Chapter 18

The hunt for the Vampire wasn't going to be a hard one. Tracking him would not be a hard challenge, but the being would certainly be furious and would not want to lose such a prize as Elena. After all, he had been hunting her since she was but a child these past eight years. It was a miracle at all that she eluded him this long.

Elena had bothered Nicolae to no end about what the plan of action was, and he kept smiling and said that she was to be placed with Savannah in a safe house. She grabbed his hands and nipped his fingers and still he would not budge.

"How am I supposed to protect you when you won't tell me where you will be?" She was pouting now with her arms firmly folded across her chest. Her head was dipped low and she glared at him through stormy eyes.

He stopped abruptly and stared at her with a heavy heart. He hated it when she was upset and he couldn't please her every whim. He grunted low in his throat and grabbed both of her hands in his own. He turned them over and placed a kiss in each of her palms.

"I think it is wonderful that you would want to protect me, love. But I think you have our roles mixed up. You see, I am the one that is to protect us while you wait at home and greet your lifemate with warm arms."

A smile spread over her face and she walked into his embrace.

"Do not worry, Cara. I will be but a touch away. All you have to do is search my mind and you will be with me at all times."

She thought about that for a moment and decided that it would have to do for now. "Fine have it your way. You know you are so stubborn some times that I would like to kick you… Hard."

He grabbed her tighter in his arms and leaned his head down low to smell the clean scent of her hair with his mouth coming dangerously close to the soft pulse on her neck.

"Is that a threat, love?" The whisper sent a ripple of chills right down her spine. Heat pooled between her legs and her heart beat just a few beats faster than before.

"It most certainly is…but…" She breathed the words out a little desperately but before she could finish, Nicolae captured her mouth with the heat of his own. Right there in the middle of the woods, Nicolae held her and kissed her feverishly.

"I want to see all of you, love." She looked at him sheepishly before she stepped back from him and slipped her hand to undo the buttons of her blouse. Nicolae was quick to clasp her hands still and shook his head silently to her.

"Not physically…I want you to remove your clothes with your mind."

"Is this another lesson?" She said as she drew his hands to the warmth of her mouth. All I have to do is will them off my body and it will be done right? She said it sarcastically as she closed her eyes and heard his voice hitch in his breath. She felt the coolness of the night on her skin and knew she had succeeded with her task.

Nicolae brushed his hands to her hips and drew her back into his arms and caught her stare inches from his own.

I like your way of teaching. She said, breathing a little heavy. Her mind was starting to push aside all reason every time Nicolae touched a finger on her.

Then you'll love what I have to teach you next… But before she could ask what, she was spun around in his arms and pressed close to his body. The evidence of his arousal was pressed tightly to the cleft of her bottom and she was soon beginning to understand what he meant.

She had only read about such love making in books and had never pictured that it would feel like this. The excitement spread through her as he slid his hands down her stomach and stopped when he reached her lush thighs. He began moving his fingers expertly bringing her closer to that heaven she was thriving for.

She moved her hair away from her neck and arched her back against his chest to find some kind of relief from the ache he was producing in her blood stream. He was fire and ice and she just couldn't get enough of him. His free hand framed her face and he whispered in her ear softly. "Your hunger is pulsating to me like a beacon to a lost ship. Feed from me when I take you."

That was all the warning he gave her when he bent them forward a little so he could gain access to the tightness of her sheath. The feeling of embarrassment and vulnerability soon melted away when he stroked slowly and deliciously. A soft sound escaped her lips when he reached around her and began stroking her while they were joined.

Now, Cara… feed now. It wasn't a request and she could hear the urgency in his voice. He was gaining so much pleasure from pleasing her that she could do nothing else than oblige.

She leaned the back of her head against the crook of his neck and breathed in the deep scent of him. The pulse beneath his skin called to her like a siren. She stroked her tongue once and then twice. Teasing him was making his breathing hoarse and he was soon losing control.

Her teeth sank deep into his thick throat and he cried out in joy as she took the very essence of life into her own body. She drank deep and sated her hunger when he began to pick up the pace, but before she closed the pin pricks she opened her eyes and glanced at his perfect face.

She turned around in his arms and shoved him to the ground. Shock played in the depth of his eyes as she straddled his hips slowly. Her mouth opened slightly to a smile as she slid herself on top of him. He filled her completely to the hilt and she leaned her head back as she began to ride him. Nicolae just watched his wee kitten choose her own pace and he was delighted that she was finding herself comfortable with experimenting with her sexuality.

His hands found their way up her stomach to find the underside of her breasts. Unable to resist the urge of a taste he brought himself up with her in his lap still riding him. His mouth found one nipple and feasted upon her breast. Her hoarse cry could be heard a mile away and Nicolae couldn't take anymore of the agony.

He picked up her slender body and brought her back against a nearby tree. He thrusted harder into her several times before he found her pulse beneath her breast. Sinking deeply he heard her cry of pleasure. They were soaring together into time and space and all reasoning was slipping away. Their bodies melted into one as they exploded over the edge of passion.

Nicolae closed the pin pricks over her breast and lazily took his time licking a small red line all the way down to her navel. Elena placed her hands on his face when he looked up at her. He saw the aftershocks of their love making but he saw something different in her. Sadness plagued her eyes when she looked at him.

"What is it, love? Have I done something to upset you?" She shook her head lightly and tried her best to smile. He picked her up and started making his way back to the cave.

She looked up at him and saw the fresh sweat, from their love making, on his face. The hard planes of his jaw always seemed to soften when she was close to him. Her heart began to dwell and fear slammed into hard.

Nicolae looked down at his woman in his arms. Cara please tell me what is wrong. And please don't tell me nothing when I know something is troubling you. Nicolae wanted to give her freedom to come to him without him having to search her mind for all the answers.

How could she tell him? How could she tell him that she was afraid to lose him? That she was afraid the Vampire would leave her with no one again? She searched his eyes and looked deep into his soul. "I can't lose you Nicolae…What if you get hurt tomorrow and I can't find you to be with you?" A sob escaped her control and she buried her face into his chest. Everything that had plagued her mind, since the day her parents died, had come blurting out. She was crying so hard that Nicolae thought she might suffocate between sentences.

He quickly got her to bed and began massaging her neck in small circles. She clung to him the way a small child clings to a mother's leg on the first day of school. He spoke softly to her and reassured her that nothing would happen.

While she was starting to calm and sniffle, she made her way back to his face and stared him dead in the eyes. "Promise me right now that you will come back to me unharmed…and don't even think about dying because if you do I will follow you and then kill you myself in the after life." She sniffed again and Nicolae busted out laughing.

She punched him hard in the gut but he never flinched."It's not funny you overstuffed baboon! And I mean every word I said to you!"

"I have no doubt you did and forgive me but I love your fiery spirit." Please don't fret, love. Everything will right itself and you and I will live together for a long, long time.

Promise? She said it desperately needing to know that he wouldn't lie about such a thing.

I promise, love…now get to sleep; the sun approaches and we need our rest.

He saw the last breath leave her lungs and he stared at her again. Their was something still not quite right. He felt a disturbance in her emotions earlier this evening but couldn't pin point what that difference was. He did a quick assessment of her body and was shocked at what he found.

Deep within Elena's womb he found a tiny one celled organism. He would have almost missed it if he was not careful to look hard enough. There it was. His child. But more importantly…his female child. And she seemed to be as strong willed as her mama. The little one stared at his light form and pushed a strong image for him to leave her alone while she slept.

He retreated and stared with amazement at Elena. This was a rare find indeed. Dumbfounded and speechless he wondered how she could have gotten pregnant so easily. No doubt she was more than a couple days along, so she had to have gotten pregnant before the conversion took place. This child was strong to have survived such an ordeal and it shed a light on how she would fair after she was born.

He should wake her and tell Elena. But he decided that such a topic was best suitable after he destroys the threat to her life.

A baby! He still couldn't believe it. He was going to be a papa.

(Author's Note)

If i didn't say it before i am saying it now...I do not own Christine Feehan or her famous characters. But i love all of them!

And remember that i need your reviews to help figure out the new names of my characters to the second story following this one! keep reviewing!

Thanks!

Ashley