Dark Storm (36 page)

If it had been just sex she’d had with Dax, she wouldn’t be so nervous. She’d given him her heart and soul. Basically she’d jumped off a cliff and had no idea if there was a safety net. He’d shatter her if he didn’t feel the same way about her that she felt about him. And there it was. The entire problem. He professed to feel the same way, and last night, she’d been in his mind and had been so certain, but today, she could hardly bear being away from him.

The separation clawed at her. She found she couldn’t turn her mind away from him. She felt as if she were holding her breath, waiting for his arrival. She detested that the women in her family were so close to their mates that they wanted to be with them every moment. She had made herself into an independent woman, well educated, able to take care of herself. She spent time with friends and truly enjoyed their company. She wasn’t dependent on a man for fun, or for her livelihood. Her ancestors had all died within weeks of their husbands—even her own mother.

Riley had been so determined she would never be the same way and yet … she was
obsessed
with Dax. She
needed
to see him. She rubbed her hands over her face again, trying to think clearly, to assess the situation. There was no going back and if she could, she knew she wouldn’t. She was in love with him, more than in love. The moment his mind had shared hers, she was lost. There was no being alone ever again. She had only to reach for him and he was there. His devotion to her was easy to read. Dax didn’t attempt to hide his need or his admiration of her. For him, there truly was only Riley.

She pulled the first aid kit from her pack and picked through it until she found the allergy cream. So why was she upset? She had no real idea of what she was getting into and she always,
always
, had a plan. Her mind just worked that way. She needed stability. A goal. She didn’t fling herself headfirst off a cliff and have no idea how she was going to land. She didn’t give herself to a man. No, not a man—a Carpathian who considered humans a food source. Ever since she’d set foot in the rain forest, things had been out of control.

She smeared the cream over her swollen hand, sighing as the wind shifted, slightly teasing her face, telling her she wasn’t alone. “Weston,” she greeted without turning her head. Carefully she put everything back in the first aid kit and stowed the kit in her backpack. “I thought we had an agreement. You were going to stay away from my sleeping area. I like privacy.”

“I wanted to talk to you, before the others got up.”

Riley sighed and turned her boots upside down to make certain nothing had crawled into them in the middle of the night. She had to admit Don Weston sounded conciliatory, but still, she braced herself, grateful she had the gun Jubal had given her. She even went as far as to feel for it where it was hidden in her sleeping bag on the hammock. “Sure, what is it?”

“Look, I know you don’t like me. And I have to admit, you have a good reason. I drink too much when I have to go out to these places. I hate the wilderness. I hate everything about it, especially the bugs. I know I was a jerk, but it was supposed to be harmless fun and it gives me a certain image.” Weston scowled and toed the buttress root of the tree closest to him. He glanced over his shoulder toward the other men and lowered his voice even more. “This is going to come as a big shock to you, but I’ve got a couple of sisters …”

Riley’s head went up and she stared at him, very surprised. She couldn’t equate this man with a mother let alone sisters. “I never suspected.”

Weston looked back toward Mack Shelton and pushed at the rotting vegetation with the toe of his boot. “Yeah, I have sisters, and I keep them away from my friends.”

“So that’s why you came with us up the mountain instead of turning back with the professor. It seemed so out of character for you,” Riley said.

He scowled at her, shrugged and gave a little sigh. “Let me just get this out. This man, Dax, I know you all said you knew him from before, but I don’t think you really know what he’s like. I talk a good game, and maybe I don’t come off as someone you’d trust all that much, but men like that …” He trailed off, shaking his head.

Riley slipped the gun from her sleeping bag to her backpack. She began to take her hammock down, needing something to occupy her hands while she listened to Weston’s revelations. Besides, as soon as Dax arrived, they’d be on the move again.

“He’s all charm and looks great, but he’s dangerous. I’ve seen a few men like him, and they explode into vicious fighters when they’re crossed. He’s not the kind of man I’d want my sisters dating, that’s all.”

Riley shoved her hammock into her backpack, took a breath and turned around to face Weston. He was trying to warn her, which was sweet in a way, but he was far too late; she was already lost. She knew Dax was dangerous to her, but not in the way Weston obviously meant.

Electricity arced over her skin and sizzled in her veins.
He
was close.
Dax.
Very close. Her entire body instantly tuned to his. His scent drifted to her on the evening breeze, all the spice and masculinity, the outdoor, wild scent she recognized as Dax. She took a breath and breathed him into her lungs.

At once she felt wholly alive and unbelievably sensual. She was aware of her breasts tingling, her nipples growing taut, the smoldering fire in the pit of her stomach she’d only been dimly conscious of flaring to life. How did he do that? She hadn’t even laid eyes on him yet.

She forced her attention back to Weston, managing a smile. “I appreciate the warning, Don. I’ll be careful.”

How careful? Do you think to resist me now?

The words shimmered into her mind. There was an edge to Dax’s voice that both frightened and thrilled her. His fingers slipped over her injured hand. At once the sting was gone. His hard body brushed against hers from behind. He pushed his hips close so that his heavy erection was imprinted against her body. Strong fingers stroked caresses over her right breast. Her stomach tightened. Her thighs ached. How could he do that when he wasn’t even visible?

How is it that you are always surrounded by men,
sivamet
? I find I do not like this habit of yours, always to be with other men.

Now his breath was warm against her neck. His tongue licked along her leaping pulse. Strong teeth bit down on her neck, right over that now pounding pulse. The bite stung, but his tongue eased the ache.

Um, I am traveling with them
, she felt compelled to point out. Deliberately she pushed her buttocks back into him.
Or hadn’t you noticed?

Happiness burst through her. He had come. Her stomach settled down, her heart quit pounding. She found herself following the rhythm of his lungs.

How many others have warned you about me?

Sharp teeth grazed the side of her neck a second time and her womb spasmed. Her knees went weak. He definitely wasn’t happy to find Weston alone with her in her private little sanctuary cautioning her about Dax. She poured into his open mind. Her hunger for him. Her secret amusement that Weston, of all people, would try to counsel her.

You find him sweet.
The last word was uttered with sarcastic contempt.

His teeth bit down a third time, hard enough to take her breath away. But there was that clever tongue, bathing the small wound in healing, numbing saliva. His teeth scraped back and forth over her pulse. Her body went weak in anticipation, weeping in welcome for him. She waited, closing her eyes, needing his erotic bite.

“Riley, are you all right?” Weston asked, a hint of concern creeping into his voice. “I really didn’t want to upset you. I felt it was important that someone say something to you.”

She startled, forgetting for a moment that Don Weston was still close by.

Answer him so he goes away. He’s very uncomfortable in the role of protector. And he lusts after you. He can barely keep his hands off you. It is best for his health if he puts distance between you immediately.

You can’t possibly be jealous of Don Weston.
That trait seemed so out of character, almost petty, and beneath Dax.

There is no reason to be jealous of a man you do not have regard for.
Dax sounded a little arrogant.

It was difficult to think straight with his body so close to hers. His intoxicating scent enveloped her, heightening her awareness of him.
He only came to warn me. He’s never once tried anything he shouldn’t.

His teeth, scraping rhythmically back and forth over the pulse in her neck, were very distracting, making it nearly impossible to think clearly. His hands slid up her body, inside her shirt, to cup her breasts. He stood behind her, unseen, his heat surrounding her, his heavy erection pressed tightly against her and all she could think about was having him again and again. Was it possible to fall in love with a man’s body?

He is not a good man. He envisions himself as one, but he makes himself believe women want him because he feels he’s entitled to them. Sooner or later, he will do harm to a woman and that woman will not be you.
There was no mistaking the menace in his voice.
I am a hunter of evil. Human or Carpathian. It does not matter to me. It is my duty to destroy evil where I find it.

A shiver of fear slithered down her spine. She had known all along that Dax was dangerous, she didn’t need Weston to tell her that. He could go from old-world courtly to explosive violence in seconds.

He has sisters.

Dax bit down right in the sweet spot between her neck and shoulder. His body felt as hard as a rock, unyielding, his arms strong, surrounding her. Heat rose around her, seeping from his body to hers. Pressure coiled tighter and tighter in her most feminine core, hunger rising sharp and terrible, an ache only he could assuage.

If I tell you what goes on in his mind when he’s around his sisters, you would not be championing him.

“I’m fine, Don,” she managed to get out, her voice far too husky. “Thanks for the warning, I’ll be very careful. But I do have to pack fast; we need to make the river today.”

The smell of food made her slightly nauseous. The others were finishing up breakfast and breaking camp. She really wanted to yell at Weston to leave so she could be alone with Dax before the others were ready to go. She needed to be alone with him. She bit down hard on her lip. She was a grown woman who had no business acting so wantonly.

You’re making that up, aren’t you?
Surely Dax couldn’t know such a thing about Weston.

Night fell in soft shades of dove gray, dropping around her like a blanket, but she was still out in the open with only a few trees and that thin veil of protection to shield her. No one could see what Dax was doing, and so far she had managed to retain some semblance of decency, when all she really wanted to do was strip off her clothes and impale herself on Dax.

Dax’s heavy erection burned like a brand along the curve of her buttocks. His hands began a slow, deliberate massage of her breasts, fingers tugging and rolling her nipples while his mouth blazed fire up and down her neck. She had to stifle a moan of sheer pleasure. Sensation swept through her like a tidal wave.

Believe me,
sivamet,
I wish that I was. He is a very depraved man. He just hasn’t made the last leap to his full potential.

The moment Weston shuffled off, she allowed her head to loll back on Dax’s shoulder, weak with need. Dax’s mouth went back to her neck, teeth scraping along her pulse. Her blood surged hotly, every nerve ending screaming for him to bite down. Her breath came in ragged gasps of pure need.

She had no control when it came to Dax. The moment he spoke, or even was near her, her body went up in flames and she threw all decorum out the window.

No one can see. I’m shielding you from their view. Even if they walk over here, they will not be able to see you.

His hands slid down her flat belly to drop to the waistband of her cargo pants. She thought to protest, her eyes flying open, looking around her, but his palm cupped her mound, his thumb finding that hot little button craving attention.

You have to stop. I won’t be able to be quiet,
she gasped, the tension in her belly winding tighter and tighter. He had barely touched her and she was already so close …

The little sounds you make are music to my ears. I need to hear them,
he whispered wickedly, his teeth tugging at her earlobe.
No one will hear but me.

He slipped one finger into her slick heat, his thumb stroking and thrumming, playing relentlessly, driving her higher and higher so fast she couldn’t catch her breath.

A keening cry escaped. She felt his burst of satisfaction and a second finger joined the first, stretching her. Teeth sank deep into her neck. The flash of pain tightened her muscles so they clamped down hard on his fingers. Pain gave way to a flood of sensual pleasure so overwhelming she would have fallen had he not been holding her up.

Give me what’s mine.

The command filled her mind, nothing less than a demand. His mouth on her, drawing the essence of her life into him, his fingers claiming her, his hand at her breast, tugging on her nipples were all too much. Her body erupted with strong waves, racing up to her breasts and down her thighs. She nearly sobbed his name as the ripples of pleasure flashed through her. His tongue slid across the pinpricks on her neck, to seal the two small holes he’d left.

The moment she could stand on her own, he stripped off her shirt, solidifying right in front of her, his hands already lifting her breasts to his mouth. His mouth was hot, on fire, suckling strongly, his tongue dancing over her nipple. His chest was bare, his skin nearly glowing, all hard mahogany. She cried out, a soft, strangled cry caught in her throat as his mouth tugged and pulled at her breast, teeth skimming her nipple, delivering a tiny sting of pain and easing it instantly with a velvet tongue.