Daric's Mate (6 page)

Daric’s arms tightened around her possessively, his heart racing. Who in the hell did he think he was trying to fool? Somewhere deep inside…he had known the truth, had probably known since the first moment he’d realized that this woman was his, that he wouldn’t be able to refuse her. He’d been inside her head, seen glimpses of her heart. Maybe his goddamn noble ancestry demanded that he try to do the right thing and let her go, but everything inside him, every vampire instinct he had, told him that this woman belonged to him.

She deserves better.

Oh, fuck no!
He might be royalty, but he wasn’t feeling particularly noble. The thought of his woman with anyone else nearly sent him over the deep end, making him want to claim her in the most primal way possible. Over and over again, until she could do nothing but moan his name in ecstasy.

Daric rose gracefully to his feet, Hannah cradled in his arms.

She lifted her head slightly, whispering in a drowsy voice, “I’m sorry. I think I dozed off. Is it possible for you to take me home?”

“You will stay here. Sleep.” Daric glanced at the clock. It was nearly dawn. No wonder his woman was exhausted. She’d had an exhausting day and the wine had probably added to her desire to sleep.

“The restaurant--”

“Will function just fine without you. You stay here.” He had seen the memories of Hannah going home to the empty house her father had lived in, surrounded by sorrow and regrets. She wasn’t going back there again. Not until she had healed enough to go without pain.

“For tonight,” she agreed in a slumberous voice.

Forever.

Daric’s covetous gaze caressed her face, watching her eyes flutter closed as she fell back to sleep. Having already been roasted over the coals by his woman for teleporting her earlier, he made sure she was asleep before he transferred them from the living room to his bedroom.

He dissolved their clothing as they reappeared in his bed, covering them with a quilt and fresh sheets.

Hannah snuggled against him with a trusting sigh, still sleeping the sleep of the innocent.

His cock still throbbed and his body was tense with the need to be inside her, but at the moment he could still contain the beast and enjoy the happiness of having his mate beside him, trusting him to keep her safe.

She’ll never be alone again. She’ll never suffer again. I’ll do everything in my power to keep her happy.

Daric grinned, a cocky smirk that came from knowing that he was the most powerful being that walked the earth. How difficult could it be to make one human woman happy?

The automatic shutters on his windows whispered closed, signaling the coming sunrise. He yawned and closed his eyes, letting himself slip easily into day sleep, a hint of that insolent smile still on his lips as he slept the sleep of a vampire.

Chapter 5

“Are you kidding me? I can’t do this!” Hannah stood at the top of a deserted mountain, gaping down at the seemingly endless blanket of perfect, untouched snow that seemed to stretch for miles down a never-ending incline. “Where the hell are we?” Her head was still spinning from whatever that thing was that Daric did to get them from one place to another at warp speed.

“We aren’t that far from Temple,” Daric answered, his voice agitated. “I thought this would make you happy. It’s what you wanted. You wanted to be able to ski again. I’m trying to make you happy, woman.”

“Well…I’m not.” Hannah shot Daric a belligerent look. He’d pulled her out of a perfectly warm bed, plied her with coffee and transported them God-knew- where, to the top of a deserted mountain, and he expected her ski down unknown territory after being nearly sedentary for a year. “I’m not in shape for this. I’m not ready. I haven’t done more than walk at a slow limp for months.”

Yesterday, she had been fairly certain that she’d never walk without a limp, and now anything was possible. Overwhelmed, she looked down at her favorite pair of skis with a sigh.

Daric frowned, as though offended. “You think I’d let you get injured?” He crossed his arms in front of him, biceps and triceps rippling beneath a short sleeved t-shirt. Dressed in only jeans, the lightweight shirt and black boots, Daric didn’t look in the least bit cold, although the temperature had to be nearing the zero mark.

Hannah was appropriately dressed in red ski attire, all of her wardrobe and personal belongings having mysteriously appeared in Daric’s home before she had even woken up in his bed earlier in the evening.

“It isn’t about getting hurt. Not really. I’m just not sure I’m ready for this right now.” Oh, but she wanted to be. As Hannah looked at the moonlit, perfect terrain, she wanted to drive into it, feel the excitement of the cold wind in her face as she flew down the mountain, the first to break the new and perfect snow.

New snow. Deep snow. Avalanche territory!

“Not happening,” Daric drawled, raising an eyebrow.

No. Of course it wasn’t. Hannah rolled her eyes at his arrogant stance and seemingly endless confidence that there was nothing he couldn’t do or accomplish. What she wouldn’t give right now for that kind of self-possession. After living most of her adult life taking care of Mark’s needs and never acknowledging her own, she no longer knew who she was or what she wanted. She had failed to accomplish much of anything in her life so far. She couldn’t even run
Temple’s
the way her father did.

“What does Hannah want?” The low, rumbling voice sounded next to her ear as Daric wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

What do I want?
It was the first time in her life any man had ever asked her that question. Even her father had never really asked, only gently encouraged her to reach for her own goals.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

“I’ll take you home right now if this isn’t what you want to do.” His arms tightened around her, his breath forming a visible cloud of white vapor in front her face.

No! No turning back. Hannah wanted to find her way, and maybe it started by taking this mountain. “It could get dark once the moon is blocked by the trees,” she answered, her eyes scanning her purposed path.

“It won’t.” Even as he uttered the words, the path lit up with artificial light, even though Hannah couldn’t see the source.

Do it, Hannah. You know you’re dying to go.

Daric loosened his hold around her waist. “I’ll be right behind you. Don’t second guess what you want. Your instincts are almost always correct. Trust them.”

Trust me.
Isn’t that what Daric was actually saying? Isn’t that what he was asking her to do?

“Yes,” he answered, his arms lowering away from her body.

Before she lost her nerve, Hannah struck the snow with her poles, lowered her goggles, and pushed herself off the mountain, plunging into some of the best fresh powder she had ever experienced. She started slowly, her confidence building as she navigated around obstacles, some of them disappearing before she even got to them.
Courtesy of Daric’s magic!

Hannah flew down the mountain, laughing as she tore up the snow, her leg working perfectly. Having Daric behind her, letting her lead the way was novel. She turned her head to the right, catching a glimpse of Daric tearing down the mountain slightly behind her, skiing like an Olympic Gold Medalist.

Exhilarated by her growing speed and confidence, she let herself enjoy the ride
.
She knew this moment in time, this magical experience, would stay with her forever. For the first time in a very long time, she was flying down a mountain just for the sake of enjoyment, tearing up snow just because she loved to do it. She wasn’t on patrol, she wasn’t helping Mark train, and for the first time since she had been a teenager, she actually felt free.

As Hannah neared the bottom of the mountain, she felt tears form in her eyes. Coming to a halt, snowing spraying around her from her quick maneuver, she pulled her goggles up to swipe at her eyes with a gloved hand. She was panting from exertion, her body no longer in condition to tackle a run that required that much physical strength. She gripped her thighs, laughing, trying to catch her breath. Her head was down, but she saw Daric’s feet planted next to hers, his skis gone, replaced with the black boots he had previously been wearing.

Hannah straightened, still breathless but slowly recovering, her heart still pounding. “Thank you for this.” She met Daric’s eyes, not quite sure how to express what this experience had meant to her or how to tell him that it had a significance far greater than just skiing down a mountain.

“Don’t.” He speared her with a dark glance. “I already know. Why do you think we’re here? You’ve spent enough time in the shadows of another, never pleasing yourself. What does Hannah want?”

You.
The word fluttered through her mind instinctively, automatically. “I didn’t really want to leave Temple. I wanted to stay here and learn how to run a business from my father. Vail and Olympic training were Mark’s dream. I was never happy there.”
I was never happy with him.
It had never truly been the location or her occupation. The problem had been her relationship with Mark.

“He never valued you. Never protected you or loved you. Why did you go if you didn’t want to?” Hannah’s ski equipment disappeared, and Daric moved closer, pinning her between his body and the trunk of a large tree, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Mark and I grew up together. We were childhood friends. I guess we just gradually became a couple. He was all I knew.” Even as she spoke, Hannah realized that even from a very young age, Mark had somehow convinced her that she needed him, and she had believed it. Somewhere along the line of their very long relationship, Hannah had lost herself. “He didn’t value me because I stopped valuing myself.” Tears flowed from her eyes, blurring Daric’s face. “All those years wasted. Time with my father that I can never get back again. I rarely even saw my dad because Mark didn’t like him.”

Daric wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly in his embrace as he grumbled, “I’ll kill the son of a bitch for you.”

Hannah didn’t doubt it for a moment, and she smiled through her tears as she buried her face against Daric’s warm chest, her heart leaping at his defense and outrage for her sake. “No. He’s not worth a moment of your pain. I made the choice and it was the wrong one.”

“You won’t think about him again.” Daric’s tone was demanding, as though issuing a royal declaration. “If thoughts of him distress you again, I’ll kill him.”

Daric’s body was fiery hot, even in the bitter cold atmosphere, and Hannah snuggled against him, her heart hammering. No man had ever treated her as though she were precious and cherished, but this man, a male she had only known for a day, treated her like she was everything to him. It was tempting, intoxicating.

“You’re my mate, Hannah. There is nothing or no one on this earth more important to me than you.” His voice was husky, and radiating with raw emotion.

“I thought you refused me.” The words struck Hannah straight in the heart.

“I can’t.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, his eyes clashing with hers in a volatile meeting. “My fate is in your hands, Hannah. I want you, therefore I can’t refuse you.”

She shivered as she held his gaze, feeling as if she were drowning in his heated eyes. His loneliness called to her, beckoned her closer with every second that passed. Her heart aching at the thought of leaving this strong, powerful man vulnerable, she whispered, “What do we do?”

“That will be for you to decide. I’m an Ancient. On my good days, I’m just an asshole. On my bad days, I can be a vampire healer’s worst nightmare,” he replied, his voice as menacing as the scowl on his face.

Hannah knew Daric was arrogant, demanding and probably occasionally harsh, but she couldn’t manage to connect the man she getting to know with his own description. Daric was just…Daric. And there was so much emotion beneath his gruff exterior. He wasn’t a man she feared. He was her protector, her champion, the first man who had ever considered her feelings. And Hannah was fairly certain that even without the mating instinct, she would still think him the hottest man, or vampire, to walk the planet. She had always believed that sex was highly overrated, over in minutes and not particularly exciting. Now, she wasn’t quite certain she was correct in that assumption.

Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Will I get the asshole, or will you be my nightmare?” She needed to get her mind off the erotic thoughts that were starting to swamp her brain.

He shrugged his massive shoulders. “Depends on how difficult you decide to be.”

“I won’t follow your every command.” Never again would she walk in a man’s shadow.

“That isn’t what I want. I want you to do whatever makes you happy. But know this…I will be protective, high-handed and I will try to keep you from harm by every means available to me. This is a supposed to be a lull period of mating for me, a time to court you. But my need grows stronger every second, and eventually I will have a difficult time trying to control it. I already consider you mine. I’m just trying to wait for you to make the same decision.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “You’re getting cold. Let’s go home.”

After that speech, Hannah was far from cold. The thought of Daric wanting her so desperately soaked her panties and stole her breath from her lungs. She closed her eyes as he held her tightly against him.