you going to kill me? i'd just as soon know now."

his hand moved over her hair in a slow caress that sent butterfly wings brushing at her stomach. "you are the only one in this world, mortal or immortal, who, i can say with complete conviction, is perfectly safe. i would give my life to protect you, but i will not give you up."

there was a small silence while she studied his implacable features. she believed him. knew he was as merciless and dangerous as any wild predator. he watched her throat work, a small, agitated attempt to swallow.

"all right," she conceded. "then there isn't much point in running away, is there?" her mind was in chaos, making it impossible to think what to do. what could she do? more importantly, what did she want to do? she bit down hard on her lower lip.

a small dot of ruby red welled up on that lush, trembling lower lip. a temptation. an invitation.

darius groaned aloud, the sound coming from his soul. she couldn't do that, tempt him beyond endurance, and get away unscathed. he bent his head to hers, his mouth hard and possessive. his tongue found that tiny dot of sweetness, swept it into his keeping, savored it. but he couldn't stop there. her lips were satin soft beneath his. trembling. enticing. god, he wanted her. needed her. hungered for her.

open your mouth for me. i'm afraid of you.

the words held tears, held fear, yet she was helpless against her own burning need. tempest did as he ordered.

time stopped for rusti, and the world fell away, until there was only the hard strength of darius's arms, the heat of his body, the width of his shoulders, and his perfect, perfect mouth. he was a mixture of domination and tenderness. he swept her up with him, caught in a whirling kaleidoscope of colors and feelings. nothing would ever be the same again. she would never be the same again. how could she be? he was branding her heart. branding her soul. he was crawling inside her and taking over so that she breathed only him.

his hunger was beating at him, at her. she was the only thing in his world that was solely for him. she was fire, hot, silky fire racing through his veins, and he never wanted it to stop. only when she gasped, her lungs laboring, did he lift his head, his black eyes burning with possession over her face. tempest was very pale, her eyes enormous, her lips holding the imprint of his.

she was so weak, she was grateful darius was still cradling her in his arms. her legs felt like rubber. "i think i'm going to be like one of those ridiculous heroines in an old-fashioned novel and faint," she murmured against his neck.

"no, you are not." he attempted to feel guilt - he had taken her blood, and she was so small and fragile that any blood loss could make her weak - but darius was not one to waste time on regrets. how could he regret what was as natural and inevitable as the tide? she was his. her blood was his. her heart and soul belonged to him.

very gently, tenderly, he ran a caressing hand over her silky hair and down her soft cheek to lay his palm against her throat. his fingers curled slowly around her neck, his thumb feathering the delicate line of her jaw. he wanted to touch every inch of her, explore every secret, intriguing shadow and hollow, memorize her luscious curves.

"darius." her green eyes found his black ones. "you can't just decide you own me. people don't own one another anymore. i'm not certain what you are, but i gather you weren't born here or even in this century. i was. i value my independence. it matters to me that i make my own decisions. you don't have the right to take that from me." she tried to choose her words carefully, accepting that she was to blame for her own behavior, that this wasn't all darius's fault.

she had wanted to kiss him. she admitted it. she touched her swollen lips, a little awed. no one should be able to kiss like that. it was like falling off the edge of a cliff, soaring through the skies, touching the sun. it was like burning, going up in flames, until there was no more tempest trine, no thinking individual, only mindless, impossible passion.

"darius, did you understand what i said?"

"did you understand what i said?" he countered softly between his white teeth. "i know it is not an easy thing to accept one such as me, but i have given my eternal allegiance and protection to you, and that is no small thing, tempest. it is for all time."

"it isn't that i can't accept what you are. i don't even know what that is yet, really." she squirmed suddenly. "put me down. please. i feel very - " she broke off, not wanting to admit to feeling defenseless, but the word shimmered between them all the same. "please, darius. i want to talk about this and not feel at such a disadvantage."

his hard mouth curved, taking away the almost cruel, implacable edge as if it had never been. slowly he lowered her feet to the ground. she was half his size and had to tip her chin up to look at him. "do you feel at more of an advantage now?" he asked softly, amusement in his black-velvet voice.