A slow smile curved her mouth. She was beginning to let anything spook her. Who would be out on a night like this? The ocean roared, slammed into the rocks, and sent plumes of froth into the sky. Her uneasiness increased with the wildness of the storm.
Perhaps it would be better for you to listen to your lifemate and be alone in the house or on the balcony rather than out in a storm.
His taunt was irritating, and she scooped up another handful of sand in defiance. Still, despite her determination, Alexandria felt a heavy, oppressive weight on her chest, and she anxiously scanned the sky, trying to remain calm enough to feel her surroundings, to detect another’s presence. Suddenly, without any real reason, she was certain she wasn’t alone, and whatever was stalking her was evil.
Get out of there, Aidan commanded at once. His voice was cool and determined, and in response to the increasing strength of her instincts, she sensed he had taken to the air.
She stood, her eyes searching the immediate area. The wind tugged at her hair, whipping it across her face. She dragged the long strands away and saw a man teetering high on the cliff. The wind was vicious, and she could see he was in trouble, the edge of the embankment crumbling beneath his weight. Alexandria shouted and began to run, instinctively reaching out as if she could somehow prevent his fall.
How could she not have seen him earlier? Felt his presence? Why had she been so selfishly certain that she was the one in danger? How long had the man been up there and in danger?
What is it, cara? Aidan’s voice was calm and soothing, and he was closer now, which was reassuring.
She grabbed on to him like a lifeline. A man on the cliffs—he’s falling. If only she hadn’t wasted time feeling sorry for herself, for what she had become. She could have saved him. She should have been learning from Aidan, everything he could teach her. She could have moved with his blinding speed and caught the man before he hit the jagged rocks below.
I am coming. Stay away from him! It was a demand, but one she couldn’t obey. Though she had little hope of saving the stranger, she had to try. She ran barefoot over the wet sand, her gaze riveted on the cliff. For one moment she thought the world darkened. Then a burst of lightning danced and sizzled, and a fireball exploded through the night, heading right toward the man.
Alexandria screamed as he tumbled forward, his fall seeming to happen in slow motion, a torturous descent of forty feet or more. The wind whipped her shout back into her face like a slap. She was still a distance away and far too late, but she ran anyway. Without warning, at a full run, she hit something invisible. The impact knocked her to the ground.
Heart beating fast, she sat up, shoving the wild, wind-whipped tangle of her hair from her face. She didn’t see an obstacle, the impact hadn’t hurt, yet when she reached out, her hand met something solid.
How could you, Aidan? She was bewildered that he would restrain her this way, stop her from going to the stranger’s aid. She slowly got to her feet, shaken.
The fog rolled in swiftly from the sea, carried on the wild winds. Out of it, on the other side of the invisible barrier, a man began to materialize. At first he was shimmering, translucent, but then he solidified further, becoming a dark, shadowy being. He was tall, like Aidan, with the same roped muscles. His hair was as black as the night, long and held with a leather thong at the nape of his neck. His face was beautiful, his mouth both sensual and cruel, his jaw strong. But it was his eyes that captured her attention. They were pale, almost light itself, a quicksilver brilliance impossible to ignore.
Alexandria was suddenly very afraid. Aidan exuded power, but this man was power. No one, nothing, could ever defeat such a creature. She was certain he was not human. One hand crept protectively to her throat.