Dark Promises (Dark #29) (35 page)

He felt her move, even with the tears in her eyes, reaching up to his shoulder where the ragged tears were, her tongue instinctively lapping to use the healing saliva in her mouth to close those lacerations. Then she was holding his face between her hands, doing the same thing, ignoring that they were in the air, air that grew steadily colder as he went up the mountain to his chosen lair. All the while she wept while she healed his face, and then sought out every other place on his body, examining his back for evidence of the knife wound, eventually finding even the smallest cuts to heal.

By the time he reached the safety of his cave, set the safeguards and had
her on the bed, her head in his lap while he tried to comfort her, he honestly didn't know who was more upset—Gabrielle or him.

“That is enough,
kislány
. You are going to make yourself sick and there is no need for these tears. I am just fine. So are you. Nothing happened.”

Her fingers balled into a fist and she thumped his thigh. “Something happened,” she declared through her sobs. “I have to go. I have to leave you. I can't stay here with you.”

He tensed. Huge knots formed in his belly. His hands tightened convulsively in the thick mass of her hair. He made himself breathe. In. Out. Waiting for the fury to pass. Waiting for his demons to quiet.

“Gabrielle, you are my lifemate. We do not leave each other. Talk to me. Tell me what is going on in that head of yours. I am being polite and allowing you your space, but if you cannot stop, I will have no choice but to take this information from you so I can stop you from making yourself sick. Talk to me.”

“I can't do this. I should never have been converted.” She covered her face with her hands and sobbed, great wrenching, heartbreaking sobs.

Aleksei's fingers sifted through her hair, keeping her head on his lap, breathing in and out to keep his demons at bay. His woman was hurting.
Hurting.
That was unacceptable to him. “My little cat, you are my lifemate. You were born my lifemate. You belong in my world with me. What makes you think you do not?”

She wrapped her arms tighter around his legs. “I didn't help you. I should have been able to help you when you needed it. Joie, my sister, would have jumped right in.”

Aleksei stroked caresses through that mass of dark silk.
“Kislány.”
He whispered the endearment softly. “You
did
try to jump right in. I prevented it.”

“The difference . . .” She tried to sit up, to pull away from him.

Aleksei refused to allow it. He kept his hand on her head, preventing her from moving. He applied pressure until she subsided, collapsing against his thighs with another sob, as if even her inability to fight his strength was a sin.

“The difference,” she repeated, “is you would have
allowed
my sister to help because she would know how. She wouldn't throw up. She wouldn't be a disadvantage to you, she would be an asset.”

Another storm of weeping ensued. This time Aleksei pulled her up so that her face was pressed into his chest. He wrapped her up tightly. “That is enough. I allowed all those tears because you needed the release. You were shocked by the violence and afraid for me, but now you are just going to make yourself sick. Stop. I mean it, Gabrielle.”

Her fingers curled into a fist and she thumped his chest. “You can't tell me to stop crying and expect me to obey.”

“Yes I can,
kislány
. Stop right now. You obviously do not understand the concept of lifemates, and we need to be very clear on this. I need you to look at me, not hide your face. I do not want tears in your eyes when I talk to you about this. I need to be able to see that you are getting it.”

She pressed her face deeper into his shirt. He felt the wetness of her tears, and he gave her time to obey him. The seconds seemed like hours before she finally took several deep, hiccupping breaths and lifted her face, drawing in the air to try to obey him. His fingers came up under that heavy fall of silk to curl around the nape of her neck. She was beautiful, even with her tear-drenched face. Her large eyes met his and he felt that impact in the pit of his stomach. His body stirred as it always did when she looked at him. When she was close to him. Anytime.

He stroked a caress down her cheek with his free hand, as if he could wipe away every tear. “
This
is why you are my lifemate, Gabrielle. Not your sister. Your sister would never suit me. We would not ever fit.
You
fit with me. When I tell you to do something, no matter how difficult, you do your best for me. Did you think I did not feel your struggle to stay still when I was in battle? You tried hard for me. Your nature, whether you know what you are doing or not, is to aid others. But you tried to do as I asked.”

“Ordered,” she corrected, sounding a little miffed.

He didn't smile, although he wanted to. “Ordered,” he agreed. “I am a man who will order his woman and expect obedience. I will also take great care of her, always. In every way. I will see to her happiness because,
kislány
, by giving me that, by giving me her obedience when I need it, she is making me happy.”

“I told you I'm not certain I can do obedience.”

He did laugh then. Softly. Gently. So that she would know she meant everything to him and he wasn't laughing at her. “I get that, Gabrielle. But
you
try
. That is what makes it such a gift. If it were easy for you, if it did not matter to you that I was in trouble and you stayed on the sidelines because obedience was easy, it would mean nothing. You needed to help me and yet you fought to do as I asked.”

“But in the end, I disobeyed.”

“I am certain you will disobey me often. It is the gift that it is difficult and you try that matters to me, not the actual doing. Although, in a battle, I will never allow you to aid me. I am not that kind of lifemate nor will I ever be. My woman stays safe where I put her. There is no discussion about that. There never will be. Your sister would never suit me, Gabrielle. Not in a million years. I would not want a woman who could battle at my side. I am too much of a . . .”

“Chauvinist?”

He laughed and brushed a kiss on her mouth. Her sweet mouth that always tempted him. “I was going to say protector, but chauvinist will do.”

“I hated that. I hated knowing you could be killed, that you were being burned to the bone by the vampire's blood. That Vaugn was repeatedly stabbing that knife into your back.” She shuddered, her hand moving over his face, gently touching the lacerations that were no longer open, but still raw.

There was tenderness in her touch. In her eyes. His heart shifted in his chest. She'd never looked at him with that particular expression. Soft. Loving even. He didn't want to think that word. He didn't know if he could take the disappointment of her not feeling that emotion, so he stayed out of her mind. Giving her space. Giving her time.

G
abrielle shifted positions, climbing onto Aleksei's lap. Straddling him. Fitting her body tightly to his. He seemed to always be hard for her. Ready for her. She leaned into him, grinding her mound against his hard bulge while she gently kissed each scratch and tear on his face. She didn't know what she was feeling, only that she felt full. Completed. Whole. And he made her feel that way.

“Do you mean it, Aleksei? You aren't disappointed that you didn't get a woman who could fight by your side?”

“It is impossible to be disappointed in you,
kislány
.”

Aleksei slid his hands down her body, from beneath her arms to her hips, taking her clothing with it. He bent his head to capture her mouth. “We do not have a lot of time, little cat, and there are things I want to do to you. Things I need from you, so this time, you will give that to me.” He murmured the command against her lips, his hands spanning her waist.

“I already gave you obedience,” she pointed out, her mouth seeking his.

He lifted her easily and deposited her on the bed, following her down, his mouth on hers, his much heavier body pinning hers.
I see the allure of beds for humans.

Nice. Right?
She lost herself in his mouth. In all that heat and fire. She
couldn't believe anyone could kiss like him. When he kissed her, if he asked her for the moon, she would have tried to find a way to give it to him.

Very nice.

Aleksei kissed his way down to her throat.
Put your hands above your head, kislány, I like the way it lifts your breasts, like a wonderful offering. I intend to take my time, what time we have before we have to return to the monastery, worshiping your body. I want your eyes on me at all times. Do not look away.

Gabrielle stared into his eyes. So green. So filled with desire. Desire so intense, she felt her body instantly dampen in response. Not taking her eyes from his, she slowly complied, lifting her arms above her head.

She had no idea how much time passed or how many times her body gave him exactly what he demanded. His mouth, his teeth, his tongue and his fingers were everywhere, claiming her, pushing her up over and over, until one climax ran into another. Until she thought she might die before he actually took her. Until she was writhing on the bed, sobbing his name, pleading with him.

Tell me who your lifemate is,
he demanded, dragging her down the bed, kneeling as he threw her legs over his shoulders, putting her in a vulnerable position. He guided the head of his cock to her dripping entrance.
Leave your hands where I told you, Gabrielle.
His voice was a whip, hard and authoritative after he had pushed her so far from her comfort zone and she'd gone there with him.

“I can't,” she said, her head whipping back and forth. “I have to hold on to you.”

She reached for him, or tried to. She couldn't move her wrists from the mattress. Her gaze jumped back to his face. “Aleksei.” She breathed his name. Ragged. Panting. Writhing. He just held her there, suspended, his body against hers, and she tried to impale herself on him but he refused to allow it.

She fought for control, her breasts heaving, her lungs burning. “Please, Aleksei. Tell me what you want.”

“I want you to tell me who your lifemate is. And know it, Gabrielle. I am entering your mind when I enter your body. You had better know who you belong to.”

She licked her lips to moisten them. He was asking for more than her
body. She knew that. She didn't care. She might be the most fickle person on the face of the earth, but this man had found his way inside of her. Soul to soul. She would always love Gary. She knew that and accepted it, but she would love him differently, as the man who saw her and saved her when no one else could see her.

“You're my lifemate, Aleksei,” she whispered. She gave him truth. She opened her mind to him. Let him see her. Let him see how she loved Gary and how, already, her love for her lifemate was so intense, so beyond anything she could have imagined, that she knew he wouldn't be worried about her feelings for Gary.

“He is lost to you,” Aleksei said softly. “Beyond any emotion now. Perhaps his memories of you will keep him safe on whatever path fate has for him. But you are mine. Fully and completely mine.”

She nodded. She knew that. “Yours, Aleksei, and I'm burning up. I need you right now.”

He answered her the only way Aleksei ever answered—his way. He took her hard and fast and deep. Somewhere in the middle of her body coming apart again and again, she realized he'd given her back her hands and she used them well, holding on to him, digging her nails into him every time he took her over the edge and continued pounding into her until she was screaming, her cries echoing through the chamber.

She felt him stretching her more. Impossibly. Her breath caught so she couldn't cry out, but her eyes never left his. She saw it moving over him, through him. She felt it, the crushing wave of pleasure, of bliss, that swept upward from his toes and downward from his head, to come together in a crashing wave so huge, it swept both of them away.

He buried his face in her neck, letting her take his full weight, holding her there for several long minutes before lifting his head to look down at her. He framed her face with his hands, using his elbows to prop him up. His green eyes blazed down into hers.

“You are good,
kislány
?” he asked.

Her heart turned over at the gentleness in his voice. “How could I not be good?” Her body was still rippling. She felt sated and loved and wrapped up completely in him.

“With us. Are you good? Do you understand the concept of a lifemate?
Not just anyone would suit my personality, or yours. We fit. We belong. You to me. Me to you. Most women couldn't possibly live with me.”

Gabrielle shook her head. “That's not true.”

“
Kislány.
It is. I am from ancient times when a man protected his woman and was expected to go out hunting while she waited at home, protecting the family. More, the man expected his woman to see to his needs and be happy doing it. You see to my needs and you are happy doing it.”

“You make that easy for me, Aleksei.”

“And when we live near others? Will it be easy for you then, when your family and your friends expect you to challenge me at every turn? When I refuse to allow your mother to throw her tantrums around you? When I will not back down and make certain not one single thing hurts or harms you in any way? Not just physically? Because, Gabrielle, that is what you can expect from me.”

“I know that. I've thought a lot about you and the way you are.” She had, too. She rubbed her hands up and down his arms, feeling the defined muscles there. He was a beautiful man and once she'd gotten over being worried about what everyone else might think of her relationship, she began to think about what she could live with, what would make
her
happy, given her nature.

“The thing is, at first your arrogant bossiness made me crazy . . .”

“
Arrogant
bossiness?” There was humor in his voice.

“You know you're arrogant, Aleksei, and you're definitely bossy.”

The smile faded from his face. “I want you to know what you are getting into, Gabrielle. I am not the kind of man to carry on idle conversation with others. I have never associated with humans and I do not have tolerance for people and the way they think they are entitled.”

She studied his face. He was very serious, but he wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know. “What are you trying to tell me, Aleksei?”

“I do not like that you think you are not a worthy lifemate for me. I will never put up with your mother, or anyone else, for that matter, intimidating you by throwing tantrums. Your father and your brother should have protected you. They did not. I will. If this woman, who I know you love, picks up an object and throws it at you or one of our children, I will take care of the problem once and for all. Do you understand? I do not want you to start our relationship thinking you got yourself someone nice.”

She touched his mouth with two fingers. “I would never describe you as nice, Aleksei. You can be sweet, though. I realized you taking charge made me feel safe for the first time in my life. I love my father and my brother. I do. I adore my sister. But in my home, growing up, I never felt safe. I never felt as if any of them would stand up for me against my mother. I might be wrong, because I never ever challenged her, but I
know
you would. I know you wouldn't let her throw things and maybe hit one of our children with whatever she throws. I know if I were upset by her behavior, you would definitely stop her. So I know, for you, for that kind of protection, for leaning so heavily on your strength, doing what you asked would never be a burden.”

His green eyes blazed down at her. Flared with heat. She felt his cock, deep inside her, jerk, stretch the tight walls of her channel, and it felt delicious. Perfect. So right.

“So you know I am not going to try to make people like me, even your family or friends. I do not care if anyone likes me.” His face softened and he bit her chin gently, sending another ripple of fire through her. “With the exception of you. I would much prefer it if you liked me.”

Gabrielle couldn't help it, she laughed softly. “I think you're safe, Aleksei. I'm pretty certain I like you.”

“That is good.” His body began a slow glide in hers. “I was worried.”

“You weren't in the least worried. If you thought I didn't like you, you'd just order me to get over it.” Her fingers dug into him. “You can't possibly start all over again.”

“I think you are wrong,
kislány
. I am fairly certain I can.”

Gabrielle burst out laughing, the sound ringing through the chamber. Her laughter was genuine and she realized she was happy. Really happy. She wasn't in a house with a white picket fence and a swing on the porch, she was in a cave high up in the Carpathian Mountains, and she was happier than she could ever remember.

She circled Aleksei's neck with her arms and pulled his head down to hers, her mouth finding his. He made it easy, and his kisses lit up her world. And she loved that, too. She gave herself up to him. To the fire he created. To the way he made her feel, safe and cherished. In a million years, she would never have believed Aleksei would have been the man to make her feel so happy.

She didn't know how much time passed. She was lost in his body, in the things he did to hers, but she felt it was all too soon before they were dressed and heading out of the cave. She paused at the entrance, looking back, knowing they were returning to the monastery, to that place of four walls and nothing else.

“Gabrielle?”

She turned back. Aleksei stood there, tall and wholly masculine, his long hair unbound, the wind moving through it just as she liked to sift her fingers through it. He held out his hand to her. She looked at it for a long moment. He had big hands, strong. So strong. She took a deep breath and put her hand in his. Aleksei pulled her to his side. Close. She liked how he always did that. He liked contact with her. A lot of contact. She slipped her arm around his waist.

“What is it?”

“I like it here. I don't like the monastery as well.” Honesty was the only way to go with Aleksei. She knew if she tried to avoid answering him, he would stand there forever until she either told him or he lost patience and looked in her mind for the answer.

“We will not be there forever. I know your work is important. As soon as possible, we will make a home closer to where you do your research.” He brought her hand up to his mouth, his lips skimming her knuckles. “We will have a beautiful home, Gabrielle. Anything you want.”

“Will you be gone a lot?” She couldn't keep the trepidation out of her voice.

He frowned. “Gone where? Where do you think I will go?”

“You hunt vampires.”

“I do not leave you. If I go somewhere, Gabrielle, you will be going with me.” There was a hard authority in his voice, as if he thought she was trying to get rid of him.

She leaned into him, circling his waist with her arm and tipping her head up to look at his face. “I'm glad. I don't want you going anywhere without me.”

“You know that Gary will not be working with you.” He made that a decree.

“He didn't want Gregori to convert him, even though he was so close to
death. He knew. I don't know how he did, but he said he was worth far more to the Carpathians as a human than as a Carpathian. He's a genius. His mind is incredible, Aleksei.” For a moment she forgot what Gary meant to Aleksei and that he might not like her being so enthusiastic about him. She clapped a hand over her mouth. “I'm sorry.” She whispered it. “I wasn't thinking.”

He gently pulled her hand from her mouth and held it tightly over his heart. “That is the first time you spoke of him as if he was a colleague you admired and not the man you wanted to spend your life with. After seeing your childhood, and how your life has been since, especially after you were converted, I am grateful you had his friendship. To know you had someone who cared about you makes me happy, Gabrielle, not upset. This man will not be able to feel, but he will remember you, and if he is the man I see in your mind, if that is his character, he will check on you to make certain you are happy. He will stay in contact, even if from a distance.”

“Will you be okay with that?” She didn't want Aleksei to be angry with her, or worse, fight with Gary.

“I have you. You gave yourself to me. A precious gift that I know you will never take back. I have you. He does not. And he never will. I know what it is like to love you, Gabrielle. He may not feel it, but he remembers it. That will always be very difficult for him.”

She swallowed hard. “You love me?” She couldn't believe that. How could he possibly have fallen in love with her when she'd . . .