Dark Gold (38 page)

He felt her body clench in anticipation, and his teeth scraped gently back and forth until she moaned and caught at his head with both hands. Satisfaction gleamed in his golden eyes. His tongue stroked her pulse as his body moved in hers. He thrust his hips harder and harder.

"Aidan!" Her soft cry was a plea.

"Not yet,
cara
, not yet." With his great strength he stood, taking her with him, the water sluicing down into the tub. Her legs circled his body, her hands around his neck, and he thrust harder still, over and over, wanting every inch of him inside her.

Her nails dug into his shoulders, an exquisite pain. He leaned her against the wall for better leverage, his hips savage, relentless, frenzied. His teeth scraped, nipped. Then she cried out at the piercing pain, so sweet and sensual, as his fangs buried themselves deeply, claiming her blood as voraciously as his body was claiming hers.

She had driven him wild, and his predatory nature took over, the untamed male of his species, dominant possessive, claiming his mate. His mouth worked at her throat, taking her very essence as her body took his, dragging at him, tightening around him, clenching and demanding until he had to cry out with the intensity of the pleasure. Ruby droplets trickled down the swell of her breast, and his tongue followed the trail.

Alexandria was spiraling into the night itself. The ferocity of Aidan's lovemaking should have terrified her, but she matched his intensity, beat for beat, her fists wrapped in his blond hair, her body wrapped around his tightly, her cries muffled against his shoulder.

His shout, husky with passion, rose to the heavens, carried on the wind. And as he held her, breathing hard, leaning both of them against the wall, from far off in the night came a reply. Of anger. Rage. A howl of the suddenly ferocious wind. The sound clawed at them, filled with hate.

Frightened, Alexandria looked toward the window. "Did you hear that?"

Slowly, reluctantly, he lowered her to her feet, his arm still circling her waist. "Yes, I heard," he admitted grimly.

Outside, the clouds began to darken ominously, malignantly. Hail the size of fists beat at the roof and windows. Instinctively Aidan turned her, standing protectively in front of her lest the ice break through and harm her.

"Is it Gregori?" she whispered, remembering the awesome power clinging to the man, seeping from his very pores.

Aidan shook his head. "If Gregori wanted us dead, Alexandria, we would be long gone from this world. No, this is the last one of the group of undead who entered the city together, for what purpose I do not know. With the incredible hearing of our race, I guess he did not like the joy we shared."

"He sounded dangerous," she said. "Like a wounded bear."

Aidan tilted her chin up, his golden eyes moving over her face possessively, tenderly. "He is dangerous,
piccola
. That is why I must hunt his kind and see to it that they do not cause the world misery."

Looking down at her upturned face, her lips swollen and her cheeks flushed from his lovemaking, he couldn't resist lowering his head to hers, claiming her mouth with a gentle kiss. "Thank you,
cara
, for ridding me of my own particular demons."

She sank back into the tub, its jets now silent, and looked up at him with her enormous eyes. "Could he… kill you?"

"I suppose, if I became careless." He sat down opposite her, the water rising with his weight. "But I will not be careless,
piccola
, not even for a moment. Tomorrow night I must hunt him. He is waiting for me."

"How do you know?"

He shrugged casually. They might have been discussing the weather. "He would never have sent a challenge if he had not devised a trap. I have acquired a certain… reputation among the undead."

She drew up her knees and rested her chin on them. "I wish he would just go away, find another city to terrorize."

He shook his head, his golden eyes loving. "No, you do not. Besides, I would never allow him to kill wantonly anywhere nearby. My work often involves travel, you know."

"He's the serial killer who's been in the papers recently, isn't he?" she guessed shrewdly.

"One of them. The others are dead now."

She twisted her fingers together in agitation.

Aidan laced a hand through hers reassuringly. "Do not worry, Alexandria. I will protect you from him."

"It isn't that. I know you will. It's just that now that I know you, now that I've met Gregori and I know what causes someone to turn vampire, isn't there any way to… to cure them?"

He shook his head sadly. "I know you feel sorrow for them and for those of us who must destroy them, but in most cases it is a conscious choice on their part. And once a kill has been made during the taking of blood, there is no way back."

She met his eyes squarely. "Gregori has done so."

His golden gaze was suddenly cold and speculative. "That is impossible."

"I know he has. He regrets it bitterly, and it eats away at him, but he has killed someone evil using that method. I

know, Aidan, really. I sometimes see things in people that others can't."

"Is he turned?" His voice was quiet, lacking inflection, and he was very still as he awaited her answer.

She shook her head. "He thinks he's evil, but he has tremendous compassion in him. But he is dangerous, Aidan. Very dangerous."

"Vampires are adept at hiding the truth. They are consummate liars. You are certain Gregori has not turned?"

She nodded. "I was afraid of him. He's afraid of himself. As he said, he's like a tiger, unpredictable and dangerous. But he's not evil."

Outside, clouds were blackening the gray dawn sky. Aidan smiled smugly and waved a hand, and instantly the clouds began to disperse. "The remaining vampire thinks to intimidate me with a display of power, and I allow it to lull him into a false sense of security. But the dawn is upon us, and he must seek the shelter of the earth."

Alexandria relaxed a little. She didn't like to think the vampire could be just outside their window, listening to their conversation.

Aidan shook his head. "If he were that close,
piccola
, I would know."

She laughed. "I still forget you can read my thoughts. Sometimes it's very disconcerting."

"Sometimes it can be very interesting." His strange, brilliant eyes gleamed at her, sending a blush spreading over her entire body.

"Your mind is interesting, too," she agreed, a smile curving her mouth. "It has all sorts of interesting ideas."

"We are just getting started," he said softly. He leaned toward her, cupping one breast in his hand, his thumb feathering over the hard peak. "I love touching you, being able to touch you whenever I wish." His fingertip brushed her throat, the mark he had deliberately left on her.

She felt his touch through her entire body. "You should be outlawed, Aidan. You know, all my recent sketches for Thomas Ivan's characters took on your look. I couldn't help myself. Do you think Thomas will notice?"

His eyes glittered at her. "Thomas Ivan is an idiot."

"His concepts are both innovative and popular, and he happens to be my boss," she said firmly. "You're just jealous."

"One of my more annoying habits, no doubt. I do not intend to share you, Alexandria." Abruptly he released her. "I do not want another man touching you."

"Working together does not mean sleeping together," she pointed out patiently, secretly knowing that she would readily break off even the work relationship with Ivan if it truly caused Aidan deep distress.

"And you believe he will accept that?"

"He'll have no choice. I'll tell him you and I are engaged. He'll have to accept it."

"I will make arrangements to marry you tomorrow morning. I have a few friends who can speed up the process, and we will take care of the license and have done with it."

She sat back, her sapphire eyes suddenly spitting fire. "Have done with it?
Have done with it
?" She repeated his words, unable to believe he had actually said them. Right now she wouldn't marry him if he were the last man on earth. "I wasn't asking for any favors or a commitment from you, Aidan. Nor do you have to protect my honor."

He was watching her carefully, all at once still. "We have the ultimate commitment between us, Alexandria. We are lifemates for all eternity. We will remain together until together we choose to meet the sun. But your very imaginative, idiotic-boss would not respect that bond, would not even understand it. He will, however, understand the human ceremony of marriage."

"I don't understand this lifemate business, either. Yet, like Thomas, I do understand the sacrament of marriage. Not that you asked me. Not that you respect the institution I was raised to believe in. I find your attitude extremely insulting, Aidan." She was working at hiding her hurt from him, but her expressive face, the glittering sheen to her eyes, would have given her away even if he had not been able to read her thoughts.

He shook his head sadly. "We share everything, Alexandria, including our thoughts. I have unintentionally hurt you, and I certainly did not mean to do so."

She stood up, water pouring from her skin. "We may share our thoughts, but we don't seem to understand one another." Grabbing a towel, she wrapped it around her like a sarong, her eyes studiously avoiding his.

"I think perhaps we do. You would have liked me to ask you to marry me in the human way." He reached out, a lazy rippling of muscles, and shackled her ankle with his fingers, a steely vise preventing her escape.

The oddly intimate act sent flames racing through her bloodstream. Alexandria resented his ability to turn her body to liquid fire with just a touch, just a look. She could feel the electricity arcing between them, see the hunger in his gaze.

She shook her head. "Don't, Aidan. This is important. You can't just hurt me anytime you like and then make love to me until I can't think straight."

At once his expression changed. He stood up so abruptly, she stepped back, intimidated by his sheer size. "Do not do that,
cara mia
." His voice was a caress, a plea. "Do not ever fear me. I would never willingly hurt you. We are already one. I thought you understood that. You are irrevocably tied to me for all time. It is a much deeper and stronger tie than a marriage ceremony. I must admit, I should have considered that you would have thought the marriage ceremony important, but I was assuming, as you are now Carpathian, you would realize that we are already 'married,' bound together for all time. It was done the moment the ancient words were spoken. The ritual was completed when we shared our blood, our hearts, our body and soul. But the words alone were irrevocably binding. It is the 'marriage ceremony' of our people."

His arms swept around her stiff, resisting frame. "Forgive the presumption,
cara
, and know that I want to marry you in the human ceremony because it is important to you."

His mesmerizing voice washed over her like water, cleansing away her resentment as if it had never been.

Alexandria rested against him, pressing close for comfort. "This life is so scary, Aidan, I want as many things as possible to be normal, or almost the same as they were. Just simple familiar things. I can handle it better that way."

"You know,
piccola
," he teased, brushing her cheek with gentle fingers, "Carpathian men never ask their mates. They simply claim them. But shall I ask you formally?"

She rubbed her face against his chest. "It would mean a lot to me if you would," she admitted.

"So I guess I had better do it right," he said softly, taking her hand and going down on one knee. "Alexandria, my only love, will you marry me tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, Aidan," she replied demurely. Then she spoiled the effect by laughing. "But we have to have blood tests. You can't just get married in a minute."

He rose.

"You forget the power of mind persuasion. We will be married tomorrow morning. Now get dressed,
cara
. You are tempting me all over again." His hands wandered down her slender body to caress her bottom.

Her smile was slightly wry. "You're going to give me all kinds of trouble with your chauvinistic ways, aren't you?"

He laughed in answer. "I was just thinking you were going to give
me
all kinds of trouble with your independent thinking."

She tilted her chin. "You have heard the word
compromise
before, haven't you? You do comprehend its meaning?"

He looked thoughtful, taking his time before replying. "As I understand it,
compromise
means you do what I say as soon as I command it. Is that about right?"

Alexandria pushed at the solid wall of his chest. "You wish, Mr. Savage. It's never going to happen."

He pinned her arms to her sides and nuzzled the top of her head. "We will see, my love. We will see."

Laughing, Alexandria pulled away from him and began to dress. The dawn was brightening the sky, and with it came the terrible lethargy she was becoming familiar with. She wanted to see Joshua, to have normal mornings with her brother. Dress him, feed him, spend time with him before he went off to school.

Aidan allowed her to escape him, letting her keep her illusions of normalcy as long as possible. He liked to see the happiness in her, and he had a bad feeling about the vampire's blatant challenge. The creature was up to something. He was the last one remaining from the group that had come to the city, terrorizing the population and leading the police on a wild goose chase. The vampire was not stupid; he would have studied Aidan and his strengths and weaknesses before issuing such a challenge. What was the undead up to?

He glided through the house silently, inspecting each entrance, window, and pathway leading to the house. Every safeguard was in place. The house was impenetrable, even with him sleeping beneath the earth in his secret chamber. No, the vampire could not strike at the house. Where, then?

He followed the sound of hoeing and found Stefan in the huge garden. Whenever he was upset or tired, Stefan gravitated to tending his plants.