Dark Celebration (3 page)

"That's not an excuse. As the leader of our people, it is your
duty
to play the part of St. Nick. It's tradition."

"Not Carpathian tradition. It is not dignified, Raven." Mikhail swept his black hair to the nape of his neck and secured it with a thin strip of leather. His black eyes glittered at her, making every attempt to intimidate her into submission.

She burst out laughing, completely unsympathetic and certainly not scared. "Tough luck, hotshot. It's your job. Carpathian tradition or not, you promised me we'd have a big Christmas party for everyone. Our people have come from the United States, South America and several other countries to participate in our celebration. We cannot possibly disappoint them."

"It will not be disappointinot do this ridiculous thing."

Her laughter deepened into a rich, appealing sound that played down his spine and made his stomach do a funny little flip. Only Raven could do that to him. Only Raven could make him want to do anything on Earth to please her.

"Trust me, Mikhail, the entire Carpathian race will be disappointed if they do not see you playing the role of Santa Claus." She stroked his face with her fingertips. "A nice white beard." Her hand ran down his chest to his hard, flat stomach. "A nice round belly…"

"You aren't at all amusing." But she was, and it was taking everything he had not to smile at her.

"You promised me you would do everything to make our first Christmas gathering a success."

"I was not thinking at the time. You were distracting me," he grumbled.

"Was I?" Raven asked, blinking innocently. "I can't remember."

Mikhail wrapped his arms around Raven and pulled her into his body. Nibbling on her neck, he tasted her pulse, felt her answering excitement and knew it would always be this way between them.
Raven
. He thought he couldn't love her more, yet each day the emotion grew stronger until he felt he was bursting with it. Sometimes, when she wasn't looking, he could feel blood red tears welling up in his eyes. Who would believe the powerful prince of the Carpathian people would be so enamored of a woman.

He had been born with the ritual words of binding imprinted on his brain as had every other male of his kind. It had been a shock to discover not only that a human woman could become his lifemate, but that she could be successfully turned to his species. More than the complete amazement of all of that was the overwhelming love and hunger he felt for her, that it grew stronger with every moment they shared together. Looking at her could steal the breath from his body.

"You always smell so good."

Raven reached back to circle his neck with her arm, dragging his head closer so she could kiss him. The moment his lips touched hers, fire exploded in his gut and spread low, racing through his system until his blood thickened and his pulse pounded. He pressed his body closer so she could feel the evidence of his desire.

She laughed softly. "You always make me forget what I'm doing. I'm supposed to be cooking the turkey. It's been a very long time and I have to make certain I don't make any mistakes. We've invited the Ostojics and any guests staying at the inn. Even though we can't eat it, we need human food for them and since it was my idea, I couldn't very well pass on the most important item on our dinner menu."

"Yes, you could." Mikhail's voice suddenly turned sly.

Raven whirled around to study her lifemate's all too innocent expression. "What are you up to, Mikhail?"

"I'm passing on the duty of being jolly old St. Nick."

Raven put both hands on her hips and tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. "You're up to something very, very bad. I can feel your laughter. What is so amusing?"

"It has just occurred to me that I have a son-in-law."

A slow, answering grin spread over Raven's face even as she gasped in shock, one hand flying to her throat. "You wouldn't. Not Gregori. He'll scare all the children. He couldn't look jolly if he tried."

"We let him take our daughter from us," Mikhail said. "I think as his father-in-law he will have a hard time turning me down."

"And you say I have a wicked sense of humor," Raven accused.

"Where do you think I got it?" Mikhail nuzzled her neck, his voice a husky whisper.

The familiar answering tingle of excitement shot down her spine. Raven loved the way Mikhail's every touch seemed so intimate. "He'll never do it. Not in a million years and you'll still have to, but I'd love to see his face when you ask."

"I have no intention of asking," Mikhail said, straightening to his full height. "I'm his prince as well as his father-in-law and he is my second in command and son-in-law. It is his duty to do these things."

"You can't order him to play Santa Claus." Raven tried desperately to keep her laughter from spilling over. Gregori was one of the most fearsome men she'd ever met. The idea of even considering him in the part of Santa Claus was both hilarious and ludicrous to her.

"I believe that I can, Raven," Mikhail said solemnly. "You ordered me, and I'm the prince."

Raven made a snickering sound. "I suppose you'd prefer I groveled at your feet."

His hands framed her face and he bent to take possession of her mouth. He loved her mouth—her taste—her instant response.
I could kiss you for all time
.

Good thing since you dragged me kicking and screaming into your world
. Raven closed her eyes and gave herself up to the sheer magic of his kiss. Her arms stole around his neck and she leaned into him, wanting to feel the imprint of his body so real and alive against hers. There had been too many assassination attempts on Mikhail. Just recently they had lost one of their homes in a fierce battle fighting the combined forces of Razvan, a mage, and vampires. It had been unheard of for vampires to band together, let alone band with any other species.

It frightened her to think there was a conspiracy to murder Mikhail. Her terror of losing him had partly been the reason she'd suggested a huge celebration of Christmas. Although not a holiday usually celebrated by the Carpathians, many of the previously human lifemates, including Raven, missed not having Christmas. She also needed something to take her mind off her growing fears for his safety.

Mikhail lifted his head, retaining possession of her chin. "There is no need for you to fear for my safety, Raven."

The smile faded from Raven's face and she took a step away from her lifemate. "There is every need." She glanced toward the forest, a hitch in her breath. "Someone is coming."

"A youngster, Raven, no one to be afraid of." Mikhail brought her palm to his mouth to press a kiss in the center. "I've never seen you so nervous."

"I try to accept what we cannot change, Mikhail, but as the years have gone by, the danger to you has increased. I try to live as normal a life as possible, but I cannot even now, when it is imperative to protect you, overcome my loathing of sleeping in the ground. My terror of being buried alive makes us more vulnerable than ever." Ashamed, she ducked her head, avoiding his eyes.

Raven. My love
. He bent his head once more to hers, his lips brushing hers with a tenderness that brought tears to her eyes. "I made you a promise and I mean to keep it. You do not ever have to sleep beneath the ground. The earth rejuvenates us in our chamber and there is no need to feel you have in any way placed my life in danger.
You
are my life. I cannot allow you ever to be in danger. If I thought sleeping in our chamber was dangerous, I would find another way."

Her eyes searched his, her mind sweeping through his at the same time, searching for the truth. She knew he wove powerful safeguards to protect them, but she still feared that she placed them in danger with her strong aversion to going to ground.

The rustle of leaves on the path to their home broke them apart, Mikhail shifting his body slightly to place his taller frame between the forest and his lifemate. A young woman emerged from behind several leafy plants, looking frightened, but determined. She was average height with tousled, dark hair shimmering with red streaks. She had the skin of a young girl and the eyes of someone far, far older.

Skyler
. Mikhail told Raven.
Gabriel and Francesca adopted her. Both Gabriel and Francesca have given her their blood. She is still human, yet carries a powerful bloodline. She is a very strong psychic
.

Raven smiled at the teenager.
She worries about the Carpathian males wanting to claim her now that she is sixteen. She's much too young to worry about such things
. "You must be Skyler. How nice of you to come visiting. Perhaps you'd care to come in and talk to me while I check on the turkey."

"I do not see Gabriel with you," Mikhail said pointedly. This young child represented hope to his race, yet she walked through the forest unescorted.

Mikhail! Don't frighten her.

There are wolves in the forest, as well as the possibility of enemies.

Skyler stopped abruptly, her gaze shifting to Mikhail. For a moment, her dark eyes clashed with Mikhail's black ones defiantly. "Gabriel trusts me to make my way to your house. I'm not a child anymore."

"I can see that. I'm Mikhail and this is my lifemate, Raven. Gabriel and Francesca speak of you so often, I feel as if I know you. Forgive me if I showed my concern for a young woman I look upon as family."

A brief smile flirted with Skyler's mouth. "I have to hand it to you, Mr. Dubrinsky. That should make me feel like a worm, but it doesn't. I'm here because I absolutely want to make it clear that I am
not
a lifemate to anyone."

A shadow passed across the moon, briefly blotting out the light spilling down on the forest. Bats wheeled and dipped in a mad, frenzied performance in the night sky.

Mikhail stood still, searching the surrounding forest with his preternatural senses. He gestured imperiously toward the door Raven held open. They followed Skyler inside. "You are so certain of this?"

The aroma of turkey filled the house, and Mikhail hid his natural revulsion against the scent of meat cooking. Smells from her past often comforted Raven. She was unaware of it, but he sensed her happiness, as if the turkey in the oven had been an important part of her life—a good memory of childhood—so he was careful not to ruin it for her. Raven sent him a small smile as if she might be reading his thoughts in spite of his thin shield. He'd have to watch that. Her skills and powers grew daily.

Skyler looked at the high beamed ceilings and wide-open space before her gaze settled on the three enormous stained-glass windows. Her face lit up and she walked straight over to them. "This is Francesca's work. Isn't she awesome? I helped her with this one." She tilted her head to study the vibrant colors. "I haven't learned how to weave the safeguards into the glass yet. I can do it in quilts, but glass is much more complicated." She glanced at Raven. "Do you ever stand under the setting sun and feel comfort?" Skyler moved an inch to her left. "Right here. If you stand right in this spot as the last rays of light hit, you'll feel it. I did that."

"It's a work of art," Raven said. "If I could, I'd have every window done in Francesca's work. I had no idea you were helping her."

"I have some talent, not nearly as strong as hers, but she's helping me develop mine. I hope to be partners with her one day." The smile faded, leaving her eyes bleak. She reached up to brush strands of dark hair from her face, revealing a small crescent-shaped scar on her temple and drawing attention to the white scars on her hands and forearms. Skyler seemed to be aware of her nervous gesture and folded her hands, her chin raising a fraction. "I've heard rumors of a coming-out party—where the men gather to see if they could possibly be compatible with one of the women…"

"We have no women," Mikhail pointed out. "There are no parties and no coming out as we have no women…"

Skyler's mouth firmed into a stubborn line as she followed the couple into the kitchen. "Gabriel and Francesca treat me like family."

Mikhail nodded. "They love you as if you were their daughter." He inhaled deeply, drawing her scent into his lungs. "You carry their blood so through love, blood and in every other way, you are their daughter."

"They've offered to convert me when I'm twenty-one and I'm considering it, but I want assurances that you won't try to force me to be with a man—any man."

"No one would force you to do anything," Raven said. "Gabriel is a powerful man. Don't you think he would protect you?"

"Absolutely he would protect me. I don't want Gabriel or Francesca to have to protect me. If I go through the conversion, I do not want someone trying to claim me."

"Are you not aware of the plight of our people? Of our males?" Mikhail demanded.

Raven put a restraining hand on his arm. "Have a seat, Skyler. Can I get you something to eat or drink? We have juice in the fridge."

Without breaking eye contact with Mikhail, the teenager sank into a chair with an almost regal nod. "Yes, thank you, juice would be nice."

She is terrific, isn't she Mikhail? She's terrified but determined that she be heard
. There was admiration—and warning in Raven's soft message to her lifemate. Raven poured a glass of orange juice and set it in front of Skyler.

Mikhail's head went up suddenly and he stepped toward the window, his gaze restless as he searched the darkness. He felt the presence of wolves and owls as they hunted for prey, but nothing that would cause the uneasy feeling twisting at his gut. He glanced down at the defiant young teenager, gently probing her mind—and memories. He found Francesca and Gabriel's shields to help distance the girl from the brutality of her life before they had made her their ward, but even with that protection in place, the memories of the malicious cruelty and violence against Skyler sickened him.

Mikhail glanced at Raven and saw the tears shimmering in her eyes as she shared Skyler's past—felt her pain and despair—the utter hopelessness of a child who could not escape from a depraved adult world. Raven hastily crossed to the oven to check on the turkey.