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used to it. Biting her lip she forced her mind away from the issue and swam a few strokes, taking
pleasure in simply watching Darius swim, the fluid way his body moved. She yawned, her movements
slow, exhaustion settling into her body. It was impossible to have any real sense of time underground.
"You have had a difficult day," Darius said as he surfaced quite close to her. His hands caught her waist
and drew her against him. "I want you to rest while I perform the healing ritual on you."
"What is it?" She was wary, but her fatigue was making her more compliant to his demands.
Darius studied her face, the shadows beneath her eyes. She was drooping with weariness. He didn't ask
for her consent; he merely lifted her into his arms and took her to a small alcove where the rich soil was
soft and beckoning. He waved a hand so that a cotton sheet floated to cover the grounds, then laid her
down with great care.
"You just made that sheet, didn't you?" she murmured, staring up at him.
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He brushed back the wet hair from her forehead. "You would be surprised at the things I can do," he
said softly.
"I don't think I would anymore," she countered.
"Do not distract me from my task this time, Tempest. I will free myself from this body, and my energy
will go into yours. I can heal your wounds from the inside out. The healing process is much faster, and if
any infection is present, I can rid your body of it. But I cannot be aware of my own body during this time.
My focus must remain on what I am doing. Do you understand? I cannot reenter my body abruptly when
I am really in yours. So do not distract me in any way."
She lay very still, watching his face. He was withdrawing from her-she could see that. Withdrawing from
the world they were in, he turned his entire attention inward. She wanted to touch his mind with hers.
It was becoming easier for her to do, but she didn't want to take any chances on distracting him, the very
thing he had said not to do.
Tempest felt him then. She felt his entry into her body, pure energy moving through her, like an inner
light, examining her, warm and soothing. In her mind she heard a voice. Soft, comforting, it whispered
like butterfly wings in her mind. The words were none that she knew. Still, she knew she had heard them
before. A chant. She tried to distinguish individual sounds, but it was impossible. She received only
impressions, like silvery bells, like water skipping over rocks in a brook, like a gentle breeze floating
through the leaves of a tree.
Her skin was warm. Her insides were warm. The soles of her feet ceased to sting and actually felt good.
Whatever Darius was doing was obviously working, and she wondered at how he was able to heal as he
did. At that moment he seemed a perfect miracle to her.
Darius returned to his own body and gazed down at Tempest's beautiful face. She looked very young,
and he felt like a criminal, knowing she had no way to fight him, no way to fight his claim on her. He had
made certain of that. She had no idea what the ritual entailed, and perhaps the truth was, neither did he.
But Darius felt the difference, in himself, the difference the words he had uttered, binding them together,
had caused.
He no longer had any choice in the matter. He had to be with her, near her. He knew they could not be
comfortably apart for any length of time. Whatever those words had wrought, it was out of their hands
now. They had to abide by the results.
Darius touched her face with a gentle fingertip, "Do you feel better, Tempest?" He knew she did. His
mind was becoming accustomed to slipping in and out of hers, and he could feel the relief in her body. He
had even soothed her feminine core, so that his wild, rather primitive taking of her would not make her
sore.
She nodded solemnly. "It's incredible that you can do such a thing. Can you imagine what it would mean
to the world if humans could learn to heal like that? Perhaps we really could cure cancer. Think of the
good that could come of it. We wouldn't need drugs, Darius."
"It is not a human way of healing, Tempest."
"But you healed me, so it can be done on humans. Maybe you should become a doctor instead of a
bodyguard. You could help so many suffering people."
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She meant it. The compassion in her was overriding her good sense. Darius leaned over her, and his
hand spanned her throat possessively. "I am not human, little love. If those people you want me to heal
knew me as I am, they would drive a stake through my heart. You know it is so. I cannot have intimate
dealings with humans. No close encounters. Desari entertains humans because she has the voice of an
angel and can do no other. Ceasing to do so would make her unhappy, so I must protect her. But I do
not deal closely with these people."
Her hand slid over his, and a small smile curved her soft mouth, melting a dimple into her right cheek. "I
am human, Darius, and you deal quite well with me."
"You are different."
"No, I'm not," she protested. "I'm just like everyone else."
"You saw the beast in me first, Tempest. You relate to animals. You instinctively accepted my primitive
nature. You know I am a predator, more animal than man. We Carpathian men are a combination of the
two. You alone among humans understand and accept that."
"You think and reason like a human," she said, sitting up and pushing back her hair, which hung heavy in
the humidity of the cavern. She was sweating again, little beads dotting her skin. She looked around for
her clothes, so tired she couldn't remember what she'd done with them. "You're more like a human than
you think, Darius."
Darius gathered her against him and cuddled her close. "You want me to be human because it is easier
for you to deal with that thought." A note of censure tinged his voice.
Tempest pushed at the wall of his chest, then thumped him for good measure with her fist. "Don't give
me that attitude. You know at this point I could care less if you're some weird creature from this
underground chamber from hell. I know you know that. You've been in my mind the same way I've been
in yours. You know what I think of you. I find you intriguing. And, actually, you're not half bad."
"You find me sexy," he corrected and kissed her nose.
She pushed him away and got to her feet, swaying a little with weariness. "Don't let it go to your head. I
also find you a pain in the butt." She was wandering around the cave, seemingly inspecting the floor.
Darius got up with a sigh and followed her. "What are you doing?"
"Looking for my clothes."
"You do not need your clothes." He said it very decisively.
"Darius, if you make love to me one more time, I think I might just die. Since we can't have that, it's
much safer to find my clothes."
He caught her hand and led her back to the little alcove. "You do not even know what you are saying or
doing anymore." Another wave of his hand produced two pillows.
Tempest yawned. "I'm really tired, Darius. I love talking to you, but both of us need to face the facts.
Even if you're not human, I am. I have no idea what time it is, but I need to sleep." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]