Antonietta laughed as she felt the rush of air on her body. She felt Byron extend his wings. Again he used the same careful movements, but the dragon was large and the wings enormous. When he launched himself from the battlement, into the air, she was unprepared for the way the pit of her stomach dropped away. She clutched at the dragon's neck convulsively, the air slamming out of her lungs.

I can hold you, cara.

She forced her body to sit up, to find the motion of the beast between her legs. Antonietta lifted her face to the sky. No, you can't. I'm going to fly by myself. I love this. And she did. It was exhilarating to be moving through the sky, great wings flapping, roiling the air so that she was aware every moment of the mythical dragon with its iridescent blue scales beneath her. It was a fairy tale come to life. Can you breathe fire? We could sweep over the Demonesini palazzo and singe Christopher's hair.

Byron felt her laughter right through the dragon's body. Through his body. Deep within the dragon, Byron felt elation sweeping through him.

Joy burst through Antonietta. The wind blew her hair in every direction, rushed at her face, robbed her of speech, made her eyes water. She couldn't see the night sky, but she could imagine stars sparkling over her head like gems. She leaned over the dragon's neck, urging him to fly faster.

Watch this, Uncle Byron.

Josef attempted to spin around, the body of the smaller dragon coming dangerously close to the larger one so that Byron had to perform a quick maneuver to avoid a collision in midair. Antonietta clutched the reins as her hips rose away from the dragon's back. Byron rose with her, reseating her before she could slide off. She clamped her legs as tightly as possible, her heart pounding.

I'm fine. This is great. I feel so alive. She said it hastily as she felt his rising ire at his nephew.

Josef didn't seem to notice what he'd done. He continued with his antics, dropping fast toward earth and pulling up sharply, nearly somersaulting. He was instantly disoriented. Vertigo hit hard. Panic replaced the image in his head. He plummeted toward earth.

Byron, great wings laboring, put on a burst of speed, dropping below the youth. Watch yourself, Antonietta. He is falling, coming from above you. I will try to catch him and hold him in my claws. The idiot should be eaten.

Byron reached for the falling boy. Josef saw the huge, wedge-shaped head, the mouth filled with sharp teeth, and he panicked. He punched the dragon on the snout, kicked viciously at the reaching claws, driving his body away from the dragon.

Byron swore and dropped hard and fast, coming up under his nephew. I will direct him toward the tail section. Try to help him, but do not fall yourself.

Josef hit the dragon's back, careened downward toward the dragon's tail. Antonietta had already dropped the reins and reached instinctively behind her. She brushed Josef's s.h.i.+rt, caught, and hung on. His weight nearly pulled her from the dragon's back, but Byron, inside the large bulk, adjusted his body to help her stabilize and keep from rolling off. Josef clung to the dragon, digging his heels in hard.

He pulled himself up behind Antonietta, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist. She was shocked at his size and strength.

It didn't feel as if a boy were behind her. He felt like a grown man.

How old is your nephew?

In human years, he is twenty-two. In our years he is considered a fledgling. A child still learning our ways. Shape- s.h.i.+fting is difficult. Most parents hold the image for the child over and over until the child learns to pay attention to detail. You have to operate on several levels at the same time. When you learn to do this, I will be the one to hold the image for you.

I don't have the ability to shape-s.h.i.+ft, Byron. I really don't. I feel the jaguar close at times, it is in me, but I can't make the change, not even when I try.

Antonietta was grateful for Byron's jacket and the perpetual warmth it generated as they soared through the sky. She felt the dragon circling, spiraling in long, sweeping circles, until it hovered in one spot, wings flapping ferociously. Josef slipped off onto the balcony of the villa where he was staying. The dragon immediately streaked skyward.

Antonietta leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the dragon's neck. "I don't want this ever to stop. I think we should fly all night."

Byron was grateful Eleanor had thought to secure a second smaller and much more secluded villa for her brother and his life mate. He didn't want to take Antonietta to a cave deep below the earth and explain his life to her. Explain what her life was to become. He wanted a beautiful setting where she might feel comfortable and completely at ease. He sent his sister his silent thanks for her thoughtfulness. He didn't know how she had accomplished it in so short a time, but Eleanor was always efficient.

The dragon settled on the wide verandah overlooking the sea. Antonietta waited while the wings folded against the great body before she felt around for the extended leg. Her feet found firm ground as Byron s.h.i.+fted into his human form. She laughed and threw her arms around him. "Grazie. You have no idea what that meant to me. I could learn to love flying."

His fingers curled around the nape of her neck, drew her to him. "I will have to teach you."

"I still don't understand why it is so difficult for Josef, yet you have no trouble s.h.i.+fting. I saw the image clearly in my head."

"Because I was holding it for you. It is much like breathing. You do not think of the mechanics of breathing, your brain tells your lungs, and everything just works in the background as you go through the day. s.h.i.+fting is different. You have to control it even as you do other things. The details have to be uppermost in your mind no matter what else is going on. Carpathians have to think on several levels at the same time, and our children must learn this; they are not born knowing how. Of course, some have more ability than others. And we have our geniuses."

His fingers were ma.s.saging her neck. There was possession in his touch. Antonietta brought her hands up to catch his wrist.

He had given her the most extraordinary experience of her life. She fit her body into his, turning her face up to his with trust. With love and acceptance.

Byron groaned softly and lifted her, cradling her against his chest. "I want to make love to you more than anything in the world right now."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing. I want it, too." Her fingertips caressed his finely chiseled lips. She loved his mouth, the shape and texture. The way he tasted. Every nerve ending was alive after her wild ride through the sky. She wanted him every bit as much as he could possibly want her.

Byron carried her into the villa. Eleanor a.s.sured him one room was reasonably safe to use as a sleeping chamber. He moved unerringly through the furniture as if he had been there numerous times, finding the winding stairs to the luxurious bedroom belowground. The windows were heavily covered with rich velvet drapes. The room was large, with an expanse of thick carpet underfoot. A step down led to a large sunken marble Jacuzzi, tiled with an intricate mosaic pattern.

"This is your home?" She was puzzled by his sudden reserve. So used to his continual presence in her mind, his withdrawal was distressing to her. "I don't have Celt with me, so show me the layout of the room. I memorize rather well, and it will cut down on the accidents. I've never liked falling over chairs. It's very undignified."

Instead of laughing, Byron's tension level seemed to increase. He lowered her feet to the floor, beside the bed. She felt the thick quilt with her palm.

"I would never allow you to fall." He immediately provided the map of the room for her.

She deliberately smiled at him. "No, of course you wouldn't. Nice room. I wouldn't mind sitting in the Jacuzzi after being in the night air. How about you?"

Byron raked his hands through his hair and obligingly turned on the water spigots before seating himself on the edge of the bed.

Antonietta studied the map of the room in his head, then slowly walked around, feeling her way down the single step until she could seat herself on the edge of the Jacuzzi. "Why are you so troubled, Byron?" She didn't have a sense that he wanted out of their relations.h.i.+p, more than he feared she might want out. "Is it because of the way you had to give blood to my cousin?" She shrugged out of his jacket, folded it neatly, and set it away from the filling tub. "You may as well talk to me. You want to, you just are having trouble figuring out how to explain everything to me. Am I that difficult to talk with? I was there. I recall I begged you to save Paul. Do you think I'm going to quibble over how you managed to do the impossible?"

Byron lifted his head to look at her. "I do not know what I ever did to deserve you, Antonietta. You are truly remarkable."

Her soft laughter was inviting, a sultry siren teasing him with the s.e.xual allure of her voice. He was instantly mesmerized as he watched her slowly slip her sandals from her feet. There was something very feminine about the way she ran her hand over her nylon-encased feet. "Does any man deserve a woman? I'll have to give that some thought. But you're definitely my choice." She leaned toward the sound of running water, dipped her hand in to test the depth.

"My people exist on the blood of others. It is how we feed. Food makes us ill, particularly meat. We can force ourselves to eat, but it is uncomfortable. Most of the time, we give the illusion of eating. If we do consume food, we have to rid ourselves of the contents as soon as possible." He tried to keep his voice matter-of-fact, but his gaze burned over her face, watching her closely for the smallest reaction.

"I see. You really were telling the truth when you tried to a.s.sure me your family wouldn't care what I served. I was anxious for no reason at all." A small, self-mocking smile curved her mouth. "That does put things in perspective, doesn't it?"

Byron kept his touch in her mind light, a mere shadow monitoring her reaction. She absorbed what he said without judgment.

She tapped her fingernail on the marble. "So you have fangs? Like a vampire in the books?" Antonietta held her palm over the pulse on her neck.

"When I need to feed, yes, my incisors lengthen." He didn't take his eyes from her face.

Antonietta turned off the water. "Do you have music in this room?"

The question was so unexpected, he was startled. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Of course I did. Here's the thing, Byron. Before we take this any further, I need to know some important things about you."

"The fact that I have fangs might be considered important by some people, Antonietta," he said patiently, wondering if he was losing his mind. He was beginning to feel frantic. She was so beautiful to him, so courageous. He ached to hold her. He had carefully planned the way he would break his heritage to her, the way he would lovingly rea.s.sure her, yet she didn't seem to be in need of rea.s.surance.

"I suppose so, but I'm more concerned with your choice of music. I can live with some things, but music is my life. If you had atrocious taste, I don't know, I'd have to reconsider this entire affair."

He pushed his hands through his hair again with growing agitation. "That is another thing. We are not having an affair. In the eyes of my people, in my eyes, we are husband and wife. More. We are bound for all eternity. The binding ritual has already taken place."

She turned her head then, her eyes finding his face unerringly, as if she could see him. "Where was I during the binding ritual?

Because I don't actually recall such a thing. And while you're at it, you might explain it to me."

Her direct gaze shook him. She looked serene sitting there on the edge of the Jacuzzi in her stocking feet and long skirt. "A female is bound to her life mate when he recites the ancient bonding words. The power of those words is imprinted on every male of our species before his birth. We are two halves of the same whole. When the words are said, the souls become one as they are meant, and neither can be apart for long without the other."

"And this can be done without her knowledge or consent?" Her tone was mild. She dipped her hand in the water, created swirling patterns.

"We have few women. Our race is nearly extinct. We found that a few rare women who possess psychic ability are born the other half of a Carpathian male."

"So without their knowledge or consent, you bind them to you," she repeated.

"The male has little choice in the matter if he chooses to survive. She is light to our darkness. We cannot feel emotion or see in color without her influence. Too many of our males have turned vampire or walked into the dawn because they could not find their life mate. It is our duty to see that our species survives. Life mates belong together."

She nodded her head, but he caught the flash of anger in her mind. "A male has a choice, Byron. There is always a choice.

The reason I don't wake up until the sun is down is because of you, isn't it? And the reason my hearing and my ability to smell is so acute is also due to you."

"We exchanged blood twice. Life mates often exchange blood during lovemaking."

"Am I like you? Is that why Josef was so certain I could s.h.i.+ft into a different form?"

"Not yet. It takes three blood exchanges to convert a human. The human must be psychic. You are far more sensitive than most."

"But that's why you brought me here tonight. You intend to convert me to be like you are. That's why you're so troubled."

"I wanted to wait, Antonietta. I wanted it to be your decision."

"What changed your mind?" She stood up, drew the silk blouse over her head in one motion. There was curiosity in her voice but no real censure that he could detect. And no real fear. In fact, she seemed very sure of herself. She folded the blouse and set it on top of his jacket, facing him in her blue lace bra, long swirling skirt, and stocking feet.

Byron was distracted by her mild reaction. By her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s, a temptation in nearly transparent lace. He watched as she pulled the pins from her hair and shook the long rope free. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s moved in invitation.

"Byron? What changed your mind? Why did you decide to bring me here tonight and convert me without my knowledge or consent?" Antonietta s.h.i.+mmied out of her long skirt and stood in her stockings and tiny thong.

It took him a moment to find his voice and sort out his thoughts in between the l.u.s.t rising so sharply. "The jaguar this evening.

I was not there to protect you. I gave you Celt, but it is not good enough to rely on the borzoi. I need to know you are completely safe." Even to his own ears his voice sounded strangled. He held his breath as she peeled the nylon stockings from her legs.

"Why can't you just stay with me at the palazzo?"

"We do not sleep in the same way. I would appear dead to the world and to you. If you woke and thought me dead to you, your grief could be life threatening. You had a small taste of it when Paul shot me. I am also very vulnerable during the daylight hours. I could not adequately protect you or myself at the palazzo."

His heart nearly stopped when she turned her back on him, bent at the waist to step out of the small thong. He had no conscious thought of moving, but he found himself across the room, his hands smoothing her firm b.u.t.tocks.

Antonietta rested both hands on the tile, pus.h.i.+ng back against his hand, arching like a cat. "So you think converting me to what you are would make me safe from the jaguar?" His hands roamed over her body, slipped into secret hollows, turning her insides to a pool of lava.

Byron leaned forward to press a kiss in the small of her back. "I know you would be safe, Antonietta."

There was absolute conviction in his voice, in his mind. His hand slipped between her thighs, urging her legs farther apart. His clothes rubbed against her sensitive skin. Antonietta obligingly widened her stance. "Do you like the taste of my blood?"

His entire body hardened, thickened, became painfully full. "You are trying to seduce me, Antonietta."

"I'm so glad you noticed, Byron. I would hate to think you brought me here with only the intention of saving me from a wild cat." She pushed back against him, rubbed her bottom with delicious slowness over the thick bulge in the front of his trousers. A soft moan of pleasure escaped as his finger found her feminine channel and pushed deep.

His teeth teased her b.u.t.tocks, small, little nips, his tongue lapping gently.

"I want you to take my blood now, Byron. And I want to feel it this time."

The husky note in her voice as she uttered the enticement was the most s.e.xually exciting thing he'd ever experienced. Very slowly he withdrew his finger and straightened her, turning her to face him. "Do you mean it, Antonietta? You are not afraid?"

"I don't want an exchange, only to see what it's like. To be honest, the idea excites me, and I don't know why. I should be grossed out. I was upset that Vlad gave you blood. I wanted to give it to you. I felt like I should be the one to give you whatever you needed." Antonietta slid her hands under his s.h.i.+rt. "Get rid of your clothes. All of them. We really don't need them, do we?"

"No." Byron caught the back of her head and fastened his mouth to hers as he shed his clothes. They were skin to skin. He found he was ravenously hungry, his body tied up in knots. He fed on her mouth ruthlessly, Antonietta matching him heat for heat.

Tongues tangled and dueled. Hands went everywhere, touching, exploring, claiming. Desperate for the feel and taste. On fire.

When his mouth left hers to trail kisses down her throat to her breast, she threw her head back, her body arching into his mouth eagerly. Byron knew he was on the edge of control, his incisors already lengthening, so he had to be careful as he suckled and teased her nipples into hard peaks. He kissed the swell of her breast, her collarbone, pressed a kiss into the hollow of her throat.

She caught fistfuls of his hair, breathless with need, with antic.i.p.ation. Her body pulsed with hunger, with heat. His breath on her neck made her muscles clench in antic.i.p.ation. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s ached, her womb throbbed. His tongue touched her skin. His teeth sc.r.a.ped gently. Tenderly.

Byron s.h.i.+fted her into his arms. Held her body in the shelter and protection of his. "Antonietta. You are certain this is what you want? I can protect you from the experience if you are afraid.""Do I feel afraid? I need this as much as you need it. I ache for you, Byron. I think about you every minute I'm awake. I want to know everything about you. I want to see what my life would be like. You're offering me things I can't fully comprehend." Her fists tightened in his long hair. Her entire body vibrated with s.e.xual tension.

His teeth found her pulse, his tongue swirling over the spot so that she caught her breath. He found love welling up, swamping him, mixing with l.u.s.t, with erotic hunger. "I love you." He whispered the words to her and sank his teeth deep.

Antonietta cried out, her legs nearly giving out as white-hot pain whipped through her body, then gave way immediately to a burning pleasure. Byron's mind was fully merged with hers, and she felt his reaction to her blood. The hot taste. Sating a hunger that was nearly impossible to sate. Lightning danced through their bloodstreams, long whips that crackled and sizzled and set them on fire. She held him possessively. She had to have him, had to feel his body beneath her fingertips. Had to have him buried deep inside her.

Do not. I am already at the end of my control.

He didn't have to warn her; she knew. She didn't want him in control. She wanted him to burn the way she was burning. She wanted him to need. To hunger. To be so aware of her that nothing else mattered. Her hands slid over his broad shoulders, mapped his chest, his belly. Found the thick length of his erection.

She felt the jolt go though his body, through hers, at the touch of her fingers. The intensity of his desire shook her. She stroked, ma.s.saged, teased, her fingers danced over the velvet head until she felt the fire roaring in his belly.

He swept his tongue over the pinp.r.i.c.ks, caught her chin, and welded their mouths together. She tasted the hot, sweet spice of blood, the pa.s.sion in his kiss. Then they were feeding off each other, so frantic to get close, Byron drove her backward against the wall, pinning her there, his hands everywhere. She curled one leg around his hip, fighting to align their bodies perfectly, fighting to get him inside of her.

There was never enough. The storm raged ferociously, wild and out of control and so hot they had to feed each other air. She wanted to share his skin. She needed him in her body. He had to touch every inch of her, hear her gasp, the soft little cry that escaped when his hands found every spot that sent her reeling with pleasure.

Outside the wind lashed the windows of the villa. Lightning streaked across the sky, and thunder cracked and boomed, shaking the earth. The dark sky lit up with fiery sparks, a shower of star gems, raining from the sky into the churning sea.

Byron took her to the carpet, unable to make it to the bed with his body raging at him and his mind swamped with her hunger.

Immediately he indulged his need for intimate exploration, leaving the haven of her mouth to rain kisses over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and stomach, teasing her navel, lifting her hips and plunging his tongue deep.

Antonietta screamed, her o.r.g.a.s.m so intense her hips bucked. He rode it out, holding her in strong arms, laving and teasing, working carefully around her hottest spot until she pushed hard against him, squirming for more. The instant he touched her, her body spiraled out of control again, even wilder than before.

Byron dragged her hips close to him, pressing tightly against her wet, slick entrance. He could hear her heart pounding. She writhed against the thick carpet, pus.h.i.+ng into him, trying to impale herself, seeking relief. He wanted the image in his mind for all time, her black hair a stark contrast to the white carpet, her body sprawled out, flushed with excitement, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s a tantalizing sight, and the soft demand in her voice as she ordered him to take possession of her.

He surged forward, a hard, deep stroke, filling her with the thick length of him, just for the joy of hearing her scream again.

She was always uninhibited with him, wild and pas- sionate, wanting him with every fiber of her being. With their minds so deeply merged, he could feel her hunger for him. He knew exactly what she wanted, thrusting deeper with every stroke. The carpeted floor had no give to it, so his body pounded into hers and still it wasn't enough.