"Temperature matters little to a Carpathian," she said.
He grinned at her. "Unless your lifemate can surprise you and toss you into a cold pool before you can regulate."
"You wouldn't dare," she said, her emerald eyes beginning to sparkle.
"Probably not," he soothed, "but you never know. I am a wolf man, after all, and they do like their pranks."
The sound of the falls grew louder, water cascading down the mountainside and dropping several meters into the pools formed below by rock. Over time the pounding water had smoothed the boulders and bottom of the pools until they were polished and even.
"Strange that I didn't notice that jokester trait in the Lycans," Tatijana said. "They looked like a sober lot to me." She sent him a warning from under her lashes, but her eyes couldn't contain her amusement.
He pushed aside fronds from a fern as tall as he was so she could get her first look at the waterfall and pools. They were hidden from view by a grove of old-growth trees whose trunks were as wide and thick as a small car. He watched her face as he held the lacy leaves back. Her entire face lit up. Her hair actually streaked with deeper shades of red. Her emerald eyes deepened in color until they were nearly the same as the deepest pool.
Tatijana gave a little gasp as she stepped forward. "It's so beautiful, Fen. Truly beautiful. You couldn't have found a place I would like more."
She turned into his body, circling his neck with her slender arms and bringing his head down to hers, leaning into him until she was pressed tight. "I love you, Fenris Dalka. Everything about you, but especially that you always seem to know exactly what I need. This is perfect."
Fen framed her face with his large hands. She looked up at him with her incredible, dazzling eyes and he let himself fall into the deep depths. He wanted to live there inside her, with her, be one with her.
Her fingers brushed his mouth, and then, featherlight, traced his lips. He felt the jolt of shock go through his body straight to his groin. As gentle as her fingers on his face were, the lightning bolt slamming through his body was exactly the opposite, a punch hard and mean.
The intensity of his love for her was terrifying. Wonderful. A miracle. He had never envisioned that emotions could run so deep. Love and lust were a potent combination, heightening every sense and inflaming every nerve ending.
He was aware of every breath she drew. The subtle rise and fall of her breasts beneath her clothing. He inhaled her fragrance, the wild of the forest and clean of the rain. His hand bunched in the thick silk of her hair.
Fen pressed his mouth close to her ear. "I don't want a single stitch of clothing between your skin and mine."
Her long lashes swept down, veiling her expression, but her lips curved and her clothes disappeared, leaving her standing in front of him completely naked. He took a breath. Her body was beautiful to him. The full curves, the tucked-in waist, her flaring hips and the small dragon low and to the left below her waist, just faintly visible. She had shapely legs and small, bare feet. Her hair, usually kept in a braid, tumbled passed her waist like a riot of fine silk.
He removed his own clothing, suddenly finding the material too tight to contain his hard body. He leaned his head down to hers and took possession of that oh-so-incredibly-generous mouth. Soft. Cool against the fire of his. Everything he could possibly want was right there in his arms.
Her mouth moved under his, giving him everything he asked of her. His fingers tightened in her hair, burying deep to anchor her to him, to hold her still. In spite of the blood surging hotly in his veins and his cock hard and thick and making its own demands, he was patient, savoring each moment of time with her.
He felt her lips tremble as he deepened the kiss, exploring all that cool sweetness that was his alone. His skin felt burning hot, hers cool and soft. A whip of lightning cracked and snapped through his bloodstream, sending flames licking at his groin. The rush was all encompassing.
She gave herself to him as generous as always, pouring herself into his mind and heart, her mouth giving him everything he craved. He tasted passion. Love. A world he hadn't known existed opened up the moment he'd met her, and this, her mouth, her kiss, was his passport there. His belly tightened, every muscle hardening, yet he wanted slow and gentle. He wanted to savor every moment, imprint the feel and taste of her into him for all time.
He lifted his head, pressing his forehead into hers. His lungs burned, whether for air or just the miracle of finding her after centuries of loneliness-after believing his world would always be one of darkness, killing and a continuous struggle.
"You saved me. You did, Tatijana. No matter what you think, you saved my soul. I still can't believe what a perfect miracle you are or what I ever did to deserve you."
She ran both hands up his flat belly to his chest, her mouth following, kissing every defined muscle until she was teasing his flat nipple with her tongue. "Perhaps, wolf man, you saved me," she murmured, licking at his pounding pulse.
Before he could answer, her teeth sank deep. He threw his head back and growled in ecstasy. Her hands smoothed his shoulders, traced his ribs and dropped lower to find the girth of his burgeoning cock. She danced her fingers over his sensitive skin, then wrapped her fist tightly and slid the length of him from base to head in that firm grip. Her other hand dropped a little lower to find his heavy sac. She rolled and caressed, squeezing gently.
The sensations she created, between her hands and her mouth, turned his brain to absolute mush. Thunder roared in his ears. Blood pounded through his body. He had set out to give her a night of pleasure, only to have her turn the tables. She licked across the small wound in his chest her teeth had caused, her eyes nearly glowing as she lifted her lashes.
"I need more of you, lifemate," she said softly.
If it was possible, his cock hardened even more.
She tugged very gently, not relinquishing her hold on him. "I think you'd better come with me."
He did. How could he not? She got as far as the first pool where the rocks were smooth all around it and stepped into it. The water came to her waist.
"Sit right here." She patted the edge where the rock was the smoothest.
He complied with her command, sitting right on the edge. His cock was rock hard against his stomach, but his sac hung down toward that steaming water. Standing so much lower than him, her head was perfectly aligned with his groin.
"This night was meant for you," he said, his voice raspy and raw.
Tatijana gave him a siren's smile, one that made him hotter than ever. "Exactly. I want more of you, and it's time I got what I wanted. Ever since our night in the field, tasting you on that flower, I've been craving that exact taste. I could be addicted."