Fen looked over at Paul.

Paul nodded, looking far too old for his age. “No problem, we’ve got this,” he agreed.

13

The sound of muted weeping filled his mind. Dimitri’s eyes snapped open. He looked down at the woman in his arms. Skyler lay curled into him, looking smaller than ever. Tangled vines, bright in color, had wrapped them up in a cocooning blanket of living flora. Beneath the cover, both of them were naked, needing the soil to heal every wound. He caught glimpses of her body, white porcelain, marred now by several bullets tearing into her flesh.

Skyler’s hand moved against his neck, the smallest of gestures, a mere brushing of her fingers, back and forth, betraying nerves.

Immediately he waved his hand and commanded the soil to open, to allow in air and the night. A cool breeze instantly fanned their faces. Overhead stars glittered and the moon glowed a soft yellow behind lazy clouds. He shielded them carefully from any eyes or ears, wrapping them in a warm cocoon of privacy.

He brushed back the hair from her face, removing all residue from both of them, while allowing the living blanket to remain. He wanted her to be comfortable with him, not aware both were naked beneath that twisting layer of vines.

“What is it, Skyler? Are you afraid?”

Her long lashes lifted and she looked up at him. The moment their eyes met, his heart leapt in his chest. She had always been stunningly beautiful to him. As she’d grown into a woman, her Dragonseeker blood became much more apparent. The heritage ran strong in her, giving her ever-changing eyes, dark now, with the tips of her lashes wet.

“I can’t be afraid with your arms around me, Dimitri,” she answered. She turned her face up into his neck, rubbing like a cat over his skin.

There was a little hitch to her voice that caught at him. “What then?” He lifted her chin with one finger and bent his head to kiss away the path of tears. “Why are you crying?” He trailed more kisses, featherlight, to the corner of her mouth.

He felt her tremble, the smallest of shivers, but she didn’t pull away from him, rather she turned her face subtly so his next kiss brushed across her lips. “Csitri, we’re safe now.” He kissed her gently, demanding nothing. Asking for nothing. Simply telling her he loved her and holding her close were all that mattered in that moment.

Her lips curved into a faint smile beneath his. “We’re safe as long as we stay here in the ground, my love. I believe my father and uncle are somewhere close.”

“You have nothing to fear from your family, Skyler,” Dimitri assured. “Without you, I would be dead. As my lifemate, you had every right to do what you did.”

“I see. So if our daughter ever . . .”

“She would be locked in her room for the rest of her life,” he interrupted. “Our child will be timid and want to cling to her parents.”

She laughed, turning her face back up to his throat. Her soft lips brushed kisses over the three loops of burns circling around his throat and neck. Her tongue stroked caresses there, following the path of those silver chains. He knew why she’d awakened weeping. For him. Not for herself. She wept for him and the suffering he’d gone through.

He slid his hand into her hair, bunching the thick silken strands into his fist. “Beloved. It is done. We’re both safe and together. Paul and Josef are alive and will heal nicely. Both will be heralded as heroes . . . well, after their families and Gabriel give them lectures and try to put the fear of death into them. Which won’t work because they’ve already faced real death.”

She laughed softly. “That’s so true. Josef said he’d have to go to ground for a hundred years. But they came with me. Both of them. I have amazing friends.” Her lips went back to feathering kisses in between the silken stroking of her tongue.

A rush of heat sent small flames flickering through his bloodstream. Every muscle tightened, became aware of the woman in his arms. His woman. With every movement, her bare skin brushed his intimately. He caught enticing glimpses of her br**sts, the rose-tipped peaks and the rounded, very feminine curves.

They were bound now, soul to soul, and even a man as strong-willed as her legendary father could never separate them again. He didn’t try to hide his body’s reaction from her. He respected Skyler too much to pretend anything.

She lifted her head to look down at him, her dark eyes shimmering with ever-changing color. “I want you to want me, Dimitri.”

He gave her a faint smile. “That’s a good thing, Skyler,” he assured her. “Because I do. It’s natural to want to make love to the woman you’re in love with.”

“You’ll need to be patient with me. I want you to teach me.”

He framed her face with both hands. “It’s okay to be afraid and to tell me when you are.”

She nodded her head. “I know. I know you now. I know I’m safe with you.” She leaned closer to him. “I missed you so much all the times you were gone. I have no idea when I began to really know I love you, but it’s been a very long while now and growing stronger every moment.”

“Thank you for coming to rescue me,” he said simply, meaning it. She’d saved them both, giving them a chance at a life together. “You saved my life.”

“I discovered, when I couldn’t touch your mind with mine, that there was no Skyler without Dimitri.” Her eyes went soft, that dove gray that he was especially fond of. “I suppose it was more of a selfish act than a heroic one, tracking you down.”

He laughed softly. “Only you would think that.”

The amusement faded from her eyes. “We need to find a place where we can be alone, Dimitri. I know I can do a better job of healing you, both inside and out, but not here. Not with the Lycans surrounding us and a mob of Carpathian hunters watching our every move.”

“No one is watching us now, sívamet,” he assured. “We’re deep underground. Even should the Lycans crawl on the roof of the shelter above us and look down, they could not see us lying here. I have created a shield that no eyes can penetrate.”

She collapsed against him, as if that small spurt of energy had gone and she was exhausted again. “I am trying not to blame all Lycans, Dimitri. Intellectually, I understand it was a few individuals, but I still want to kick them all.”

Her confession made him laugh. “Kick them all?” he repeated. “You’re priceless, csitri, you really are. I had something much more lethal in mind.”