Dark Wolf(62)

"What else? What else is bothering you?"

He sighed and straightened, dropping his arms. "You're so attuned to me  sometimes it's scary, sívamet. In matters of your safety, I prefer to  act rather than talk."

Skyler burst out laughing. "I know that feeling well."

He took her hand, giving her a dark scowl. "There's no more flinging  your body in front of mine to take bullets or anything else."

She managed to look innocent. "Isn't that what you meant by action not  words? Why are you worried about my safety when we're here, surrounded  by Carpathians?"

"Because you left behind a blood trail," he said. "Any wolf worth his salt could follow it easily."

"That's true," she conceded. "Do you think one will be following us  here?" She tried not to shiver, but it wasn't because she was worried  about a Lycan hunting her. Standing naked beside him was much more  difficult than lying together or sitting. She felt vulnerable. "Teach me  to put on clothes."

"Yes, I think one will be following you here. I like you naked. Are you  certain you have to have clothes?" There was a little pained note to his  voice.

Laughter bubbled up and she found herself relaxing again. "I suppose I  could parade around in front of all those Lycans and Carpathians just  like this, but there might be a bit of shocked protest from my  parents-both sets of them. And," she added, "if I am going to be  bare-butt naked, you have to be as well."

His laughter joined hers, and she was happy to hear how carefree he  sounded. "I guess you're right. Sadly. I like looking at you. And if I  walked around this way, I'd scare the children."

She immediately put a hand on his chest, running her palm down to his  flat belly. "Don't do that, Dimitri. There's nothing wrong with the way  you look. I've never seen a more beautiful man. These burns"-she traced  one long loop with the pads of her fingers-"these are badges of your  courage and mine. We overcame impossible odds."

He caught her fingertips and brought them to the warmth of his mouth,  his teeth scraping gently back and forth. "You have a way of making me  feel like a hero, csitri, a white knight from centuries gone by."                       
       
           



       

"That's what you'll always be to me, Dimitri," Skyler said. "That's how  I've always seen you, and nothing has changed since we've been  together."

He shook his head and kissed her knuckles. "Since clothes are so  important to you, we'll start there with your first lesson. Everything  starts in your mind, build the image of being clean and refreshed, as if  you just stepped out of the shower."

Skyler was adept at using her mind. She was already more than capable  and apparently far too good at it. She stood in front of him dripping  wet. Small droplets of water fell all around them.

Laughing, she stood under the warm drops. "Dimitri, it's raining right  here, under your big stone house and underground." She caught at his arm  and tugged until he was standing under the shower as well.

"You have the concept," he said, amusement coiling in him like warm  molasses. She changed his world just by being in it. He couldn't  understand how she could ever doubt herself. She brought joy and  happiness. She made him feel alive. He loved watching everything through  her eyes. "Try again."

"Oh, you want more?"

The teasing note of challenge should have warned him. The shower  increased, soaking him in a torrent while she stayed warm and dry in a  little cocoon she had enveloped herself in.

He found himself really laughing, deep belly laughs, something he had  never done in his life. Playing was a new experience as an adult. The  house brought back memories of his childhood, but there had been no such  antics until Skyler.

He caught her up in his arms, cradling her close to his chest for a  moment before lifting her straight over his head as if she was his own  personal umbrella. Her fancy little cocoon fell to pieces under the  onslaught and her merriment.

Skyler let out a scream as the water went from warm to icy cold. "Okay, okay, I surrender."

Instantly the water stopped, and he set her on the ground. Skyler gave  him a haughty look and swept her hand down her body, drying herself  almost as adeptly as any Carpathian with a century or two on them could  do.

"I think you know how to do this," he said.

"Once you told me what to do, I realized it was fairly easy. It's the  details that can mix one up. You have to pay close attention to the  smallest detail."

"That's right. After a few times, it will become second nature to you. You're both Dragonseeker and mage . . ."

"And becoming mixed blood like you," she asserted.

He nodded, frowning a little. "Eventually, yes. Your mind is already  fully prepared to use images for dressing, shifting, or creating  illusions such as eating or drinking around others not Carpathian."

She leaned into him, brushing at the frown on his lips. "Mixed blood is  simply an enhancement, Dimitri. I've been in your mind, healed your  body, I know what it's doing to you."

"But we don't know what it will do to you or our children should we have  any," Dimitri pointed out. "I want to find a few answers before you're  in too deep."

Skyler closed her eyes for a moment, choosing a comfortable outfit, this  time, making certain she remembered every detail from the top of her  head to her feet. "I'm already in too deep, my love. Stop worrying about  things you have no control over. A very wise lifemate said that to me  several years ago."

She turned in a circle, showing off the slim blue jeans, boots and soft  flannel shirt. Her hair was in an intricate braid, hanging down her  back. "What do you think? Ready to face hunting for my own food?  Shifting? Standing before the Lycan council? Seeing my mother and  father? Facing the prince?"

He took her hand as he donned his own clothes, going as casual as she  had. They didn't need to go before the Lycan council in formal clothes.  He was damned if he'd dress up for them. Evidently, his lifemate felt  the same way.

"You look beautiful, Skyler. We'll hunt first." He felt her shudder and  drew her in close, beneath his broad shoulder. He knew that taking blood  from a stranger would be difficult for her. "You know you don't have to  do this. I'm not altogether certain I even want you to. I find giving  you blood and taking yours-erotic."

The low, sensual tone made her blush. "I do, too," she admitted. "It's  very sexy and the pleasure is like nothing I've ever experienced." There  was a question in her tone.

"It won't be that way with others," he said. "And if it were, I'd forbid  you to take blood from anyone else." She laughed softly, but Dimitri  could tell she knew he was serious.

They drifted up to the basement of the house, floating together. He had  his arm around her waist, but she rose under her own power and he was  immensely proud of her concentration. When they came to the ceiling  above that that was the basement floor, they stopped.

"Think of mist. The way it looks, the feel and scent of it. Every  component." He put the image in her mind, and watched her carefully as  she examined every aspect of it. "Mist is more difficult than a lot of  other forms because it appears so easy, but in fact, it has a distinct  configuration. Mist and fog are both drops of water, clouds along the  ground so to speak. Fog is denser. Mist travels as a rule close to the  ground. Always remember you have to fit in with your surroundings. If  you need mist or fog, you have to create the environment for it if it  isn't already there."

Skyler nodded. She felt the first strange shifting in her body, as if  she was falling apart, breaking into tiny molecules. She immediately  plunged into Dimitri's mind-her safety net-but she kept going, trusting  he would stop her if she did anything wrong.

Triumphantly, she found herself moving through the cracks as seemingly  nothing more than tiny droplets of water, mist rising from the floor  into the basement of the house.

Remember to visualize every single detail of your human form, including  the clothes you wore. You can't leave out anything, so take your time.  I'm right here with you.

She knew Dimitri was with her. He was the one believing in her, stepping  back to allow her to do it on her own. She loved him all the more for  understanding she needed to learn and she wanted to do each thing for  herself if possible.

Her heart pounded. She could feel it. She heard the roaring of her blood  in her ears, like the sound of thunder or a great waterfall, yet she  had no body. It was strange and exhilarating. She couldn't let the  wonder of it loosen her focus. She needed to put herself back together  without losing any part of herself.