Dark Promises (Dark 25)

His fingers sifted through her hair with infinite gentleness. "Gabrielle. This is your world, too. You are with me now. You will never have to be afraid again. I have centuries of skill in battle. Centuries. There is little the vampire or his puppets can bring to me that I have not seen. You will always be protected. You can live your life, however you want to live it. We can have the house you want, or we can go back to the mountains where the prince resides and you can continue your work. Regardless, you can do so without fear. You trust your body into my keeping, trust that I will protect you at all times."

She searched his expression. His eyes. She had seen Aleksei in a rage, a full-blown fury that turned her blood to ice water, but this was new. This was gentle. And sweet. Tears stung. Burned. She had to blink rapidly to keep from making a fool of herself. She nodded slowly.

"Take my blood, before I decide I need you again."

She liked the gruff in his voice. She knew he wanted her again, the evidence was tight against her buttocks where she sat on his lap, but he was determined to show her how to hunt and, although she wanted him as well, she liked the idea of getting out into the open.

She moved her face back to his neck and inhaled his masculine scent. Already his taste was on her tongue and the fierce, gnawing hunger beat at her, overcoming her inhibitions. At least, she told herself it was the hunger, but when she was being strictly honest, it was Aleksei. She wanted him, all of him. Including this. He had made the act of feeding erotic.

She licked over his pulse and felt it jump beneath her tongue. Her arms went around his neck and she settled close to him, pushing her breasts into his side while she brought his head closer to her. Deliberately she used her teeth to scrape gently back and forth, building the tension. He was a master at that with his touch. With his mouth. She was a quick study. She always had been.

She felt his body tighten. His muscles lock in place. Beneath her buttocks, his cock jerked. Hard. She kissed his pulse, just a brush, a barely there kiss. He groaned and his hand tightened in her hair.

"You are playing with fire, kislany. If you do not want to spend the entire rising flat on your back with me playing for a long, long time before I allow you release, keep this up. I do not have endless control."

She smiled against his pulse, liking that she could make him lose control. His "punishments" weren't very scary and in fact, they mostly made her not want to be so "good." Still, she did want to get out a little bit. She couldn't help herself, even while she obeyed him, she slipped into his mind as she bit down with her teeth, just to feel what that sensual bite did to him.

The taste of him burst through her--through him. She felt the intensity of his pleasure as she fed at his neck, taking what he so freely offered--more--what he'd all but ordered her to take. His essence. Rich. An ancient's blood was different, she realized. Aleksei's tasted and felt like him. Dangerous. Hot. Rich. Masculine. Very, very powerful. Aleksei, who could drive away nightmares, standing between her and her past. If he could do that . . . She closed her eyes and savored his taste, her fingers moving in the silk of his hair.

Aleksei held her tightly, nearly crushing her to him, his hand moving over her body, shaping her breasts, sliding his palm down her side to her hip. Over her back. He touched and held her as if she meant everything to him. Tears burned close at the beauty of it. At the beauty of being his entire focus. His only. The one.

Gabrielle swept her tongue over the pinpricks in his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. "You're really beautiful, Aleksei," she whispered. "So much so, sometimes you take my breath away."

He was silent a moment. Tense. She felt the way his body had gone hard and tight. His hand went to her chin. She didn't want him to see her ridiculous tears so she stubbornly tried to keep her face buried against his shoulder. She should have known better. Aleksei didn't take no for an answer. Not about anything. His hand moved to her jaw and he turned her face to him, tipping it up so his eyes could drift over her.

"Kessake."

Her heart beat faster. There was possession there. But there was so much more. His eyes burned over her. Marked her. His brand sinking deep. The sound of his voice, calling her little cat in his own language.

"I almost destroyed you, Aleksei. I could have lost you. The world could have lost you, all because I was so foolish and didn't understand the gift I was given."

His thumb moved through the trail of tears. "I want you to stop this. Right now, Gabrielle."

His tone was velvet soft, but still commanding. Firm. Gentle. She had no idea how anyone could manage that, but he did.

The pad of his thumb followed the track of her tears right down her face, erasing them. His mouth moved close and he sipped the tears from her lashes and then used his tongue to wipe every evidence of them away. His hands went to her hips, fingers digging deep, and he turned her, right there in the pool.

"Straddle my lap, kessake, we are not nearly finished before we go hunting."

He really gave her no choice, not that she wanted one, but the moment she turned, her legs over his hips, her breasts tight against his chest, his cock buried deep, his mouth was on hers, and everything fell away but him--everything but Aleksei and the feel of his hard body and the pleasure he brought to her.

17

Men are stronger and you can take a little more from them, especially if they are big. If you can avoid it, do not go into a house, even if invited. And you must be invited in if you plan on taking blood. That is a protection measurement for all as well as showing respect. It will not be difficult for you to get an invitation, you will simply use your voice to enthrall, but still, the risks are greater. Children. Family members. Not a good thing, kessake."

Gabrielle stood in the shadows with Aleksei just outside a bar. The sky drizzled silver drops but he kept the rain off her, his arms locked around her waist, keeping her body tucked close to him, sheltering her. She leaned back into him, liking the way he surrounded her with his protection. He made her feel safe. Her body was trembling, but she didn't know if it was from nerves or excitement.

No one had ever bothered to teach her these skills. Aleksei wanted her to learn to be self-sufficient. She loved that. She wasn't certain she could actually lure someone to her and take their blood, but she wanted to try.

"Do you understand, Gabrielle? It is important. You can get into a house if you cannot find adequate prey elsewhere and only in an emergency."

"I understand," she said softly, reaching back to touch his face with her hand. "I'm listening. And I'm grateful you're taking the time to teach me."

He nuzzled her hand with the slightly rough scruff on his jaw and then turned his face to press a kiss right into the center of her palm.

"I am enjoying our time." He moved the long slide of hair off the nape of her neck, pushing it around her left shoulder as she dr

opped her hand. That gave his mouth access to bare skin and her right ear, unhindered by her thick hair. "It is always better to find a place such as this one where there are numerous patrons to choose from. Always choose one entering if possible. They have not had anything to drink and so they are untainted. Those coming out can be used in an emergency, but their blood is not that good."

She moistened her lips, more aware of him, of his strength, of his hunger, of his power. When he moved he was fluid, a flowing of muscle and bone; when he stopped, he was utterly still. It was impossible to conceal the power in him, and he didn't try. When he didn't want to be seen, he veiled his presence, rather than trying to blend in.

She sensed a sudden change in him, in his focus, and a shiver of trepidation and excitement went down her spine. She'd never felt more alive.

Aleksei's mouth moved over her ear, causing a slow roll in the pit of her stomach. "This one, kislany, take this one. Use your voice. Draw him to you. Bring him into the shadows. I am here, watching over you. I will ensure nothing goes wrong."

She licked her lips again, hearing her heart pound. Could she really do it? Walk up to a man and enthrall him with her voice alone? Draw him back into the shadows with her and leave him with the vague impression he'd had a conversation and nothing else had happened?

She studied the man approaching the pub. He was young, in his early twenties, and he looked strong. She felt Aleksei's arms drop away from her and she took a step out of the shadows, on a path to intercept the young male. His eyes came to her immediately and he instantly smiled, slowing his purposeful stride.

Gabrielle smiled in return, and his head jerked up. She stopped where she was and allowed him to come to her, one hand going to her hair, sliding her fingers through the silky mass as she waited. His gaze dropped to her breasts as they lifted beneath her blouse with the action, and then moved back up to her face.

"Come with me," she said softly, using a mesmerizing tone. "Come with me now." She held out her hand to him. "I have need of you."

She couldn't believe the way her voice was so sensual. She knew Aleksei had given her that--the confidence she'd never had in herself as a seductress. He made her feel beautiful and sexy.