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soft, vulnerable neck. The water from the small
stream was cold as it dripped from him, down her skin, cooling the heat from the
oppressive humidity.
    A soft moan of pleasure escaped as his teeth sank deep. She settled deeper
into his hard frame, moving with restless urgency as her blood went thick with
heat. Her lashes drifted down, her hands sliding limply into her lap.
    "I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give
to you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul and my body. I take into
my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness and welfare will be
cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate, bound to me
for all eternity and always in my care." Riordan spoke the words in a black
velvet voice.
    Juliette felt his voice vibrate through her body, touch her deep inside.
Somehow his words brought them together, skin to skin, organ to organ so that
they breathed with the same lungs, shared the same heartbeat, possessed the same
soul. He flowed through her, a dark temptation, learning her secrets, sharing
his. Kissing her until her body caught fire and ached for his. There were hot
blood and flames licking at her. She shook her head, suddenly caught by the
ritual of the entire thing. A ceremony as old as time.

----
Chapter 4
    Â« ^ »
    JULIETTE opened her eyes cautiously in the hopes that none of her recent
experiences had been real, that she'd just been having nightmares. She had
participated all too eagerly in the exchange of blood, in the exchange of
kisses. "Damn, damn, damn," she muttered and pushed herself up from the bed of
foliage she was lying on.
    She could hear the steady drip of water. She was in a cave, and the leaves
and twigs that formed her bed were man-made, not at all natural. Riordan had
provided her with the safety of a shelter and a soft bed while he had "gone to
ground." She carefully avoided walking over the spot where she was certain he
lay in a bed of rich soil. She felt him there beneath the dirt and leaves,
buried deep. Still, not breathing.
    Juliette dragged air into her burning lungs and backed away from the spot.
She had a mad desire to fling herself to the ground and claw the dirt away to
get to him. A sob welled up in her throat. She took another step back. "It was a
ceremony of some kind, wasn't it?" She whispered. "My people do not marry." She
backed up another step, although this time her feet dragged. "You're an
extraordinary man, but I'm not what you think and I never could be."
    She had no choice; she had to get home to her sister. Juliette tugged off her
boots and tied the laces together. She shrugged out of her blouse and then her
jeans, tying the two garments tightly together with the boots. She stood there
completely naked, holding one hand over her throbbing neck. Her body called to
him. Her mind called. Her very heart tried to find the beat of his. Hastily,
before she gave into the grief and madness welling up in her, Juliette tied the
clothes securely around her neck.
    She closed her eyes to block out all visual distractions and calm her mind.
She would need every ounce of strength to leave him. When he had recited those
ritual words, Riordan had carefully explained that they were tied together and
should she wake without him she would feel the separation as intense grief. "And
you weren't kidding," she said aloud. "I feel like my heart's been torn out.
Whatever it is you are, whatever it is you did, it definitely works on me."
    What are you doing
? There was alarm in his voice. She could almost
feel his fingers brush over her face, trail down her throat, slip over her
breast. Her entire body reacted, recognizing his touch, reacting with heat and
need.
    Her eyes opened wide and she looked wildly around.
Where are you ? Why
can't I see you ? How can you touch me when you aren't here
?
    I am locked beneath the earth until the sun sets. You cannot leave me,
Juliette.