Dark Fire

Chapter Fifteen

Tempest drove the bus onto the shoulder of the road, parked, and rested her head against the steering wheel. She felt as if she had been driving forever, but it was the road conditions and driving rain that finally defeated her waning strength, not the hour of night. Exhausted, she struggled to keep her eyes open. In any case, she had stayed on the main highway until there was a confusing fork in the road. She had gone right around the bend, hoping she wasn’t supposed to take the road branching to the left. She nibbed her eyes, feeling faint.

Her heart nearly stopped when a cloud of vapor streamed in through the window she had cracked open, hoping the cold air would revive her. Julian Savage shimmered into a solid state beside her, then went at once to Darius, concern etched on his handsome face. Tempest laid her head back against the seat, too tired to question him.

“How long has he been like this?” Julian demanded.

“He was shot,” Tempest said without opening her eyes. “I told him to sleep, that I would find the rest of you.”

Julian bent close to Darius, tore at his own wrist with his teeth, and pressed the wound firmly over Darius’s mouth. “Take what is freely offered that you might live both for your lifemate and yourself.” He was unexpectedly gentle, his voice a blend of concern and hypnotic compulsion.

Darius moved then, for the first time in hours, his hand rising weakly to grip Julian’s wrist and hold it to his mouth. Julian began the ritual healing chant, and from several miles away, the rest of the Carpathians, linked as they were with their unique telepathy, joined in. All of them felt Darius’s weakness and pain. All of them knew he would not go to ground as he needed.

Tempest pushed herself from the driver’s seat and staggered down the trailer until she could drop to her knees beside Darius. “Is he going to be okay, Julian?”

“He is weak. He went into battle already drained of his strength. He used mental energy to focus the storm and hide the bus.” Julian looked worried, his eyes filled with concern. “He must go to ground and heal. He needs to sleep the sleep of our people.”

Darius roused himself, the blood of the ancients flowing strong in his veins. “She was lost again, was she not?”

“I wasn’t lost,” Tempest protested, her voice drowsy. “I was simply looking for a good place to rest.”

Julian shrugged. “She took a wrong turn a few miles ago. I will drive both of you to the others. You must sleep, Darius.”

“I must protect Tempest.” It was an implacable statement, an order given by a being used to being obeyed.

Tempest leaned her head against his leg. “You’re about as much protection as a wet noodle right now, Darius. I’m protecting

you.

“ She would have glared at him, but she didn’t have the energy to lift her head. “Get it? I’m taking the responsibility for a change.”

Julian shook his head at them. “You are both a sorry sight. I have no choice but to offer my protection. I will drive. You two rest.”

“Good idea,” Darius and Tempest said simultaneously.

Darius reached down until he found Tempest’s hand and laced his fingers through hers, connecting them together. They were content to be silent for a long while, the swaying of the bus curiously comforting. Then Darius’s thumb began to move, a feather-light touch brushing gently back and forth across her knuckles. “I need to feel your body beside mine,” he murmured beneath his breath.

Tempest heard the urgency of his need in his voice. He never tried to hide it from her, never worried that he sounded vulnerable. She was exhausted, so much so that it was an effort to lift herself to the other side of the low couch. Sliding beside him, she fit her body to his. Darius instantly turned to wrap his arms around her. She felt as though she was home, safe and protected, where she belonged. She closed her eyes and slept, not realizing Darius had given her a slight mental push to help her drift off peacefully.

Tempest jerked awake just under an hour later as Julian parked the trailer at the chosen site and opened the door for the others. Desari rushed in, a soft cry of alarm escaping as she saw her brother and Tempest. Her hand went to her throat. “Julian?” Her ethereal voice wavered for a moment as she sought reassurance from her lifemate.

“He needs more blood and the earth to heal him,” Julian supplied.

Darius pushed himself into a sitting position, his black eyes moving over his family crowding around him. “Do not look so worried. It is not as if I have never been injured before. It is nothing.” He turned to look down at Tempest.

She simply didn’t have the energy to move. She lay, her body like lead, just staring lovingly up at his face. His hand stroked her cheek, then settled around her neck. Darius was looking at her as if she were his entire world.

Desari stroked back Tempest’s hair. “You were wonderful, Rusti, so brave. I can feel your body’s terrible weariness.”

Tempest managed a wan smile. “Don’t tell me Darius was broadcasting a blow-by-blow report while it was all happening.”

“Of course. We needed to know in case something went wrong and we had to return to give aid,” Desari explained. “To help with the illusion, we created in the minds of those who saw us traveling on the highway the memory of the trailer traveling with us. If the authorities question anyone, they will state that all vehicles were traveling together last night, long before the horrible battle where we had camped.”

“A regular sports commentator, aren’t you, Darius?” Tempest asked, annoyed that he had expended even more energy than she had first thought. No wonder he was looking gray and gaunt. “Take him wherever he’s supposed to go and put him to sleep and leave me to rest.”

Darius’s hand tightened around the nape of her neck. “We will not be separated. You must eat something before you sleep, Tempest. You have not taken any sustenance for twenty-four hours.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I get it. You don’t have to take proper care of yourself, but I do. It isn’t going to happen that way, Darius. You can growl at me all you want, but if you’re insisting on forcing this relationship on me, you can darn well see to it that you take care of yourself so there’s no possibility of your leaving me alone.”

Darius felt the curious melting in the region of his heart that she always caused. Tempest was trying hard to lecture him, to be tough, but her voice wavered, her fear for his well-being clearly evident to him. He leaned over to brush a soft kiss across her mouth. “You will do as I say, honey, as you are meant to do.”

Tempest’s eyes flashed fire. “That’s it. One of you go get me a club. A big one. He clearly needs to be hit over the head to bring him back to his senses. He must have lost them somewhere in the forest. You idiot, I’m not your child to be dictated to. I’m a grown woman perfectly capable of making my own decisions. Now just this one time in your life, do what you’re supposed to do and go to ground or whatever you call it.”

Julian made the mistake of allowing a laugh to escape, then hastily tried to cover it with a cough. Darius glared up at him, noticed the others grinning openly at him. “I am certain you all have things to do,” he instructed pointedly.

“Not really,” Barack answered.

Dayan shook his head. “Much more entertaining here, Darius. You know, I’m still trying to get this relationship thing down, so is necessary to observe one up close.”

Syndil took the more innocent approach. “Naturally our concern is for you and Rusti, Darius. Nothing is more important than aiding you.”

Julian smirked at him. “This is enlightening. I am new to your particular ways, Darius, and do not mind learning how to handle the women properly when they refuse to be obedient.”

Desari’s eyebrows rose. “I’ll show you obedient,” she threatened.

Darius groaned. “All of you, go away.”

“You go away, too,” Tempest directed, fitting her body more closely into the pillows. “I need to sleep.”

He could hear the utter weariness in her voice. “It is unsafe, baby.

We

cannot stay here. We are hunted, and none of us can remain above ground in our weakest hours. There are caves close by. You will be comfortable there, I promise.”

Her lashes fluttered for a moment, her heartbeat audible to them all. “It’s the bat thing again, isn’t it?” She forced humor into her voice. “I think I’m going to have to go into therapy if we keep doing the bat thing. Closed-in places don’t agree with me.”

“I will make you sleep,” Darius said gently.

“Let’s do it then.” She lifted her lashes long enough to catch Desari’s worried expression. When she glanced at the others, she could read the concern on their faces. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Darius’s black eyes suddenly came alive, burning with a kind of fierce protectiveness. His gaze swept over his family.

Tempest sighed heavily and sat up, pushing at her wild mass of hair, which was tumbling everywhere. “Darius, I’m too tired to figure this out. What is it everyone is worried about? It’s unfair to keep me in the dark just because I’m unfamiliar with your needs.”

“He must sleep our sleep in the ground,” Syndil blurted out, not daring to look at Darius.

“Isn’t that what we’re doing? I’m going to the blasted cave. I’ll sleep while he’s in the ground,” Tempest said. “That’s the plan.”

Syndil shook her head, ignoring Darius’s warning growl.

Tempest clamped her hand over Darius’s mouth to shut him up. “Tell me.”

“He will not go to ground. He will sleep as a mortal with you above earth because he fears to leave you vulnerable to attack.”

There was a silence while Tempest digested the information. It was clear to Tempest that Darius was displeased with Syndil for interfering. Very gently Tempest stroked his neck with loving fingers, soothing him while she thought it all out. Eventually she shrugged. “So put me to sleep, and then both of us can be in the ground.” The idea of it turned her stomach; it sounded like a burial. But if she was completely unaware, it was a small thing to attempt if it helped Darius.

Her calm statement brought a collective gasp of admiration. “You would be willing to do such a thing for Darius?” Desari asked, gripping Tempest’s wrists. “You suffer greatly from confined spaces. Darius has told us this.”

Tempest shrugged. “I wouldn’t suffer if I was asleep,” she pointed out. “Let’s get to it, Darius. I’m tired.” And she was. Her body felt heavy and cumbersome. She didn’t look at him, not wanting him to see the revulsion and horror at the idea of being buried alive reflected in her eyes.

Darius’s arm swept around her and brought her small body into the shelter of his, his heart swelling with pride in her. He didn’t need to see her expression to read her true thoughts. A part of him was dwelling in her mind like a shadow. The terror burial and caves held for her was clear to him, yet she was willing to make the sacrifice if it meant his health. “This is a great gift you offer me, Tempest, but it is impossible. My body is made to shut down my heart and lungs. Your body is not. You would suffocate in the ground. It may take a little longer, but my body will eventually heal,” he assured her.

Over her head, Darius’s black eyes blazed at his family. No one dared defy that look, except Julian, who grinned at him. Desari kept a death grip on Julian’s hand to deter her lifemate from riling her brother further.

“Please fix Tempest a vegetable broth,” Darius instructed his sister.

Tempest shook her head decisively. “I really couldn’t eat a thing, Desari, but thank you. I just want to go sleep for a week or so.”

Darius glanced at his sister, a quick, steady look she could read all too easily.

She nodded almost imperceptibly. “Come on, we must allow them to clean up a bit.”

Barack growled low in his throat. “Syndil, Sasha has need of our healing powers. I will carry her, and you bring the herbs.”

Syndil’s eyebrows shot up. “Have you forgotten we are entertaining a guest? I was going to fix him dinner and then take a walk with him.”

Barack caught her arm just above the elbow. “Don’t keep baiting me, Syndil. I have only so much patience.”

She gave him a haughty look. “I do not have to answer to you, barbarian. Not now, not ever.”

“Dayan can walk with your precious guest into the woods. I will send Forest hunting him,” Barack snapped. “You will stay with me.”

“I think you have forgotten yourself.” Syndil glared at him. “I am leaving for a while, taking a small vacation.”

There was a moment’s silence. Darius’s head snapped up, his black eyes burning, but he refrained from the violent protest welling up within him. Dayan paused in the act of heading out of the bus, his face all at once harsh. Even Julian stilled as if Syndil had dropped a bombshell.

“With that human?” Barack hissed softly, menacingly, between clenched teeth. Syndil stuck her chin in the air belligerently. “It is not your business.”

Barack’s hand slid up her arm to the nape of her neck. He caught her chin in his palm, holding her still while he bent his head to hers. His mouth fastened on hers right in front of them all. Hot. Burning. Sweeping away everything that had gone before and replacing it with heat, with a smoldering fire. Barack lifted his head reluctantly. “You are mine, Syndil. No one else will have you.”

“You cannot just decide that,” she whispered, her hand pressed to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.

“No?” He placed both hands on her shoulders. “In the presence of our family, I claim you for my own. I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give to you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul, and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness, and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care.” He spoke the words aloud, decisively, furious with her that she couldn’t see it, that she refused to acknowledge his right to her.

“What have you done?” Syndil wailed. She looked at Darius. “He cannot do that. He has bound us together without my consent. He cannot do it. Tell him, Darius. He must obey you.” She sounded on the verge of hysteria.

“Have you never wondered why Barack did not lose his feelings as Dayan and I did?” Darius asked her gently. “He laughed where we could not. He felt desire where we could not.”

“With every human groupie who gave him the eye. I do not want such a lifemate,” Syndil said firmly. “Take it back, Barack, right now. Take it back.”

“Well, that is too damned bad,” Barack snapped. “I am your lifemate, and I have known it for some time. You merely refused to see it.”

“I do not want a lifemate,” Syndil protested. “I will not have some pompous male directing my life.”

Barack’s harsh features softened to sensual male beauty. “Fortunately for you, Syndil, I am not pompous. I have a need to discuss this with you while we are alone. Come with me.”

She was shaking her head even as he was drawing her out of the bus.

When they were gone, Desari turned to her brother. “Did you know? All this time, did you know?”

“I suspected,” Darius answered. “Barack saw colors. He retained so much of what Dayan and I lost. When Savon attacked Syndil, Barack was a monster unlike anything I had ever tried to control. He raged for weeks, so much so that Dayan had to lend me his strength to keep him under control.”

“I did not realize,” Desari said softly.

“We kept it from you because he was so violent and angry, we worried for his sanity. After losing Savon, we didn’t want to worry you with the possibility of losing Barack also. I realized he was experiencing not only the male need to protect but also the grief and rage, the violation and betrayal, Syndil was feeling.”

“He went to ground for some time,” Desari remembered.

“I sent him to sleep to keep mortals and immortals alike safe. He was so distraught, in so much pain, I could do no other. Syndil needed the time to let the horrifying experience fade enough that Barack could cope with her pain.”

“That’s why he was so quiet, so unlike himself these last weeks.” Desari nudged Julian. “Why would he wait so long to claim her?”

Julian shrugged with his casual, elegant grace. “It is long since we have had women born close to their lifemates. I know of no such case, so I cannot answer. Perhaps the proximity allows the male many more years of freedom.”

“Freedom?” Desari glared at him. “Do not talk to me of male freedom, lifemate. You stole my freedom from me just as Barack has stolen Syndil’s.”

Tempest stirred, caught by the conversation. “She can refuse him, can’t she? I mean, these are modern times. Men can’t just carry women off against their will can they?”

“Once a male Carpathian recites the ritual words to his true lifemate, they are bound, soul to soul. She cannot escape him,” Julian said softly.

“Why?” Tempest asked, turning her head to give Darius the full benefit of her censuring green eyes.

Darius didn’t so much as wince or even look repentant. Nor did he deign to answer her. He had the audacity to look amused.

“A true lifemate is the missing other half of our soul The ritual words bind the soul back together again. One cannot exist without the other. It is very”—Julian searched a moment for the right word­

“uncomfortable

to be apart from one’s lifemate.”

“And the man can choose to bind the woman to him whether she wants it or not?” Tempest was outraged. She wasn’t entirely certain she believed him, but if it was so it was barbaric. Totally barbaric.

Darius circled her shoulders with his good arm. “Practical only, honey. Women seldom know their own minds. But a woman cannot escape the need of her own lifemate, either. He is

her

other half, as well, you see.”

Heedless of his injury, Tempest shoved him away from her. He didn’t budge even an inch. She knew he was teasing her, laughing at her, although his face remained perfectly expressionless. “Well, I don’t believe it anyway I’m not Carpathian, so it can’t work on me. And I’m going to talk to Syndil about this nonsense.”

Darius kissed the side of her neck. Not a brief, elusive kiss but one that lingered, that sent tiny shivers down her spine, sent fire dancing in her bloodstream. She glared at him. “I thought we agreed, none of that. Didn’t we have a lengthy discussion about this?”

His teeth scraped her collarbone, his chin nudging aside the neckline of her shirt to find bare skin. “Did we? I cannot seem to recall.”

“You recall everything else.” Tempest did her best to sound severe, but it was difficult when electricity was arcing back and forth between them. “Darius, you’re hurt. Act like it, will you? We need paramedics and stretchers and maybe a dozen knock-out pills.”

He moved then, with his easy, familiar grace, fluid and supple with the strength of an ancient’s blood flowing in his veins. His arm was rock hard around her waist, taking her with him toward the bathroom. “I need to clean the stench of the kill from me, Tempest, before I can touch you properly.”

It came out unexpectedly, a confession. Tempest touched his mind, astonished at the ease with which she could accomplish the feat. He felt sorrow. Not for those he had dispatched in battle. He was pragmatic about that; he did what was necessary for his people and would do so again. He would protect Tempest without feeling remorse or sadness for those who were evil enough to threaten her. But he felt sorrow for his inability to come to her as an innocent man. He did not want her to look upon him as a beast, an undisciplined killer. He wanted her to understand that he was a dispenser of justice, very necessary to his people.

He lifted her into the tub with him, and the water felt cool on her hot skin, breathing some life back into her depleted body. Very carefully she washed the blood from his shoulder and back, wincing at the sight of the angry wounds. She reached up to shampoo his thick mane of hair, massaging his scalp with gentle fingers. Darius bent his head forward to make it easier for her.

Despite her exhaustion, finding herself pressed naked against him sent her pulse skyrocketing. His body stirred to life, pushing hard and thick against her. “We can’t possibly,” she whispered. But her tongue flicked out and caught the water droplets running down his stomach. She traced the path lower still, feeling his body clench. Her hands, of their own volition, slid over his hips, massaging, kneading, tracing the firm muscles of his buttocks.

She loved the feel of his hair-roughened skin against her softness. He made her feel beautiful and feminine. Hot and restless. Hungry and sexy. He made her feel safe, as if she would never be alone again. She clung to him, pressing herself close to the shelter of his body.

Darius forced his mind away from her teasing mouth. She was drooping with exhaustion. He could have her—she would never refuse him, and he knew he could ensure her pleasure—but her body cried out for rest and nourishment. Before all eke he needed to see to her health and protection.

He pulled her head up so he could kiss her gently, tenderly. “You are right, baby,” he said softly. “We cannot possibly until you have rested. I want you to sleep.”

He held her against him with his one good arm while the water cascaded over them, washing away the stench of blood and death.

“Make me be like you.” Her words were so low, barely discernible even to his acute hearing, that he wasn’t certain he had heard her correctly. Perhaps his mind was simply playing tricks on him.

“Tempest?” He said her name against her neck, his heart pounding with temptation. He closed his eyes, praying for strength to resist the velvet seduction of her words.

She raised her head so that her emerald eyes could search his face. “You could do it. Make me like you. Then you could rest without worry. Sleep the way you’re supposed to sleep. Just do it, Darius. Take my blood, and give me yours. I want you to live.”

There was resolve in her voice, in her mind, yet her slender body was trembling at the enormity of what she was going to do. Her thoughts were centered only on him, on his well-being. Darius groaned, fighting the selfish beast, the one that wanted it all—his lifemate, the fires of ecstasy burning between them for all eternity. She didn’t realize what it would cost her. The sun. The blood. The hunters. Humans abhorring what she would become. Even the danger of such an experiment.

His fingers crushed her hair in his hands. “We cannot, Tempest. We cannot even consider such an action. Do not bring this up again, as I do not know if I have the strength to refuse such a temptation.”

Her hand stroked his face, sending living flames piercing his body until he could think of nothing but possessing her. “I’ve thought a lot about it, Darius, and it’s the only way. If I was like you, there would be no need for you to worry about my safety. I could be with you in the ground.”

He felt the hard slam of her heart when she said it, saw the mental image of the earth closing over her head, of being buried alive. She pushed the thought away, but her pulse was racing.

He caught her hand to still her caressing fingers before he lost all good sense. Her scent was beckoning him; his body was hard and full with need. His mouth could actually taste her, the hot, tempting spice of her blood. He had never wanted anything more. “I will not even consider such a thing, Tempest. The danger to you is too great. I have made the decision to live as humanly as possible. I am willing to age as you age, to die when you die. Converting you is a risk I am not willing to take.”

“Watching your health and strength slowly dwindle is not something I’m willing to do, Darius,” she protested, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her fingers settled over his buttocks and began a slow, erotic motion that threatened to turn him inside out. “I’m not making an impulsive decision without thought. I’ve really given this a good amount of consideration. It’s the only answer for us. The only thing that makes sense.” Her mouth skimmed over his chest, her tongue lapping at his nipples, lazily tracing a bead of water to his flat stomach, swirling around his belly button so that every muscle in his body cried out for her.

“You have not thought it through.” His voice was a husky ache of need. Unable to stop himself, his hand skimmed over her satin skin, moved up to cup the soft weight of her breast, his thumb stroking her erect nipple so that she shivered and pressed into him. “You cannot abide closed-in places. The thought of being buried in the earth is repulsive to you. Your mind cannot deal with the idea of drinking blood.”

Darius had thought to make her wince with that deliberately graphic image, but she seemed preoccupied with catching a drop of water that was sliding over the tip of his throbbing erection. Her tongue sent a storm of fire surging through him, like a wild wind out of control. Her mouth was tight and hot and so exquisite, he bunched fistfuls of her hair in his hands, holding her there for a long moment, somewhere between agony and ecstasy.

He felt his hunger rise, the need to dominate, to take what was his, to feed on her voraciously, to feel her mouth taking him into her body as a true lifemate should. His fangs lengthened dangerously, and the beast fought for freedom. She had committed herself to him. It had been her idea. He could take her without guilt, bring her into his world and have her for all time. The temptation was so great, he forced her head up, his hands wrapped in her hair, her soft throat vulnerable and open for his assault.

She went to him willingly, without the slightest fear of him, lifting her chin to give him better access. At once Darius spun her around so that her back was to him. Locking her to him with one strong arm, he buried his face in her shoulder, breathing hard, breathing away the temptation beating at him so fiercely.

For the second time that he could remember, tears slid down his face and mingled with the water running down her shoulders. He ached to have her, to taste her, to teach her his ways. But more than that, he was humbled that she would make such an offering. That she could love him enough to come willingly into his life.

It wasn’t as if she accepted or acknowledged to herself that she loved him. She hadn’t even shared his mind enough to know him as he knew her. That was what made her gift so incredible to him. Her complete acceptance, her willingness to put his life, his health, before her own. He knew every one of her fears. He dwelt in her mind. Yet she was willing to give up everything she knew so that he would live safely the way he was meant to. No one had ever thought to protect him or put his needs first, not in all the long centuries of his existence. He doubted if anyone had given a thought to his desires. It was his duty to provide for the others, to hunt, to protect, to guide, to control. It simply was.

Tempest was offering him unconditional love. She didn’t recognize it for what it was; she didn’t think about it. He needed something, and she was willing to move heaven and earth to provide it for him. He read her determination easily. And she was quite capable of seducing him into it. He wanted it. He needed it. He hungered for it.

“Baby,” he whispered softly, his teeth scraping back and forth on the soft temptation of her pulse. “I will not put you in danger. I cannot risk your life. If I did this thing and something went wrong, we would both be lost. Thank you for your willingness to give me such a great gift, but I cannot accept. I cannot.” He was humbled by her, humbled by his own overwhelming love for her.

“It has been done before, Darius. If you fear my reaction, I have thought up solutions to some of the problems. You could put me to sleep before we go into the ground, at least until such time as my brain is accepting of your way of life.”

He resolutely turned off the water, needing a reprieve from the seduction of her offer. “That is true, Tempest, but—”

“Wait before you protest. Twice now you have given me your blood. I didn’t even know you did it. You can provide for me while I learn your ways. It shouldn’t be that difficult.” As he wrapped her in a towel, she caught his hand, held his palm against her breast. “I am already half in your world and half in mine, at home nowhere. You can’t live without your strength, and I can’t bear to see it drained away from you. It isn’t what you were meant for. There is greatness in you, Darius.”

He smiled, his black eyes softening, the hard edges of his mouth tender. “And what of you? Do you think yourself less than me that you must sacrifice so for me?”

She shook her head hastily to disabuse him of that notion. “Of course not. In fact, I think you need me around to keep you from being an arrogant, overbearing dictator, to keep you on the straight and narrow.”

“Overbearing dictator?” he echoed, male amusement sliding into the velvet timbre of his voice. He nuzzled the nape of her neck.

“Exactly.” The smile faded from her face, leaving her solemn. “I’m not like other people, Darius. I’ve never fit in anywhere. I don’t know if this will work out between us, but if you can manage not to try to rule every aspect of my life, I’m willing to try. I know I want to be with you. I know I’m not afraid of you or your people.”

His eyebrows shot up at her blatant lie.

“Oh, shut up.” She threw a towel at him. “Don’t look at me like that. I know you would never hurt me. Never, Darius. I don’t believe in too many things, but I believe in you.” She looked around for clean clothes and was disappointed when she realized she hadn’t thought to bring any with her. Fatigue was crowding in, pushing out her need to convince him. She wanted to lie down and sleep for a week.

“Just promise me you’ll think about this, Darius. It’s really the only sensible solution. And if it doesn’t work out between us, by the time we know, I should be able to take care of myself.” She sank down onto the edge of the tub, too weary to stand any longer.

Darius tamped down his hunger, his raging desire, and the emotions that were clouding his good judgment. He caught up the robe he had made a day or two earlier for her. It was hanging on the door, thick and warm. He enfolded her in its softness. “We will eat, honey, and then we will sleep. All of this can be sorted out on the next rising.”

“Isn’t that the first day of Desari’s performance? Whoever sent those men after her will try again. She’ll be so vulnerable, Darius. We have to resolve this before she goes on stage.”

He could hear her weariness. It clung to her like a second skin. The Carpathian male could do no other than protect his lifemate, see to every aspect of her care, so he simply took possession of her arm and, without further conversation, led her into the kitchen and sat her at the table.

Desari had prepared a bowl of steaming vegetable broth. The aroma filled the bus, but Tempest merely pressed a hand to her stomach and tried not to gag.

See, Darius? I can’t eat anyway. I can’t have one foot in my world and one foot in yours. I’m willing to risk the conversion to have a chance at a future with you.

He ignored her soft, persuasive voice and thrust his mind deliberately into hers. Not gently, but firmly taking control, giving her no time to fight him.

You will eat this broth, and it will stay down and nourish you.

It was a command. He forced her obedience, even when her stomach rebelled, attempting to rid itself of the food.

Tempest blinked up at him, finding her soup bowl empty. She shoved her damp hair away from her face, her long lashes drooping tiredly. “I just want to sleep, Darius. Let’s go to sleep.”

He wrapped her in his good arm, lifted her easily, and carried her out of the trailer and into the night. They were back to their warrior and captive roles, but Tempest didn’t care. She closed her eyes and settled closer against his chest.

The tunnel he chose leading into the earth was warm with geothermal activity. At once it robbed her of breath, inducing a feeling of suffocation in her. She tried to hide it from Darius, not wanting him to know she was uncomfortable. She burrowed closer to him, giving herself up to his protection. She knew he would not go into the soil because she could not go. He would make them a sleeping area in the safety of the earth where she could sleep the sleep of humans and he could try his best to follow suit. But he needed the rejuvenating soil, especially now that he was wounded. He needed to shut down his heart and lungs and sleep the Carpathian way. Tempest smiled against his heavy muscles, suddenly confident of her ability to persuade him to her way of thinking. She just needed to rest first before she renewed her attack. Darius could not resist her forever. She had been in his mind, felt his vulnerability. He would give in if she persisted. He wanted her conversion with every cell in his body.

She knew Darius felt he had to protect her, that she was fragile and delicate. But Tempest knew she wasn’t. Perhaps physically she was weak in comparison to his race, but she had a tremendous strength of will. It was every bit a match for his. She would find a way to keep him safe, protect him in the same fierce way, with the same fierce love as Darius did her.