The sound of water dripping mingled with the accelerated rhythm of their hearts. The flickering flames in the stone urn danced over their bodies and bathed them in mystical light. There was a heartbeat, two, while his eyes locked with hers. His fingers bunched the hem of her shirt into his fists and he drew the light material over her head in one swift motion.

Destiny heard the hitch in his breath as his gaze dropped to her body. His hands went to her waist, a burning brand that seemed to melt through her skin. She reveled in the intensity of his gaze, the way it moved over her body, hot, possessive, claiming her very soul. She knew his mind was firmly entrenched within hers, allowing her to experience the extent of his hunger for her. He hid nothing from her - not the way she made his body feel and not the way he wanted to touch her. Not the way he needed her so desperately. So urgently.

Destiny felt an answering wildness rising in her. Clothes seemed a foreign intrusion, a heavy weight she could no longer bear against her sensitive skin. The thin lace of her bra chafed her skin, prevented his heated gaze from caressing her. Even as his hands caught her waist and he bent his dark head, dragging her body to him, she reached behind her to undo the tiny clasp.

His mouth closed over her breast, wildly hot and moist, suckling right through the thin lace, his teeth scraping gently, expertly so that she cried out and cradled his head to her. Destiny's knees nearly buckled, the sensation was so strong, so overwhelming. Her fists clenched in the thick silk of his hair, holding him to her while his tongue danced and stroked and his mouth pulled strongly, creating a burning, throbbing pool of need in her deepest core. The friction of the lace and the heat of his mouth drove her crazy. She arced into him, giving herself up to sheer pleasure.

When he lifted his head to attend to her other breast, the scrap of lace floated freely to the ground. His lips found bare flesh, ravishing her with his mouth alone. His tongue lavished attention on her, teeth teasing until she cried out, her fists tugging at his hair. She really was going to fall. There was no way to stand up; all strength had drained from her legs. Only his arms held her up.

He bent her back slightly, teasing, lapping, suckling, loving, lusting after her. Going up in flames. His hands shifted, tracing the contours of her body. She had full breasts, a narrow waist and flaring hips designed to be cradled by his body.

"How can it be like this?" she gasped. "I never knew it would be like this." A wildfire out of control. A fierce firestorm neither could ever put out. They had started it, and it burned bright and hot and perfect. She was melting, her body soft and pliant with need. She wanted his touch - more, needed it. There was never going to be enough time for them to be together. She was in another world, another time and place, far from the realities of what her life had become.

She heard her own gasp as his tongue lapped the underside of her breast. Her stomach clenched. There was only feeling, wonderful, pure feeling.

"My clothes," he said against her flat belly. "My clothes are killing me, Destiny. Take them off for me."

It was his voice again. That perfect sensuality. That urgent need. Destiny found it impossible to resist him. Her gaze dropped to the front of his pants. The material was stretched far too tight. Her heart leapt.

In fear or anticipation? Destiny wasn't certain which emotion was predominant, but that thick bulge drew her attention immediately. She couldn't resist brushing her hand across the hard evidence of his need. When he jumped, she closed her hand over the bulge, pressing into him. He was hot, throbbing. He grew larger, swelling into her palm.

Keeping her hand in place, she removed his clothing in the manner she had grown accustomed to, using her mind, rather than her hands. Her palm found hot flesh, hard, iron in velvet. Nicolae sucked in his breath, murmured something against her soft skin. His teeth scraped erotically, tugged and teased, his tongue swirling to ease every ache.

"Your clothes." His voice had dropped an octave, was huskier, a little rougher than before. The touch of his mouth on her stomach left behind a trail of fire everywhere he touched. "Get rid of them." His hips were pushing forward, thrusting deeper, filling her palm. "I need them off of you." His hands were pushing at her clothing, trying to be gentle when he wanted to tear the offending material from her lush body.

Her fingers squeezed, danced, played lightly over the hard length of him, taking pleasure in what she was doing to him, feeling the bursting fire in his veins through their mind merge. Colors seemed to sparkle around them; there were tiny sparks behind her eyelids. She allowed herself to drift further into the world of sensuality, into Nicolae's world of heat and passion.

Destiny felt the heat of the flames, watched the shadows they cast on the wall. A man bending over a woman's body. Her breasts thrust upward in invitation, his head down as he explored her offering. It was an erotic image, a shocking one when she considered she was part of it. Watching the shadowy figures, she allowed her cotton jeans and scrap of lace underwear to slide away from her body, watched them simply disappear, leaving her skin to skin with Nicolae.

His hands moved possessively over her hips, her buttocks, smoothing, kneading, exploring. His fingers nestled in tight curls, causing her to gasp, her body tightening in anticipation. The need was building to a terrible urgency.

Destiny had no choice but to circle his neck with her arms. Her knees buckled as his finger dipped lower with a long, caressing stroke.

Nicolae!

He waved his hand toward the earth and flowers sprang up, thousands of soft petals to cushion her body as he floated them easily to the waiting bed. She could feel the petals on her skin, velvet soft, rubbing against her body. Nicolae's weight settled over her, his mouth once more fastening to hers.

At once they were melting together, fusing with heat and fire. Somewhere between love and lust. His hands were everywhere, claiming her body for his own. She felt helpless under the onslaught, nearly sobbing with the urgency of her body's need. It was an unfamiliar, alien feeling, as if someone else were in her skin, in her mind, and she was going along on this journey of erotic sensuality.

His mouth hardened, taking command, driving out all thoughts until she was back to feeling. His hands skimmed her body, rested between her legs so that she throbbed and pulsed and shifted restlessly, forever seeking more. She needed more.

Destiny was in a world of feeling and love. It surrounded her, embraced her, a perfect paradise. But the snake began an insidious attack, slithering into her perfect world and bringing images she couldn't stop: the feeling of being held down, locked beneath another, much heavier body; her soft cries of pleasure were drowned out by the agonized scream of a child. She forced her mind away from the nightmare images, determined to recapture the perfect sense of sharing with Nicolae.

Nicolae was in her mind, heightening her pleasure when her heart began to pound too hard and fear thrust its way back into her world. When the nightmare images strayed too close, he kissed her again and again, pushing the memories back. He kissed her, his hands gently exploring until she was hot and moist with wanting him, her body accepting of his. Still he was careful, taking his time when the beast inside roared for more, roared for possession. Very gently he pushed his finger into her, slowly, careful of her tightness, not wanting her to experience discomfort. Her small muscles clenched around him and her body shuddered with the intensity of pleasure. Her hips pushed against him instinctively.

Nicolae bent his head and kissed her stomach as he slowly, inch by inch, slid two fingers deep inside her. She gasped, caught at his silken hair as it slid over her sensitized skin. Her hips began a slow rhythm, following the lead of his hand.

Sizzling heat swept through her. She wanted to grind her body against him. And when he withdrew, she cried out, needing him to fill her. His hands pushed her thighs apart; his hips took their place between hers. At once her heart jumped. She felt vulnerable and open. His weight as he stretched out above her pinned her in place. Instinctively she shifted out from him, but his leg stopped her sudden movement. He was strong. Far stronger than she'd first thought. His leg pinned her thigh, holding her down.

The strange roaring in her mind became louder. The mouth on her was tender, loving, but it couldn't prevent the memories of teeth puncturing her flesh, biting unnaturally, the all-powerful man ramming something far too large into her tiny body over and over, slamming her to the ground, throwing her over a boulder, taking her from behind, uncaring of her screams, reveling in her pain and humiliation. She recalled the blood she'd slipped in, lain in, all around her, the dead body with the open eyes staring into hers as he took her over and over again.

She gasped, cried out, stiffening in shock. Her breath was coming far too fast.

"Wait - please, I'm sorry, just wait a minute." Destiny tunneled her fingers in his hair. "Wait, Nicolae. We're going too fast. Slow down." She didn't want to slow down. She was burning up. Even as she pleaded with him, her hips moved against him, a blatant invitation she couldn't prevent. She needed him buried deep inside her; that was the only solution for the terrible building pressure she felt. But the images in her mind were tenacious. She wanted Nicolae's hands and mouth to remove the images for her, not invoke them. She wanted the ecstasy of his body to take away every nightmare memory.

Nicolae felt the disturbing images of death and madness moving through her mind, moving through his. He felt her partial withdrawal, felt her tremendous physical need so at odds with her mental hesitation. At once he lifted his head, moved his leg to allow her freedom. "We can slow down. I could spend hours just touching you. Or holding you. Or kissing you." He found her mouth with his, blazing his brand of possession straight on her heart.

Destiny was stiff beneath him, but his mouth held familiar heat and his hands were gentle as they wandered over her body. He was patient starting over, kissing her until she was breathless and kissing him back. Until her body slowly began to relax. Until she was hungry for him again. Until the brush of his fingers on her skin sent tiny flames dancing and singing through her body.

Nicolae shifted once more, his knee sliding between hers, nudging her legs apart so that he was pressed tightly against her. She could feel him there, at her entrance, where she was ready with a moist invitation, beckoning and tempting him to her. A small sound escaped. She couldn't find enough air to breathe.

"What is it, little one?" His voice came out of the darkness, velvet soft, his hands skimming her body with exquisite tenderness. "Where are you going?" She was tensing up beneath his hands and he couldn't bear it, couldn't bear to let her go. He fed her his heightened awareness, his own desire, slowing his own heartbeat to aid her in accepting him. He moved his body away from hers to give her time to accept what was between them.

Fighting his instinctual need to exchange blood, he feathered a trail of kisses from her throat to her abdomen. His mouth was on her flat stomach, his tongue swirled around her belly button, that intriguing sexy dimple he had so greatly admired. Her hands stroked his back, her body softening slightly, once more preparing to surrender to him.

Destiny was determined to give herself wholly to him, to take him for herself. She had been alone too long, needed him too much. He was everything she had ever dreamed about. She would do this!

Laughter hissed in her ear, evil and taunting. The monstrous creature was dragging her by her hair as she fought him, pounding into her, heedless of his size and strength. Uncaring of her broken bones. Uncaring of tearing her body in half. The pain was beyond anything she had ever experienced, and it was endless, trapping her there. She felt the taste of blood in her mouth as he forced her to drink from that dark, corrupt well. It was an acid burning her throat, her stomach, a blowtorch burning her from the inside out.

You will be like me.

The stench was overwhelming, part of the madness of her existence. Evil permeated her pores, seeped into her from him.

Abruptly she pulled her mind away, tears leaking out of her closed eyes. She wanted this. She ached for Nicolae with every fiber of her being. He was as necessary to her as breathing. She wanted him, but darkness was descending and her lungs refused to work. A heavy stone was crushing her chest; hands seemed to be gripping her throat, strangling her. She could have stopped Nicolae long ago, but she had insisted. She was unclean. She would always be unclean. Nicolae's love couldn't make her whole again. Pure again.

She would only disappoint him, hurt him, risk his becoming as she was.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she whispered, turning her face away, jamming her fist into her mouth to keep from screaming. She was humiliated beyond imagining. To tease Nicolae, bring him to this point and not be woman enough to give him what he needed, was intolerable. She tried to pretend, to recapture the intensity of her desire, but the walls of the chamber were shrinking, threatening to suffocate her. She knew she could not be what Nicolae so desperately needed.

"I can't do this." Destiny shoved hard at the wall of his chest, panic-stricken, fighting just to breathe. "I tried to tell you I wouldn't be able to be intimate, but you wouldn't listen." She shoved again, desperate for space, desperate to breathe.

Nicolae shuddered with the effort to control his body, to contain his passion. Her blue-green gaze shimmered with tears, darkening with turbulence, a foreshadowing of her rising instincts to fight her way out of a situation she couldn't handle. He felt her resistance in his mind, in his body. She was rigid, straining away from him, trembling. And there was fear, waves of fear swamping her, clouding the air between them. The childhood memories of atrocities were sharp and terrible, poised like a knife over her heart. Over his. He forced air through his lungs, through hers. Nothing else mattered to him but that she be comforted and reassured. Her eyes, enormous and shadowed with memories, held so much sorrow it nearly broke his heart.

"Destiny, slow down, take a breath. I am not going to do anything you do not want. We are intimate each time we look at one another. Each time we draw breath. That will never change between us. You think yourself tainted, but there is no greater light for me than you. If we can only have what we have right now, it is enough." Sensing that the feel of his body pinning hers down was a large part of the problem, he rolled off her onto his side. She felt helpless against his enormous strength, and he knew that emotion was triggering her fight responses.

Nicolae's arm circled her waist firmly, possessively, his body curving protectively around hers. He made no move to hide his erection, thick and hard, hot and rigid, pressed against her buttocks. "I do not expect the memories of things done to you in violence to disappear. But that was not making love. It was an abomination of what is meant to be. Here, between us, we are only expressing with our bodies what we feel in our hearts. Lovemaking may be rough or tender, may be fast or slow, it may be many things, but it should always be an expression of love."

She lay curled beside him, taking comfort from the heat of his body when hers was so cold. Listening to the sound of his voice, Destiny closed her eyes. She loved his voice, the one anchor she could cling to in every storm. "Do you think I don't know that, Nicolae, that I don't feel the same things you do? I know making love with you is the most natural thing in the world. My body..." She trailed off. Was on fire. A liquid cauldron of heat and fire spinning almost out of control. She wanted him more than she had ever thought possible. Her fist clenched. Tears burned her eyes and clogged her throat. She felt completely out of control, when she so desperately needed to be in control.

He lifted the heavy mass of hair from the nape of her neck and pressed his lips to her skin. "Why did you withdraw from me? I could have aided you when you were panicking."

"Don't use the word panic. It's so humiliating." She was very aware of his hand at her waist, his fingers splayed wide over her skin. His palm was a brand, burning into her stomach, right through to the hot, wet core of her desire. She shifted so that his fingers came in contact with the underside of her breast. The slight brush of sensation shook her, left her trembling for more. She wanted him. Wanted him with every fiber of her being. Her very cells were crying out for him. Yet there was that terrible knot in her gut, that block in her mind.

"I want to disappear." She murmured the words softly. "Just disappear so I never have to face you again."

"Destiny. Do not say that. Do not ever feel that way." His teeth grazed her neck, a small punishment, a seduction of already drugged senses. "I do not need the physical expression of love as much as you seem to think I do. I can wait. Come on. You are not going to lie here crying and shatter my heart into a million pieces. That I cannot take." It was the first time he had ever deliberately told her a lie. He hoped he would never again need to do so. He needed the physical expression of love more than he needed to breathe. His body was hot and uncomfortable, so hot he was afraid he might spontaneously combust. His features remained impassive, his mind serene, while his belly knotted with frustration.

Nicolae was on his feet, easily lifting her so that she had no choice but to wrap her arms around his neck. Her vivid gaze met his. "What are you doing?" They were locked skin to skin. Her awareness of him heightened immediately.

There was a small silence while their hearts beat out a rhythm of hunger. His gaze roamed her face possessively, dropped to view the lush enticement of her full breasts. "A woman's body is a miracle."

"You're embarrassing me." Her breasts were embarrassing her, jutting up at him, aching for attention. Her nipples were hard peaks, so sensitive his breath alone sent desire spiraling through her body.

"It is a miracle. You can carry life in your body." He bent his head to her, giving her no choice but to meet him halfway.

She lifted her face to his, drawn by shared desire, drawn by need beyond her knowledge, as elemental as time. His mouth fastened on hers. He said there was life in her body; if it were so, he gave it to her. She wanted to be everything he needed. She had been inside his mind so many times in the past. She'd lived there, sought refuge there, and she knew him inside and out.

Nicolae. She sent his name fluttering like a butterfly through his mind. A whisper of sound, of aching love. Of commitment. Just the touch of his mouth, his hands, weakened her, sent her soaring. Dreaming.

"Why do you feel such sorrow, Destiny?" He kissed her chin, his teeth scraping gently over her skin. "I feel tears in your heart."

Because she carried death in her body. Disease. A corruption not meant for the earth. How could she say that to him when he was looking at her with such love? Instead, she swallowed the words and buried her face against his throat to prevent him from reading her expression. "I want to be what you need, Nicolae. I want to be your lifemate."

His lips were on her hair. "You are my lifemate, Destiny. We are bound together, two halves of the same whole. You feel it. I know you feel it."

She lifted her head to look into his eyes. "I know it, yes - how could I not? But what kind of lifemate would do what I've done to you?" She wanted him to see her. Really see her, not what he wanted to see.

He waded out into the pool, cradling her in his arms. "What have you done to me, little one? Everything I have asked of you and more. You share my mind. Do you see me thinking I have been cheated? I share your mind and what you think is nonsense."

She tightened her hold on his neck and reached up to feather a line of kisses along his jaw, grateful for his unrelenting loyalty. His absolute faith gave her hope, melted her heart, made her feel beautiful. "I don't think you'd ever ask anything for yourself if you thought it would make me uncomfortable or unhappy, Nicolae."

He laughed softly. "I am not the wonder you are making me out to be, Destiny. I want you with everything I am. I can afford to be patient. We have eternity. I may feel the urgency of wanting to unite physically with you, but if we wait, I know it will happen eventually."

"Total confidence in yourself?" Her eyebrows shot up. She attempted to tease him, wanting to find a way to salvage something of their time together.

"Total confidence in you, " he corrected, slowly lowering her feet into the pool.

The water felt amazing. Warm and wet, with tiny bubbles bursting and fizzing over her skin. She sank down into the depths immediately, delighted with the sensation. "This is fed from underground, isn't it?"

Nicolae was very aware of her eyes on him, drinking him in shyly, warily. In the clear bubbles of the pool he could see her body, enhanced by the shimmering water. She looked more seductive than ever, a water nymph bent on bewitching him. His body hardened to the point of pain. He had thought that being in the pool would relax him, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. The bubbles felt like tiny fingers caressing his erection, bursting and fizzing over him until he couldn't think straight.

"Tongues." Destiny swam closer to him, her body stretched out so that her shapely buttocks flashed through the water. She ached for him all over again.

Just looking at him made her restless and edgy with need. And more than that, she wanted to please him, to do something to express the way she felt about him. Something to show him how much he meant to her.

Nicolae remained unmoving, still as a statue, watching the water caress her skin. The flickering light of the flames cast shadows across the pool, heightening their awareness of one another. "Tongues?" He echoed. The word came out a husky blend of need and urgency.

She nodded, swimming very close to him. "It feels like tongues on your body, not fingers. On my body too." She stood up. Water ran off her body, ran down the valley between her breasts to the tight curls just below the water line.

His hungry gaze followed the beads of water like a man parched and thirsty, greedy for moisture. Nicolae realized that she was right. If it were possible, his body swelled even more at the thought. He became conscious that she was reading his mind again, that she caught every erotic image, every sensual thought. "You know what I want to do, Destiny. What is it you want? Just tell me. Say it out loud. There is no one here but the two of us. Tell me what you desire most at this time." He wanted that much from her. He wanted the words even if he couldn't have the action.

She blushed, the color delicately staining her cheeks. "I want to touch you, to feel my hands on your skin. The need is as strong as any compulsion I've ever been under, but it isn't coming from you."

His fingertips traced the line of color in her face. "Need between lifemates is strong, Destiny, as it should be. We live long in this world. If what was between us were a weak thing, it would never last. I have given my body into your keeping. What you choose to do with it is always right. It is good. If you feel the desire to touch me, to learn to know me physically, it is not an intrusion or a violation. I would welcome it."

She turned her face away from him. "It can't be, Nicolae."

His hands framed her face, gently turned it back to him. "You are in control of this, Destiny. What we do is with both our consent. It is not for me, not to satisfy me alone. You have to have the courage to take what you want. Stay merged with me as you are touching me. You will always know what I am feeling, whether you are heightening my senses or making me uncomfortable."

There was a small silence while the water lapped at their bodies, the tiny bubbles bursting against their skin. Now that she had put the image in his mind, the feeling definitely reminded Nicolae of tongues stroking and caressing every inch of him, and he nearly groaned under the strain of erotic sensation. He wasn't altogether certain he was going to live through this experience with her.

Destiny might have nightmare images and memories struggling to break free, but she didn't lack courage. She wanted her time with Nicolae. She refused to allow a monster to rule her life, to rule Nicolae's life. She wanted to be able to enjoy fully what was her right. She wanted to have the complete freedom of exploring her lifemate's body. And she wanted his hands and mouth on her body. She wanted all of it, the complete fantasy.

She allowed her gaze to drift slowly over his body, to dwell on his defined muscles, his powerful chest, his narrow waist and hips, to drop lower and study the thick, heavy erection he had never once attempted to hide from her.

A sound escaped his throat. A small groaning plea for mercy that produced a leaping fire in her body. Destiny smiled. "So if I tell you to keep your hands on the rocks and off of me while I see if I can do this, you won't touch me?"

She was going to kill him for certain. Nicolae thought his body couldn't get any harder. Or any hotter. Yet it did just that at the sight of her teasing smile. At the images in her mind. He stepped back so he could rest his hands obligingly on the large boulders slightly behind him, leaving most of his body exposed and out of the water.

There was a heartbeat of time when she didn't move. While she summoned her courage. The only sounds were the lapping of the water at their bodies and the pounding of their hearts. She lifted her eyes to his face. Found him waiting. Saw his terrible hunger. He didn't move, didn't attempt to persuade her, allowing her complete freedom of choice. Destiny chose Nicolae.

She stepped close to him. So close her nipples brushed his chest as she lifted her arms to circle his neck. Her fingers plunged into his hair. "I love your hair." It was thick and long and it slipped between her palms, caressing her skin like fine silk. Her body slid up against the cradle of his hips. She was slick from the pool, water beading on her skin, as she rubbed against him like a purring cat. Her lips trailed over his eyelids. Followed the line of his cheekbones. Found his mouth.

It was far easier to express her love, her hope, when she was standing free, making all the moves and decisions. When he was keeping his promise not to touch her. Her body ached for his, and what she was doing only deepened her desire. There was joy in locking away demons. In not allowing them control. She reveled in giving Nicolae pleasure and in doing so, allowing herself that same pleasure.

Her tongue slid along the seam of his lips, teasing, testing, licking delicately. Each stroke of her tongue sent an answering fiery throb straight through the head of his shaft. Nicolae groaned, his fingers digging into the rocks as he opened his mouth to her. They melded together, fused, devouring one another, each ravenous for more.

While her tongue dueled with his, her hands slipped from his hair to find his shoulders and then moved down, her fingers stroking every inch as if committing his body to memory. Her mouth left his so she could nibble at his stubborn jaw. Her tongue swirled over his throat, found his pulse. The breath slammed out of his lungs, his gut clenched and his erection throbbed and swelled until he was afraid he would burst.

"Not yet," she whispered, as if to caution herself. Her tongue lapped at his pulse a second time, her breath warm with promise. "You taste so good, Nicolae."

His entire body shuddered. "Are you with me, Destiny?" His voice was husky, evidence of his terrible need. "Do you feel what you are doing to me? Stay merged with me. Stay with me." If she merged with him, felt what he felt, felt his hunger and his overwhelming love and admiration for her courage, she would not be able to stop, she would give herself completely to him.

Destiny hesitated only a moment before she did as he asked. Her mind merged completely with his. The intensity of his pleasure robbed her of breath, of the ability to do anything but shudder with need. The depth of his love and respect for her lodged in her soul, allowed her to see herself through his eyes. It was a view she had never expected, entirely different from her own. Courageous. Honest. Compassionate. Beautiful. Seductive. She held his heart in her hands. He was incredibly vulnerable to her. To her pain, to her fears, to her rejection.

Her mouth left his pulse, her breath swirling over his skin as her palms slid along his chest, her fingertips smoothing the lines of his muscles. She tasted his skin, lapped at the ridge of his collarbone, found his flat nipple, flicked it experimentally.

The air left his lungs in a rush. His body went rigid. Destiny, merged deep within his mind, could feel the fire coursing through his bloodstream, the whips of lightning burning from the inside out. That same fire was burning deep inside her, a conflagration she wanted to lose herself in completely.

Her hands wandered lower while her mouth feathered kisses over his chest and along his ribcage. She found his back, each defined muscle. The dip at the small of his back was intriguing. His buttocks were firm and hard as she kneaded and explored.

Nicolae shuddered with pleasure. Her fingers were driving him insane, as was the occasional brush of her body, skin to skin. He was all too aware of her mouth as it wandered over him, a slow torment he never wanted to end. He was grateful he'd had centuries to learn control; otherwise he would yank her to him to do his own exploring, to bury himself deep inside her. He also wanted to fist his hands in her hair and drag her head to him, thrust deep into her mouth to end his torment. Instead, he held himself very still, allowing her total control. Allowing her exploration.

Her tongue lapped at the crease of his hip, her hands sliding around him to cup his sacs, squeezing gently. Her breath was on the head of his shaft, a merciless torture. Nicolae dug his fingers into the boulder. "This is dangerous, Destiny." He managed to get the words past his clogged throat.

She was in his mind. She could feel the bursting pleasure. "I don't think it is, Nicolae. You're enjoying this." Her tongue lapped at the salty moisture experimentally. He jumped, every muscle straining and locked. "I know

I am." There was pure seduction in her voice; the fear had been pushed aside by intense pleasure. Every nerve ending in her body was alive and pulsing. She could feel the welcoming moist heat dampening her body in anticipation.

Her mouth was a silken cavern of heat and moisture as it closed tightly over him. Nicolae's head fell back, and he gasped out her name. Wave after wave of pleasure swamped him. Swamped her. He tried not to move, tried to stay still under the onslaught of her clever mouth, but it was asking the impossible. He was losing control, his hips thrusting helplessly as her mouth tightened and withdrew, then tightened again, drawing him deeper and deeper under her spell.

"Destiny!" Her name burst from him, a plea for mercy.

She lifted her head, smiled as she licked her lips to remove every drop of his essence. Her mouth found his belly, her wet braid sliding against his far too sensitive shaft so that he cried out, catching her arms to give her a small shake.

"I am not going to live through this."

"Oh, I think you are." Her hands circled his neck, and she slid her wet body over his, rubbing like a cat. "Because I want you deep inside me where you belong." There was absolute resolve in her voice.

Nicolae didn't wait. He lifted her to the rock he had been hanging on to for his life, his body wedged between her legs. His hands positioned her on the edge of the small shelf just at the water line, so that water continued to bubble over their most sensitive parts. "You are ready for me, Destiny?" He needed her to be. He was so ready for her, he didn't know how gentle he could be. Already he was pushing into her, the head of his erection meeting the tight resistance of her body as he inched his way into her channel. She was so fiery hot, velvet soft, tightly gripping him, that he wasn't prepared. He shared his penetration with her, the pleasure-pain of it, the white-hot ecstasy bursting through him.

Destiny shifted, drawing up her knees, allowing him better access, watching his face as he slowly buried himself deep inside her. The magic was almost too great, too intense. She had never experienced anything remotely like it. There was resistance from her body. He felt too large, and she was too tight, but there was also such beauty and wonder and fire that she wanted more. She wanted much, much more. He stopped several times to allow her body to adjust, to accommodate his length and thickness. Each time he pushed deeper into her, she felt silk and steel sliding against each other, the friction lashing them with whips of dancing lightning. She heard herself laugh, a small, happy laugh of acceptance. She wanted him; she had taken what she wanted and he was deep within her.

Nicolae bent his body over hers, his hands gathering her bottom to him. "Are you all right, Destiny? Are you comfortable?" There was still a plea in his voice. Need. Hunger. Lines of strain were etched there. But it was her choice. Even with him buried deep inside her. Even with his every cell and nerve ending screaming for possession of her, even with the demons roaring in his head, it was her choice.

"Absolutely. I want this. I want you." She gave him acceptance, tears shimmering in her eyes. Tears of gratitude that Nicolae was her lifemate, and not some other who would never understand her needs. Or her inadequacies.

And then he began to move. Robbing her of breath. Of the ability to speak. Or think. There was only Nicolae, his body surging in and out of hers. Pulsing with fire and life and absolute pleasure. She felt his love so strongly, warming her from the inside out, filling her mind and heart as his body filled her emptiness.

Destiny looked up at his face, the lines etched there, and she knew she had put them there. He would have little signs of aging but for her. And she loved him for that. For always being there, a breath away, a heartbeat, when she needed him.

He was driving up. And up further, climbing fast and high, taking her with him until her body was wound tight, the pressure building with the force of a volcano. She gasped and clung to him, afraid of coming apart, afraid she would never be the same. Still he went on, driving deeper into her until she felt him touch her soul.

His chest was looming over her, close and tempting. Instinctively she reached for him, lifting her head the scant inches that separated them. Her tongue tasted his skin. Flicked his pulse. His fingers sank deeper into her hips, holding her still for his body to drive into hers. She felt his need, his silent pleading, as she put off the inevitable, heightening his awareness, his pleasure. Her own pleasure. She knew how he would taste. She sank her teeth deep.

At once lightning flashed, arcing through their bodies, through the chamber, sizzling and dancing and snapping. Colors burst like fizzing bubbles all around them. He took her up further, higher, to someplace where she teetered on the edge of a cliff overlooking paradise. His blood was ancient and contained the very essence of him. Tasting him, she made them one. Sharing the same body, the same heart and soul and mind.

Let go, Destiny. Come with me. Stay with me. An enticement. A temptation. His voice luring her as it had always done. And she trusted him. Her small tongue closed the pinpricks on his chest. She caught his arms firmly and gave herself up to him, her body wound so tight it was a coil, gripping his. And then they were both exploding together, Destiny safe in his arms, soaring together, shattering, free-falling through time and space.

She lay staring up at his face, his perfect face. Her lungs were searching for air, her mind at peace. Perfect peace. How had he done that? Her fingers trailed over his mouth in wonder. "You are the miracle, Nicolae," she whispered.

Still locked to her, he bent his dark head toward her throat. Her body clenched around his. Small aftershocks shook them both. What little air remained in her lungs rushed out of her at the first touch of his mouth on her skin. His tongue swirled over her pulse. Felt her heartbeat there. So frantic, matching the rhythm of his. His eyelashes drifted down as his teeth teased the small, throbbing pulse.

His hand found her breast, claimed possession, his thumb feathering over her nipple. Each stroke sent shock waves through her body and into his where they were so intimately connected. Destiny reached for him to draw him closer. White-hot pain lanced her throat; ecstasy showered her body with dancing flames.

Suddenly she hit him with every ounce of her strength, palms flat on his shoulders, knocking him back into the bubbling water. "No!" she cried. "What are you doing? What are we thinking? Nicolae!" Blood trickled down her throat and across the slope of her breast, mingling with the beads of sweat and water. Her insides ached and throbbed for the loss of him. She felt empty, bereft, without him.

Nicolae sank beneath the surface of the water, the bubbles closing over his head. He pulled his mind firmly from hers. Not wanting to think. Not wanting to feel. Bereft.

Destiny reached for him anyway. She found terrible loss, the pain of heartache. It swamped him.

Swamped her. Threatened to bury them both.

Nicolae. I'm so sorry. I had to get you away from me. Don't you see? You can't take my blood.

She was pleading with him for understanding.

I wasn't rejecting you. My blood is dangerous to you. Please don't be angry with me.

She was choking on a sob and it was breaking his heart. He surfaced, shook his head to clear it, flinging water across the pool as his hair flew back. She sat on the rock, naked, her knees drawn up, her hands clasped around them, tears glittering in her eyes. She was watching his every move, judging his mood, feeling totally inadequate.

With a small oath, Nicolae waded through the pool to crouch low in the water so that his head was the same height as hers. "How could I be angry with you when you were protecting me, Destiny?" He tugged at her hands until he freed them, drawing her into the depths of the pool with him. Drawing her out into deeper water, where he could stand but she had to cling to him to stay above the surface. "I withdrew my mind because it was necessary. The intensity of my emotions was overwhelming, and you did not need to experience them. I did not mean to hurt you."

Nicolae bent his head and followed the trickle of blood from her breast to her throat, lingering over the pinpricks to close them. "Wrap your legs around my waist." He murmured the words against her ear as he gathered her closer, fitting her bottom into his palms.

Destiny found that when she did so, she was positioned over his waiting erection. She could feel him nudging her entrance, eager to join with her. Circling his head with her arms, she laid her cheek on his shoulder. She closed her eyes as he lowered her over him, fitting into her like a sword into a sheath.

He was gentle, loving, taking her again with more care than ever. He kissed her breathless, his mouth wandering over her face and throat. His teeth nipped occasionally, but he held a tight rein on that particular need. "I love you, Destiny. The way you are. With or without your blood. You will always be mine. You will always be everything I need and want. Do you understand me? You are everything to me." It was his apology for wanting more. Maybe needing more. But it was also the truth. He wanted her to see that, deep inside his soul where it counted, it was the truth.

Destiny threw back her head, riding his body with a long, slow rhythm of delight. She heard his declaration, read it in his heart and soul. He meant it. What they had was enough. But it wasn't everything. It wasn't the way they were meant to be. He could give it all to her, but she would never be able to provide for him. He accepted that shortcoming. She could not. And deep inside she wept for him. For both of them.