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from the terrible brutality and disappear into the shelter of his body.
    Tempest was shaking so hard that Darius was afraid she would collapse. He lifted her into his arms, holding her close. "See to the mortal," he snapped over his shoulder to Dayan, his second in command.
    Darius carried Tempest's small, battered body into the comparative shelter of the trees. She was a mess, her face swollen and bruised, tears streaming down her checks. She was hunching into herself, rocking back and forth, far too reminiscent of Syndil after Savon's attack for Darius's comfort. He simply held her, allowing her to cry, his arms strong and comforting.
    Before he had risen, the warning of the cats had reached him that Tempest was fleeing. He had slowed her down as much as he could, making her exceedingly tired. Then he sent the clouds to darken the skies so that he might rise early without the sun hurting his sensitive Carpathian eyes, without burning his Carpathian skin. The moment he could, he had launched himself skyward, commanding Dayan to follow him. Together they streamed across the night toward her, Barack racing after them in the sports car at Darius's command.
    Now each tear she shed tore at him, ripping into his soul as nothing else had ever done. "You have to stop, baby," he whispered softly into her hair, "you will make yourself sick. It is all right now. He is gone.
    He will never touch you again." Or anyone eke. Dayan would destroy any evidence that Tempest had ever been in that blue pickup. Her attacker would drive himself into a tree and break his neck farther down the road.
    Darius found his own hand trembling as he stroked her hair, his chin rubbing the silkiness just because he had to. "What made you leave? We offered the perfect job for you. And you will have me to look after you."
    "Lucky me," Rusti said wearily. "I need some aspirin."
    "You need sleep and time to heal," he corrected gently. "Come home with us, Tempest. You will be safe there."

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    Tempest clutched her head, but every single place Harry had punched her throbbed and hurt, each worse than the other. She hated that anyone should see her like this, and she certainly had no intention of going anywhere with Darius, especially when his sister and the rest of his group would witness her humiliation.
    She pushed ineffectually at the solid wall of his chest, wincing when even her palms hurt. Darius caught her hands and examined them carefully, then brought each to his mouth. His tongue moved over her fingers in a rasping caress that sent a shiver through her body but, oddly enough, soothed the pain. "I can't go back there, not like this."
    He could hear the anguish in her voice, the degradation and shame she felt. He realized she had not even looked up at him.
    "This was not your fault," he said. "You know that, Tempest. This man tried to rape you because he is depraved, not because you did anything to incite him."
    "I was hitchhiking," she confessed in a low voice. "I never should have gotten into his truck."
    "Tempest, if he had not found you, he would have found another girl, perhaps one without anyone to look after her. Now let me see your face. Do you think you could take it out of my shirt long enough for me to assess what damage he has done to you?" Darius made an effort to lighten his tone to help put her at ease.
    She could not believe how gentle he was. She could feel his enormous strength, his tremendous power, yet even his voice was tender. It brought fresh tears to her eyes. She had run away from him thinking him a monster, yet it was he who had saved her from a real monster. "I just can't face anyone yet." Tempest's voice was muffled against him, but he could hear her determination. She was getting ready to make her next bid for freedom.
    Darius turned then, with her cradled in his arms, and began striding back toward the road. The rain beat down on them relentlessly, but he