Dark Storm (Dark #23)(95)
Author: Christine Feehan

I am unfamiliar with YouTube.

She sent him images, but he still couldn’t quite grasp the concept. Computers and television had to be seen first before he fully understood it. Nevertheless, she was right, it wouldn’t do to have the Old One in the skies where airplanes thought it was their space. As far as the red dragon was concerned, the skies were his dominion.

Dax wrapped his arms around Riley and took to the sky, masking his presence from any who might be out. He didn’t want to argue about fitting in or using a vehicle. He didn’t like that method of travel.

Riordan’s laughter echoed in his mind. I suppose it would be difficult to get used to modern ways after all this time. We were lucky to have seen history unfold. Cars and planes are necessary to us.

Dax took the time to enjoy holding Riley in his arms. She clutched him tightly, her face, rather than being buried against his shoulder, was turned toward the wind as usual, her long hair streaming around them, brushing his face and shoulders like silken threads.

You love this, don’t you?

Her laughter filled his mind. You know I do. I can’t help it. Isn’t this the most incredible experience? The stars above us, the lights below, the wind in our faces? Doesn’t it make you feel alive?

He took flying for granted. He’d been doing it for centuries, but now that he was no longer in the volcano, he could appreciate the freedom it gave him. Riley gave him so much more. He was seeing through fresh eyes, experiencing flying for the first time all over again and like Riley-because of Riley-he felt exhilarated. Each time they took to the air, he found joy spilling into him. Hers, his-it didn’t matter who felt it first. It was there.

His emotions had returned, but because he wasn’t used to feeling, he reverted to using logic, not trusting the intensity around anyone but Riley. She was at ease in the modern world, yet she managed to function in his world with grace and intelligence even when she was afraid.

She had a way of slipping inside him-into his soul. He knew the Old One felt it as well. As much as the dragon didn’t want to feel affection, he was far too emotional not to make those connections. He was fiercely loyal and Riley and Dax were his only family now. He had been protector of a large family unit. The Old One was not a solitary creature as many might think, and Riley had gotten into the dragon’s soul as well.

Dax found he was still shaken by the knowledge that she existed-that in his darkest hour, he’d found his lifemate. He had long ago given up any hope of such a thing. He had no idea the intensity of emotion a man could feel for a woman. At times his growing love for Riley was a storm inside of him, a whirling tornado that threatened his stability. He’d always been stoic and calm, yet she shook the entire foundation of his carefully controlled world.

She made him feel vulnerable, exposed to the world whenever he looked at her. He knew it showed, the way she made him feel. He hadn’t expected that she could do that to him, make him feel so much that the solitary man he’d become would do anything to keep her.

He found himself fascinated with her smile, watching for it-needing it the way his kind needed the soil. He loved the way her eyes lit up and her face changed the moment her lips curved. He wanted to be the one to bring that smile to her face. There was serenity in her and yet, she had a sense of fun about her which made him think of the possibilities.

Her inevitable mourning for the loss of her mother was so deep even the Old One tried to comfort her. That told Dax she loved without reservation, with her entire heart and soul. He had never considered that she would feel that same intensity, that deeply about him. He felt he’d been handed a miracle.

Dax rubbed his chin on the top of her head, feeling the silky waterfall of thick black hair against his skin. He found it astonishing how quickly a man could adapt to being with a woman. She seemed like a part of him already. He was aware of her every breath, her very heartbeat. He could see why lifemated males rarely hunted. They had too much to lose, and they could so easily be distracted at that crucial moment.

It was necessary to have Riley track Mitro; she was the only one who could do it so fast. And the vampire needed to be stopped, but Dax didn’t have to like it.

As if sensing his thoughts, Riley turned her face up to his. I’m afraid at times, Dax, but I’ve never felt so alive, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here with you.

Their minds weren’t connected, yet she was so tuned to him she had to be catching part of his concerns, the lifemate bond at work. It was nearly impossible to hide anything from a lifemate, nor would he want to.

I chose a profession I thought I’d love because I have such a love of languages, but I find the students come in and they don’t love all the various languages in the same way. I’ve always longed for adventure. I thought my abilities would carry me into interesting situations, but instead, I became bogged down in the same dull routine.

Riley held her arms out as if she was hugging the night sky, her face turned up toward the stars as they flew over the city. Her soft laughter teased his senses.

If I forget to tell you thank you for these experiences later, I’m saying it now.

He didn’t know how to tell her she turned him inside out sometimes, so he tightened his hold on her, drawing her closer to the warmth and shelter of his body. He was keeping her in danger-worse, subjecting her to the depraved cruelty of a monster-yet she was thanking him.

I’ll keep you safe. It was the best he could do.

She turned her face up against his chest and rubbed like a cat. I know you will. Still, I can’t help being afraid when some horrible ratlike creature as big as a dog is staring at me with red eyes and strings of saliva dripping from its mouth.

I don’t like to feel your fear. It is a new experience for me, this emotion and yours is intense. Especially fear.

She rubbed her body against him again, much like a cat, sending fingers of arousal crawling down his spine and up his thighs. A fire started in his belly and spread down to settle in his groin.

Behave yourself, palafertiilam, we have work to do.

Chapter 19

The clinic was small, but very neat. It was dark inside, but with her acute vision, Riley had no trouble seeing inside to the dark, wide-planked floor and the cool, mint-green walls. The rooms, even the lobby, smelled of disinfectant. The three of them each spread out to take one room at a time on their own, hoping to detect the taint of Mitro.

If Riordan hadn’t managed to do so by now, Riley feared it would only be the call of blood that would lead them to him-and although Dax had taken Arabejila’s blood many times over the centuries, his blood had mingled with hers. The tie was there, but very faint. No, Riley knew if anyone was going to feel that feeble trace, it would be her.