Lucian studied her averted profile for a moment before nodding his agreement. At once the car slid back into traffic and headed for their home. She was correct. Tyler Drake would indeed perceive anyone who helped with their marriage ceremony as a threat to his fantasy world. Lucian let his breath out slowly. There were many things in Jaxon"s memories he didn"t fully understand.
A human ceremony to him did not have the same beauty and completeness about it that the Carpathian one held, yet he could not put her longing out of his mind. Someday, he vowed, she would have her ceremony in a church, surrounded by friends and family, just like the picture he had caught in her mind.
For now, all he could do was pull her close to his warmth and hold her in his arms.
In their house he left behind a rough, partial map of his property deep within the Cascade Mountains, along with three black-and-white photographs of the old ornate hunting lodge he had purchased. Prominently displayed was a note written in his flourishing handwriting. An a.n.a.lyst would have said it was Old World, bold, and the writer a dominating male with complete confidence in himself. The note was allegedly to Antonio, detailing instructions on the care and management of the estate in Lucian"s absence. Antonio was quite familiar with his instructions.
Lucian caught Jaxon"s hand and led her to the privacy of the enclosed backyard. "Are you ready? We must leave soon if we intend to travel this night."
Her eyes were suddenly wary. She had been far too quiet during his preparations, not once asking him anything. Her silence worried him far more than her questions would have.
"I don"t know why, Lucian, but I"m getting the distinct impression we aren"t taking the limousine after all."
"No, we travel much faster and more safely on our own. Antonio will pull the car out of the driveway and head toward the airport while we take off."
"And we"re going to..." She trailed off, looking at him expectantly.
"Fly." He said it softly.
Jaxon swallowed the lump that was suddenly blocking her throat. Somehow she had known. Somewhere along the line she had realized they wouldn"t be boarding an airplane or driving through the state in the white limousine. She wasn"t certain what had tipped her off; perhaps simply being able to read Lucian"s mind. Maybe she was sharing his mind more often than she was aware.
She realized she was twisting her fingers together nervously and immediately put both hands behind her back. He thought she could do this. He expected her to do it. He was treating the idea of flying as an everyday occurrence. "Like superman?" Her attempt at a smile fell flat.
"Not exactly. Clouds are moving in-a perfect cover. I will help you dissolve into mist, and we"ll use the drafts to move through the air."
Her heart slammed hard in her chest. Her teeth bit more deeply into her lower lip. "Mist sounds a bit difficult to start with. Why don"t we try something easier?"
"Such as?" Lucian prompted gently.
"We can use our feet. You know, just start walking down the highway and stick our thumbs out." Again she attempted a smile. But the rapid beating of her heart betrayed her.
"Look at me, angel." He turned the full force of his black eyes on her. "You trust me. You know you do. I would never ask you to do anything you could not do. You are very capable of doing this."
She was nodding, aware he was right, but at the same time, the thought of her body dissolving into drops of mist was terrifying. "Couldn"t I try something else first? Something easier?" Her fingers twisted together nervously, but she stood resolutely.
Lucian hesitated. Mist would be easy to move quickly through time and s.p.a.ce, streamlined, fast, unseen by even the undead in the dark of night. "Mist takes the same amount of energy to create as shape-shifting into owls or birds of prey with tremendous wingspans. It is essentially the same."
"How can our bodies be squeezed into the tiny little body of a bird?" Her voice was trembling. She heard it but could do nothing about it. No matter how much she wanted to accept this, she was finding the idea terrifying.
Lucian swept his arms around her. "I can help you, Jaxon. Will you trust me to do that for you? I can make the acceptance easier."
Her first reaction was to shake her head firmly, her teeth grinding so hard on her lip that a small bead of blood appeared. The idea of someone else controlling her was not to her liking, but when she made herself take a breath, she felt differently. This was a part of her life now. Like it or not, she was no longer human. She was Carpathian. There was no going back, only going forward. She had to learn to do this somehow. And she was not going to be able to control every situation.
Lucian watched as she gnawed nervously at her lower lip. The sight was enough to tear at his heartstrings. His palm slid around the nape of her neck, his fingers sliding over her skin, her pulse. Of their own accord his fingertips stroked her blond hair soothingly. He bent his head to hers, his mouth finding hers with ease, his tongue swirling a healing agent over her full lower lip even as he took the essence of her blood into his body.
"Just to help me, to calm me down," Jaxon said softly. "I don"t want you to take over my mind entirely."
His hand moved lovingly over her face. Taking over was a temptation. It wasn"t that he begrudged the time. He had used up a good portion of the night getting the wolves ready for transport, preparing them for the disturbing separation the pack would have to endure. He would spend every minute of this night allowing Jaxon as much time as she needed to accept what must be done.
To accept the tremendous gifts she had inherited. Still, he was tempted to take control of her mind, to eliminate her fears, so that she would cease to suffer so needlessly. He really had trouble bearing her pain.
As if she was touching his mind and reading his thoughts, she forced a small smile. "I can do this. I know I can. If I do it this time with your help, I know I can do it by myself the next time. It would have come in handy when I was facing that ghoul at the police station. I could have just evaporated."
"You will feel an incredible sense of freedom, Jaxon," he said softly, and he merged his mind fully with hers. At once his calmness was hers, his tranquil mind centering hers. He built a picture in her head, in his.
Jaxon felt her body begin to fade-well, not fade exactly, but begin to become light and airy. She wanted to grab his hand and hold on tightly. He was an anchor in her mind, and, immediately, as her terror began to rise, she felt the warmth and strength of his arms creeping around her. Except there was no Jaxon anymore. She was vapor, a colorful mist like rainbow prisms. Droplets in the air.
Surrounding her was Lucian. Not flesh and blood, bone and sinew, but diamondlike specks moving swiftly to protect her as they began to move through the sky.
It was unexpectedly exhilarating. Terrifying but exhilarating. They streaked skyward, right up toward the clouds. Jaxon had never experienced anything even close to the feeling. Power flowed through her and out into the night sky.
She was aware of the sights below her, although not in the same sense as seeing them through her own eyes. Rather, she was seeing them through Lucian as they streaked through the sky. They were moving far too fast and she was too inexperienced to be able to focus on any one thing below them. Each time she became at all distracted, Lucian"s mind centered her, holding the picture of mist uppermost in her mind. It was easy for him, second nature, so much so that he was no more aware of the mechanics of shape-shifting than of walking. For Jaxon it was an energy-draining yet wild ride.
By the time Lucian called a halt, Jaxon was so exhausted she was barely able to resume her own form. She was swaying, her skin so pale it was nearly translucent. Without Lucian to hold her up, she would have simply collapsed onto the ground. She had no idea where she was, and she really didn"t care. All around her was forest, thick stands of trees and dark, lush vegetation. They were in a mountainous area, steep and wild. The wind was blowing fiercely through the branches and leaves, creating a whistling that sounded curiously like a moan.
Jaxon felt light, almost insubstantial, in Lucian"s arms. He eased her down to the ground so she could rest her back against a broad tree trunk. "You did exactly right, my love. Shape-shifting is not nearly as alarming as it first appeared, is it?"
Clasping her knees, she shook her head, dizzy and swaying, her head almost too heavy to hold up. She was hungry; hunger beat in her like her a pulse, like her heart. It pounded in her ears, throbbed in her veins. It was a sickness consuming her. She could hear Lucian"s heart beating strongly, beckoning her.
The ebb and flow of blood moving through him, his life force like the sap moving through the trees. She could smell his scent calling to her, his very essence beckoning her. She felt the heat of his skin radiating outward toward her, surrounding her like a silken web. She needed the feel of him, strong and powerful, holding her close to him.
Lucian bent to her. The sound of the blood rushing through his veins, bursting with hot, sweet life, tormented her. Without looking up at him, Jaxon pushed at his chest with the palm of one hand. She didn"t want him to see the loathing of her own need in her eyes. It was just that she was so weak, so drained of energy. She had never felt as tired and insubstantial before. She could get her craving under control if he just would move away from her and give her s.p.a.ce.
What you are feeling is very normal, little love. You need to feed. His voice brushed at her, soft, seductive, deliberately intimate.
I know exactly what is wrong, Lucian. To you it"s perfectly normal. To me it"s abhorrent. She was too tired to speak aloud, to fight for her humanity. I want to sleep for a while. Can we just find a place for tonight?
Lucian straightened slowly. He knew they were being tracked. The one following them was a distance away, careful to keep from putting himself in Lucian"s path. Lucian felt a strange blankness in two areas several miles from them. Only those of power could manage such a thing. When a Carpathian scanned a region for life-forms, very few could successfully hide their presence.
Lucian was an ancient. He was sensitive enough that he could feel the absence of life as clearly as he could feel life itself.
"Listen to me, honey," he said very softly, his voice so gentle and tender her heart fluttered. "Our plan is working very well. To the north and west of us, two lesser vampires are tracking us across the country. Another, much more powerful being is following, also. I can detect the taint of him but cannot find his exact location without going out to face all three of them."
Jaxon raised her head and looked up at him with her large eyes. She was so tired, she had to reach for her voice. "Not alone, you"re not. If you go, I go.
Come on then, Lucian. Do your mind-control thing. It"s the only way I"m going to be able to eat. Or feed, or whatever disgusting way you say it." There was resolve on her face, in the depths of her eyes.
Lucian immediately felt an answering response in the region of his heart. She was totally exhausted and overwhelmed by all the new things she was having to face, yet she rose to the occasion the moment there was need, overcoming her natural aversion to their feeding habits. She knew she needed to be at full strength in order to aid him and was determined to do whatever was necessary to accomplish this.
Before she could change her decision, Lucian acted, merging their minds fully, taking control, commanding her to come to him, to take what she needed from her lifemate. Jaxon rose with one fluid movement, sensuous, sultry, a full- blooded Carpathian temptress. She moved toward him without a sound, like flowing water, graceful and beautiful. The dark night could not hide her incredible beauty, the whiteness of her teeth, the scent of her, her flawless skin or shapely body. Lucian heard a soft groan escape his throat as even there, in the moonlight, with enemies approaching from all directions, the sight of her made his body tighten with urgent demand.
Her small frame, soft and pliant, moved restlessly against his, warm satin skin melting into his heavier muscles. At once his clothes felt confining and coa.r.s.e against his sensitive skin. Her fingers brushed at him as she slowly unb.u.t.toned his shirt, seeking contact with his warmth. Slender arms wound around his neck as she pressed closer. His heart picked up the rhythm; his gut clenched hotly.
She was moving so seductively against him, he thought he might not be able to stand it. She whispered something soft against his chest, her breath warm on his heated skin. Her mouth moved upward over his throat to the pulse beckoning in his neck. Her tongue swirled once, twice, her teeth skimming, nipping, sc.r.a.ping until his body was a taut, urgent demand so hot and needy he found he was having a difficult time concentrating on scanning the area.
Angel, you are going to kill me if you do not feed now. His voice was husky, betraying the desperate need he had of her.
At once he felt the white-hot lance of pleasure-pain slashing through his body, turning his insides to molten lava. Ecstasy rushed through him like a fireball, spread like a wildfire as his blood flowed into her. They were connected for all eternity. He closed his eyes and savored the way his body felt, hot and hard and uncomfortable yet swamped with wave after wave of pure pleasure.
In all his existence he had never felt s.e.xual desire or enjoyment when he took or gave blood. With Jaxon he couldn"t separate the two. He was not certain he could ever stand by and watch her feed from another man. The thought of her gliding seductively up to another male, her arms circling his neck, his head thrown back to allow her to find his pulse beating strongly, sickened him. Her mouth moving over someone else"s skin, her tongue touching, teasing, her teeth sinking deeply, connecting the two of them-the image swam alarmingly in his mind for a moment.
A fierce growl escaped his throat, and his eyes glowed hotly, red flames leaping in their depths. Jaxon"s tongue swept across the tiny pinp.r.i.c.ks to close them, and she looked up at him. "What is it?" There was a hot, coppery flavor in her mouth, addicting and subtly masculine. She put the back of her hand to her lips and wiped surrept.i.tiously, willing her stomach not to rebel although her mind was screaming at her in denial. She blinked up at Lucian, trying desperately to appear normal. He had enough worries without always trying to placate her fears.
Lucian swept his arms around her, holding her to him tightly. "You are the most important person in my world."
"I"m also turning out to be the biggest baby in the world. I can"t believe how afraid I am of everything." She attempted a laugh, but they both knew she was telling the truth. "Usually I"m really cool under fire, Lucian. I don"t know why I"m acting so silly."
"Do not do this, Jaxon. Do not apologize to me when I am the one who made this decision for you. You have had much to learn and cope with in a short s.p.a.ce of time. You are learning things that are completely foreign to you. I think you have done remarkably well under the circ.u.mstances." His hands came up to caress her hair. "I have no quarrel with the way you have accepted the extraordinary things I have demanded of you, and I am exceptionally proud of you." He leaned close. "Can you not feel the way I feel about you? You have been in my mind enough to do so."
"I think I"m still afraid to look too closely. I"m still getting used to the new me," she admitted almost shyly.
"Perhaps you would learn more of yourself if you saw yourself through my eyes instead of your own," he suggested, his voice black-velvet persuasion.
A slow curve touched her soft mouth. "I"m beginning to believe you"re just the tiniest bit prejudiced in my favor."
His eyebrows shot up, an elegant, Old World, lord-of-the-manor gesture she found endearing. "That could not be true. You are the most beautiful, desirable, courageous woman in the world. It is a fact."
She nuzzled his chest, savoring his warmth and strength, the way he comforted her in a world she no longer understood. "I"d be willing to bet your brother doesn"t think that. He probably thinks Francesca is the most desirable woman in the world."
"He has never had my superior intellect or my discernment," he replied solemnly.
Jaxon found herself laughing. "I"ll be sure to tell him when I finally meet him."
Lucian shrugged carelessly, a casual ripple of muscle and sinew that made her think of a great jungle cat stretching lazily. "I have told him so on many occasions, but he fools himself into thinking he knows more than I."
At once she was laughing aloud, her young voice soft and carefree, floating in the wind. "He does that, does he? More and more I think I should meet him.
The two of us might find we share the same point of view."
His fingers ruffled her hair in a caress before tugging the silken strands gently.
"I do not believe I shall ever introduce you to him."
"I have a feeling I will meet your brother very soon. It is obvious to me you care a great deal about him. In the meantime, what do we do about our company? You can tackle the big guy-I don"t want any part of him. The lesser ones seem more up my alley." She was looking up at him expectantly, her dark eyes clear and serious. She expected to go into battle with him, was fully prepared to do whatever he told her.
Lucian bent his head to kiss her inviting mouth. She moved him. It was that simple. The way she was so certain she would help him. She was a bright light to him, warming him where nothing else ever could. It was amazing to him that she could still be so determined to help him when she knew his power, his abilities.
She didn"t want him fighting alone.
Her long lashes fluttered down to conceal the expression in her eyes. "You never should have been alone all those years." Her chin lifted. "We"re a team now."
Lucian found himself smiling at her. "Absolutely." Ordinarily he would have gone after the two lesser vampires to remove that threat, but with Jaxon in jeopardy, he would never take the risk of leaving her alone while he went into battle. "It is no small thing to fight a vampire, honey. The ghouls you faced were nothing compared to a vampire. Even one who has just "turned" is very formidable. Remember, they were male Carpathians at full strength for centuries.
They have acquired tremendous knowledge and skills during that time. As vampires they maintain a certain tainted strength. All of them must be considered extremely dangerous."
She nodded solemnly. "I"m not looking forward to this, if that"s what you think. I wouldn"t mind werewolves-I can do the silver-bullet-in-the-heart thing.
I"m a great shot. Do silver bullets do any good on these creatures?"
"We are not going to fight them at this time. We are not ready. We want the full advantage. Let them come after us. They must seek shelter soon. I know these mountains, and they do not. We can travel longer in the early dawn than they can. We will pick our battleground and wage our war when we are completely set."
He wanted to call the lesser vampires to him, to destroy them immediately as he knew he could, but he was well aware of the other out there, waiting, bloated with skill and the knowledge of centuries spent as a vampire. He was a foul creature, wholly evil, using mortals and immortals alike for his own dark purposes. He would be aware that Lucian was capable of calling the lesser vampires to him. He would know that Lucian would be well aware of the undead tracking them and would expect Lucian to deal with them.
"Are you saying that just to keep me from going after them with you? I learn fast, Lucian, I really do. Just tell me what to do."
"You will learn all too soon, Jaxon. It is easy to read my mind when we are merged. The information you seek is there for you at any time. Right now, we must continue with our journey. We must have shelter before the sun rises too high."
"Am I holding us back?" she asked anxiously.
"We have plenty of time, Jaxon. There is no hurry. We are high in the mountains. I know this area intimately. Before we go down into the cities, Carpathians always search out the high reaches. The Cascade Mountains are fire and ice-a perfect home for ones such as us."
Her eyebrows rose. "I"m going to pretend I didn"t hear that. Fire and ice? I don"t like the sound of those words."
"You should. They describe you."
"They do not!" She was indignant.
He laughed softly, an intimate, s.e.xy sound that immediately sent a rush of heat spiraling through her body. "You are fire right now, my little love, and you are ice when you are under fire."
She blushed for no reason she could think of except for his voice. It was the way he talked, his accent, the black-velvet sorcery that could make her feel as if she was the only woman in the world, the only one down through the long centuries. It was in his voice, in his eyes, the way they went from ice-cold to smoldering heat in a blink. He made her feel intensely desirable. He had to have her, had to be with her. Everything she said, everything she did, was of great importance to him.
Lucian leaned close to her, one arm slipping around her waist so he could pull her slender body into the heat of his. "I make you feel that way because it is so, not because my voice is magic."
She touched a fingertip to his mouth. "You are magic, Lucian."
His body tightened in urgent demand, and for the first time his heart slammed painfully in his chest. He heard something in her voice that had never been there before. She didn"t say she loved him, because deep within her mind she didn"t believe she did. Her soul bound her to him; she had no choice but to accept that.
Her body cried out for his; he was well aware of their physical chemistry. But he had expected a long battle for her heart.
Yet there it was. Four little words that should have meant nothing, yet he heard it. Soft. Shy. Unaware, even. You are magic, Lucian. It was in those words-the surrender of her heart into his keeping. He held her to him, a tiny package of dynamite, closing his eyes to savor the moment. It would be etched in his mind for all eternity. Jaxon with her ridiculous name and small, feminine build, with all the courage of long-forgotten warriors.
"You are safe in my care," he whispered, his mouth at her temple.
She was content to be held. Even with the sun so close to rising, with the wilderness surrounding them and enemies chasing them, she felt totally protected. He held her for a few minutes, relaxing in the cool of the mountains before the next leg of their journey.
Chapter Fourteen
The view was breathtaking. Jaxon perched on the top of a flat rock and surveyed the cascading waterfall pour down the cavern wall in a rush of white foam. Lucian had once more stopped their flight, this time deep within a cavernous mountain. She was under the earth before she had time to think about the layers of granite and dirt above her head. The cave was huge, the pools deep below the falls giving the illusion of tremendous s.p.a.ce. Crystals hung in long spears of color sparkling like diamonds. She could see as clearly as if it were daylight. She was very tired but strangely happy.
As they had made their way across the sky, Jaxon managed to maintain the mist by herself without Lucian"s aid. He had remained fully merged with her but had allowed her to be the one to hold the image firmly in her mind. On the first leg of their journey she had been apprehensive and very much aware of what they were doing. It seemed wholly unnatural. The second time she had accepted the method of travel as expedient and much easier to maintain than she had first thought. She had found her body relaxed and her mind calm as they streaked across the sky together. It was tiring, no doubt about it, but she realized it was like any other effort: It required only practice before she perfected it. Now she wanted to try other things. Wolves. Birds. Everything. Anything.
But it could all wait for a better time. She was too tired, and, aboveground, she was aware the sun was rising. Just before they had entered the cave, her eyes had begun to sting as if p.r.i.c.ked by a thousand needles. And the crazy thing was, she had been only mist, with no skin, no eyes, nothing for the sun to touch. Yet she had felt it, and it had been distinctly uncomfortable.