At once the fire spiders leapt on that as well, covering the head until there was only a sea of moving spiders and fiery flames and Bardolf was swallowed beneath them.

"We have to go fast," Tatijana said.

She stuck her arm into the web and Branislava did so as well. A narrow opening appeared. Both men shifted and streamed through. The women shifted as well and all four moved through the chambers as fast as possible until they came to the lava tube, their only exit.

Whatever evil had been awakened below them had roused the creatures inside the tube. They could hear the bats squeaking in alarm.

We have no choice, Fen said.

Tatijana and Branislava looked at one another. Their hands went up simultaneously. Spiders, spiders of crystal ice, spin your web of strongest light. Spin and dance, surround and form, prevent these creatures from doing us harm.

Tiny white spiders swarmed up the tube, spinning crystalline silk, all the way up the cylinder in one continuous web of light. The inside of the tube began to glow as the spiders spun and danced, more and more slipping out of cracks to join in a glorious display of shocking light. The creatures couldn't stand the light and wailed, moving back hastily into their dens.

Quick, the effects won't last long, but Bronnie says they can't see when the light is so bright. We have to hurry, Tatijana advised.

Fen went first. As he rose, he could see into the darker holes where the creatures resided. Bits of bone and fur and dark blood stained the entryways and walls inside the honeycombed dwellings. He streamed past, knowing speed mattered this time, not finesse.

Tatijana followed close behind him and Branislava was on her heels. Dimitri brought up the rear. The moment they were all out, Fen and his brother both turned back to lean over the tube. Already the light was fading and the bats began to swarm up the tube after their prey.

Fen and Dimitri together waved their hands and murmured a firm command.

"Go, run. The moment you're out, get in the air fast and away from here," Fen snapped.

The women didn't argue; both streaked through the narrow tunnel back to Bardolf's cave and then out into the open air. They leapt straight up, shifting as they did, the two dragons banking and then, wings flapping hard, shooting out of the mist.

Fen and Dimitri followed them, practically on their heels. Behind them, the world blew apart. The lava tube detonated, a fiery blast that shook the entire mountain. The shock waves from the explosion followed them through the caves, blowing a hole just to the side of Bardolf's chosen lair.

Fen and Dimitri flung themselves skyward, shifting as they did. The concussion sent both of them reeling through the air and out of the mist as if the mountain threw them away. Tatijana raced back, her dragon diving beneath Fen, while Branislava managed to seat Dimitri on her fire dragon.

I'm ready for a long sleep in the ground again, Branislava said. Your adventures are very exciting, but too much of a good thing is exhausting.

Fen had to agree with her.

18.

Fen wrapped his arm around Tatijana. Branislava was safely beneath the earth, well fed and ready for sleep. Dimitri's wound had been attended to. He'd been given blood and he, too, was in the ground rejuvenating. Tatijana and Fen walked through the forest-their favorite place-and just breathed in the crisp air. He knew she'd been traumatized all over again entering the ice caves and he didn't want her to go to ground until they had talked it out.

He stirred her toward a spot where a series of natural pools had developed. The sound of water was calming and he knew the night sky would help to make her feel less claustrophobic. Going to a place of such natural beauty with waterfalls and pools, so entirely different than her prison had been, he hoped would ease the tension from her. He knew she was drawn by the sound and feel of water. He wanted to turn the rest of the night into something beautiful to erase what had come before.

"You were amazing," he said, meaning it. "I know you were frightened."

"Anyone would be afraid, knowing the traps and the hideous creatures locked away in that mountain," Tatijana said, "but more, I was sickened. I couldn't believe how nauseated I was. My stomach was in knots and a couple of times the smell actually made me gag. I locked away most of those memories so I could survive."

"I'm sorry our fight with Bardolf led us to the ice caves," he said as gently as he could. He tightened his arm around her shoulders. "I know I've got a lot of rough edges, Tatijana. You deserve a man who is gentle and always considerate, but know that I love you above all else and I will do anything to make you happy." He regretted that he hadn't figured out a way to keep her out of Xavier's labyrinth of evil. He'd brought all those terrible memories crashing down on her. Where Branislava took to the ground, allowing the healing soil to keep the trauma at bay, Tatijana embraced the night, needing the freedom of the open air.

Tatijana frowned up at him. She lifted one hand to trace the lines in his face. "Why would you think I would want any other? Your words are sweet enough when I need to hear them. I feel surrounded by your love, enveloped in it and I need no one else. I chose to go back to that cave with you. It was my choice, and I appreciate that you understood it had to be my choice. More than anything, Fen, I fell in love with that trait in you. You let me be me."

He took her deeper into the forest, listening for every sound. He wanted them safe and after the hunt for the werewolves, he was certain they would be. Branislava had found another unit of sixteen and Zev and the others had wiped them out. Abel was slowly losing his army. He would be much more wary of sacrificing his pawns until he had a concrete plan to carry out his mission.

More and more, Fen feared that Abel was working with someone else-someone far away. It would be rare for a master vampire to take orders from another, and in spite of being the Sange rau that Abel was.

"Where are we going?" Tatijana asked as he lifted her over a fallen tree trunk covered in moss. "I've never been out this way."

"I'm glad. I wanted to surprise you."

Already the sound of the falls was beginning to be heard. She turned her head toward it. "A waterfall? I had no idea."

He felt the lightness in her heart lift away some of the shadows pressing down on her. "A series of waterfalls. They fall into natural pools. Two of the pools are fed from underground springs that are hot. The others are very cold."

"Temperature matters little to a Carpathian," she said.

He grinned at her. "Unless your lifemate can surprise you and toss you into a cold pool before you can regulate."

"You wouldn't dare," she said, her emerald eyes beginning to sparkle.

"Probably not," he soothed, "but you never know. I am a wolf man, after all, and they do like their pranks."

The sound of the falls grew louder, water cascading down the mountainside and dropping several meters into the pools formed below by rock. Over time the pounding water had smoothed the boulders and bottom of the pools until they were polished and even.

"Strange that I didn't notice that jokester trait in the Lycans," Tatijana said. "They looked like a sober lot to me." She sent him a warning from under her lashes, but her eyes couldn't contain her amusement.

He pushed aside fronds from a fern as tall as he was so she could get her first look at the waterfall and pools. They were hidden from view by a grove of old-growth trees whose trunks were as wide and thick as a small car. He watched her face as he held the lacy leaves back. Her entire face lit up. Her hair actually streaked with deeper shades of red. Her emerald eyes deepened in color until they were nearly the same as the deepest pool.

Tatijana gave a little gasp as she stepped forward. "It's so beautiful, Fen. Truly beautiful. You couldn't have found a place I would like more."

She turned into his body, circling his neck with her slender arms and bringing his head down to hers, leaning into him until she was pressed tight. "I love you, Fenris Dalka. Everything about you, but especially that you always seem to know exactly what I need. This is perfect."

Fen framed her face with his large hands. She looked up at him with her incredible, dazzling eyes and he let himself fall into the deep depths. He wanted to live there inside her, with her, be one with her.

Her fingers brushed his mouth, and then, featherlight, traced his lips. He felt the jolt of shock go through his body straight to his groin. As gentle as her fingers on his face were, the lightning bolt slamming through his body was exactly the opposite, a punch hard and mean.

The intensity of his love for her was terrifying. Wonderful. A miracle. He had never envisioned that emotions could run so deep. Love and lust were a potent combination, heightening every sense and inflaming every nerve ending.

He was aware of every breath she drew. The subtle rise and fall of her breasts beneath her clothing. He inhaled her fragrance, the wild of the forest and clean of the rain. His hand bunched in the thick silk of her hair.

Fen pressed his mouth close to her ear. "I don't want a single stitch of clothing between your skin and mine."

Her long lashes swept down, veiling her expression, but her lips curved and her clothes disappeared, leaving her standing in front of him completely naked. He took a breath. Her body was beautiful to him. The full curves, the tucked-in waist, her flaring hips and the small dragon low and to the left below her waist, just faintly visible. She had shapely legs and small, bare feet. Her hair, usually kept in a braid, tumbled passed her waist like a riot of fine silk.

He removed his own clothing, suddenly finding the material too tight to contain his hard body. He leaned his head down to hers and took possession of that oh-so-incredibly-generous mouth. Soft. Cool against the fire of his. Everything he could possibly want was right there in his arms.

Her mouth moved under his, giving him everything he asked of her. His fingers tightened in her hair, burying deep to anchor her to him, to hold her still. In spite of the blood surging hotly in his veins and his cock hard and thick and making its own demands, he was patient, savoring each moment of time with her.

He felt her lips tremble as he deepened the kiss, exploring all that cool sweetness that was his alone. His skin felt burning hot, hers cool and soft. A whip of lightning cracked and snapped through his bloodstream, sending flames licking at his groin. The rush was all encompassing.

She gave herself to him as generous as always, pouring herself into his mind and heart, her mouth giving him everything he craved. He tasted passion. Love. A world he hadn't known existed opened up the moment he'd met her, and this, her mouth, her kiss, was his passport there. His belly tightened, every muscle hardening, yet he wanted slow and gentle. He wanted to savor every moment, imprint the feel and taste of her into him for all time.

He lifted his head, pressing his forehead into hers. His lungs burned, whether for air or just the miracle of finding her after centuries of loneliness-after believing his world would always be one of darkness, killing and a continuous struggle.

"You saved me. You did, Tatijana. No matter what you think, you saved my soul. I still can't believe what a perfect miracle you are or what I ever did to deserve you."

She ran both hands up his flat belly to his chest, her mouth following, kissing every defined muscle until she was teasing his flat nipple with her tongue. "Perhaps, wolf man, you saved me," she murmured, licking at his pounding pulse.

Before he could answer, her teeth sank deep. He threw his head back and growled in ecstasy. Her hands smoothed his shoulders, traced his ribs and dropped lower to find the girth of his burgeoning cock. She danced her fingers over his sensitive skin, then wrapped her fist tightly and slid the length of him from base to head in that firm grip. Her other hand dropped a little lower to find his heavy sac. She rolled and caressed, squeezing gently.

The sensations she created, between her hands and her mouth, turned his brain to absolute mush. Thunder roared in his ears. Blood pounded through his body. He had set out to give her a night of pleasure, only to have her turn the tables. She licked across the small wound in his chest her teeth had caused, her eyes nearly glowing as she lifted her lashes.

"I need more of you, lifemate," she said softly.

If it was possible, his cock hardened even more.

She tugged very gently, not relinquishing her hold on him. "I think you'd better come with me."

He did. How could he not? She got as far as the first pool where the rocks were smooth all around it and stepped into it. The water came to her waist.

"Sit right here." She patted the edge where the rock was the smoothest.

He complied with her command, sitting right on the edge. His cock was rock hard against his stomach, but his sac hung down toward that steaming water. Standing so much lower than him, her head was perfectly aligned with his groin.

"This night was meant for you," he said, his voice raspy and raw.

Tatijana gave him a siren's smile, one that made him hotter than ever. "Exactly. I want more of you, and it's time I got what I wanted. Ever since our night in the field, tasting you on that flower, I've been craving that exact taste. I could be addicted."

Her mouth slid over him like a silken glove. His entire body shuddered with pleasure. He was hot, his skin, his blood, his desire. Her mouth was cool silk, wrapped tightly around him, drawing him deeper into her with every movement she made. She didn't take her eyes from his, so that he could see her pleasure.

Fen cupped her breasts, his fingers finding her nipples. He rolled and tugged, watching the glaze come into the very depths of her eyes. Her hands moved over his groin, soft hands, but her touch drove him wild.

Tatijana had butterflies in her stomach. She'd never been nervous, but this time, she wanted to give Fen as much pleasure as he always gave her. More, she wanted this for herself. She wanted to make her own demands of him and know he found everything as pleasurable as she did.

She looked up at Fen's rugged features. He was a man who had seen more in life than he ever should have. There was the stamp of confidence, of dominance, an alpha who took control when necessary. He was beautiful to her, wholly masculine, his face sensual. She loved his eyes. Those amazing, glacier-blue eyes. When he focused on her, there was no one else in the world and she knew it. He made her feel alive and vibrant and beautiful herself.

She loved the control she had, driving him wild, and she knew he was nearly crazy with pleasure. Her mouth and tongue teased and tortured, and clamped around him, tighter, urging him deeper, his hands on her breasts making her just as wild for him. She hadn't known she was so sensitive there, but every tug on her nipples sent fresh, welcoming liquid between her legs.

Fen bunched Tatijana's hair in his fist, groaning, his body swelling more. He tried to keep his hips still, giving her the control, but her tongue teased his most sensitive spot under the head of his cock and then suddenly flicked back and forth. Fire sizzled through his veins, settling in his groin, roaring as it grew out of control. She used the edge of her teeth, scraping gently, and then her tongue danced again. She slid her lips up and down his shaft, over his tight sac and the very base of his cock and then swirled her tongue around the head.

She sipped at the pearly drops leaking almost continually, keeping him so off balance he knew he would be lost. She took him deeper, her mouth constricting around him, and he took over, thrusting into her, giving her what she wanted most. Both hands gripped her hair, holding her still, drawing her into him as he thrust upward. She braced herself with one hand on his thigh while the other cuddled his sac, her hold intimate.

His body tightened, the fire roaring. He could feel flames from his feet to the top of his head. Blood pounded through him. His pulse thundered in his ears. She flattened her tongue, keeping her mouth tight while he thrust deep over and over. He felt the blast coming and there was no way to stop, not when she felt like heaven.

Nothing prepared him for the way she suckled him, the constriction and the feel of her silken mouth clamped around him. He threw back his head and howled like a wolf as he poured down her throat. His hands gripped her hair hard, but she didn't pull away, only licked gently at his shaft and the exquisitely sensitive head until he felt thoroughly loved.

"Yep. That's definitely the taste I remember," Tatijana said. "Definitely addicting."

He couldn't breathe. He wasn't certain he could ever breathe again. She smiled her siren's smile and swam away from him, her bare buttocks flashing white. She rolled over and leisurely floated, her breasts thrust up toward the sky. The mist had come in, so soft and light, it was barely noticeable, or he'd been preoccupied and hadn't observed it.

Now it was becoming thicker, denser, falling lightly into the steaming pool. He watched her for a few minutes, clearly enjoying the feel of the water against her skin. Even in the heat of the pool, Fen knew her skin would feel cool and inviting against his. He leaned back and let the mist fall on his face, watching the tiny drops fall like glittering diamonds from the sky.

He would always associate Tatijana with fresh rain, with the feel of cool water against hot skin. There was a sensual feeling he couldn't deny with the mist falling softly over him. He'd never connected rain or fog to sensuality, but would forever more.

Tatijana sent a wall of water shooting at him. He ducked under it using the speed of his mixed blood and did a shallow dive into the water. The heat after the cool rain was shocking. He gave chase, catching her just near the far side, nearest the mountain where icy cold drops from the waterfall splashed over them to hiss in the heat of the pool.

Standing, he pulled her to him, catching her legs to wrap them around his body. The vee between her legs nestled over his already thickening cock. Her skin was cool, just as he suspected, but that sweet invitation was hotter than ever. She linked her fingers behind his neck and leaned in to kiss him.

"Thank you. I love this place, Fen. My beautiful wolf man. First you write me a song, and then you give me this wonderful night." She threw her head back, allowing the mist to fall into her face. "I think it's going to rain. Wouldn't that be lovely?"

He laughed, enjoying how happy she was. "Only you would say that, my lady. Most women would prefer to be indoors when it rains."

"They don't know how good it feels on their skin." She leaned down to lick droplets off his neck. "Or how good rain tastes on skin."

"Lean back. I'll hold you," he promised. "Just enough that I can get a taste of you."

When she complied, stretching her arms to full length, the movement pushed her body into his. She moved, a subtle circle, rubbing against him, so that his cock jerked with demand. Her breasts swayed invitingly and the silk of her hair fell in waves like a bright cape. Behind her, the waterfall spilled continuously down the mountainside, long crystal streaks of water racing toward the pools below. Wind moved through the trees, so that the tops swayed as if to music. Steam rose around them, creating even more of an intimacy.

"There is music to the rain," Tatijana confided. "Haven't you ever heard it?"

"No," he admitted, nuzzling her breast. "When it rains, I'll listen," he promised.

The temptation of her taut nipple was too much for him. She was a redhead and her nipples were more of a pink than dark-and very sensitive. Each time he stroked his tongue over and around her breast, he felt her body's reaction. He used his teeth, tiny little nips, before he drew her nipple into the heat of his mouth and suckled strongly.

The mist turned to a light rain, the drops feeling cool against his body heat. Cool, like Tatijana. His mouth was burning hot. His skin. His cock. His blood, surging, rushing, inflamed in the midst of such temptation. He couldn't leave her other breast unattended and took his time paying tribute to her soft flesh until she was crying out his name, cradling his head and arching into him.

Her body squirmed against his, each delicious movement sliding over his shaft, rubbing and teasing, inflaming him more. He still had trouble believing that such a beautiful woman had chosen him, and each time he reached for her, gave herself again and again so generously. He touched her mind often, and she always was as eager to explore his body as he was to explore hers.

He kissed his way up her breast, over the creamy slope, his teeth nipping along the way, just to feel the hot liquid response of her body against his shaft. Using his tongue, he eased each sting and then found her pounding pulse. The frantic rhythm beckoned and called seductively to him. He felt the pull of her blood as deeply as he felt the need of her body. The taste of her burst through his mouth even before he actually sank his teeth deep.

Tatijana cried out, sweet music to his ears, as he drank from her, taking the essence of her into his own body. The rain fell over the both of them-small, gentle droplets cooling the heat of his skin, making his core burn hotter than ever. She cradled his head to her, holding him close, her body writhing against his. Twice she lifted her hips, trying to impale herself on him, but he held her firmly in place, drawing out the need, building it in her.

"Fen. What are you doing?"

She gasped his name. Chanted it again and again. Adding to the music. He was beginning to hear the rain's song through the pounding of his own blood. Small little drops plopping in the water. The random hiss of droplets from the waterfall accompanying the steadier fall of the rain. Her ragged breathing. His pulse thundering in his ears like a drum.

He took his time, savoring the taste of her and the response of her body, before he finally closed the wound over her breast.

Her breathing became part of the symphony. The drops hitting the leaves produced a different sound than when they fell on the ground. He heard it now, the music the rain made, that same music she heard, and it became part of their night, part of them. His hands slid down her body to grip her buttocks, lifting her so that the head of his cock lodged just inside of her.

Tight muscles closed around him, gripping and squeezing, trying to drag him inside of her, desperate for him to move hard and deep. Her panting gasps and desperate pleas added to the melody of the rain, that perfect song. He would always love her soft little cries, the way she said his name over and over.

Very slowly he lowered her body over his, burying his cock in her scorching hot feminine sheath, such a contrast to the cool of her outside skin. Her body was tight, reluctantly giving way for his invasion. Her breath hissed out against his neck, a long sigh of pure rapture.

"At last," she whispered, her fingers locking at the nape of his neck. "I feel I've waited a lifetime for this moment."