"No," his beast said, before he could think it through. He wasn't letting Kara out of his arms, let alone his sight, anytime soon. "I'll tend her."
Esmeria nodded. "I'll put clothes on the bed for her, then. And for you."
The healer rose and left, but his men remained. Silence blanketed the room. In his arms, Kara slept.
Tighe sat on the edge of the tub, his gaze on Kara. "Damn."
Jag moved behind Tighe. "Guess it's a good thing we didn't vote to kill her off." But his tone lacked its usual rank attitude. In his voice, Lyon heard the same chill he suspected was going through all of them.
Paenther made a sound of pain deep in his throat. "If it had been up to me, she'd be dead."
"Who could have put it in her?" Tighe asked.
Paenther growled. "Whoever did it is dead."
"I'm with you, panther-man," Jag said.
Tighe reached out and put his hand on her head. "She's been through hell. Great bunch of protectors we turned out to be."
"There was no way we could have known," Lyon said. But Kara had told him almost from the start something was wrong, and he hadn't paid enough attention until nearly too late.
Lyon sighed. "You heard the Shaman. Go find yourselves some sex. As soon as the Shaman's found that dark charm, we'll go home."
"You need help?" Tighe asked him.
"No. I've got her."
Tighe nodded. "Yeah, I hate these tough assignments, but I guess I'd better get at it."
Jag headed for the door. "Dibs on Lily."
Tighe lunged after him. "Only if I can't talk her into taking me instead."
Paenther remained behind after the others left.
"What about you, B.P.?"
But Paenther shook his head, the concern in his dark eyes still running deep. "I'll go later. For now, I'll be right outside the bathroom door, if you need anything." His gaze dipped to Kara. "If she needs anything."
Lyon nodded. If the bleeding spell broke through again, he'd need help. Paenther's guilt was nearly as thick as his own. And Lyon had virtually no ability to sense his emotions as he did Kara's.
"Don't beat yourself up about it, Paenther. You thought she was Mage."
"I'm sworn to protect our Radiant. I would have destroyed her."
"But you didn't."
Paenther nodded once and left.
As Paenther closed the door behind him, Lyon leaned back against the tub, in no hurry to move. He couldn't have let go of Kara in that minute if his life depended on it. And once he let go of her, he might never have her in his arms again. Because it had occurred to him, in that stunned instant when the Shaman pronounced her not Mage, that the Pairing might have been right after all.
Kara, conscious now, if dozing, clung to him sweetly, her body slowly warming. Beneath the blanket, he stroked her back as he marveled at the trust she'd gifted him with. Despite all the ways he'd failed her, he felt her unconditional belief in him like a soft stroke to his heart.
He had been holding her like that for close to an hour when she finally stirred, rubbing her cheek against his collarbone. "Where are we?"
He stroked her silken head and pressed a kiss to her hair. "Safe, Kara. We're safe."
"It looks like a bathtub." She stretched and tried to shift her legs, then melted back against him. He could tell every movement was an effort, requiring more strength than she possessed. "Why do we have blankets in the bath?"
"You bled for hours, little one. This was the only place where it didn't ruin the carpets."
"Sorry."
Her apology, so out of place, made him smile.
"I feel gross," she murmured. "Sticky."
"If you're awake, we should get you cleaned up and into bed."
Her grip on him tightened. "Stay with me. Please."
Always , his beast cried. But the man wasn't at all sure the fates would allow it.
"Of course." He kissed her temple, then called for Paenther's help. As much as he hated to release her, it was time he got her clean and warm.
Paenther took her from him while he climbed out, removed the blood-soaked blankets, and rinsed the tub. Filling it again with warm, clear water, he stripped off the rest of his clothes and took Kara back into his arms.
As Paenther gathered up the soiled linens and left, Lyon sank into the warm water with Kara in his arms and bathed them both, Kara more asleep than awake. He loved touching her, loved the feel of her curled against him, and though his body stirred as it always did whenever she was near, no real need built. Both he and his beast were more than content simply to hold her. To protect her. To cherish her.
When he felt her shiver, he knew he'd squeezed every moment he could out of the bath. He dried them both, then wrapped her in an oversized towel and carried her into the bedroom, where Paenther waited.
"Go, B.P. Get yourself cleared. This battle's won."
Paenther nodded and left.
Lyon dressed Kara in the pajamas Esmeria had left for her, then tucked her into bed already asleep. He pulled on the sweat pants and tee shirt that had been left for him and hesitated, suddenly uncertain where his honor lay. He'd pushed Vhyper aside and claimed Kara for his own when he thought her Mage. Now that he knew better, he should back off. Stay away from her.
Yet he wondered now. Had that cantric, and the dark charm still inside Feral House, fouled the Pairing anyway? That was a question for later. For now, he would watch over Kara and keep her safe as he'd failed to do before. As he slid under the covers and pulled her against him, he told himself he was just taking logical precautions. What if the bleeding broke through again, and he didn't realize it? She could bleed to death without him knowing.
He rubbed his chin against her damp, clean hair and told himself he was just being careful.
But deep inside, his beast shook his maned head, telling him he was a fool if he thought he'd ever allow him to let her go.
CHAPTER 19
Kara woke with a jerk, terror lingering in the crevices of her mind.
"Shh, little one. You're safe, now. No one's going to hurt you."
Strong, gentle arms went around her, pressing her against a warm, hard body. Without opening her eyes, she knew she was lying on her side on a bed, Lyon's warm scent surrounding her. She tried to move closer to his warmth, but her strength was gone. The hazy memory of something awful lingered still, but she couldn't remember.
As Lyon's strong hand stroked her hair, she opened her eyes and blinked, but all she could see was the dark tee shirt that covered his chest.
She lifted her head to see him. "What happened?"
Her throat felt dry as sand, the words little more than a rasp. Her head was too heavy, and she let it fall back to his arm.
"I rescued you." A deep shudder went through him as his hold on her tightened. "We locked up Vhyper again and brought you to the healer, at the Georgetown Therian enclave."
His words made no sense. Exhaustion overtook her, and she slept again.
"You going to stay with me, this time?"
Kara blinked and looked up into Lyon's worried face as she woke for the second time. He was still holding her, as before, but. she felt different. Stronger, as if that awful weakness had finally left her.
"Did I fall asleep?"
"You did. You lost a lot of blood. Your body needed time to heal."
"What happened, Lyon? I don't remember. All I remember is pain." The memory of it echoed like screams in her head. With a hard shudder, she pressed her face to his chest.
He pulled her tighter and stroked her back, holding her for a long time, until the chill slowly subsided within the warmth of his arms.
Kara finally pulled back. Lyon released her, and she rolled onto her back.
Lyon propped his head on his elbow and looked down at her, hooking his free arm around her waist and pulling her close. She turned toward him, meeting his gaze, his eyes warm and soft.
With a gentle finger, he pushed her hair behind her ear. "How do you feel?"
"Okay. Fine, I think." Her gaze moved outward to take in the simply furnished bedroom. "Where are we?"
"Georgetown. Down in D.C. In one of the Therian enclaves."
"Why?"
His eyes grew more concerned. "What's the last thing you remember?" His thumb brushed her cheek.
"The prison. You took me down to the prison and locked me. up. The next thing I remember I was in horrible pain. And you were there. You saved me."
"I did. You don't remember anything in between?"
Did she? There was something teasing her mind, but she couldn't get a grasp on it.
"I feel like there's something I should remember, but it's not coming."
"That's good. It's nothing you want to remember."
"Why?" By the look on his face and the pain in his eyes, she knew it was bad. "I think I need you to tell me."
He brushed her cheek again. "I'd rather not. But if I don't, someone else probably will." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Vhyper escaped from his prison cell and broke you out, too. He took you down to the dungeons deep below the house, tied you up and punished youfor being Mage."
She shivered, his words teasing the memory in her head. "How did he punish me?"
"He stabbed you. Multiple times. You bled." His eyes turned bleak and he looked away, his jaw going rigid. "I didn't think you were going to stop bleeding." He turned back to her, his gaze stroking hers softly. "But you're okay, now. It's over. You're safe."
"Why didn't I stop bleeding?"
His brows flicked up. "Interesting story there. Apparently the cantric I took out of your hip wasn't there to increase your magic. It was causing you all kinds of problems. Because you're not Mage."
Kara blinked at him. Then made a sound of disbelief. "You've got to be kidding. After all that, I'm not Mage?"
His mouth twisted sheepishly. If a lion could look sheepish. "It was a cantric. Even the Shaman's never heard of one being implanted in a Therian before. It shouldn't have done anything to you, and probably didn't until you arrived at Feral House. The Shaman's fairly sure we have a dark charm in the house somewhere that worked with the cantric to make you afraid."
"At least I know it wasn't my imagination."
Lyon's expression turned rueful. "Can you ever forgive me? For doubting you?" His eyes flinched with pain. "For taking the cantric as I did? I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for that."
Kara reached up and ran her fingers through a thick lock of his golden hair. "You came after me when I ran and saved me from certain death. Then you saved me again when, Vhyper hurt me. I'm thinking you're on the right path to forgiveness."
His eyes crinkled at the corners. "But I have a way to go?"
She smiled. "We'll see." His revelations continued to ping-pong through her head, and she dropped her palm onto her own forehead. "First I'm human, then I'm Therian, then I'm Mage. Now I'm Therian again? Are you sure?"
He lifted her palm, kissed her forehead, then resettled her palm over the kiss. "You're Therian. The Radiant. The Shaman's heading out to Feral House this morning to find the dark charm and destroy it."
"And that's it?"
"Hopefully, yes. You should be fine."
"Good. That's good." And it was. But she didn't feel as relieved as maybe she should have. Something was bothering her. Something she couldn't remember. "So, what happens now? Are we back to trying to ascend me?"
Lyon nodded as he looked down at her. "Once the Shaman's through and I'm certain you're okay, we'll go home." His brows drew down in a way that worried her.
"What's the matter?" she asked softly.
"The Pairing. You're the true Therian Radiant, so it may have worked after all. But the magic may still have thrown it off. We can't ascend you unless we're one hundred percent sure we've got the right Feral as your mate. We're going to have to do another Pairing."
" Yes ." Kara grinned and sat up, swinging around to face him on her knees. "I know it was off. It's you who's my mate, Lyon. You." But as she caught his grim expression her delight evaporated. "You don't want it to be you."
He sat up until he faced her and slid his palms over her cheeks, cradling her face in his hands. His eyes spoke of fervent need. And sadness.
"I want to be chosen to be your mate more than anything I've ever wanted in my life. Anything ."
Tears sprang up in her eyes. "Really?"
"Don't Kara. Don't be happy about that, because it doesn't matter. It's not my choice to make any more than it's yours. The Pairing will decide. Only that. And I fear the results will be no different than they were the first time. Perhaps not Vhyper. But someone. Someone who isn't me."
He leaned in and laid a gentle kiss on her brow. "That may not be a bad thing."
"How can you say that?"
"You deserve someone who can make you happy, sweetheart. Someone like Tighe, who will make you laugh and smile. I'm not that man. I don't have that laughter inside me."
"You're wrong, Lyon. So wrong. You're the only one I need."
His thumbs feathered across her cheekbones. "What happens, happens, Kara. The Pairing will decide, and we'll both live with that decision. The goddess always chooses the best Feral for her Radiant. The one absolute is that once you accept her choice, you'll be happy. And you'll ascend safely. That's all that matters."
"What about you?"
He pulled her onto his lap and tucked her head beneath his chin. "Knowing you're happy will be enough."
Kara pulled away to look at him. "It's not enough for me. Knowing you're unhappy will destroy me." She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. "But, we're getting ahead of ourselves, don't you think? The Pairing may still choose you. And right this minute, I'm free to choose my lovers."
She looped her arms around his neck locking her fingers as she looked into his eyes. "I want you. Even if you can't promise me forever, you can give me now. Please, Lyon. Please let me love you as I want to. If only this last time."
Her body tensed, knowing him well enough to know his honor would probably send him stalking from the room. But to her amazement, he kissed her with all the passion of a lover, intending to see the act through to the end.
He pulled back, his mouth damp, his eyes glowing with a fierce, carnal light. "Yes," he growled.
"Really?"
His mouth gave a self-deprecating twist. "I've been ordered to bring you to release to cleanse you of the magic. A full-penetration release."
She shivered at his words. "The Shaman's orders?"
"Yes."
Kara grinned. "I think I love that Shaman." He glowered at her with mock severity. "I don't know what the future holds, but for this moment, I don't want you thinking of anyone but me. You're mine, Kara MacAllister. Mine ." His hand slid beneath her shirt to cover her breast, staking his claim.
Lyon covered Kara's sweet mouth in a deep, drugging kiss while his fingers sank into the softness of her breast. She shifted on his lap, swinging her leg around until she straddled him, exploding his senses.
Goddess, he wanted this. Wanted her . Today, tomorrow, every day for the rest of his life.
Passion erupted as he shoved his tongue into her warm, welcoming mouth, desperate to get inside her. As their tongues slid against one another, creating a sensuous friction, Kara moaned and ground her hips against his growing erection, her passion rising. With one hand, he cradled her head, with the other he cupped her buttocks, pressing her hard against him. When she shattered on a low cry and clung to him, he held her, keeping her pressed tight as his beast gave a rumble of hot satisfaction.
What would he do if the Pairing gave her to another yet again?
Kara pulled back to look at him with eyes alight with a sexy, slumberous fire. His gaze dropped to her lips, full and damp from his kisses. His chest ached with an overwhelming tenderness.
"You're so beautiful," he murmured. "I need you, Kara." He kissed the corner of her mouth, her jaw, her neck, while his hand cupped and kneaded her breast. "I have to be inside you, sweetheart."
Her eyes melted with heat and tenderness as she laid her palm against his cheek. "I want you inside me. Always."
His conscience rose from the fires of his passion, reminding him what happened last time he'd touched her prior to a Pairing. Did he really want to foul a second one?
His beast growled. The Shaman had ordered Kara penetrated, and he'd kill anyone else who tried to touch her. This was the only way.
Praise the goddess.
Kara kissed his mouth, a gentle peck. "You're waffling. I can see it in your eyes. Tell me you're going to make love to me, Lyon. I want to hear you say it."
Her hand slid down his chest to his abdomen and lower to stroke his growing erection. The need in her eyes shimmered. "Say it, Lyon."
His body shuddered, and he kissed her hard. "I'm going to make love to you, Kara."
"Say it again."
"You doubt my word, woman?" He found himself smiling at her and felt a strange and wonderful lightness he couldn't explain. And had no desire to. All he wanted to do was fulfill the promise he'd just made to the woman in his arms.
She grinned at him. "Just making sure." Her lips landed at the corner of his mouth, teasing him with infinite gentleness. "I'm going to make love to you, too."
When she would have mirrored the kiss on the other side of his mouth, he flipped her onto her back on the bed, startling a laugh out of her. The sweet sound filled him with such happiness he grinned at her and followed her down. She rewarded him well by flinging her arm around his neck and raining kisses on his cheek and eye and nose. Never had anyone kissed his nose. Or his cheek, for that matter. Not even as a child. Hell, as a child, he hadn't even known what a kiss was.
His grin grew into laughter as the tiny kisses tickled. "What are you doing?"
She stopped kissing him and met his gaze, her eyes glistening with a fine sheen of tears. "I'm loving you," she said softly, the depth of emotion in her eyes almost more than he could bear.
But then she smiled at him, her eyes turning mischievous, easing the sudden aching tension her words had formed deep inside him. "Would you prefer I kiss you somewhere else?" Her grin turned positively wicked. The thought of where he wanted those lips, nearly sent him over the edge.
"Everywhere," he growled. He licked and nibbled his way from the hollow below her ear to the pulse pounding at the base of her throat. "I want your mouth on me, Kara. But first I'm going to lick every single inch of you."
The look she gave him was pure fire. "I dare you."
The lightness inside him erupted like tiny fizzing bubbles, and he laughed. Never had he felt so good. Goddess, but this must be love .
He set about proving he was up for her dare, starting with her face, then her neck, until she was moaning and rocking beneath him. But he stopped short of bringing her to release.
When he pulled back, Kara groaned. "No fair."
"Patience, sweet Radiant. You have too many clothes on." But when he pulled up her pajama top, his gut clenched at the fading dashes of scars circling her waist, his body pained by the sight of them. He traced each one with his lips, then his tongue, giving her pleasure where last night she'd only known pain.
But not too much pleasure. At each place his lips touched, he kissed her with tender thoroughness until he felt her passion on the brink, then he moved on without giving her release.
"Lyon"
"Patience, little one."
"Payback is going to be hell, I hope you know." Her promise was half laughter, half groan.
He pulled the shirt from her, and laid kisses and small licks on her torso and her arms, then removed her pajama pants and indulged himself on every inch of her slender, shapely legs.
She lay on the bed in nothing but skin damp from his kisses and flushed with heat, her hips rocking with unfulfilled need, her blue eyes flashing with fire and desperation. And promise.
Without a doubt, she was the most glorious creature ever made.
She licked her lips, the movement unstudied and intensely erotic. "I want you, Lyon."
The blood pounded through his veins in answer. He was hot and throbbing and loving every minute of this sweet torment.
"Take off your clothes for me," she said. "I want to see you. All of you."
He complied, stripping off his clothes and tossing them to the floor as her hungry gaze fed on his body, hardening him almost to the point of pain.
Lyon joined her. At the first lick of his tongue on her nipple, she cried out.
"Lyon, I can't take any more. Touch me. Please ."
He grinned. As his mouth moved to cover one perfect breast, his hand slid down the plane of her stomach, then farther, dipping between her thighs. His fingers found the drenched center of her need.
At the first stroke of his fingers, she moaned.
He lifted his head and met her heated, frantic gaze. "Come for me."
"Lyon."
Dipping his head again, he slid one finger deep inside her, then a second as he took her breast in his mouth. With his tongue, he stroked her tight, sweet nipple. With his fingers, he pushed in and out of her until he felt her passion rise and finally break as he brought her to a crashing, violent release.
When her shudders subsided, she ran her fingers through his hair. "Oh, that was good. Now it's my turn to have my way with you."
He pulled his fingers out of her and tasted the nectar, far sweeter than any he'd ever known. "Not yet," he told her. He moved down her body until he was kneeling between her legs, then he lifted her hips, opening her to his hungry mouth. The first stroke of his tongue on her most sensitive flesh sent her over the edge, crying out. He kissed her, drank of her, and drove her to orgasm after orgasm, one starting long before the one before had ended, until she was gasping for mercy.
"That was" she struggled as he released her and came to lie beside her, pulling her against him. "That was the most amazing the most"
He kissed her shoulder, smiling. "Want me to do it again?"
" No . Not yet. I'm going to have a heart attack if you start again."
He chuckled. "Therians don't have heart attacks. But I'll give you a short break."
"Not no." She struggled out of his hold to sit up, then looked down at him, meeting his gaze with an expression he couldn't name.
Slowly, her eyes filled with tenderness, her lips lifting in a sweet, sexy smile. "How could you ever think you couldn't make me happy?"
He stared into her eyes. "What I did made you happy?" Her answer suddenly mattered more than he would have thought possible.
She laughed, the sound music to his soul. "Oh, yeah." Her eyes sparkled. "But not just that. Everything you do makes me happy. Every touch, every look, every kiss. Every word. You make me happy, Lyon. You ."
He didn't understand how anything she said could be true, and yet he couldn't deny the joy he saw in her face and felt shimmering out of her. Deep inside, he felt the splintering and shattering of a belief he hadn't realized existed inside him until Kara shone the brilliance of her light into the crevices of his heart. The brittle belief that love and smiles were alien to his soul. The belief that love, which he'd never really known, had never been meant for him.
He stared into the glistening gems of her eyes, then pulled her down, kissing her thoroughly, telling her silently how much her words healed the ache of loneliness so long hidden even from himself.
As his hand slid to her breast, she broke off the kiss and rose to her knees, a mischievous smile lurking on her mouth. "It's my turn."
He watched her, smiling, feeling the weight of centuries lifted from his heart even as he banished his doubts that after the next Pairing this woman would be his.
He didn't want to think about that. For once, he wished to live only in this moment. With Kara.
"Your turn for what?" he asked.
"To have my way with you."
Holding his gaze, she bent to kiss his chest, flicking her tongue across his nipple as he had hers. He forced himself to lay unmoving beneath the tender torture of her kisses and her tongue, his chest filling, expanding until he thought maybe Therians could have heart attacks after all.
Kara lifted her head, her blond hair falling in soft waves around her face, her eyes glowing. "You don't respond to me as crazily as I do you."
He lifted a hand to her face. "If I did, it would all be over long before it began."
Her mouth turned up into a wicked smile. "Maybe I'm not kissing you where it counts."
She turned to slide her hand down the plane of his stomach until those warm fingers curled around his erection, and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head. Bending over, she presented him with a first-class view, nearly sending him over the edge when her delicate tongue flicked out and stroked the slit at the tip of him.
" Kara ." He slid his hand over the lush, soft flesh of her buttocks, then between her legs, touching her, being drenched by her.
The stroke of her tongue was beyond paradise, beyond erotic, and he knew he wasn't going to last a minute longer.
"Kara, I have to have you. Now ."
She was under him in three seconds flat, spreading her thighs, sliding her hands over his shoulders as she welcomed him. He met her gaze, embraced by those blue depths even before he pushed against her slick opening. As he buried himself inside her, her mouth dropped open, her eyes heavy with pleasure, her back arching. But her gaze never left his. Her eyes darkened with desire as she clung to him and softened with an emotion that warmed him, filled him, until he thought his heart couldn't contain it all.
With each thrust, she rose to meet him as he stroked her deeper than the time before, lifted on the rising tide of her passion, riding the storm of his own. Her hands slid up his neck, her fingers digging frantically into his hair as gasps of growing pleasure escaped her throat with each hard meeting of their bodies.
"Lyon," she cried, and he felt the storm breaking over her. "Lyon."
The storm ripped him from his moorings, and he felt himself tumbling in after her-into her eyes, into her body, into her soul-the release like nothing he'd ever experienced. He felt destroyed, demolished, shattered. And utterly and totally reborn.
"Kara." As the last of her contractions milked him, he kissed her, needing to taste her, needing to be joined with her in a thousand ways. When his tongue stroked hers, she turned her head, breaking the kiss on a musical peal of exhausted joy.
"Lyon, I can't," she gasped, her eyes smiling at him. "I can't come again."
"You can." He made a sound of satisfaction deep in his throat, knowing that in this moment, she was his. Completely. Her body the finest of instruments tuned to his touch. He kissed her cheek as she had his. Then her eye. And nose.
Then he drank of the smile he'd put on her lips and slowly ran his tongue across the same, drawing a gasp from her, making the hard knots of her tight breasts press against his chest.
He ran his tongue around the curve of her ear, and that single stroke was all it took to send her back over the edge. Deep inside, her body squeezed him over and over, as her hot gasps bathed his lips, hardening him all over again. He pulled out and shoved himself inside her welcoming body, and she met him thrust for thrust, as ready for him a second time as he was for her.
She stared up into his eyes, her own silently mirroring the longing, the devotion, the beauty of what they'd just shared. And as they crested a second time, she said, "I love you, Lyon."
His beast purred as her words soaked into his heart, but the fear that she wasn't his reached in to pluck away his pleasure. He rolled onto his back, still buried inside her, cradling Kara against his heart.
As her heartbeat raced with his, he stroked the warm, damp silk of her back with one hand while the other buried itself deep in her hair, sliding against her small, precious head. A vicious protectiveness rose inside him as his gut contracted over the thought of losing her.
Mine.
"You're mine, Lyon," she said, as if she'd heard that desperate inner voice of his. "I know you're mine."
"We can't be sure." Despite the certainty of his beast.
She tucked her hand beneath her chin. "How soon do you think we can do another Pairing?"
He stroked her back, wishing he could stay here, like this, for the rest of his life. He sighed, thinking. "As soon as the Shaman clears the house of any dark charms, we'll know if it was those affecting my men or the lack of radiance. If it's the latter, I'm not sure how we're going to do it. I'm not endangering you."