Savannah’s fingers found the nape of his neck, and she forced her own pain from her mind, trying not to feel the brutal treatment he was subjecting her to. Gregori. The Dark One. Wild. Lawless. Always alone. Never touched, completely isolated. Feared. No Carpathian was comfortable in his presence, yet he had healed many of their race, hunted their assassins, carried out justice when it was the harshest of duties, to keep their people safe.
Who would care now for this wild beast? Who would feel gratitude for what he had sacrificed for them all? Who would ever attempt to get close enough to reach the man within? Compassion welled up in Savannah, and something else she dared not examine too closely. She could not allow such a fate to befall so great a Carpathian. She would not allow it. Her determination was beyond anything she had ever felt.
Her hands stroked his wild mane of hair and cradled his head to her breast, giving herself up to him freely, her thoughts calm in the eye of the storm, offering him her life without reservation. Take freely, Gregori. My life for your life. It was the least she could do, no less than he had done for her, for all of their race. I am here for you, Gregori. I offer what you need freely. She meant it. She would not allow him to become the undead. She would not give him up to that soulless world.
Savannah! He seemed a little stronger, or perhaps she simply hoped the man was gaining on the beast. You must survive. Kill me. His voice was a fierce, pleading growl in her head.
Her own mind responded. Feel me, my body joining with yours. I belong to you and you to me. Feel me with you. Reach for me. I will not let you go. Wherever you are, I am with you. Where you go, I follow. I offer my life freely for yours. You cannot take what is given to you. You have committed no wrong in taking.
His hips continued to surge into her, but with more care, as if he was slowly returning to awareness. Encouraged, Savannah moved her body to meet his, matching his furious rhythm, his heart, his lungs, until they were in perfect synchronization. One body, one heart, one mind. She tried to slow them down, to coax his body to the slower, more gentle rhythm of hers.
Savannah. Her name was a plea this time, still far away but more determined. The mouth working so ferociously at her breast gentled. Save yourself. Gregori was fighting for her as she was fighting for him.
There is only us. She was calm now, her hands moving soothingly over the taut, rigid muscles of his back. No me, no you. She was weak, drained, a strange lethargy overtaking her. Only us. Had her voice slurred a bit? I will not leave you, nor will I allow the darkness to take you from me.
Savannah lay beneath him, almost in a dream world. Suddenly, as if sensing she was slipping away from him, the beast raised its head, its eyes red, silver, red, silver, glaring at her, at once feral, then tender. Warm blood trickled down the slope of her breast. She blinked to bring him back into focus. His body was shuddering, spilling his seed deep within her. A long stroke of his tongue closed the wound at her breast and followed the drops of blood to her stomach.
I claim you as my lifemate. The words were husky in her mind. His voice followed, hoarse, as if the terrible conflict for his soul had taken its toll. “I belong to you. I offer my life for you.” The voice became stronger, more Gregori’s, a beautiful velvet caress, as he recited the ancient Carpathian vows that would link them for eternity. “I give you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul, and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours.” He caught the back of her head in his palm, slashed a wound near his throat, and pressed her mouth to the gash. She was weak, almost too weak to drink even under his compulsion. Drink, mon amour, for both our lives. He forced her obedience without a qualm. Without his blood, she would not survive the hour. Yet all that she had suffered to save him would be for nothing. Because without her he would have no reason or will to survive.