Call Of The Dark

Lazarus forgot about his peccadillo immediately. He kissed her temple. Cupping her face, he leaned in to kiss her lips.

Emma was still very angry with him. She pushed against his chest and pulled away from the kiss. He immediately missed her. "I don't want to talk to you!" she said. "You will never hurt those I love."

"I will never hurt those you love," he said, refusing to leave her. "I just can't let you leave me. I was furious that you wanted to leave me." And when he said those words, his throat didn't burn. "However, I do feel that in this relationship, you hold all the cards." He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and tipped her chin to gaze in her beautiful green eyes. After the way she ordered him last time, he was… impressed. She had managed to not only stop him from fighting with Nephie, but also quell his jealousy and anger. Having said that, "Do you love me?"

Emma's lips parted at his last question. Slowly, she could feel how he was pulling her towards him or maybe he was leaning against her. Their lips brushed each other and his warm breath fanned over her lips and cheeks. "Do you love me, Emma?" he repeated his question, his voice loaded with lust and desire. She felt heat coiling in her body. How could she be affected by simple words from him? Simple words that had a lot of meaning and weighed heavily, especially now that she was only a few days away from the ritual.

She realized that he was holding his breath. And for once she thought that she had swayed him. "I love you, Lord Lorza," she said and realized that her voice had gone husky. "I think I wanted you from day one."

His throat bobbed and his chest vibrated with a rumble. He grabbed her waist with one hand and lifted her like a rag doll to his eye level. "It is good then because I don't want to kill Nephie or anyone you love."

She let out a laugh. "You are so benevolent, aren't you?"

"Shut up and kiss your man."

My man? She couldn't believe that he had just said that. Would Lazarus be hers after all that they had undergone? After what Maeve had wanted from him and he wanted from her? Was she hallucinating? He had never treated her like she was his mate and now… now he was so possessive about her that he never wanted her to leave him. When she looked in his red eyes, they were full of desire for her and had that expression that she saw when the defenses around him melted in her presence. Yes, she had noticed this expression several times ever since he had traced her to the cabin a few days back.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and caressed the skin over there. "I want to kiss you and I want to kiss you for eternity, Lorza. Not just for three days."

His gaze darted to her lips. "Then kiss me like you've never kissed before, Emma because I am never going to leave you. You are going to stay with me for eternity."

Emma gasped. "Do you mean—" she couldn't complete her sentence. "Do you mean that—" Before she could complete her sentence, he seized her lips and kissed her with abandon. Emma gave herself into this beautiful sensation. She didn't care what was going to happen after this, but this was a beginning. She realized that her cheeks were getting wet with her tears.

Lazarus carried her all the way to Titan, kissing her. He didn't realize that after he had marked her, he had completed the bond and no one in the world had the power to break it, not even him. He pulled back and she cried reluctantly. He made her sit on Titan. Placing his hand on her thigh, he gazed on her face. She was flushed and looked so beautiful. How could he even think of casting her soul out? Initially he cursed that the Lore had chosen her as his mate. When the rogues attacked them, he recognized that she was the bride the fate had chosen for him and now— he looked at her as the queen that he wanted to rule with him on the throne of Wilyra.

As for Maeve, he had to figure out what he was going to do. Together, they would figure out. After all, he was the most cunning, powerful and sharp vampire of the Lore. He could do anything.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "What about Maeve? What about your ambition to rule Wilyra?"

He swung on Titan in one swift move. He curled his arms around her waist and tightened his thighs around hers. Picking up Titan's reins, he kissed her temple. "I will think about it. You don't have to worry." He nudged Titan to move forward.

Emma looked at Nephie. "Wait! I have to say something to Nephie."

As if knowing what Emma wanted, Nephie took a step closer. Titan neighed as he tensed, taking a step back. Emma brushed his mane. "Titan, please be calm," she said politely. "She won't eat you up."

Some assurance? Titan shot Emma a look by turning his head. Nephie plucked a branch of the apple tree and offered it to Titan. It was her olive branch of peace. Titan grabbed it immediately and munched upon them. Emma chuckled. "I guess you are friends with Nephie now."

Emma rubbed Nephie's snout. "I am going, but I want you to stay here, hidden in these mountains of Wilyra," she said.

"No, Emma. I am coming with you," Nephie replied stubbornly through their mental link.

"It is not safe!" Emma protested.

Nephie grunted. "No one would dare to harm me."

"Does she want to come with us?" Lazarus asked.

"Yes!" Emma replied with desperation in her voice.

"Tell her that she can come, but she needs to stay hidden in the snow forest. I don't want rogues to see her and I want her safe because—" he held his words there.

"Because?" Emma asked with a frown.

"Because you like her as well." He didn't use the word 'love' because Emma only loved him. The ugly head of jealousy was again rearing up. He shoved it down. When would he ever not feel insecure about Emma? His grip around her tightened a little more.

"Tell him that I can hear his words pretty clearly!" Nephie shot back, giving Lazarus a disgusted look. "You don't have to convey."

Emma took a ragged breath. How was she going to manage a dragon and a vampire? "She says she will do that."

"Good," he replied stubbornly, gazing into the dragon's eyes. He nudged Titan to turn and the horse reluctantly had to move. Quickly he munched on the apples and they were on their way back to Wilyra.

Nephie watched them go down the slope. As soon as they were out of sight, she flared her wings wide and shot in the air. She was going to keep a very strict watch on Lazarus.

As they rode, Lazarus couldn't help nuzzling into her hair. He would occasionally kiss her. The lazy smile on his lips had etched permanently. "I have to say that now we have decided to be together, you must forget all I did to you earlier."

Could he be any shameless?