Dark Lycan (Dark #24)(93)
Author: Christine Feehan

"I feel sorry for Abel if he did lose a lifemate. I can’t imagine losing you. But Fen, if something happens to me, follow me. I don’t want to think of you lost without me and I can’t get to you to save you."

She frowned up at him and he tried not to melt. It seemed a ridiculous thing to do for a Carpathian hunter and worse for a Guardian. One shouldn’t find their lifemate’s frowns adorable.

"I’ll do my best to always stay honorable, my lady," he assured her.

"You’re worried about Dimitri, aren’t you?"

"I don’t worry that he will turn," he said slowly. "The connection between Skyler and Dimitri is very strong. Intense. I’ve never seen anything like it, but, having said that, he puts himself in harm’s way more than I would like."

She laughed softly. "In other words, he’s just like you. You throw yourself in front of people when there’s danger. Is that what you mean?"

He tugged on a strand of her hair. "He took me in even when I explained the dangers of what I was to him. He went into battle with me over and over and when we gave each other blood to survive, he knew the risks and still did it anyway." He caught her chin and lifted it, forcing her to look up at him. "As you’re doing now."

"And always, my Guardian, you have to know it is my choice. Just as it is Dimitri’s choice. None of us have control over what another does, we can only control ourselves. Dimitri is a strong man. He’s one of the best in any battle. He’s known for some time that he’s becoming as you are . . ."

"Yet he didn’t tell me until this evening."

"He’s a man who handles his own life, just as you do," Tatijana said. "He may be your younger brother, but he caught up with you many centuries ago. He has a need to protect you, just as you protect him. Skyler returned his emotions to him and he feels deeply. You can’t fault him for being a man."

She spoke the truth and Fen knew it. Dimitri would always be his own man. He’d make his own decisions. Fate had given Dimitri the skills of a hunter and he’d excelled at his job.

"I love that the two of you are so close. I don’t know what I’d do without Bronnie. We definitely relied on each other all those centuries. It’s nice to know you understand that unbreakable bond we have."

Fen sighed. The sky overhead was becoming lighter in spite of the rainclouds drifting across. "We have to go to ground, my lady."

"I know." She kissed his throat again. "I wanted this night to never end. I know you’re going to hunt Abel this next rising." She paused to look up at him. "Aren’t you?"

"It has to be done. I can’t take the chance of waiting. He’s got a plan to kill Mikhail and he believes he can do it. That means the plan is already in place. I can’t wait for him to put it into motion and maybe get away with it. If I push him, actively hunt him, and he knows I’m coming for him, that might throw him off his game."

Fen stood up, taking her with him, cradling her in his arms, close to his chest. He didn’t bother with clothes, there seemed no need. Both could regulate their body temperatures and she loved the feel of the rain on her skin. He was coming to love it as well.

"When it’s over, will we stay here? Make our home near the others?"

She was asking if they would remain close to her sister. Again she tried to hide that little anxious note from him, but he felt it would be impossible for him not to recognize when his lady was upset.

He leaned his head down and fastened his mouth to hers. She tasted like the rain. Like wild honey. Like Tatijana. She always made him hungry for more.

"I would never take you far from your sister, sivamet," he assured when he had kissed her thoroughly. "I would never do anything that would make you unhappy."

Tatijana’s eyes searched his. She nodded her head and tightened her hold on his neck. "Let’s go back to our little spot in the forest. I want to lie close to you for a while before we go to sleep. I need you to hold me."

"Always," he said, and took to the air.

Chapter 19

Tatijana woke before Fen. She lay curled in his arms, her head on his shoulder, just as she had when they’d finally closed the earth over them. They’d made love two more times, and she knew part of that terrible hunger in her was sheer fear. The Sange rau terrified her. There would be no stopping Fen, or Dimitri for that matter. Both had sworn loyalty to the prince and the Carpathian people. They would defend Mikhail Dubrinsky with their lives.

She waved her hand to open the earth. It was dark in the forest, although still rather early in the evening. Tree branches swayed and danced to the wind. The rain had stopped, but gray clouds spun in the sky. A storm was coming. A big one. She pressed a hand to her wildly beating heart. She would not lose her lifemate to this monster. Strangely, last evening, when she thought it was possible Abel had turned because he’d lost his lifemate, she’d felt compassion for him. That was gone this rising. She only cared that Fen came home safe to her.

She took a deep breath of the fresh air. The rain always left behind a fresh, clean scent. Now, it was mixed with the soothing aroma of forest-trees and rich soil. She arranged her surprise for him, the candles set in a protection circle around soft blankets right out under the canopy so they could look up and see the night arriving through the beauty of the trees. Fen hadn’t seen much beauty these past centuries and she was determined to make up for lost time. She’d awakened early just for that purpose.

When she was ready, Tatijana floated him out of their sleeping quarters and over to the blanket, ensuring his body was clean and free of all rejuvenating soil. She knew he was aware, but he didn’t stop her or try to take over. That made her love him all the more. Fen always provided what she needed most. Right now, she needed to feel his strength and know they were both alive and well.

She crawled over the top of him, kissing her way up his thigh, his groin, the erection that was already becoming heavy and thick, his belly and chest with all that beautiful muscle definition. She traced the muscles with her tongue, exploring him, imprinting him into her bones, in her mind so there wasn’t a single inch of him she didn’t know.

His hands tangled in her hair as she took her time with her exploration. He turned his body over and let her do the same to the back of him and then each side. He never said a word, but she felt completely surrounded by his love. She’d never felt so close to anyone in her life. She knew he was telling her silently that he belonged to her. Whatever she needed, whatever she hungered for, he provided.

When she turned him back over and took his face between her hands, her body stretched out over his, so that every inch of her was pressed into him, she kissed him long and hard. Taking her time. Telling him she loved him with her mouth, with her hands.