Dark Storm (Dark #23)(55)
Author: Christine Feehan

"You’re clean. You just took out an entire army, stood in the center of a blazing inferno, and there’s not a speck of dirt on you. How is that possible? I can’t walk two steps without getting filthy." Riley raised her hands, which were streaked with dirt and soot.

He smiled. Really, he had the most gorgeous smile. "There are certain gifts Carpathians have that can be quite handy." Without warning, the dirt, sweat and salty tracks of her dried tears evaporated from her skin. One second, she was a hot mess. The next, she looked like she’d stepped off the cover of a magazine, every hair in place, her skin smooth and fragrant, her clothes crisply pressed and sweet-smelling.

"Where have you been all my life?" she quipped with a grin. "And do you do windows?" She knew she was relying on humor to slow the adrenaline. The sheer terror of seeing him surrounded by the insanity of Mitro’s macabre human robots was almost more than she could bear. He must have known it, too, by the tenderness in the way his thumb traced her cheekbone and moved down to her lips.

He laughed, and the rich, deep sound rolled over her senses like dark chocolate melting in her mouth. Pleasure rippled up and down her spine, and all she could think about was dragging his perfect mouth down to hers and kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

Only the sound of a twig snapping in the vicinity of the wall brought her back to her senses. She pulled away, coughing nervously, looking anywhere but at him.

"So … uh … what just happened out there? You rigged some sort of bomb?" She looked up at him under the sweep of her heavy lashes.

"We used something called ‘explosives’ that Gary and Jubal brought with them. I didn’t know what Mitro might send against us, and I wanted to be ready for anything." Dax indicated the two men. "They are good fighters, very prepared."

"And the wall of fire, with the blue and white lightning running through it?"

"The four of us were too close to the explosives, so I used a ward to hold in the majority of the blast. That also let me concentrate the heat of the explosion on Mitro’s ghouls, to cleanse their taint and remove the possibility of any future threat from them."

Riley shook her head. "Why is it I have a feeling that the more time I spend around you, the more questions I’m going to have?" The sorrow of the fleeing villagers who had set up a temporary camp and taken them in beat at her. The earth cried out at the abomination of evil and the destruction of plant life. She needed him to mute the sounds and sensations for just a few moments to give her time to recover.

His answering smile was warm and inviting with just enough sexy to make her hungry for more. She wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to wrap her body around his and lose herself in his strength.

Dax’s fingers curled around the nape of her neck. "You can, you know. You can take from me whatever you want, sivamet. I give myself to you willingly." His eyes drank her in, and his hot gaze dropped to her lips.

On some level, Riley knew the fear drove her more than passion. She needed comfort. She needed to feel him alive, hear his heart beat strong and steady after watching him so calmly facing the enemy. The thought of him dying had all but shattered her. She told herself it was because she’d just lost her mother, but … it would be a lie. It was him. Dax. She stepped closer to him, captured by the small flames burning in his eyes.

"I thought you were dead. For just one terrible, unimaginable moment, I thought you were dead," she murmured, sliding her hands up his chest, over his heart.

Dax seemed to know exactly what she needed. His arms moved around her body. Hard. Strong. Comforting. He pulled her tight against his chest. She rested her head there, just for a moment, just to listen to his rock-steady heartbeat. His hand beneath her chin urged her head up. His eyes met hers. The small red-gold flame leapt and burned, robbing her of breath. She watched his mouth move toward hers, inch by slow inch.

Everything feminine in her reached for him, her stomach doing a slow somersault. A thousand butterflies took wing. His lips were warm and firm, but soft. She felt as if she just melted into him. His tongue teased the seam of her mouth, demanding she open to him. She did so, and he swept inside. There was no breathing-he did it for her. There was refuge, sanctuary, a world of sensation with the ground moving beneath her feet, sweeping her away from death and madness. She all but crawled up his body and wrapped her legs around his waist.

The sound of Gary and Jubal climbing down from the nearby trees was barely enough to break the moment.

"What now, Dax?" Gary asked when he reached the ground. "Is there anything here still left to be done?"

Dax shook his head, sweeping her behind him with one arm protectively, giving her time to collect herself. "I believe Mitro has already left this area, or he wouldn’t have sent his ghouls out on such a useless attack. He is far too cunning to have sent them alone if he were still here. This was nothing more than a delaying tactic, something to hold my attention while he escaped to somewhere else."

Without thinking, Riley laid a hand on his arm, still needing their bond. He gave her a warm glance and covered her hand with his own. She could feel a portion of her own, earth-born strength pouring into his body, renewing his depleted energies.

Through that connection, Riley realized that even as Dax was standing here, talking to them, his mind was scouring the surrounding countryside for some sign of his ancient foe. She could almost feel the death and destruction that Dax had to search in order to find Mitro. It pained him to witness Mitro’s evil, she realized. He might have lost his emotions centuries ago, if what Gary told her about Carpathians was true, but that didn’t stop him from feeling responsible for the lost lives and the destruction Mitro had wreaked. He considered Mitro’s escape his failure, not hers.

"So what’s the plan?" she asked, trying to bring his attention back to her, away from Mitro’s trail of carnage. The attempt to distract him worked. "You think I have a plan?" Male amusement lightened his eyes.

"Men like you always think you have a plan." She laid a hand on the tree wall. The branches and vines parted, re-creating a wider tunnel that led back to the clearing. She ducked through, Dax close on her heels. Jubal and Gary brought up the rear.

"Men like me?" Dax murmured as they exited the tunnel. "Just how many men like me have you met?" He was showing off his teeth in a way that made her want to cover her neck.

"Not the point. So, what’s the plan?" She looked back toward Jubal and Gary to include them in their conversation.

"We should find out what happened to Marty and Pedro first," Jubal said. "Unless they were in the group …" His words died off, and everyone looked to Dax.