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tempest shook her head, then pulled back to look into his eyes. "you know that can never be. i won't let you do this, darius - throw away your life, make yourself vulnerable, perhaps sick. i know sleeping above ground the same way i sleep will eventually weaken you. i won't have it. why are you doing that? i don't need constant protection. i've taken care of myself for a long time."
he answered her the only way he knew how, by fastening his mouth to hers. the rush was there, instantly arcing between them, sizzling and snapping as hunger rose sharply and flames began to lick at their skin. darius poured everything he felt for her into that kiss - the fire, the hunger and need, his absolute commitment to her. then he caught her face between his palms to hold her still beneath his searching gaze. "look at me, honey. i want you to believe me. merge your mind with mine so that you will know that what i say is true. i want this. i have no reservations, none at all. i want to spend my life with you, grow old and die with you. it would be a wonderful miracle to have centuries together, but i accept that it cannot be, and i do not wish it otherwise." he leaned down to kiss the corners of her mouth. "do not fear our union. it is what i want with every cell of my body. it is the only thing i want. i will be happy with our life together."
tempest reached up to circle his neck with her arms, pulling his head down desperately to kiss him, moving against his body restlessly, needing him with almost carpathian hunger. he could feel the tears on her face and knew she was crying for him, knew she was afraid of bringing him harm, knew that any moment she could be so overwhelmed by this sharing of her life that she might bolt.
"why didn't you tell me what you were doing to yourself, darius?" she whispered against his throat. his fingers were moving beneath her shirt, pushing the edges up until he found her silken skin, his palm hot and inviting, caressing her breast. she could hardly think with the fire racing through her and the hunger for him raging in her soul. "you have to promise me you'll never do it again. i can look after myself while you're in the ground. i'll stay wherever you ask me to stay. i promise i will, darius."
his mouth was now at her breast and she cradled his head to her, her fingers spearing through his thick hair while waves of heat raced through her body.
she was silk and satin, warm honey, and the clean, fresh scent of the night he loved so much. she was everything good and beautiful in the world, everything he could ever want. his hands slipped reverently over her body, sliding over every inch of skin he could reach. he pushed at her jeans to get at more of her.
darius was consumed with hunger for her, with a fierce need to bury himself in the perfection of her body. he needed her hot, tight sheath gripping him to take away the terrible fear for her safety he couldn't quite shake. he pushed her jeans away from her slender hips, caressing her, shaping her body with his hands, cupping her bottom in his palms so that he could crush her against him, press her into his hard, thick arousal. he groaned at the feel of her, moist and hot, beckoning him, her body's wild scent calling to his.
she seemed so fragile that he had a fear of crushing her, of becoming so out of control that he would forget his own enormous strength and hurt her. he tried to be gentle with her, to see to her fulfillment before his own, but the scent and feel of her was so exciting to him that his animal instincts threatened to take over.
"what am i going to do with you, darius?" she whispered softly against his bared chest. her mouth was moving over him, tasting his skin as hungrily as he was tasting hers. there was an ache in her voice.
his mouth immediately fastened on hers again in long, drugging kisses that fanned the flames more. "love me back, tempest. need me the way i have need of you."
he was everywhere, his broad shoulders blocking out the night sky, his breath taking hers, his body molding around hers, sweeping her into their own world where nothing else intruded. "you do not know what you put me through with your blatant disobedience." his mouth was on her throat, her breasts, a frenzied hunger that seemed to know no boundaries. "you must learn to obey me." his hand moved between her thighs, found her hot, moist acceptance. he heard his own groan as his body hardened even more, a sweet agony only she could relieve. "god, baby, i am going to explode if i do not take you right now." his fingers found her feminine sheath, explored, teased, made her crazy for him.
tempest was kissing his shoulder, soft little nips she couldn't stop, her body moving restlessly in enticement, demand. "darius, please, stop giving orders for once and just make love to me."
he pressed her back against a fallen tree, turning her in his arms so that she could brace her hands on the huge trunk. he caressed her bottom, traced the indentations, the cleft, the two small dimples at her lower back. impatient, tempest pushed against him, and he grew instantly heavier with need. his hands went to her hips to hold her still, and as he pressed his velvet tip into her hot entrance, the breath was stolen from his lungs.
"darius!" she wailed, trying to push backward, to take the length of him deep inside her.
"promise me," he growled softly, his hands caressing her hips, sliding over her buttocks to deliberately enflame her more. the sight of her, so petite and perfect, sent streaks of lightning whipping through him.
"i promise," she bit out rashly, unable to think clearly.
darius reached around her to cup her breasts in his palms possessively. he thrust into her mind even as his hips surged forward to bury himself deep within her. she was even hotter, softer, tighter than he remembered. he nuzzled her neck, his teeth scraping erotically. he felt her body grip him harder in anticipation, and, despite his every good intention, the wildness in him took over; his fangs lengthened and sank into her neck.
he took her hard and fast, thrusting deeply, his body surrounding hers as hers did his. he was in her mind, feeding her erotic images, his savage, primitive, bestial nature rising, a wolf claiming its mate, a leopard holding its female in a submissive position. at the same time he was darius, taking her higher and higher, pushing their shared pleasure beyond human to ecstasy. her body rippled with her release, driving him over the edge so that his hot seed erupted again and again into her depths.
he held her still, locked to her, not wanting to give up their physical connection, the taste of her. reluctantly he forced himself to close the pinpricks in her neck. he had fed well before he had approached the camp, knowing he would take her before the night was over, knowing he might still, regretfully, have to kill cullen tucker. he did not want to risk inadvertently converting tempest, to chance that something might go wrong.
he stroked her body, explored her every curve. his mouth followed the line of her spine, kissing the length of her back. "do you have any idea how i feel about you, baby, any idea at all?" he growled.
tempest's legs felt rubbery. she wanted to lie down somewhere. they had been up all night the night before, and she had not so much as grabbed a nap. suddenly, with all the intrigue, the work, and their shared, wild lovemaking, she was exhausted.
darius knew it instantly. he slowly withdrew from her body, feeling slightly bereft. it shamed him that he could need her so much, hunger for her blood, the taste of her body, the feel of her surrounding him. he had to find a way to strike a balance between treating her gently enough to keep from scaring her off and forcing his will on her so that he could keep her always safe at his side.
darius tenderly pulled her up against his hard frame, where tempest slumped, blushing wildly at how wanton she had been, begging him to take her. she shoved her hands through her hair, and at once his palms covered her upthrust breasts, sending fire sizzling to her sensitive nipples and back to him again. she buried her face against his chest, too tired to stand on her own, and darius instantly swept her up into his arms. she closed her eyes as they moved in a blur through time and space.
whatever he said to the others, however he had made it happen, she was grateful that the campsite was empty, except for the bus when they returned, both of them stark naked. when she was making love to darius, she felt totally free, totally uninhibited. but once they were back in the real world, her private nature reasserted itself, and she was painfully modest.
darius carried her into the trailer to the sofa bed, placing her among all its pillows. "you will rest now, tempest." it was decree, an order delivered in a voice meant to be obeyed.
she caught at him as he went to move away from her, drawing him back to the bed, down beside her. her hand stroked the hard angles and planes of his face, a gentle caress that totally disarmed him. darius was instantly lost in the contentment, the sheer pleasure of having her with him. he lay down beside her, just for a few minutes, and pulled her into his arms.