GOE 08 - Bound By Darkness

Chapter 18

As showstoppers went, this one was a doozy.

As her shocking words sliced through the air, Ariyal instantly went into mannequin routine, remaining frozen in place for what seemed to be an eternity.

Not that she’d expected him to break into song and do cartwheels, she wryly assured herself. Still, she had thought he might be ...

Pleased?

Excited?

Delirious with joy?

At last he pulled back to regard her with a wary expression.

“Mate?” His voice was thick with an emotion she found difficult to read, his hands holding on to her hips with a bruising grip. “You said that Hunters aren’t allowed a mate.”

“They aren’t.”

He muttered something beneath his breath. “Then what am I missing?”

She lifted a hand to brush it over the satin heat of his cheek.

“I had no choice about becoming a Hunter, just as you had no choice about becoming prince of your people,” she said, wrinkling her nose at her awkward bumbling. Who knew it was so difficult to ask a man to become her mate? It was a damned good thing she was a Hunter, not a diplomat. “We’ve both been trapped by duty.”

His eyes smoldered with a bronze glow. “And now?”

“I want us to be trapped together.”

Without warning he was spinning away from her, shoving his hands through his chestnut hair until it cascaded down his back in a ripple of satin.

“Dammit, poppet,” he rasped. “You don’t know what you’re doing to me.”

Jaelyn’s fangs lengthened at the sight of Ariyal’s body outlined by the moonlight streaming through the bedroom window. Oh, it would be so easy to be distracted by that chiseled, male perfection.

Wondrously, insanely easy.

With an effort she resisted the urge to close the short distance and explore every sexy inch of those muscles.

“I thought you wanted to be mated?” she accused, feeling unnervingly vulnerable.

It wasn’t a sensation she was used to.

And it was making her downright edgy.

Perhaps sensing her unease, Ariyal turned back to stab her with a frustrated glare.

“Not if it puts you at risk from the Addonexus.”

He worried about her?

Was that why he hesitated?

Relief jolted through her as she offered a slow smile, shimmying out of her tight pants. Obviously he needed to be convinced that she didn’t give a damn about the dangers.

Walking forward she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against his fully aroused body.

“We both know that there’s not much likelihood of us getting out of the caves alive.” She deliberately rubbed against him. “We’ll worry about the Addonexus if we manage to survive.”

He sucked in a sharp breath, but his brow furrowed as if he had been struck by a sudden, unpleasant thought.

“Hold on.”

“What?”

“What if we weren’t facing certain death?”

It was her turn to frown. “I don’t understand.”

“If we weren’t facing imminent death, would you still want to have me as your mate?”

Holding his accusing gaze, Jaelyn took his hand and placed it to her chest. Her heart might not beat, but it functioned just fine when it came to love.

And in this moment it was overflowing.

“Feel,” she commanded softly.

A wicked smile softened his expression as his gaze skimmed over her bare breasts.

“With pleasure.”

“No, I mean really feel.” She lowered the last of her guards, releasing her too-long-restrained emotions. “You’re my mate whether we exchange blood or not. I just want to make it official.”

She didn’t know what she expected.

Arguments.

Teasing.

Embarrassment.

It wasn’t for Ariyal to slowly kneel before her, his face pressed against the bare skin of her stomach as his arms wrapped around her.

“I thought Morgana le Fay had destroyed all but my loyalty to my people.” His voice was low, raw. “You have given me back my heart.”

She tangled her fingers in the warm satin of his hair, her love for this man blasting through her.

It was nothing she had wanted, or expected, but now she couldn’t imagine how she had ever survived without Ariyal in her life.

“Will you share it with me?”

He tilted back his head to regard her with a somber gaze. “My proud, beautiful Hunter.”

“My stubborn, gorgeous fairy.”

“You forgot sexy,” he softly chided.

“Did I?” She deliberately licked her lips. Hey, it worked in the movies. “Maybe you should remind me.”

On cue, Ariyal surged to his feet, locking his arms around her waist. Then, with gratifying speed he was tossing her onto the mattress and covering her with the welcome heat of his body.

“If you insist,” he murmured.

She stroked her lips down the stubborn line of his jaw. “I do.”

He shuddered in violent response to her teasing caress, turning his head to crush her lips in a kiss of pure demand, his hands lightly tracing up the curve of her waist to cup her breasts.

Jaelyn moaned in approval, arching her back as he teased the tips of her nipples into aching peaks. But it was the rich scent of herbs filling the air that made her fangs throb with need.

Wrapping her legs around his hips, she ran her hands up and down his back, urging him put an end to her torment.

“I want you,” she moaned.

“It’s too fast,” he muttered, his mouth pressing frantic kisses over her face before he at last lowered his head to capture her nipple between his lips.

She scraped her nails over his hard ass, smiling as he hissed in pleasure.

“Slow and tender can be good,” she assured him. “But there is a time for fast and hard.”

He lifted his head to meet her hungry gaze, lingering a long moment on her exposed fangs.

“And this is the time for ... ?”

She groaned at the sensation of his warm skin moving against her, heating places that she would have sworn couldn’t get any hotter.

“ Us.”

The bronze eyes flared in agreement. “Yes.”

The simple word was a solemn vow as Ariyal entered her with one smooth thrust.

They groaned in unison, Jaelyn’s eyes squeezing shut at the feel of him buried deep inside her. Then, as he began a swift, steady rhythm that bordered on the right side of rough, she grabbed his face and brought it down to meet her lips in an explosive kiss.

This was no delicate dance of sensuality.

It was raw and needy and exactly what she desired.

She distantly heard the slam of the bed hitting the wall and the squeak of the mattress, but her concentration was focused solely on the delectable man and the urgent pace that was spiraling toward a blissful completion.

Ariyal threaded his fingers through her hair, his mouth shifting to nuzzle over her cheek to her ear.

“Now, Jaelyn,” he whispered.

She hissed at the savage excitement that flooded through her.

“You’re certain?”

He peered deep into her eyes. “You would know if I was lying.”

“True. Something you should keep in mind if you decide to stray in the future.”

He frowned at her hint of unease, which had nothing to do with being a vampire and everything with being a vulnerable woman at the mercy of her heart.

“Do you think this mating is any less binding to me?” he demanded.

It was, of course, the question that teased in the back of her mind.

“Do Sylvermyst mate?”

“You will discover later,” he promised. “Bite me, Jaelyn.”

A dark, primitive need swept aside any lingering question at the sanity of what she was about to do. Why hesitate? This moment had surely been fated since the beginning of time.

Lifting her head, she aimed with lethal accuracy, sliding her fangs into the throat he willingly offered.

And promptly stiffened in amazement.

She hadn’t been prepared for the potent power as his blood hit her tongue. Or the rich, addictive flavor.

Or the fact that it would prove to be the finest aphrodisiac.

She groaned. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire, her hips lifting off the mattress to meet his deep thrusts with growing desperation. Then, as the blood slid down her throat, she experienced the first sense of the mating.

“Ariyal,” she breathed in wonderment.

There had been an imprint of this male upon her heart from the very beginning. Something she’d done her best to ignore, despite the danger. But now ...

Even prepared, she was staggered by the sheer intimacy of their connection.

She could actually feel what he was feeling. The pleasure of their lovemaking, the possessive male need to protect her, and, overriding everything, the fierce love that beat in his heart.

A shimmering, golden love for her alone.

Dazzled by the glorious sensations, Jaelyn carefully withdrew her fangs and licked shut the pinprick wounds on his neck.

Ariyal growled softly, shifting so he could run his lips down the length of my throat.

“My turn,” he muttered, abruptly biting her hard enough to break through her skin.

There was a momentary pain, but Jaelyn barely noticed as she felt him suck at the wound, causing her orgasm to crash through her with dizzying force.

“Holy ... shit,” she muttered, feeling as he thrust to his own climax.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, clinging to him as the last of the powerful convulsions wracked her body. Sex with Ariyal had always been a combustible event.

But this went beyond all fantasies.

Ariyal was hers.

Completely, utterly, and for all eternity.

Slowly relaxing beneath him, Jaelyn was floating on a warm sea of contentment when Ariyal slowly slid off her, ignoring her sleepy protests as he regarded her with a mysterious smile.

“We’re not done yet.”

She lifted her brows. Again? Well, hell, why not?

“If you insist,” she murmured with a small smile of invitation.

“I do.” Without warning he was off the bed and holding out a commanding hand. “Come with me.”

She frowned. “Come where?”

He arched a brow. “Do you trust me?”

She did, of course. This was the one person in the entire world who would never, ever hurt or betray her.

Placing her fingers in his hand, she allowed herself to be pulled out of the bed and coaxed out of the farmhouse to stand in the center of the backyard.

Ariyal turned to face her, his expression somber, but before she could ask why they were standing buck naked in the middle of nowhere, a shimmering mist began to form around them.

Jaelyn’s eyes widened as the mist thickened, the color flickering from the palest silver to the deepest crimson as it surrounded them.

“What is it?” she asked, her voice low with reverent wonder.

He lifted her hand to the center of his chest, his eyes reflecting the various colors of the mist.

“The Sylvermyst mating ceremony.”

“It’s beautiful.” Almost as beautiful as the man standing before her, she silently acknowledged. “What will it do?”

“The sharing of our blood has united our souls,” he explained softly. “The aurora will unite our hearts.”

She trembled as the mists brushed her bare skin, bringing with it the scent of herbs.

Suddenly she could sense the beats of Ariyal’s heart. And more than that ... the basic essence that made him the man that she loved.

His ruthless loyalty, his strength, and his ability to love without conditions or judgment.

“Yes,” she said, pressing against him as the mist wrapped them in a shimmer of light. “Mine.”

He wrapped his arms around her, his face buried in her hair.

“Mine.”

Behind the Veil

It was like a building out of ancient Greece.

Lots of fluted columns, arched windows, and carved friezes.

Not that Santiago was in the mood to appreciate the vaulted marble chamber that surrounded him, or the mosaic tiled floors, or even the thick hush that filled the ancient air, stirred only by rush of scurrying servants.

His entire body quivered from the unpleasant experience of being pulled through the Veil.

Dios.

For a few seconds he’d feared he might actually be ripped in two as he’d briefly hovered between two separate worlds. And then there had been the painful prickles of electricity that had nearly flayed the skin from his body.

It had lasted less than a few seconds, but it had been enough to convince him that it couldn’t be the normal passage. Who the hell would ever travel to this place if it threatened to eviscerate them?

Pushing away from the gold-veined marble wall that had been keeping him upright, he glared at the female who stood in the center of the corridor.

“You did that on purpose,” he growled, as annoyed by the sight of her perfection as by the lingering weakness in his knees.

The raven hair flowed smoothly down her back, framing her exquisite, icily composed face. Her robes were unwrinkled, without a speck of dust. And her slender hand was infuriatingly steady as it stroked over the large medallion lying just over her unbeating heart.

Worse, he suspected there was a hint of amusement in the dark eyes as she regarded him with a faux air of innocence.

“Did what?”

“Yanking me through the Veil like I was a barnacle you were hoping to scrape off,” he snapped, his hand instinctively reaching to make sure his sword was safely stowed in the scabbard angled down his back.

She shrugged. “You were in no danger, I assure you.”

“No danger? I was nearly fried.”

Her dark brows lifted as his words bounced eerily among the forest of columns.

“Is anything hurt beyond your pride?”

“Do you care?”

“I will take that as a no.”

With a faint smile she crossed toward the nearest doorway, moving down the long corridor. Still seething, Santiago followed in her wake, barely noticing the occasional glimpses of vampires moving through the columns, or the doorways leading to libraries, antechambers, and a dozen other rooms, which they passed at a rapid pace.

He’d heard rumors of what was beyond the Veil.

Glorious buildings constructed by the finest artists all shrouded by constant night. An endless countryside that remained untainted by humans. Or even demons. Gardens that bloomed with flowers that had no need of the sun.

And no doubt the roads were made of gold and the rivers ran with honey, he silently mocked.

A regular Garden of Eden.

Without the serpent.

Or was it?

The same rumors he’d heard regarding the beauty of this world also hinted that while the vampires lived in peace, they had maintained ancient powers that had been lost to his brothers.

Shape-shifting, mist walking ... mind control over lesser vampires.

And now one of them might be determined to unleash hell on his world.

“You are being frighteningly quiet.” Nefri at last broke the silence, halting to study him with blatant suspicion.

A humorless smile curved his lips. “Just taking in the magnificent sight of Shangri-la.”

“This is my home, not a fabled paradise.”

He grimaced. Home? It felt like a mausoleum.

“You have a real thing for marble, don’t you?”

She tilted her chin to a proud angle. “I enjoy beauty.”

Santiago stepped toward her, oddly annoyed by the sight of her standing there, so aloof and untouchable she didn’t appear quite real.

“Cold perfection?” he taunted.

“I beg your pardon?”

He was moving before his brain could remind him just how stupid it was to provoke a vampire who was not only stronger than him, but whose own territory he was standing in.

While he was very much the outsider.

“True beauty should be untamed, even flawed,” he growled, one hand grasping her upper arm as the other lightly circled her slender neck, his thumb stroking the cool satin of her skin. “It should entice and entangle the senses.”

The dark eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

Now that was a good question.

A fan-fucking-tastic question.

“You had your fun” was his lame comeback.

He felt the cool rush of her power, but she made no move to pull away from his touch.

“What fun?” she inquired.

“You made the journey through the Veil as unpleasant as possible.”

There wasn’t the smallest hint of apology on her pale, lovely face.

“I am unaccustomed to having a passenger.”

He snorted, not fooled for a minute.

“And you didn’t enjoy watching me squirm?”

“I told you ...”

Deciding to be hung for a sheep as for a lamb, or whatever the hell the saying might be, Santiago tossed away the last of his common sense and leaned forward to halt her words through the simple process of kissing her.

“I know what you told me,” he whispered against her lips.

“Santiago.”

She pulled her head back, but not before Santiago tasted her fleeting response.

And was struck by lightning.

Perhaps not physical lightning that came from the sky. But it was just as potent and seared through him with far more damage than the traditional bolt.

Dios. She tasted of exotic woman and forbidden pleasure.

His brooding gaze lingered on her parted lips, a heady desire pulsing through his body as his fingers continued to caress the bare skin of her throat.

“I like my name on your lips,” he said, his voice harsh in the still air.

“Halt this at once,” she commanded.

“Halt what?” He moved closer. “Touching you?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Like you, I appreciate beauty.”

The dark eyes flared with an indefinable emotion. “Does that mean you consider me flawed?”

He chuckled, his fingers drifting to trace the line of her jaw.

“Clever women are always the most dangerous.” He dipped his head down to nuzzle the corner of her surprisingly sensuous mouth. “And the most exciting.”

“Enough of this nonsense.” With an ease that scraped against Santiago’s pride, she pushed him away, turning to resume her trek down the corridor. “I must speak with the Elders.”

With fluid speed he moved to block her path. “Do they know that we’re here?”

She halted, her expression smoothed to an unreadable mask.

A certain sign she had something to hide.

“They would have sensed my return,” she admitted. “Even now they are gathering in the Great Hall.”

Santiago went rigid as he was struck by a nasty suspicion. “You can sense them as well?”

She was silent so long he thought she might refuse to answer. Then at last she gave a dip of her head.

“Yes.”

“Are they all accounted for?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s simple,” he rasped. “Have all the Elders gathered?”

“Not yet.” She waved a dismissive hand. “But there could be any number of reasons for their absence.”

He stepped toward her, his barely leashed anger making the torches that were set in shallow alcoves flare in reaction.

“What reason?”

She stood firm, even as her hair stirred from his swirling powers.

“You are here as my guest, Santiago,” she warned, the words coated in frost. “Do not make me regret having allowed you to travel with me.”

“Why are you avoiding my question?”

“I do not discuss our clan business with outsiders.”

“Outsider?” he hissed.

“Yes.”

Why did he find that word so insulting?

He sure the hell didn’t want to be included in a clan of vampires who cared more for their precious desire to find a higher purpose than their own brothers.

“Have you forgotten that one of your clan might be a traitor ?” he snarled. “That makes it very much my business.”

Her lips tightened, but her composure remained intact as she moved to brush past him.

“I think it is best if you wait here for me.”

His hand shot out to grasp her upper arm, the sickening foreboding making him blind to the danger.

“Nefri.”

“Not now, Santiago.”

“What are you hiding from me?”

“I have told you.” She grudgingly turned to meet his hard gaze. “It is clan business.”

“It’s Gaius, isn’t it?” he charged, knowing that if he hadn’t been watching her so closely he would have missed the slight flicker of her lashes. “He’s the missing Elder.”

Naturally she refused to admit the truth.

Most vampires were talented in the art of deception and this was one seemed more skilled than most.

“Your bitterness toward your sire has made you incapable of thinking clearly.”

Santiago refused to be bluffed. “I’m thinking clearly enough to know that I’m right. Can you deny it?”

She averted her face, her profile revealing precisely nothing.

“Remain here.”

“So you can try and hide the truth?”

“Nothing will be hidden,” she attempted to assure him.

Did she really think he would just take her word for it?

He might not be an ancient, but he hadn’t been turned yesterday.

“If you don’t have anything to hide then there’s no reason I can’t come with you.”

“By all the gods.” The ice momentarily melted as she turned to stab him with a blazing gaze. “You truly are the most stubborn vampire.”