and Dominic could hear him. “We can weave the safeguards to protect her and keep her inside this time. I will have to wake her long enough to explain what will happen and what she’ll feel should she wake before sunset.”
The five men stood together and began a complicated weave to encompass the entire tree, including roots and the above canopy. The safeguards were individual ropes that twined around one another until they were so strong they were unbreakable. It would be impossible for any enemy, including mages, to unravel that weave when it was constructed by five ancients. They had been weaving safeguards long before Xavier, the mage, had shared his secrets with Carpathians. Not a single one of the weaves had come from the dark mage.
By the time the five ancients had finished their task, the safeguards were so thick and impenetrable that there was no access to the tree house and no way to destroy it, not even with fire or magic. Tomas was astonished at the degree of relief he felt. His lifemate, should she awaken, would be unable to leave. She would be safe from any type of attack.
Luiz ensured there was plenty of food and drink for her, althoughTomas hoped she wouldn’t need it. The blood exchange would make it difficult for her to be apart from him. He had been told the separation was extremely hard on the woman aboveground. Their prince, Mikhail Dubrinsky, had been the first to realize a human psychic woman could carry the other half of a Carpathian’s soul. Their species had learned many lessons through his lifemate, Raven.
“Bring her to meet the women,” Dominic suggested. “It will be good for her to see other lifemates and realize they are happy with their men.”
