Dark Lycan (Carpathian)

Even as she asked the question, she instinctively cupped her hands around the bloom and offered it to him. She could barely breathe, watching the way he took the blossom from her as if it was the most sacred thing in the world. His soft groan sent a shiver down her spine, and deep inside she felt her body turn hot and needy.

Eyes still holding hers captive, Fen lowered his head to the fragrant petals, nuzzling them with his strong jaw before dipping lower, his tongue stroking sensuously along the ovaries and filaments.

She couldn’t tear her gaze from him. It was the hottest, sexiest thing she’d ever experienced. Her breasts actually ached and she could feel the welcoming liquid gathering at the junction of her legs. In that moment, watching him devouring the nectar, his eyes burning over and into her, she realized there was no going back from this, nor would she want to.

Fenris was her lifemate. Pure and simple. She wanted him to complete the binding ritual. She felt her heart was already his. Clearly her body wanted his. She could taste him in her mouth, but she needed their souls bound together in the way of their people.

She had set out to prove something to herself and maybe to everyone else as well. She wanted freedom above all else. But freedom was choice. Fenris Dalka, surrounded as he was by danger, was her choice. She couldn’t even say for certain it was the pull of lifemates. She liked him. She respected him. He didn’t waste time on useless arguing. She was in his mind and knew he respected her vast amount of knowledge when it came to all the species and their fighting abilities. He didn’t relegate her to a safe corner somewhere, although her protection and safety was uppermost in his mind. He made her feel beautiful and special, as if she were the only woman in the world. He listened to her. He liked hearing her talk. He had a sense of humor. And right now, in this moment, he was the sexiest man alive to her.

He took his time with the flower, his gaze growing hotter and wilder as he savored every single drop of nectar. “I love your taste,” he murmured.

Her entire body seemed to clench in anticipation. “I am beginning to think it might not be so bad to have you claim me,” Tatijana ventured. “I’m getting used to the idea.”

His gaze grew hotter. More intense. He lowered the blossom, his eyes moving over her in a slow, possessive manner that left her mouth dry.

“Don’t tempt me, Tatijana. Not now. I don’t think I have the strength to resist and we both know it isn’t the right time.”

“I think it’s exactly the right time. There’s more to this ritual, and I want it done right. Binding us together is logical. This feels like the perfect time to me.”

Fen’s breath came in a long rush, which added to her happiness—and her certainty that she was right. He tried not to be affected by the fertility ritual, or by her close proximity, but he was. He was just as hungry for her as she was for him.

Fen’s eyes devoured her even as he tried to reason with her. “I’ve been showing restraint because I won’t be able to resist sharing blood with you. Over time, you’ll end up like me—the Sange rau—and until we know what agreement the Lycans and Carpathians come to, mixing our blood could be dangerous to you.”

She stepped close to him, a mere breath away, one hand going to his chest. She could feel his heart, rock steady beneath her palm. His skin was hot beneath the thin shirt he wore. “I am your lifemate, claimed or not, Fenris Dalka. What happens to you will happen to me.”

“Not so, my lady,” he denied. “Should I be killed, claimed or unclaimed, you could choose to live out your life. It would not be easy, but easier if unclaimed.”

“I would follow you as most lifemates would, Fen. It does no good to pretend our lives are not woven together. I’m in your mind every bit as deep as you’re in mine. My sister, Branislava, has always been my world, yet I follow you wherever you go. We are lifemates. Our blood will mingle and I will become as you are. No matter what you choose, I will follow you. I prefer to be a claimed lifemate, but if you insist I follow you into the next life unclaimed, so be it.”

He shifted on the balls of his feet, a slight movement both fluid and graceful that sent her heart racing all over again. His gaze held hers captive.

“Tatijana, it’s important to me that you want me for who I am, not because Gregori or any other sought to shame you for being unclaimed. I need you with every breath I take. My body hungers for yours. The more I share with you, the closer I feel, but I will not let any Carpathian tell us what we have to do. This is our life, and I want us to do things our way, at our pace. You have reservations. I feel them in your mind, and until they are resolved and I feel strong enough to protect you from even me, then we will just have to be careful.”