Dark Song

She couldn’t help pulling back in horror, trying to distance herself from him. He refused to let go of their merging. She clenched her fists. This wasn’t going well at all and she’d promised herself she would do so much better this rising. Lorraine. The woman he felt affection for. How could she face her in such an indecent garment? And Traian? A brother she didn’t remember who would have expectations she couldn’t meet. She would hurt him without meaning to. It seemed she was doomed to fail everyone, especially her lifemate.

This wasn’t going to work. As much as she wanted it to, as much as she thought Ferro was the most heroic man in the universe, she couldn’t do this, not even for him.

“You are panicking for no reason, piŋe sarnanak,” Ferro said, his arms sliding around her waist from behind. “When you have need of me, you are to call out. Reach out. Hear our song. You have choices, Elisabeta, and one day you will remember that you have them. In the meantime, I will make your choice for you. Your choice is always me. I am your shield.”

He bent his head, his hair sliding against her bare skin, sending a shiver of awareness down her spine. His lips trailed over the side of her neck from her earlobe to the pulse pounding so temptingly there.

“You have not seen modern women and the way they dress. The dress I have chosen for you is extremely modest by comparison. You will look beautiful in it. I would not provide garments for other men to stare at your body. When we are alone, I can show you the types of clothing you can wear only for me.”

His teeth scraped over her pulse, and between her legs her sex clenched unexpectedly. Hotly. Her stomach did a slow roll.

“You must have more trust and faith in your lifemate, Elisabeta. I am ancient and I do not care for other males to be around my woman, especially those I do not know. I am more dominant than many of the other ancients. I was born that way and the centuries only amplified that trait in me. I worry that you will find me . . . difficult to live with.”

His teeth sank deep and she couldn’t stop the little cry of pleasure that escaped. His hands came up to cup the weight of her breasts, his thumbs brushing over her nipples. She felt as if flames flickered and danced over her.

You will wear the dress with confidence because I will find you beautiful in it. If you do not wish to meet Lorraine, you do not have to do so. I wanted you to have friends, but it is not necessary. Only if that is your desire.

His fingers and thumbs began tugging on her nipples, gently at first and then a little rougher, so that streaks of fire seemed to go straight to her center, which had turned to liquid heat. How could she think straight? There was no thinking when his mouth and hands were wreaking such havoc with her body. It felt to her as if every nerve ending in her body had come to life and was on alert, just waiting for him, desperate for his attention. She found herself wholly focused on him. Acutely aware of him as a male. A man. Her man.

She couldn’t see him, but knew he was dressed and she wasn’t. It seemed—decadent. There were images in his mind that came and went so fast she could barely keep up, but they were all erotic and seemed indecent, and yet she wanted them to slow down so she could see them more clearly. She knew each image had to do with Ferro and her. That sent a secret little thrill down her spine.

His tongue slid across the vein in her neck and he turned her around, opening his shirt, tipping her chin up as he did so. His lips brushed hers, the briefest of touches, but again, a spontaneous frisson rushed down her spine and spread through her body. Her nipples pushed against his bare chest as he locked her close to him, his tongue teasing at the seam of her lips.

“Open your mouth for me.”

She knew if she did, she would lose herself in him, but she couldn’t resist him. It wasn’t just his demand, made in that soft, commanding voice. It was Ferro. He mesmerized her. She parted her lips and his tongue swept into her mouth, bringing fire. Bringing chaos. Bringing a passion she hadn’t known existed in her. The emotion swept over her so fast and so deep, welling up like a volcano, colliding with his overwhelming feelings so that it seemed as if they would both go up in flames.

He kissed her long and deep, until a firestorm roared in her belly and the junction between her legs burned and turned to liquid. Her sex clenched emptily. Her breasts felt swollen and achy. Her entire body was suddenly restless and needy. Tension coiled deep and a different kind of urgent hunger awoke in her.

Ferro lifted his head, his hands tracing the curve of her cheekbones. “Feed, sívamet. You are pale and I hunted this morning to take care of our needs.”