Let go, Destiny. Come with me. Stay with me. An enticement. A temptation. His voice luring her as it had always done. And she trusted him. Her small tongue closed the pinpricks on his chest. She caught his arms firmly and gave herself up to him, her body wound so tight it was a coil, gripping his. And then they were both exploding together, Destiny safe in his arms, soaring together, shattering, free-falling through time and space.
She lay staring up at his face, his perfect face. Her lungs were searching for air, her mind at peace. Perfect peace. How had he done that? Her fingers trailed over his mouth in wonder. “You are the miracle, Nicolae,” she whispered.
Still locked to her, he bent his dark head toward her throat. Her body clenched around his. Small aftershocks shook them both. What little air remained in her lungs rushed out of her at the first touch of his mouth on her skin. His tongue swirled over her pulse. Felt her heartbeat there. So frantic, matching the rhythm of his. His eyelashes drifted down as his teeth teased the small, throbbing pulse.
His hand found her breast, claimed possession, his thumb feathering over her nipple. Each stroke sent shock waves through her body and into his where they were so intimately connected. Destiny reached for him to draw him closer. White-hot pain lanced her throat; ecstasy showered her body with dancing flames.
Suddenly she hit him with every ounce of her strength, palms flat on his shoulders, knocking him back into the bubbling water. “No!” she cried. “What are you doing? What are we thinking? Nicolae!” Blood trickled down her throat and across the slope of her breast, mingling with the beads of sweat and water. Her insides ached and throbbed for the loss of him. She felt empty, bereft, without him.
Nicolae sank beneath the surface of the water, the bubbles closing over his head. He pulled his mind firmly from hers. Not wanting to think. Not wanting to feel. Bereft.
Destiny reached for him anyway. She found terrible loss, the pain of heartache. It swamped him.
Swamped her. Threatened to bury them both. Nicolae. I’m so sorry. I had to get you away from me. Don’t you see? You can’t take my blood. She was pleading with him for understanding. I wasn’t rejecting you. My blood is dangerous to you. Please don’t be angry with me.
She was choking on a sob and it was breaking his heart. He surfaced, shook his head to clear it, flinging water across the pool as his hair flew back. She sat on the rock, naked, her knees drawn up, her hands clasped around them, tears glittering in her eyes. She was watching his every move, judging his mood, feeling totally inadequate.
With a small oath, Nicolae waded through the pool to crouch low in the water so that his head was the same height as hers. “How could I be angry with you when you were protecting me, Destiny?” He tugged at her hands until he freed them, drawing her into the depths of the pool with him. Drawing her out into deeper water, where he could stand but she had to cling to him to stay above the surface. “I withdrew my mind because it was necessary. The intensity of my emotions was overwhelming, and you did not need to experience them. I did not mean to hurt you.”
Nicolae bent his head and followed the trickle of blood from her breast to her throat, lingering over the pinpricks to close them. “Wrap your legs around my waist.” He murmured the words against her ear as he gathered her closer, fitting her bottom into his palms.
Destiny found that when she did so, she was positioned over his waiting erection. She could feel him nudging her entrance, eager to join with her. Circling his head with her arms, she laid her cheek on his shoulder. She closed her eyes as he lowered her over him, fitting into her like a sword into a sheath.
He was gentle, loving, taking her again with more care than ever. He kissed her breathless, his mouth wandering over her face and throat. His teeth nipped occasionally, but he held a tight rein on that particular need. “I love you, Destiny. The way you are. With or without your blood. You will always be mine. You will always be everything I need and want. Do you understand me? You are everything to me.” It was his apology for wanting more. Maybe needing more. But it was also the truth. He wanted her to see that, deep inside his soul where it counted, it was the truth.