Dark Peril (32 page)

He lifted her into his arms, cradling her close to his chest. “Yes.”

She stared into his compelling eyes. He didn’t move or speak. Just waited. She was coming to know him now. He didn’t mind the time it took for her to figure things out. If she needed time, he provided it. Something inside her shifted. She felt a little exposed; that small nugget of trust was taking hold, and it made her so vulnerable to him. She’d never allowed herself to need anyone; it was too easy for death to take them. She’d learned that lesson at a very early age. No one was safe. Not parents, not baby brothers. Not best friends. No one. If she dared to love them, they soon were torn from her.

“You didn’t let me give back to you,” she whispered.

“You have given me more than you can know,
kessake
. You are exhausted. We will rest now, and tomorrow you will eat properly.”

She smiled at him, too tired to point out that he sounded like he was giving orders. And maybe he was. But right now, she desperately needed to go to sleep. She didn’t even care that he opened the ground and floated them down into it, holding her close.

13

My dream lover and lifemate,
You know every part of me.
We’re bound forever, soul to soul.
You hold the very heart of me.

DOMINIC TO SOLANGE

D
ominic lay without breath one moment, and then the next his heart began a strong rhythm, air pushed through his lungs and his eyes snapped open. Fully alert, he dropped his fingers into the soft thick fur covering him. Sometime during the day Solange had shifted to her jaguar form. Something had disturbed her enough that she felt she might need her animal form to protect them while he slept.

Minan
, are you awake?
He poured love into his voice. The sun had not yet set, but it was close. His body felt the prickle of awareness that told him the night sky had not yet descended to keep his skin protected.

Do you hear them? Is that what woke you? They have been working around the cave entrance for some time, but your safeguards are holding. Brodrick is not with them.

The female jaguar lifted her muzzle and stretched languidly, as only a cat could do, but she unsheathed her claws, testing them as well. The ropes of sleek muscles rippled beneath her luxurious pelt of rich tawny color and dark rosettes.

There is no need for you to rise yet,
she added.
I can lead them away if they get too close. I’ve been thinking the situation over and I know where I’ll take them.

That was his woman. Calm. Matter-of-fact when it came to facing death. She could handle a fearsome battle with such ease, and yet when she faced him as a woman, she was shy and vulnerable. The contrast between her two sides was one of the many things he found intriguing about her. She was his woman alone. No other man would ever see her body, sexy and soft and flushed with color, so aroused, just for him alone. She would never get that confused, dazed look in her eyes for anyone else. The Solange the world saw was only one side of her; he had both, and that pleased him immensely.

“I was hoping to wake you with a kiss this morning.” His amusement spilled over into his voice.

The jaguar turned her head toward him, mischief in her brilliant green eyes. Her long tongue came out and rasped over his face. He burst out laughing. The jaguar grinned at him, very pleased with her work. Dominic shoved her off him, using his enormous strength, tumbling the cat off of his body and into the rich soil, and then he dove on top of her.

Solange twisted out of his way so that he landed in a crouch a foot from her. She kept rolling, came to her feet and sprang at him. He dissolved into vapor.

That is
so
cheating,
she accused, her cat’s eyes watching the vapor stream out of the deep pit up to the cavern floor. He knew she didn’t mind. She had her own skills. She could leap a good twenty feet and run up to thirty miles an hour. She had a flexible spine and radar that said he was . . . His soft laughter taunted her. She was looking in the wrong spot.

She leapt to the surface after him, looking around for him. She could smell him but not see him. She looked up. Dominic dropped from the ceiling and landed astride her back, wrapping his legs around her belly and his arms tightly around her neck. She rolled instantly, over and over, felt his hold loosen. Using her enormous strength, she sprang a good ten feet straight into the air, came down with her head toward the ground and threw him over her muzzle. He landed on his back, and before he could dissolve again, she pounced on his chest.

Laughing, he literally lifted her, tossing her through the air, somersaulting and coming up onto his feet. She was fast and strong and he could feel joy bursting through him at their rough-and-tumble play. He had all but forgotten playing.

Solange twisted in midair, landed across the room and charged, standing up on her hind legs at the last moment as they came together, her large front paws on his broad shoulders, his hands on hers. They danced in a circle, each exerting force on the other, trying to push the other over. Dominic suddenly went in close, belly to belly, wrapping his arms around her, aching for her unexpectedly.

Shift. I want to feel you shifting into my arms.
He knew there was seduction in his voice. His body was unrelenting in its need of hers, and the urgent demands were becoming more difficult to ignore, even with his centuries of discipline. He wanted to wake up to her soft lush curves, even if he couldn’t have her yet. It was necessary to kiss the perfection of her mouth, and if he’d unconsciously used his hypnotic voice—which had little effect on her royal . . . bloodline—he couldn’t help it.

She laughed softly, the sound shimmering through every nerve ending in his body. He felt her mind slide against his.
You were thinking “royal pain in the ass,” but changed your mind just in case I was listening in, didn’t you?
He rubbed his head against the thick, rich fur of the jaguar’s muzzle.

He rubbed his head against the thick, rich fur of the jaguar’s muzzle.
I was thinking about your beautiful bottom, that much is true. Shift, right now, while I am holding you.
It was an extremely difficult maneuver, just as shifting on the run was.

Are you challenging me? I could do it, you know.

He felt her glow at his certainty. Her mind turned softer, more intimate, and she opened more to him, as if his approval of her allowed her to relax in his company just a little more.

I’ll be of more help hunting in this form.

True, and you can shift back when we go, but right now I would like to hold my woman and tell her good evening.
Which was all true, although he wanted to map her body with his hands—and his mouth—and commit every curve and valley to memory for all time.

He felt the movement in her mind first, that initial breathtaking moment when the woman reached for her form; the quick, intelligent mind; the soft, almost shy beginnings of sensuality; of awareness; the hesitation of finding herself naked in his arms; the quick summoning of courage to do as he asked—because she loved pleasing him. She craved the approval in his eyes, in his mind, and that small smile he always gave her when she did something he asked. That was not only humbling, but a tremendous responsibility.

He felt the wrench in her bones, heard the popping and cracking of a shifter in transformation. Fur slid along his arms and chest and then receded. The muzzle retracted. The jaguar turned her head away from him, dropping her chin to protect her exposed throat.

Look at me. Look into my eyes.
He could not lose the intensity of the moment. Seeing her come to him. He
needed
this moment. He had to look into her cat’s eyes and see his woman coming to him. Emerging for him alone. She would never do such a thing near anyone else, let someone witness the total vulnerability of such a moment when she was completely at his mercy, unable to protect herself as jaguar or human.

Those amazing green eyes glittered at him. All intelligence. Seeing him—inside of him. He locked gazes with her, holding her to him in her most defenseless moment, seeing the wrenching fear, drinking in her fight to trust him with her life, with the very essence of who she really was. He knew she was fighting her own nature, that elusive, wild nature that insisted she remain secretive, hidden from the world. But for him, she fought to expose herself in her weakest position. Her eyes changed subtly, still tilted, still enormous, but far more human. She looked almost terrified, but she didn’t look away, nor did she flinch from him as her much more petite shape slid against his.

Dominic held her silky soft curves tight against the hardness of his body, watching the expression in her eyes change from fear to joy. Her long lashes fluttered, and that sweet shyness slipped into those brilliant green eyes, a look that sent every protective instinct he had rushing to the surface. Still holding her gaze, he bent his head to hers, taking his time, inch by slow inch, waiting to see her find her natural sensuality. He needed her to want him just as much as he needed the soil that each day rejuvenated him.

Her eyes went slumberous, sexy. Her lips parted in anticipation. He took her breath as his lips settled over hers. His hands slid down to the curves of her very royal bottom and he lifted her up around his waist, all while his mouth kept possession of hers.

He was very hard, his erection full and painful, and for a moment he rested her heated entrance right over the throbbing, mushroom head of his cock, the temptation almost more than he could bear. But she had to know for certain he was what she wanted, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it to himself, she still didn’t have full trust in him. She hadn’t given herself over completely to him.

He set her back on the woven rug, his hands skimming her body as he kissed her. When he lifted his head, she looked a little dazed, confused and even disappointed.

“Good evening, Solange,” he greeted.

Her half-smile turned to a frown when her gaze dropped to the heavy erection grazing her stomach. “I don’t understand. You clearly want me.”

“Yes.” He smiled down at her, his thumb tracing that little frown on her face.

“I want you.”

“A little. Not enough. You have doubts, Solange.”

Her gaze shifted from his, just a small flick, but it was enough to tell him he was right. She shook her head. “I do want you. My body is in a constant state of arousal.”

That had been difficult for her to admit. He could tell she had to make a tremendous effort to tell him the truth, but he felt triumphant that she had. She was far closer to accepting him than he had realized.

“As is mine,” he agreed. “The difference,
kessake
, is that I
need
to take care of your needs. You want to take care of your own needs as well.”

She opened her mouth to protest and then abruptly closed it, her frown deepening. She studied his face and then her gaze drifted back to his very large, unashamed erection. “Isn’t it supposed to be mutual?”

“Not for me. I need to feel your acceptance, Solange. In your mind, in your heart. In your very soul. When you burn to please me, when it is the only thing that matters to you, then I will know you accept me.”

“I do accept you, Dominic.” Her lashes lowered and her bottom lip trembled slightly.

He stroked his fingers down her cheek, infinitely gentle. “When I take your body, Solange, there can be no room for doubt in your mind. No matter what I ask of you, you will trust me enough to do it without question because you will know every single thought I have is for you. Your safety. Your health. Your comfort. If I made love to you now, it would satisfy your body, but you would still question whether I love you for yourself or because I have to.”

She flinched. He’d definitely read her correctly. She was worried about that. She didn’t understand how he could fall in love with her. She didn’t even believe it was possible.

“I’m not a nice person, Dominic.”

He caught her chin in his hand and forced her head up until her green gaze met his. “Neither am I, Solange. Not in the way polite society would view me. I take lives just as you do. I make life-and-death decisions every day and have for centuries. I do not doubt myself in the way you do, perhaps because I have been chasing the undead for so long.”

“It isn’t the same thing. Jaguar-men are my own people.”

“I killed my best friend while I still had my emotions, Solange. And I would have killed Zacarias had you not interfered. You saved his life.”

She sighed. “I just don’t want you to have a false impression of who I am.”

He laughed softly. “I look into your mind and see a beautiful soul. You shine for me. Now get dressed in one of your robes and eat something. We will be hunting later.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. Just as she turned, she brushed her fingers over his heavy erection. His cock jerked. Every nerve ending fired. She gave him a sassy smile and walked to the small alcove, and her hips held a definite enticing sway. He couldn’t stop the predatory smile.

He watched as she pulled out the long red metallic duster. “The green one. I want to see if it matches your eyes.”

“The green one?”

There was a little hiccup in her voice. She wasn’t quite ready to put on a micromini and parade around in front of him with nothing else but the formfitting, ultra-revealing sheath. He was pushing her comfort zone, hard, but he wasn’t certain how much longer he could hold out. He had gone from wanting her trust to
needing
it.

Solange moistened her lips, but didn’t turn around. She hesitated, but managed to force herself to put the red duster back and pull the green ladder dress out. It took a little wiggling to get it over her hips. The stretchy material clung to every curve. The ladder, made of thin strips, crept down the front and back, leaving much of her skin bare. The spaghetti straps settled onto her shoulders as if made for her, which, she realized, it had been. That gave her a little more confidence.