He heard the ring of truth in her voice. He couldn't help but admire her. She laid it out for him, just like that.

"A lot of people say they want honesty, Blaze, but they really cannot handle the truth. If I give you reality, the absolute truth, you could have a difficult time accepting it-and me. And you will accept me. That much I will tell you straight. You are not walking away from me, not when I spent lifetimes searching for you."

She didn't so much as raise an eyebrow at his carefully worded answer. She didn't look away. She continued to look him straight in the eye, something most humans found uncomfortable. He moved in her mind. She'd heard the word lifetimes. She hadn't even flinched. Not physically and not in her mind-almost as if she knew.

"Reginald c.o.o.nan is not human. The Hallahans are, but he isn't. He's using them because he cannot go out during the day and he has learned, over the centuries, if he wants to remain alive, it is better to stay in the background and have his p.a.w.ns take the heat. That is one of the many reasons we interfered tonight. Aside from the fact that I do not want you dead, we need to find him. The Hallahans can lead us to him."

She reached behind her for the wall. This time, her lashes fluttered and he felt her inhale. He felt it, because he'd moved that close. So close he could feel her breathing.

"You probably think I am crazy. Most humans who hear something like this would, but you asked, so I am giving you the truth." But she didn't think he was crazy. She had gone still inside. He stayed in her mind. She was waiting. So still. Knowing, not wanting to know, but knowing all the same.

"If he isn't human," Blaze said carefully, "what is he?"

"Have you been following the murders in the city? Mostly homeless and prost.i.tutes, but a few have been business owners from this neighborhood. Not the ones the Hallahans beat to death for show, but the ones torn to shreds, as if a wild animal has killed and partially eaten them? The ones with very little blood left in their bodies?"

She put a hand on his chest and exerted pressure. "You can stop right there. We've already been approached and we said no. My father wasn't about to be recruited by fanatics believing in vampires and hunting just about anyone they didn't like. That kind of witch hunt belongs in another century, not this one."

There was a bite of contempt in her answer. He didn't flinch. He'd expected it, although he was a little shocked that she and her father had been approached. Although he shouldn't have been, he realized. Sean McGuire and his daughter were both highly skilled-and Blaze was psychic. If that was common knowledge or if she had ever been tested, she would be on the society's radar. He knew she had to be psychic because she was his lifemate.

"The ones who call themselves the Society for the Preservation of Mankind. I am not affiliated with them, and they wouldn't know an honest-to-G.o.d vampire if the monster came up and bit them on the neck."

"Move back," she cautioned when he didn't budge.

There was a threat in her voice. In a strange, perverse way, he liked that she felt confident enough to threaten him. He liked that she was a warrior and she didn't hesitate to defend herself.

"Blaze, you wanted the truth. At least hear me out. Did you think I would tell you this and expect you to take it on faith alone? I have proof of the things I am telling you. But you need to understand, attacking me is not going to work. I have stated repeatedly that I do not want to hurt you. I have no intention of harming you. You asked for this and against my better judgment, I am giving you the stark truth."

He studied her face. She was scared, but she wasn't exactly not believing him. She didn't want to know the truth. Somewhere, deep inside her, she was already prepared to hear this, but she didn't want it.

"Please will you step back?" This time she asked. "I can't think straight when you're so close to me."

Even as she softly made the request, her foot came down hard on his, and her open palm rushed toward his nose. At least that was her intent. Maksim shifted before she could complete the maneuver. Her foot came down where his had been and her hand shot out hard and fast, but he dissolved right in front of her eyes. Was gone. Blaze gasped and took two steps forward, frantically looking around her living room trying to find him.

Maksim locked one arm around her belly from behind and caught her head in a firm grip with the other. He sank his teeth deep, part in need and part to teach her a lesson. The instant he did, he knew it was a mistake. He had fed thousands of times and he had never felt anything when he did, not that he had memory of. This time, everything was different. So different, and he hadn't counted on that.

He was vaguely aware of her gasp, the soft cry of pain when his teeth bit into her soft, exquisite flesh, her body struggling against his tight hold. He was enormously strong, and rather than aggression or fear on her part, he felt each movement of her body as erotic. The smoldering burn he'd felt, from the moment he heard her voice, flared into a bright, hot fire.

Feel me, sufletul meu. My soul. The very air I breathe. He didn't give her the translation in her mind, but he meant every word. She was the other half of his soul. He had no time to court her properly. They were in a war and he needed to get her on his side, but more than that, he needed her to know he would protect her from anyone and anything-even herself. Feel us. You belong to me.

He didn't try to soothe her. He didn't need to. She felt the strength of the pull between them all on her own, without compulsion. A need that went so deep, that was so strong, Maksim couldn't possibly resist-so how could she? He let himself feel everything. The beat of her heart matching the rhythm of his. The taste of her, bursting in his mouth like a fine wine, like the blaze of her hair, fiery and pa.s.sionate, wild and untamed. It was all there in her blood. So rich. Perfection. He was instantly addicted and knew he'd never get enough of that taste.

Te avio plfertiilam. You are my lifemate. entlam kuulua, avio plfertiilam. I claim you as my lifemate. Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed. I belong to you.

He whispered the vows that would tie their souls back together for all time, meaning every single word. The ritual binding words were imprinted upon him before his birth and he had thought, through the long centuries of gray, bleak, endless nothing, that he would never have the opportunity to say them to his woman.

Essentially, in the Carpathian world, they would be married, but so much more. They were tied for all time, one life to the next. Always together. Bound by their souls. Once bound, never able to be torn apart. He hoped to bind their hearts together as well.

elidamet andam. I offer my life for you. Pesmet andam. I give you my protection. Uskolfertiilamet andam. I give you my allegiance. Svamet andam. I give you my heart.

She began to struggle. Her body was on fire, just as his was. He felt the way her soft sank into his hard. She molded herself to him, but she heard the vows he pushed into her mind, and she felt the tiny unbreakable threads tying them together. He felt them, and joy burst through him. She felt them and panicked. Still, he couldn't stop, even knowing her just from the exquisite taste of her blood.

The knowledge was there on his palate, in his body, soaking into every cell and organ. She was more than wild. She was feral, a woman who went her own way and made her own decisions but could ignite with the right man, turn into a storm of pa.s.sion that would threaten to consume them both. And she was his.

He tightened his hold on her. Be still, Blaze. You have no need to panic. I could never hurt you.

What are you doing? You're scaring me.

He was shocked at how strong the psychic connection between them was. She had no problem speaking to him, mind to mind. She was frightened, but not because he was taking her blood. She was frightened at the words he pushed into her mind and the way he made her feel. The bond that was already growing so strong between them. She didn't understand the ancient Carpathian language, but he interpreted for her in English-in her language, so there was no mistaking what he was doing.

Maksim was determined that he didn't deceive her. She had asked for honesty and he was being honest. This was the truth between them. She was his lifemate and there was no escape. None. No out. She had to learn to live with him and he with her. He needed her to survive. His soul needed her to redeem him. Without her, he had nothing and he never would. Everything that had gone before, his very honor, would be in jeopardy. And that was not going to happen.

Sielamet andam. I give you my soul. Ainamet andam. I give you my body. Svamet kuuluak kaik ett a ted. I take into my keeping the same that is yours.

"Stop. Stop right now." She whispered the plea. "Maksim, you have to stop."

He felt her slump against him and instantly swept his tongue across the twin pinp.r.i.c.ks in her neck, his arms sliding behind her back and knees. He lifted her and carried her to her bedroom, to lay her gently on the thick comforter there. He didn't know if she was pleading with him to stop because she felt the vows every bit as strong as he did, or if she felt weak and that frightened her.

She hadn't lost consciousness, but she was very vulnerable. Her green eyes had gone from burning to glittering. That defiance was there, the need to struggle, to fight, but she had too much control. She knew she was helpless. He'd allowed her to feel his strength and he'd shown his ability to shift. He had begun the binding ritual and she felt that as well. She was dealing with shock and her mind trying to tell her that what she saw with her own eyes couldn't be true. What she heard in her mind and what she felt, had to be impossible. But all along she had known the truth. She hadn't wanted to accept it-however she'd first learned it-but she had known of his kind or at least of the undead.

Maksim had taken her blood and he hadn't put a compulsion on her. He hadn't calmed her. She had remained calm. He sensed the moment the pain was gone and erotic pleasure took its place. She felt that. He felt it with her.

"I am not a vampire, Blaze," he rea.s.sured her. "Vampires kill their prey. They enjoy the rush they feel, like a drug addict's high. The more they terrorize their victims, the more adrenaline is pumped into the blood and the higher they get. I am Carpathian. Without finding our lifemates, we are in danger of becoming the undead."

As he gave her the explanation, he slowly unb.u.t.toned his immaculate black silk shirt to expose his chest. Her eyes followed his movements, mesmerized by his actions, but she heard him. She was listening to him. Her tongue touched her bottom lip and he groaned. Need was on him-a need he had never experienced.

Like all Carpathian males, he had centuries to study every subject, to learn and acquire knowledge. He knew virtually everything there was to know about s.e.x and how to please a woman-and how to teach his woman to please her man. Over the centuries he had had plenty of time to be familiar with the things that intrigued him and he knew he would want.

"You wanted honesty between us, Blaze," he reminded gently. "I tried to tell you. You could not hear the truth, so showing you seemed a much better idea."

He gathered her into his arms, ignoring the hand that fluttered against his chest as if she might find the strength to push him away. His fingers sifted through the fiery red silk at the top of her head, the feel of it against his skin pushing his hunger higher. Blood raced through his veins and centered in his groin. Hot. Full. Aching enough to be painful. He loved the feeling just because he could feel it. That was almost as addicting as her taste.

Her green eyes remained steady on his. "What are you doing? Tell me."

"Claiming you. You cannot pretend you do not feel it, too. You know you belong to me. I am exchanging blood with you in the way of my people."

She shook her head, and her tongue touched her lower lip again. "Maksim. I'm not one of your people. I can't take your blood."

"You are my lifemate. This is what lifemates do."

Her eyes widened when he lifted his hand and showed her as he allowed his fingernail to grow into a longer, razor-sharp nail. She gasped as he drew it across his chest, a line over the heavy muscles there. At once beads of ruby red appeared. She shook her head again, her gaze clinging to his in a plea, and then dropping to the red line. Already, because she was his lifemate and there was no denying that fact, she felt the pull between them.

His palm fitted to the back of her head and he gently pressed her against him. She strained back, but there was no way to stop his insistence. The moment her lips touched his chest, fire shot through his veins. The rush was incredible. Her mouth moved, trying to avoid the ruby red line. He kept pressure on the back of her head, refusing to allow her to turn, so she had no option-her mouth remained against him.

Ainaak olenszal svambin. Your life will be cherished by me for all my time. Te elidet ainaak pide minan. Your life will be placed above my own for all time.

She gasped and her tongue touched the line. He knew the instant his taste burst through her mouth like champagne bubbles. His blood was for her. He was hers. All of him, and his taste was just as addicting to her as her taste had been for him. There was no way she could resist, and she didn't try to.

Blaze was tentative at first, using her tongue to lick delicately at his offering. Then her mouth was on him and she suckled, drawing his essence-his lifeblood-into her body. Taking him in. Accepting him. Taking what belonged to her. His body was on fire. She was in his lap, and he shifted her in his arms so that she fit more closely into him. His c.o.c.k, full and throbbing with life, snuggled against her b.u.t.tocks, and that brush, even through her jeans and his trousers, sent hot flames licking across his body.

"Te avio plfertiilam. You are my lifemate. Ainaak svamet jutta oleny. You are bound to me for all eternity. Ainaak terd vigyzak. You are always in my care." He whispered the words aloud, finishing the ritual binding. He brushed a kiss on top of her head, looked around the little apartment and then down at her as she completed the first blood exchange between them. "Susu, I am home."

When he knew she had taken enough from him, he gently slid his finger against her lips, between his chest and her mouth. He did so reluctantly because her mouth on his body felt like heaven. "Enough, Blaze." He tipped her head up and brought his mouth down on hers.

He thought to be gentle, but the taste of blood was there, and then he pa.s.sed that and into the sweet haven of her mouth. Her own taste was there. Just as wild, just as pa.s.sionate as her blood. The promise of her body was there. Just as wild. Just as pa.s.sionate. He wanted that. He even needed it.

His mouth was brutal and still she opened for him. Kissed him back just as savagely. Just as ravenous. As if she was just as starved for him as he was for her. He took her mouth over and over. Hunger swept through him. Shook him. His control slipped even more as her hands moved up his bare chest, taking in as much skin as possible. He felt her touch like a brand.

Maksim yanked at her blouse, ripping the material down the front. She didn't so much as flinch as she glanced down at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, cupped in a navy demi-bra. He saw the flare of heat in her eyes right before she slammed her mouth back on his. His hand went to the tie in her hair, and he dragged it off so all that fiery red silk cascaded down around them. Instantly he buried both hands in it, running his fingers through the fiery strands over and over, feeling the sensation vibrate right through his c.o.c.k.

He needed to be free of the material stretching across his fierce erection. He shifted her again, still kissing her, setting her on her feet so he could stand. He was tall. Much taller than she was, and she had to tilt her head up to keep the connection with his mouth.

He walked her backward across the floor until he could trap her between the wall and his body, the heated, throbbing bulge in his trousers pressed tight against her stomach. He lifted his head, looking down at her, at the emerald of her eyes, and saw stark need. Intense hunger. That fiery pa.s.sion she couldn't hide from him.

He bent his head to sc.r.a.pe his teeth back and forth over her pounding pulse, that sweet, sweet invitation in her neck. His lips followed, soothing the tiny bites with a sweep of his tongue. Her body shuddered against his. Her lashes fluttered and then swept down, but not before he saw the heat filling her. He ma.s.saged her hips, light at first as he pulled her even closer, his mouth continuing a slow a.s.sault. Each time his teeth nipped her, she moaned softly and pressed into him, her hips rubbing against his thigh.

His hand came up and cupped her breast, thumb stroking over the lace-covered nipple. She gasped.

"Take your bra off, Blaze," he whispered.

Her hands obeyed before her mind caught up. She reached behind her and unhooked it, letting it fall with the remnants of her shirt to the floor. His breath left his lungs in a shocked rush.

"Beautiful," he murmured, his hands cupping the soft weight. He bent his head, eyes feasting on her body, so perfect. l.u.s.t rose, hot and fierce. So sharp he actually felt the slide of his teeth and he had to fight it back. She brought out the savage in him, the primitive. He bent his head, his teeth sc.r.a.ping over her left nipple.

She cried out, the sound heightening his pleasure. He drew her breast deep into his mouth. Hard. Rough. Suckling strongly, using the flat of his tongue to forcefully press her nipple to the roof of his mouth while his fingers tugged and rolled the other one. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were obviously as sensitive as her neck. She squirmed against him, her cries soft as she reached up to drive her fingers deep into his hair.

He kept at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with his mouth and hands while he removed the rest of her clothes with his mind, leaving her completely naked. She didn't seem to notice, or care. A surge of hunger tore through him, so powerful, so fierce, he could barely think with the blood thundering in his ears and his mind consumed with her. He hadn't known, even with all his studies, that pa.s.sion could be so strong, so intense, destroying all control so that there was only pleasure, only pure feeling.

Electricity arced between them, sparks he knew weren't real, but still, they were there, like streaks of lightning sinking into his pores to whip through his body, taking every vestige of discipline with it. He lifted his head and she gasped at the look in his eyes. He knew she saw the darkened, l.u.s.t-filled predator, and yet she didn't back away; she reached for him, matched his uncontrolled hunger with her own.

He kissed her again, lifting her in his arms, his mouth rough, tasting her pa.s.sion. It was the best thing he'd ever tasted. As her nipples dragged over the hard muscles of his chest, she gasped and let out a little keening cry. He drank it down his throat, kissing her over and over. Her tongue dueled with his.

"More," she pleaded softly. Fiercely. "I need more."

FOUR.

ELECTRICITY SURGED THROUGH Blaze. Forks of lightning whipped through her bloodstream, lashing at her most sensitive of nerve endings until there wasn't a square inch of her that wasn't hypersensitive. She squirmed against him, her hips bucking. Hungry. Needy. Demanding. She couldn't stop herself. She was going up in flames and only he could stop it.

She needed his hands and mouth to be rough. She needed the bite in her scalp when he tugged her head back to take her mouth again and again. She needed the way his teeth sc.r.a.ped over her nipples and he suckled so strongly. She heard her own mewling cries, and she didn't care if she had to beg to get what she wanted. What she needed.

"Are you wet for me, Blaze?" he whispered.

He sounded like sin to her. Temptation. Wicked and forbidden. The wild in her rose until only need and hunger controlled her. Only pleasure. Every sharp tug of her hair, the feel of his fingers clenching her b.u.t.tocks so hard, so demanding, even the graze of his teeth drove her higher.

He didn't wait for her answer. He lowered her feet back to the floor and left a trail of kisses from her mouth to her throat, and then down to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Every tug of his teeth or fingers sent fire racing straight to her core. She felt the burn, so hot, scorching, between her legs, so she couldn't stay still. Her feminine channel spasmed, clenched, wept with need.

"I want to see for myself," he said softly, licking under her breast and then down along her ribs. "I need the taste of you on my tongue, sufletul meu."

His whispered words shook her. Went straight to her core so that she felt another powerful spasm. She wasn't certain she could survive. She wasn't even positive she could stand up. His marauding mouth didn't stay very long, but continued to journey down her belly, his tongue dipping into her belly b.u.t.ton, his teeth tugging at the little gold hoop there. He went down on his knees, pushing her thighs apart.

"Put your foot up on the table for me," he ordered, his voice a velvet rasp. Filled with dark command.

His voice sent a sharp glittering thrill through her, another pulse of hunger inside. There was no disobeying the edge in his tone. She tried not to whimper as she forced herself to look around. She hardly recognized her own bedroom. She hadn't even noticed they were beside the small end table next to her bed. She did what he said without hesitation, even though it made her feel even more sinful and wicked and even decadent.

She would do anything for him right then. She had never felt so desperate or needy in her life. The feeling was so strong, so intense, her body shook with it. Her heart raced, blood pounding out a demand through her veins to center in her deepest core. His face was carved with a dark, erotic sensuality. Harsh. Brutal even. Wild and untamed and it called to something deep inside of her, something she hadn't even known was there-until the moment she'd laid eyes on Maksim.

She was so hungry for him she could feel the hot liquid spilling down her thighs in antic.i.p.ation. A small whimper escaped and she anch.o.r.ed herself with one hand in his hair, her breath ragged. She was completely open to him and she should have been embarra.s.sed, but instead, she was all the more desperate for him to do something-anything.

"Yes, sufletul meu, you are so ready for me. So wet. So sweet." He stared at the fiery curls, damp with heat, his eyes hooded and hungry. His voice was almost a growl.

He blew cool air straight into her heated center and she cried out, gripping his shoulder to steady herself, needing an anchor when she was already spinning out of control.

"All mine," he whispered. "So long, Blaze. I searched so long to find you."

She didn't have time to process his words because he lowered his head to the feast between her shaking thighs. Her cry was shattered. Broken. Keening. He didn't just give a tentative lick. Maksim took what he wanted like a starved man. He consumed her with a ravenous appet.i.te. He devoured her. His tongue plunged deep to draw out the fiery taste of her. He suckled, he used the edge of his teeth. He took her over using just his mouth and nothing else.

Helpless to do anything but hold on, Blaze clung to both shoulders, obeying his hard grip on her thighs, keeping her wide open to his marauding mouth. It was good. So good. Better than anything she could have imagined. Her mind refused to work, centering on the absolute pleasure building like a tidal wave. The sensations were carnal, erotic, the intensity building the wanton need in her higher and higher.

He unleashed such a hunger on her, his tongue flicking, plunging deep over and over, stroking and caressing, she felt an answering hunger rising in her. His deep growls only added to the sensations whipping through her. Lightning was back, forking through her veins, a crack of electricity across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and down her thighs, along her spine and deep, deep in her feminine channel.

She was close, so close, the tension coiled so tight she screamed with need when his mouth covered her most sensitive b.u.t.ton, licking just enough for the sensations to overwhelm her, but not release her.

"Maksim," she hissed his name on a plea. Begging. Needing. Knowing he would give her what she needed in his own time. Her body was his. He'd claimed it and he was making certain she knew it. "Please," she whispered, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

He looked up at her and she felt the added intensity of his glittering eyes, so dark with desire, so intensely sensual her body shuddered and shook with need. Her hips bucked, pressing at him, so hungry for the sensations rushing her toward something just out of reach.

His mouth covered her sensitive bud once again, his tongue flicking, licking, pressing with broad, flat strokes and caresses, driving her up higher than she thought possible, until she was sobbing for release. The rapid strokes sent her over the edge, shattering her, fragmenting her with a kind of blinding frenzy.

She pulled him even closer. The wave after wave of excruciating pleasure only built her need, not a.s.suaging it in the least.

"Maksim." She sobbed his name.

He licked up the inside of her thigh and then down the other one, the gesture erotic, feeding that desperate, agonizing desire deep in her womb.

"What do you need, sufletul meu? I will give you the world, Blaze. Just ask for it. Just tell me."

"You. I need you."

"I belong to you," he reminded, standing, his body bare. All his defined, flowing muscles sliding up her skin because he was so close.

She took a breath, carefully put her foot back on the floor and looked at him. Took him in. Drank in the sight of him. He was tall and very muscular. His hair was long and caught back from his face with a loose cord. His shoulders were wide and his hips narrow. His thighs were powerful columns, but her gaze centered on his pulsing, jerking c.o.c.k. He was bigger than she imagined a man was.