Dark Challenge. Christine Feehan. Dark Series – book 5

Excitement was rushing through her body at the touch of his. He smelled clean and fresh, his clothes immaculate, as if they had not been covered by earth these last few days. His veins were bursting with life, his heartbeat calling to hers. “Arrogant man,” she sniffed with pretended indignation. All at once his playful boasting didn’t matter. She hungered, her body crying out for sustenance, and mixed with that need was a bolt of lightning streaking through her, turning her insides to molten lava, spreading its heat low and wickedly.

Julian caught her up in strong arms and took her, airborne, through the forest, far from any other being, to a deserted emerald island in the middle of a small lake. He was already finding her mouth with his own, a fiery domination that was met with hot demands from Desari’s silken lips. Her hands were everywhere, pushing at his clothes, insisting he be rid of them. She traced his shoulders, his chest muscles and ribs, the broad expanse of his back. Her fingertips explored his skin, assuring herself there were no lingering signs of his battle with the undead, that he was completely healed.

Her clothes felt heavy and cumbersome, an irritant to her suddenly sensitive skin. At once she rid herself of them so that nothing was between her and Julian’s hard frame. He felt so right, his arms locking her close. She burrowed closer, needing to feel him, wanting to crawl inside him, wanting him buried deep inside her. After so many centuries without someone of her own, without a chance for children and someone to truly love her and want her, Desari woke with joy each rising.

Someone to need you, he corrected. His voice was husky as his hands did their own exploration. He dropped to his knees in front of her, looking up at her dark, smoldering beauty, the fire and flame in her. She was such a part of the night, of their world, shining like the moon and stars.

Julian caught her slender hips firmly in his hands and forced her forward so that he could trace every inch of her satiny thighs. He found each and every hollow, her body already committed to his memory for all eternity. It was as if time stood still for him, allowed him a moment from the universe, a moment that would last forever, to be consumed completely by the wonder of woman. The firmness of her muscles, the softness of her skin, the sheen and silk of her hair, the smoldering sexiness in the depths of her coal-black eyes, even her long eyelashes, inky and dark, and the triangle of dark curls that guarded heat and fire. She was so beautiful to him, such a miracle of light and goodness, that for a moment tears shimmered in his eyes before he could blink them away.

Julian rested his head on her thighs, inhaling her scent, while the wind whispered its secrets and teased their bodies. She was a creature of the night, as wild and hungry as he. She was his other half, and yet a part of him could not comprehend that she wouldn’t vanish to leave him to be consumed once more by utter isolation, by total hopelessness.

His mouth found the warmth of one silken thigh, leaving a long trail of kisses, every one of them in thanks for what he had been granted. He was still awed by her whispered promise to him as he lay gravely wounded, her voice soft and husky, pure and compelling. There could never be untruth in her, not with her voice. She had meant that promise to him, meant it with all of her being. Had he slipped away to the afterlife, she would have followed him. Always together. You are not alone. I will follow you. Her commitment to him went beyond anything he could have hoped for. His hands tightened possessively on her small bottom, drawing her closer to him. Her heat beckoned, her wild scent calling to him to assuage her need. Julian wanted only pleasure for her, for everything to be perfect for her—the night itself, the touch of his mouth, his hands, his body inside hers, locking them together as they were meant to be from the beginning of time.