Dark Storm (Dark #23)(69)
Author: Christine Feehan

Her eyes widened. She stared at him in shock. Still, and it shouldn’t have been, he looked so erotic, hot and sexy, there in that open field of flowers, with his hard body and ruby red drops of blood summoning her. She nearly shook her head, but she was mesmerized by the sight.

"Please," she whispered. Her body was on fire. She needed release, but she wasn’t certain the plea was for him to take her over the edge. The temptation of tasting him was a dark whisper she was finding hard to ignore. The idea of drinking his blood should have been repugnant, not erotic, but her mouth could already taste him. His scent was everywhere, and her body was hot and needy.

"You have to make the choice on your own, Riley," he said implacably. "This is the way to bring you closer to my world, and you have to know it’s truly what you want." Cradling her head in the crook of one arm, he gathered her hips with the other and thrust deep.

Riley could feel his thick, hot shaft like a steel brand spreading fire through her. She knew flames burned in him. She could see the glow beneath his skin, in his eyes, the scorching heat of his body. Every inch of his hard flesh as it buried deep in her sheath spread those flames into her. She caught fire and burned. There was no end in sight. She moved, and he stopped.

A sob escaped. She needed him. Wanted him.

You hunger for me.

A bead of blood trickled over the muscle of his chest to the edge of his flat, hard nipple. Her gaze followed it, her tongue sliding over her lip. He wouldn’t let her hide from the truth. Deep in her veins she could feel a throb, every bit as strong as the terrible ache in her body. She remembered the taste of him in the flower and that intoxicating scent of his, amplified a thousand times by the field of flowers surrounding her. She couldn’t deny what he whispered was true, but human inhibitions held her back.

I feel your hunger beating at me.

His voice was seduction, let alone that harsh, jackhammer stroke he drove into her and once again stilled. Desperate, before she could think what she was doing, she licked at that thin trail of crimson with her tongue. His taste burst through her like champagne. She followed the trail back to the source, her mouth latching on, tongue dipping and stroking.

His groan was a rough, sexy sound. He threw his head back, whispering to her, helping her now that she’d made the decision. The essence of his life poured into her, filling her, restructuring, nurturing.

"Te elidet ainaak pide minan. Your life will be placed above my own for all time," Dax bit out between clenched teeth. His body shuddered with the effort to hold back. His skin gleamed red and gold, scales showing beneath.

Riley stared up at his face. Lines of sheer lust etched deep, sending spirals of arousal spinning deep. The taste of him hit her hard, an aphrodisiac that added to the firestorm in her body. She would never get enough of him, not his taste and not his body.

Enough, sivamet. You cannot take too much at once. Just enough for an exchange.

She heard his words as if from a great distance. Her blood roared in her ears. She wasn’t certain what he meant, but she couldn’t stop. Dax was forced to gently insert his hand between her mouth and his chest.

"Te avio palafertiilam." He caught her hips in both hands, sliding her closer, pushing her legs over his shoulders. "You are my lifemate."

With a small sob she fell back, her gaze locked with his. Her body was threatening to explode, so tight she was afraid she’d shatter into pieces. That movement of his body had his shaft stroking and caressing deep inside her. Brushstrokes of white-hot fire. She was so close to that edge, yet she couldn’t tumble over.

"Dax." She cried out his name, reaching for him, her mind hazy, needing him to take her over the cliff with him. "Please. I can’t …" She didn’t know what she needed from him, only that she was burning from the inside out.

Dax surged forward, a steel spike of living flesh, burying himself over and over. Deep. So deep. She swore she felt him piercing through her stomach. Over and over. So hard. He pistoned into her, driving deeper still until she was certain he found his way into her soul. There was no pause, no moment to catch her breath, just that relentless pounding at her body.

Riley dug her nails into his arms, her head tossed mindlessly, her lungs burned for air. Deep in her mind, she heard herself scream. Her mouth was open, but no sound actually emerged. Her body clamped down hard on his. The orgasm ripped through her, shattered her, melting bones and muscles, burning cells and tissue in an explosion of shocking pleasure. She felt Dax erupting much like a fiery volcano, pulse after hot pulse while her body seemed to shatter into a million pieces.

Dax slumped over her, breathing raggedly, his heart pounding so hard she could hear it. She couldn’t move, her body still alive with pleasure, but leaden, her arms so heavy she couldn’t find the strength to move her hands into that thick pelt of hair she loved touching.

Dax turned his head into her neck. Ainaak sivamet jutta oleny. The whisper filled her mind. "You are bound to me for all eternity."

Another shock wave of pleasure washed through her. She shuddered, her body climaxing again and again. She could feel something different inside. She was … more. Evolving. Tied to him. She never wanted to let him go. It seemed as if there were millions of tiny threads weaving them together.

Dax brushed kisses over her eyes. "Ainaak terad vigyazak. You are always in my care."

Her body shuddering, Riley forced herself to find the energy to lift her hand to his face. His impossibly long lashes were wet. She touched the tips gently.

He turned his head to catch her fingers in his mouth, sucking gently before releasing her. "The binding ritual is our version of marriage, only more permanent. It binds your soul to mine. Perhaps I should have waited until you really have more of a concept of what you’re getting into. It’s no excuse, but I don’t want to be alone again, Riley."

"Neither do I," she assured, blinking back tears. "I want this. No matter what happens, Dax, I choose to be with you. You warned me there would be no going back. I’m prepared for that."

He rolled over, taking her with him, so that she sprawled across his chest. Riley buried her face in the junction between his neck and shoulder, exhausted. She was certain when she was alone, she would be aghast at the enormity of her decision, but she clung to him, one hand in his hair while the other smoothed over his chest.

Dax wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "Are you going to sleep?"

"Yes. You can gather the flowers for Gary and Jubal," she said. "I’m not moving for the rest of the night."

Dax laughed softly and brushed a kiss on top of her head. "As you wish, my lady."