Part 22 (1/2)

She sat cross-legged on the huge, flat boulder overlooking the series of pools. Above and to her left the long waterfall filled the chamber with a deafening roar. Jaxon was becoming adept at turning down the volume of sounds and now did so with ease. It was good to be sitting on something solid where she felt safe and far from the rays of the sun.

Lucian was setting his safeguards to ensure they were not disturbed. She wasn't certain exactly what he was doing, but she knew he was powerful enough to protect them from anything that might come their way. She drummed her fingers on the rock surface, wis.h.i.+ng she had access to a telephone.

”Why?” The sound of his voice startled her.

Jaxon turned to see him gliding toward her. The way he moved took her breath away. ”I thought I'd call back to the captain and make certain nothing had happened since we left.”

His hand unerringly found her hair. ”You are still worried about Drake.” His voice was soft with compa.s.sion.

She nodded. ”I know it's probably best that we left, especially if we really are being trailed by... vampires.” She stumbled over the word, the idea to her still something out of a Gothic tale! ”But I can't help feeling as if I deserted everybody.” ”Drake will follow us, honey,” he said gently, his fingers tracing the delicate line of her collarbone. ”I know he will. There is no reason for him to hurt anyone else.”

”I just wish I could be certain we did the right thing,” she said worriedly.

”Merge with me,” he invited softly.

Jaxon hesitated for a moment only because his mind was becoming so familiar, so natural, so much a part of her. She was slipping in and out of it constantly, her mind often reaching for his even without conscious thought. It was disconcerting how much she craved being a part of him. Lucian waited patiently, never hurrying her decision, simply watching her with his dark, fathomless eyes. Jaxon allowed her mind to melt into his. At once she felt safe, sheltered, loved. She felt power and confidence. A sense of completeness.

Antonio? All is well with you?

Jaxon was startled. The mental path Lucian used to contact the man was completely different from the one he used with her. She found Lucian's hand, weaving her fingers through his.

Yes. And you and your lady?

Both of us are fine. She is worried that Drake has retaliated.

All is quiet here. I am keeping a low profile, expecting him to visit your home tonight. Tell her not to worry.

Thank you, Antonio, and good day to you.

Jaxon found herself smiling at how old-fas.h.i.+oned and courtly Lucian managed to sound even in thought transfers. ”Can he contact you anytime?”

Lucian shook his head. ”No, although I am certain I would feel his anxiety if he were in a situation where his life was threatened. His family has served Aidan Savage's family for hundreds of years. They are human but well versed in the ways of our people. To my knowledge they are among only a handful of humans trusted with the knowledge of the Carpathians' existence. Antonio is an exceptional young man. I consider him a friend.”

”Are you sure the main vampire followed us as well?”

”Absolutely, Jaxon. He broke off from our trail earlier than did the two lesser vampires, but he has followed. No doubt he thinks we are unaware of him. He will know I am conscious of the two following, but he has a very high opinion of himself and his ability to hide from me.”

”Perhaps it's because he deserves it,” she suggested quietly.

Lucian arched an elegant black eyebrow at her, a lofty gesture that spoke volumes silently.

Jaxon burst out laughing at his arrogance. ”What?” she demanded. ”Isn't it conceivable that he has managed to stay alive for centuries because he's really good at being a vampire? Maybe he's more powerful than-”

”I know you are not going to say more powerful than me.” His voice dared her to challenge him.

She pushed at the wall of his chest, completely unafraid. ”Isn't it possible?”

”Absolutely not.” ”You really believe that, don't you?”

”I know it, angel. There is no vampire as powerful. I have great control, tremendous discipline, and I have learned what others have not. Only my brother Gabriel comes close to having the knowledge and abilities I possess.”

He was not bragging, he spoke matter-of-factly, unconcerned with his power.

He accepted it as he had accepted everything else in the world around him. It simply was.

”What if you're wrong? What if you underestimate him?”

Lucian shrugged with lazy casualness. ”I can underestimate him easily enough without being less powerful. Some vampires are quite cunning, all are ruthless and wholly evil. I am certain this one has lived long and acquired much knowledge. It will not do him any good. It is my duty to destroy him, and I will do so.”

”How did you hold out for so long when so many other males have turned?”

Lucian touched her face with gentle fingertips. ”I would like to say that I knew you were going to be born and I held on for your sake, but the truth is, I did not believe I would be so rewarded. I met a man many centuries ago. Some say he was the Son of G.o.d. Others say he did not exist, and still others say he was merely a good man who lived an exemplary life. I know only that we walked together one night and talked. I touched his mind with mine. In all the days I have walked on this earth, I never met another such as he. He was like me yet different. He was like a human, yet different. There was only goodness in him.

Only that. He knew things no one else knew. He was gentle and compa.s.sionate.

I had already lost my ability to feel, yet when I was in his presence, I was comforted.” Lucian sighed softly and shook his head. ”He asked me if I could have anything in the world granted to me, what would I ask for. I replied, a lifemate for Gabriel. He told me Gabriel had a lifemate and he would find her, but we would have to hold out far longer than any other of our kind. I knew he meant that, without my aid, Gabriel would not survive so long a time.”

”And you believed him?”

”You do not understand. This man could not tell an untruth. He was not capable of deceit. I made a promise to myself I would never allow my brother to go the way of the undead. Much was asked of us-the constant killing of our own kind, the isolation the hunter must endure. Gabriel was different; he felt emotions far longer than was normal for our males. I believe it was because his lifemate was alive. She is one of our people. We were moving so often, hunting and destroying and battling, Gabriel missed finding her. Eventually I pretended to become vampire when I knew my brother was close to turning. My doing so prevented him from having to make kills, which is dangerous to those close to turning. He had to hunt me instead. After years of battling me and chasing me across the continents, Gabriel managed to lock us both in the ground.” His slight smile was rueful. ”A miscalculation on my part. Gabriel actually managed to surprise me. It was only by chance that we surfaced before his lifemate chose to meet the dawn.”

”You did all that for your brother.” Jaxon was awed by his sacrifice. He told the story casually, in a few simple words, but she was still a shadow in his mind, and she saw his painful memories clearly. The details were vivid, the carefully constructed scenes of death and mayhem planned meticulously to convince his twin, a man who was lethal and well aware of what a vampire kill looked like, that he had turned. It had been a difficult existence, to say the least.

”Even when I could no longer feel such an emotion, I knew I loved my brother and that he had followed my lead. It was my decision to fight for our people and battle the Ottoman Turks and destroy the undead. Gabriel followed me and remained steady and loyal throughout his life. He deserved happiness. It was my duty to ensure it came to him.”

”Whose duty was it to ensure yours?” she asked softly.

He smiled at her instant defense of him. ”I was given tremendous gifts, honey. I was strong and better able to hold out against the gathering darkness.

And even more than that, I had touched the light as no one else had ever done. I could not forget that moment, touching a mind so pure and beautiful, so completely good. It was a gift I could not turn my back on. I never had a choice to lose my soul after that. I would never turn my back on something so completely of the light. I knew the truth. I knew we were here for a purpose and that our lives counted for something.”

She shook her head. ”You amaze me, Lucian, how little you ask for yourself.”

He laughed then, a soft sound of love. ”I would never give you up, Jaxon.

You are everything to me. You are the only thing that matters now. Believe me, my love, I am no saint, no martyr. I would no longer ask for your presence in my life, I would demand it.”

His gaze was suddenly hot, a dark intensity centering solely on her. It made her feel hot and achy, a curling excitement blossoming deep within her.

Jaxon shoved impatiently at her hair, the action lifting her b.r.e.a.s.t.s beneath the thin material of her blouse. ”Why have I so easily accepted our relations.h.i.+p when before I would never allow anyone close to me?”

”Even before you were converted to our blood, your heart and soul were still the other half of mine. Once I spoke the ritual words, we were finally bound together as one.” He turned up her hand to kiss her knuckles in a tribute. His tongue licked the inside of her wrist. It was s.e.xy and intimate. ”We belong. We are complete now. You are the light to my darkness. I am the predator, and you are compa.s.sion. I need you just to be able to feel emotion, to see the colors in the world, to enjoy each day and night. You need me to protect and cherish you, to be certain of your happiness. It is not exactly the same relations.h.i.+p as that of humans; it is more intense and continues to grow so as the years go by.” His gaze burned over her possessively, his fingers sliding along her thigh, ma.s.saging her knotted muscles.

”You believe that? That we were destined to be together even before birth?

That I am really the only woman in all the centuries you existed who was for you? That there is only you for me?” Jaxon could barely breathe, could barely get the words out, all too aware of his palm sliding between her legs, pus.h.i.+ng against the core of her right through the fabric of her jeans.

His black eyes smoldered at her, a s.e.xy, brooding look that melted her insides. ”Do you?” He pushed harder, rubbed, caressed until a soft moan escaped her throat. She thought about the question for a few minutes, turning it over in her mind before answering. Did she believe they were meant to be together? She couldn't imagine her life without him. She, who had never shared her life with another human being, wanted to never leave his side. She wanted to share his mind, his memories; she wanted the feeling of belonging always. And when she touched his mind, she found an intensity burning there, a need of her as elemental as breathing. He thought only of her, no other woman. She had touched no memories of another woman. She was his life. Very slowly she nodded. ”It must be your bad influence on me, but I can't imagine life without you anymore.”

”It is a good thing, angel, so do not say it as if it is a fate worse than death.”