Part 20 (1/2)

The smile faded from his face, and she could see the latent violence in him. This was a man who didn't like to be thwarted. His fingers tightened like a vise.

”Let go of me.” She said it calmly, but she wasn't calm inside. She had somehow counted on enjoying the best of both worlds tonight, thinking whatever creature she had become would protect her from this kind of thing.

The man's laugh was frankly nasty. ”Let's go outside, babe.” As he made the suggestion into an order by grabbing her wrist, he felt something on his arm. He glanced down and, to his horror, saw his black widow tattoo crawling up his forearm toward his biceps. He could see the fangs clicking angrily, feel its hairy legs on his skin. He froze, then yelled loudly, dropping Alexandria's wrist, slapping and brus.h.i.+ng wildly at his arm.

Alexandria saw nothing but took the opportunity to glide away, disappearing into the crowd.

The man stared down at his arm, gasping heavily, his chest heaving. But the only thing he saw was his tattoo. Nothing moved. He raked a hand through his hair, leaving it wild and disheveled. ”I've had too much booze, man,” he said to no one in particular.

Alexandria slipped through the throng, her head pounding with the beat of the music. Her blood was hot, but her skin ice-cold. Her stomach seemed to rebel at the bodies she brushed against. A stocky man with chestnut hair and a ready smile touched her shoulder. ”Dance with me?”

He was lonely, she could feel it, as well as his deep sadness and near desperation to hold another human being. Without thinking she smiled an a.s.sent and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor. The moment his arms surrounded her and he pulled her body against his, she knew it had been a mistake. She wasn't human. She wasn't what he needed. And his illusion was no more desperate than hers. His desperation was no sadder than her own. Neither of them spoke. She knew his thoughts, his terrible sorrow for the loss of his wife some six months earlier. But she wasn't Julia, his wife. She wasn't even the customary, warm body to help him make it through the night. And he wasn't Aidan, and he never could be.

That last thought struck terror into her soul. Why had she thought that? She could find a man. A human man. It wouldn't be this one, but there must be someone.

The man stirred. ”Come home with me?””It isn't me you want,” she said gently, moving to put a few inches between them.

He tightened his hold, pulling her body into his. ”It isn't me you want either, but we can help each other,” he pleaded, wanting someone to push away the ghosts for a few precious hours.

The smell of his blood called to her. Alexandria's stomach lurched, and she felt bile rise into her throat. She shook her head adamantly. ”I'm sorry, I can't do this.” When she went to step away, the music changed to a frantic, driving rhythm that seemed to goad the man to clutch at her. As his arm tightened across her back, static electricity seemed to arc from the floor into his arm, jolting him. He swore and released her immediately. Surprised, Alexandria stepped away. ”What happened?”

”You shocked me!” he accused.

”I did?” She inched away from him. Had she inadvertently done so without knowing it? Or had it been an accident? She had no idea, but she was grateful for the timely intervention. She ducked into the whirling, gyrating crowd and made her way across the room, the music beating in her head, through her body.

Alexandria found the bar. Several men in suits parted to allow her access. Their greetings were speculative, hopeful. They seemed nice enough. Some were good-looking. Some even seemed legitimately friendly. But she felt nothing. It was as if she was totally empty inside. Dead.

Suddenly wondering what she was doing, what she was trying to prove to herself, she spun around, leaned her back against the bar, and stared down at her shoes. There was no way around it. She had never been a promiscuous person. It just wasn't in her. She wasn't attracted to a man for his looks, and even those who mildly intrigued her, whom she had things in common with, didn't stir her physically.

”You look sad,” one of the suits observed. ”Do you want to grab a booth and talk? Just talk.” He held up his hands, palms out. ”I mean it. No come-on, just talk. My name's Brian.”

”Alexandria,” she said, but she shook her head. He was too nice to lead on. He said he wanted to talk, but she could read his deeper interest easily. ”Thanks, but I think I'll go home.”

Home. Where was home? She didn't have one. The sorrow was almost too much for her to bear.

She looked up, and her gaze was caught on the darkest corner of the room. Golden eyes gleamed back at her. Her heart jumped. She couldn't look away, captivated by the intensity in that unblinking stare.

Aidan moved slowly out of the shadows. Glided. Rippled. Stalked like a great jungle cat. He took her breath away. Tall. s.e.xy. Powerful. Eyes only for her. Locked on her. Beneath his silk s.h.i.+rt his muscles rippled suggestively. He looked elegant, exuded power, was without equal.

She found herself trembling in antic.i.p.ation of his touch. Just like that, the mere sight of him had brought her back to life. Like the Red Sea, the crowd parted to allow him through. No one touched him, brushed against him, or jostled him. Even the suits pressing close to her moved aside to allow him entrance into their private domain. Then he was standing in front of her, holding out a hand, his eyes trapping her gaze.

Whether it was compulsion or obsession, Alexandria didn't know. She didn't even care. She couldn't have stopped herself for any reason. She was fighting a useless battle. She needed him, and there he was. She placed her hand in his, and when he closed his fingers around hers and drew her to him, it felt as if she was giving herself away.

”Dance with me, cara mia. I need to feel you against me.” His words, his voice, were far too seductive to resist.

Alexandria slipped easily into his arms. She fit perfectly. He was strong and warm, and the electricity was instantly crackling between them. Her head found a niche in his shoulder. Her body found his rhythm easily; she was born for it, his other half. It was black-velvet seduction, pure magic.

This was home. In his arms. She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his body against hers. The music was dreamy, unbelievable in such a place. Not once on the crowded floor did another touch them. He moved them in perfect syncopation, the heat rising between them with every step.

Flames seemed to lick along her skin, move to his, and come back again.

Aidan bent his head to taste her. His lips, soft, hot, brushed her neck, lingering for a heartbeat on her pulse. He felt it jump beneath the moist heat of his mouth, felt it begin to race frantically.

”Come home with me, piccola,” he whispered urgently, his teeth sc.r.a.ping her skin gently, persuasively, gliding back and forth across her pulse. Her blood sang to him, cried out for him. ”Do not torment me any longer.”

Her body swayed with his, liquid and pliant. She had never needed anything so much in her life.

She made no sound. She couldn't. But he knew her answer even in her silence. He could read it in her enormous eyes.

They moved toward the door, Alexandria barely aware of her surroundings, yet again Aidan protected her from the crush, his body always between hers and the crowd. Outside, the night seemed to greet them, to welcome them, the stars brighter than usual, the air carrying fragrant scents from the ocean.

Aidan slipped an arm around her waist, locking her beneath the protection of his shoulder. She tilted her head to look up at him. ”I should have known you would follow me to protect me. What did you do to that poor man in the leather outfit?”

He laughed softly. ”He likes black widow spiders. He also likes hurting women. And I do not like other men touching you.”

”I noticed.”

He stopped her on the street corner, crushed her to him, and lifted her chin. His golden gaze seemed riveted on her lower lip, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. He made a sound somewhere between a moan and a growl and lowered his head. His mouth fastened on hers, and the earth moved beneath her feet. Her body melted into his until there was only Aidan and Alexandria, a part of the night itself.

The surge of hunger, of need, was so strong, so overwhelming, Alexandria clung to him to keep from falling. He wrapped his arms around her, and they were moving through time and s.p.a.ce. The wind blew through her hair so that it streamed out behind them in a siren's song, rippling in the clear night like strands of silk.

His mouth moved over hers, consuming, dominating, hungry beyond human boundaries. His tongue explored every inch of the velvet interior of her mouth, demanding her response.

Alexandria heard herself moan, the sound low, pleading.

Then the third-floor balcony was beneath his feet. He simply waved a hand, and the gla.s.s door slid open. It stayed that way, the breeze from the sea a welcome counterpoint to the heat of their bodies. He followed her down to the quilt-covered four-poster bed, blanketing her body with his own, unable to take the chance she might panic and flee. He could not wait any longer. He could not let her go this time. His hands caressed her soft skin, traced the inviting swell of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, pushed the fabric of her s.h.i.+rt roughly out of his way to expose her body to his golden scrutiny. The cool air felt sensuous on her hot skin, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s aching and full under his heated gaze. His hand cupped a breast, held the soft weight in his palm possessively.

”Do you feel the darkness in me, Alexandria?” he whispered, his voice husky and aching. ”It is growing, spreading. Feel it in me.” His mouth found her eyes, her temple, the corner of her mouth, her throat. Each kiss was feather-light but left a burning brand, his imprint for all time on her soul. ”Give yourself to me. For now. For eternity. Feel the darkness in me, and take it away.”

It was the voice of seduction, a need so consuming, so great, she could not possibly refuse. She did feel the dark need in him, his battle to be gentle with her, to allow her some kind of choice. She felt his desire, stark and hungry, to rip the clothes from her and gorge himself in the mysteries of her body. Her own body responded to the urgency of his need with creamy heat.

She moved beneath him, arched upward to offer him her breast. Her eyes closed tightly, and she moaned aloud as he took her into the heat of his mouth. Her arms circled his head, held him to her as every pull of his mouth produced a rush of answering liquid heat from her body.

His body was so hard and heavy, trapped in the confines of his clothes. He pushed them aside, tore at her jeans, wanting every inch of her soft, bare skin against him. Aidan lifted himself slightly, just enough so that he could see her body. She lay naked, her skin flushed with wanting him. His hand spanned her stomach, his palm covering the triangle of tight blond curls, his fingers finding moist heat. Lightning arced through him, through her, and raced through their blood.

He cradled her head in the palm of his free hand, dragging her to his chest. Feed, cara mia. Feed long and deep. You are my other half, the half that stands in the light. Be part of me for all eternity.

His finger probed the entrance to her tight velvet sheath, finding heat and readiness and need just for him. He could feel tears burning behind his eyes.

He felt her breath over his heart. ”I can never go back, can I?” she asked softly in a lost voice.

His fingers moved deeper, a deliberate enticement. He felt hot velvet muscles clench around him.

His body was raging for release. ”Do you really want to go back, cara, and leave me alone in an eternity of darkness? If you had the choice, would you really leave me?” There was a catch in his husky voice. His hand pushed against her, his fingers probing, exploring, deliberately feeding the fire spreading through her body.

His will was merging his mind with hers fully, completely. She could feel it then, the gathering darkness waiting to claim him, a beast crouched and poised, a cold killer without mercy. There was a red haze, desire beating at him, fire racing through his blood. She could feel his agony, his fear that she would not want him enough to choose him, knowing that he would take her anyway, knowing that he could never stop himself. But he wanted her to want him, to need him that much.

Her tongue stroked over his muscles, a soft caress. Her teeth nipped his skin gently, teasingly.

”How could I ever leave you, Aidan? Do you really think I could? I thought you knew everything.