Free Dark Challenge by Christine Feehan Page A

whispering of silken sheets and candlelight.
    Julian could not take his eyes from her. She was so beautiful, he could barely find it in him to breathe. This was the one? His lifemate? No one, least of all him, deserved such a woman. She reached into his dark soul and touched something good in him, something he hadn’t known existed.
    In all the world, no one sang like she did. Her voicewas mesmerizing, enthralling; it wrapped one up in a silken web of passion and held him there. Julian’s body reacted in a savage, primitive manner. He wanted her as he had never wanted anything else in his existence. He wanted the concert over, yet he wanted it to go on for all time.
    The walls of the dome seemed to have fallen away as she created the illusion of a dark, mystical forest, of cascading waterfalls, deep pools, and hungry fire with her voice alone. The images would never leave his mind, the erotic picture of her swimming to him, her arms eagerly outstretched to greet him.
    The audience rose to their feet, their applause thunderous. Julian knew the reviews would be raving. He was proud of her, but at the same time he objected to her performance. Such publicity went against his every instinct. It would only serve to draw more unwanted attention to her. He knew what reporters would write. That she was an enchantress, weaving a spell over the audience.
    Desari returned for one encore, tired but exhilarated. This time it wasn’t simply because she knew she had performed well, had shared her extraordinary gift with others. It was because, somewhere in the darkness, a man waited for her. A stranger already familiar to her. It was terrifying yet exciting. She took her bows, her body humming with life. She wanted to run off the stage, to join him.
    She wanted to see those eyes. Those beautiful, unusual, oh, so hungry eyes watching her. Staring at her. Those eyes that saw only her. Desari waved to the crowd and hurried off stage, moving down the hall to her dressing room. Barack and Dayan paced at her side, uneasy because of her strange behavior. Both had felt the presence of power in the dome. Who could not? But theyhad complete confidence in Darius. They would follow his lead, and so far, he was not hunting down the creature.
    She didn’t look at either of them as she firmly closed the door to her dressing room. Sinking into a chair, she slipped off her sandals. She could feel him. Somewhere close. Desari rinsed off her stage makeup and waited, her heart beating, her lungs barely breathing. She knew he was near. Darius must know it, too.
    A fine mist streamed under the door, collecting in a spiral close to her. She held her breath. Instantly the handsome, ruthless stranger shimmered into a solid mass beside her. Her heart slammed. Up close he was frightening. Enormously strong. His finely chiseled features were sensual, hard. His countless victories in battle over the centuries were in the set of his broad shoulders, in the grim composure of his face. He was strikingly handsome yet immeasurably intimidating at the same time.
    Desari’s tongue touched her suddenly dry lips. “You should not be here. It is too dangerous.”
    His body clenched at the sound of her voice. It was so soft, it seemed to seep through his skin to wrap around his heart. “I could do nothing other than see you tonight. I think you know that.”
    “Darius would destroy you if he found you here.” She believed it, and her fear showed in her soft, charcoal eyes.
    His hard mouth softened, his golden eyes warming at her needless concern. “I am not so easily destroyed. Do not worry,
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, I have made a promise to you this night, and I fully intend to honor it.” His voice dropped another octave, his eyes consuming her as he spoke. “Come with me.”
    She felt her heart jump again. Every cell in her body cried out to go. His gaze was a smoldering heat shecould not resist. There was so much hunger in him, such dark intensity, burning for her. The devil