Supernatural. Part 20

Contrarily, she was offended by his attempt at self-sacrifice.

Did he think he could claim she was his mate in one breath and then toss her aside in the next?

"Shouldn't that be my decision?"

"No."

"That's it? Just no?"

"That's it."

She scowled, glimpsing the ruthless warrior who first came searching for her.

"Look, you stubborn vampire, if I decide you're going to be my . . ." She struggled to form the word. "Mate, then that's what you'll be." She leaned forward to nip his chin. "Got it?"

He shuddered, his fangs erupting as his hands skimmed down her back to cup her a.s.s.

"And you call me stubborn?" he muttered.

Her mind fogged with a craving to wrap her legs around his waist and forget everything but the fierce need to ravish this beautiful vampire.

But first she had to get something straight.

"It's been almost four hundred years since I've been able to make my own decisions," she reminded him. "You're not going to take that away from me."

He was wise enough not to laugh at her empty words. Okay, she was trapped in the underworld with no plan of how to escape, but still she needed to feel some control over her life.

Stupid?

Of course.

But weirdly necessary.

"No, I would never take away your freedom," he softly agreed, "but neither will I allow you to be hurt." He suddenly scooped her off her feet and headed toward the shallow waters. "Not if I can protect you."

Uriel intended to protest against his arrogant a.s.sumption that she needed his protection, but all thought evaporated as Uriel sank onto the mossy bank, settling Kata on his lap so her back was pressed against his chest and her legs fell on each side of his powerful thighs.

"Uriel," she breathed, feeling oddly vulnerable as he buried his face in the curve of her neck and his hands began a slow, delectable exploration of her exposed body. "What are you doing?"

He cupped a full breast with one hand while allowing the other to blaze a sizzling path down the damp skin of her stomach. "Seizing the moment."

A groan was wrenched from her throat, her head dropping back to his shoulder as his fingers stroked boldly through her eager c.l.i.t.

"It feels like you're seizing more than the moment," she husked in approval.

He teased at the hard peak of her nipple even as he slid one finger into the damp channel between her legs. She hissed in pleasure, her arms lifting over her head to wrap around his neck.

"Who knows how long this illusion will last?" he said against her shoulder, his fangs lightly sc.r.a.ping the tender skin, although he was careful not to draw blood. "We should enjoy the solitude while we have it."

Kata didn't intend to argue. Her eyes slid closed as she concentrated on the sensation of his finger penetrating her with a slow thrust. It felt so good. So . . . she groaned, already sensing the looming climax.

"I suppose you have a point," she moaned, turning her head to press her face into his thick curls.

She breathed deeply of his cool, masculine scent, her body bowing with a coiled tension as he caught the tip of her breast between his finger and thumb.

"You will soon discover I'm always right," he a.s.sured her.

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah."

As if to emphasize the truth of his words, Uriel grasped her by the waist and with one smooth motion he had her poised above his erection. Kata made a small sound of pleading as he lowered her onto his hardness, her entire body shuddering with satisfaction as he filled her.

"Christ, you're exquisite," he breathed, lifting his hips until he was buried so deep inside her that Kata would swear they were now one.

"I bet you say that to all the women," she muttered, shaken by the intensity of the sensations charging through her.

She could deal with l.u.s.t. Even if it was t.i.tanic, oh-G.o.d-nothing-will-ever-be-as-good-again, l.u.s.t.

But the tender rush of emotion that flooded through her was far more potent than mere l.u.s.t.

It was the sort of feeling that made females sacrifice everything to hold onto.

"There are no other women, Kata," he groaned, pumping into her with a slow, magical pace. "Just you."

"Uriel . . ."

"Ssh," he halted her protest, kissing a path of destruction up the side of her neck. "Just let me love you."

Kata shoved aside the warning voice in the back of her mind.

What did it matter?

More than likely they would never get out of the underworld alive.

Why not do as Uriel suggested and simply seize the moment?

"Yes," she breathed, forgetting everything but the explosive pleasure.

Chapter 9.

Kata wasn't sure how much time pa.s.sed.

Actually, trapped in the illusion it was almost as if time had stopped completely.

The sun remained firmly fixed in its current position in the sky. There were no drifting clouds, no changing shadow. And even the wildlife scampered from one tree to the other in a pattern that was growingly predictable.

She did know that she and Uriel had made love three more times. That was deliciously easy to keep track of. But it could have been a few hours or an entire day since Yannah had trapped them in the strange world.

No doubt she should be bothered by the thought.

It seemed like it should be important.

At the moment, however, she was floating on a wave of bliss as she sprawled in a bed of wildflowers, held tightly in Uriel's arms.

A smile curved her lips.

As a lover Uriel was spectacular.

He could be raw, and fiercely driven in his pa.s.sion. Or he could be slow, and gentle, and so breathtakingly patient that she had begged, pleaded, and at last, threatened until he gave her release.

As a man . . .

Her smile twisted.

She was beginning to accept he was equally spectacular.

s.h.i.+fting at his side, she tilted back her head to study the vampire next to her.

Her heart lurched at his sheer beauty.

The elegant sweep of his brow and proud curve of his nose. The high cheekbones and sensuously carved lips. The dark, soulful eyes that held a wary pain that spoke of the years he'd been forced to remain isolated, even when he was surrounded by his clan.

He didn't need to tell her that he was as protective of his brothers as he was of her. He would always keep those he cared about at a distance, always fearful he might be compelled to harm them.

In many ways he'd suffered as much as she had over the past two centuries.

Perhaps that's why they felt so intensely drawn together.

Well, that and the brilliant, mind-blowing s.e.x, she wryly added.

"I think I truly must have gone to heaven," she murmured, her hand lifting to drift over his exquisite face. "Complete with my own beautiful angel."

He summoned a pretend scowl at her soft words. "b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, not you too."

"Excuse me?"

"There's nothing angelic about me."

She slowly smiled, remembering a few of his more inventive moves.

"That's true." She ran her hand over the smooth skin of his stomach, relis.h.i.+ng the ripple of muscles beneath her fingers. Mmmm, pure male perfection. "I can testify that you're wicked through and through."

A smug glint entered his eyes. "Thank you."

"I a.s.sume your resemblance to an angel is a touchy subject with you?"

"I'm a warrior."

"And warriors can't be pretty?"

His hand lifted to tangle in her curls, his smile revealing his ma.s.sive fangs.

"Careful, Kata, you tease me at your peril."

Her heart forgot to beat as she became lost in the velvet darkness of his eyes.

"Tell me about your life."

His brows lifted at her abrupt question. "Do you want to hear of my heroic feats or my astonis.h.i.+ng skill with the females?"

She rolled her eyes. Like she didn't know firsthand that he was a lethal predator and an even more lethal lover.

"I want to hear about you. The real you."

He stilled, as if no one had ever been interested in anything beyond his more obvious skills.

"I am second in command to Victor, the clan chief of Great Britain," he said.

She smiled at the hint of pride he couldn't hide. And why shouldn't he be proud? Before her captivity, Kata had taken pleasure in the fact she and Marika were considered the finest healers in all of Europe.

"A big shot, eh? No wonder you're so arrogant."

"Authoritative," he corrected her.

"Bossy."

"Only when necessary."

"Which is always," she wryly pointed out. "What else?"

He shrugged. "There is nothing else."

"I don't believe you." She reached to stroke her fingers down the chiseled line of his jaw. "You can't spend all your time killing things."

"No. I teach the younger vampires how to kill things."

She heaved a sigh. "You don't have any hobbies? No secret dreams?"

His expression became guarded, his years of keeping others at a distance painfully obvious.