“You are so beautiful, Jaxon.” He breathed the words more than saying them, his lungs working overtime. He rested his forehead between her shoulders, his body still buried deeply in hers.
He wanted to stay there for all eternity, in her mind, in her heart, in her body. His hand moved around to unerringly find the swell of her breasts. “Everything about you is so perfect—the way you feel against me, the way you move, your taste. I do not understand how I could have lived all those endless centuries without you. How did I do it?”
Jaxon pressed back against him, on her hands and knees. Where only weeks earlier she would have been embarrassed by the position, now it was beautiful, sensual, erotic. She listened to the sound of their hearts beating in perfect unison. He was everywhere, surrounding her, swamping her with his masculinity, his enormous strength. The feel of his body over hers, in hers, was, frankly, very sexy. “I love this, Lucian. I really do. Every single moment with you.”
Reluctantly he withdrew, lying back, rolling her with him to bring her up on top of him. His black eyes smoldered with intensity. She was so beautiful. He wrapped his arms around her, wanting to maintain closeness between them. “No one other than you has ever teased me before.”
“You have that look.” She lifted her head so she could look into his eyes. She loved his eyes. Tenderly she traced his mouth. “Sort of scary. I imagine most people are intimidated by you.”
His eyebrows shot up. “I do not intimidate people,” he said.
Jaxon burst out laughing. “You intimidate people all over the place, and you do it on purpose.”
Lucian lifted her in one smooth move and was on his feet with fluid ease. He tossed her without ceremony into a sparkling pool.
Jaxon came up sputtering, her dark eyes laughing at him. “Are we going to stay here for a while?”
He nodded, his smoldering gaze caressing her body beneath the shimmering water.
Jaxon smiled at him, a siren’s invitation. “I do like the way your body responds so beautifully, Lucian.”
“So do I,” he answered, his voice a whisper of seduction. “I think we will stay here in this cavern for a few risings. A honeymoon.”
“We aren’t married,” she pointed out.
“Of course we are. The Carpathian ritual is binding, my love, more so than the human ceremony. There is no word for divorce in our society. It is not an option.” Although his tone sounded mild, there was nothing mild about the smoldering passion of his hungry gaze.
She shrugged one white shoulder. “You’re married, then, not me. I was human when you started all this.”
“Then I will have to do something to make you realize you are well and truly bound to me for all time.” His white teeth flashed at her, gleaming menace like those of a predator.
Jaxon had just enough time to get off one little yelp before he was diving through the air, slicing cleanly through the water, and coming after her. Laughing, she tried to swim away from him, only to be caught by strong hands at her waist and pulled up against his body.
They spent three nights in the glittering cave, three nights of paradise, indulging themselves in each other: talking in low, intimate whispers, making love all night, flying through the sky as owls, shape-shifting into wolves so Lucian could share the joy of running free in the forest with Jaxon. They spent every moment together, holding hands, laughing, just being in love.
Their ultimate destination, the old lodge Lucian had purchased, was made of huge logs with high-beamed ceilings and an open landing on the second floor. It was rustic but quite beautiful. Someone had built the house with loving hands and lived there long before it had been used as a hunting lodge by some rich sportsman. Lucian merely waved a hand to dispel any dust and grime that might have accumulated. She was grateful to see no deer antlers or stuffed wildlife decorated the place. The idea of so many animals slaughtered for sport made her sick.