"Die?" Faint fear pulsed through me. "Ssshhh," said the man. "Your sacrifice will still usher in the new age of parakind. I like to think of it as the age of Koschei."

His hands took mine, and the moment our skin connected, twin bolts of electric heat zapped me. My head snapped up as the fog in my mind cleared instantly.

"You will calm yourself, Patsy. You will - "

I thought about Lia's fire. I imagined the flames dancing from my palms to Koschei's smug face.

Flames burst from my hands and shot toward him. He moved out of the way so fast, I couldn't track him, not even with my vampire vision.

"It seems I've underestimated you," he said, chuckling. "I will not do so again."

He disappeared in a flash of gold sparks. Jeez. Did everyone know how to do that, or what?

I whirled around and hurried to Gabriel. He'd regained consciousness and was sitting up, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry. Are you okay, baby?"

"I'll live," he said. "But you have to promise to kiss my boo-boos later."

We stood up, and I launched myself into Gabriel's arms. I was so upset that I'd nearly been glamoured into danger that I was dry-crying. God, I missed a good old-fashioned wail.

Gabriel kissed the top of my head. "It's okay, sweetheart. You're stronger than he is."

I needed to hear those very words. How did he know just what to say, just what to do? His arms tightened around me. That emotion I refused to name welled within me. But I couldn't say it. Not yet.

No one was in the cavern. As I followed Gabriel through the empty room, I looked at the marble fountain. It was such an odd thing to have in a cave. But it was obviously an important symbol to Gabriel and his pack. I still couldn't place the woman, but the wolf reminded me of Gabriel.

We entered a narrow hallway dimly lit by small, white orbs. A few feet down, I heard the sounds of water. Gabriel made a left, and when I entered the small cave, I saw that a few fairy lights danced in here, as well. The waterfall sprayed down from the top of the craggy wall and into a shallow basin.

"What's this?"

"A waterfall," he said. "I thought we could get naked under it."

My nonexistent heart skipped a beat. Lust beat low and hot in my belly, but I wasn't ready to just jump on the marriage train.

Gabriel had no such doubts.

He undressed and I feasted on his nakedness. I licked my lips, my body going white-hot. He stepped under the water and I watched, the happy voyeur, as he ran his hands over himself. His fingers roved down his muscled chest and over his thighs. His long, white hair dripped like silver down his taut backside.

"Patricia?"

I heard the question he infused in my name. His golden gaze snared mine, and for a moment, I couldn't speak. I wanted more than anything to get out of my clothes and step into that water with him. I wanted to touch him and I wanted to be touched. But I couldn't still the doubts or the questions.

"You're the outlaw," I said. I watched water squiggle down his pectorals. "The one mentioned in the prophecy."

"Yes."

"It appears I'm doomed to bind with you."

"Doomed?" He chuckled. "You need me, Patricia. Only if we bind can we hope to defeat Koschei. He's trying to make sure the prophecy does not come true, but he's too late."

"You saved me," I said. "I owe you."

He shook his head. "I don't want you to bind with me because of a debt."

"I'm willing, isn't that enough?"

For a moment, only the soft splash of the waterfall infiltrated the silence. Jeez! This meeting my destiny head-on stuff wasn't so easy.

Gabriel stepped out of the water, looped his fingers around my wrists, and pulled me against him. My clothes got soaked, but I hardly cared.

"You are so stubborn. You guard your heart, even though you know it already belongs to me." A growl vibrated in his words. "You drive me wild, Patricia."

I didn't know if he was angry or turned on or both. His eyes narrowed. Yeah. Both. He let go of my hands and cupped my ass, pressing me intimately against his hard-on.

His kiss was possessive. He thrust his tongue into my mouth and I responded. How could I not? My nipples hardened, pressing against his muscled chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck and melted against him.

He pulled back, his mouth swollen and his eyes shiny with lust. "Do you want me?"

"More than my next pint."

He looked indecisive, and then he sighed. "What if I told you that I could break our binding? "

"That's impossible." Oddly enough I was disappointed in his offer of a get-out-of-binding-free card. I had feelings for him, but I refused to even think the L-word. Lord knows I wanted to jump his bones something awful. I knew it was right, binding with him. Sometimes, you took a leap of faith - and hoped you didn't fall off the cliff.

"Just so we're clear," I said, "I'm the queen of vampires and lycans. You're the outlaw and my consort. We're going to bind, have steamy-hot sex, and tomorrow, we'll kick Koschei and company's ass."

He nodded. Then he stepped out of the waterfall and helped me out of my clothes.

Maybe I was the queen destined to rule the vampires. But at this moment, I felt like Gabriel's queen. Beloved. Honored. Worshipped.

We stood together under the spray of cold water. We washed each other slowly, with no soap or loofahs, only our hands. We did a thorough job, too, from head to toe. I wished I'd had shampoo to lather into his lovely hair, but I figured I'd get a chance another time.

"I claim you." Gabriel put his hand on my neck and said, "You are mine."

Heat flashed. I put my hand on Gabriel's neck and said, "You are mine."

"I give you my words." He drew away from me slightly and stared into my eyes. "I will serve you faithfully, Patricia. I gladly bind with you. I gladly give you my heart."

His word giving made my nonexistent pulse jump. "I will honor you for all of my days, Gabriel. I'm the happiest I've ever been with you."

Something electric arced between us. The magic of the binding wound around us.

"Now, it's time to mate," he said roughly.

It didn't take long for gentle caresses to give way to more sensual exploration. His skin was smooth as silk and felt so wonderful under my hands and my lips. Not even the cold water could keep me from getting hot.

He palmed my nipples; then he twisted them between nimble fingers. Pleasure shot down to the point between my thighs and I moaned.

I reached down and rubbed his velvety cock. It was big and hard and oh-so-yummy. My actions were rewarded by a deep growl and a nip on my shoulder. Oo-wee!

Gabriel's eyes captured mine.

"You are mine," he said, his voice rumbling.

"And vice versa," I said, grinning.

He backed me against the wall and pushed his cock into the wet vee of my thighs. "Do you want me?"

"Only more than anything," I whispered.

His hands slid under my buttocks and he lifted me, as if I were a feather. That was a sexy move, sure enough.

Then he impaled me with one swift stroke of his cock.

Oh, Lord.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and clutched his shoulders, my gaze held hostage by his. He thrust inside me, growling deep in his throat, as he took his pleasure, as he gave me pleasure.

He made me shudder all the way to my pedicured toes.

His eyes glittered like yellow diamonds -  sharp and unrelenting in their beauty.

And I trembled in his arms, afraid of what he wanted and what he offered. Afraid I wasn't worthy of him.

The water poured over us and I held him tightly while he pounded into me, and everything went bright and shiny.

Before I realized what I was doing, I was plunging my fangs into his neck.

His hot blood filled my mouth and I moaned, drinking his essence. Pure bliss exploded and my whole body felt as though it had shattered.

"Patricia!" He plunged deeply, his fingers jabbing into my thighs as he lifted his head and howled.

I woke up in Gabriel's arms, which was the best feeling ever. He kissed me good morning (you know what I mean). We were lying on a big bed in a small cave and we were under a sheet. Naked. This thrilled me to no end.

"Drink your breakfast," he said.

I looked at him coyly. "You like it when I sink my fangs into your neck, don't you?"

"Damn right I do."

So, I happily drank my pint and was delighted to note that Gabriel was getting hard as a rock. He was so handsome. So built. So naked. I was nearly drooling with the possibilities.

He looked me over as if I were the most enticing item on the buffet. He took me into his arms and pressed his hot mouth to mine, and I purred.

He tasted like pure sex. Oh, Lord. He cupped my breasts, thumbing my nipples into hardness. I tingled all the way to my woman parts.

He stopped kissing me and licked my lips. Oh, yeah, baby. I wiggled my tongue along the seam of his mouth and he seemed to appreciate the gesture right back.

"You are beautiful," he muttered as he leaned down and tugged a nipple into his mouth. His tongue flicked the peak. I moaned.

I caressed his cock between my palms, then grasped it with one hand, using my other to cup his balls. He had a helluva package. I can't recall ever seeing a man as big as him - at least not one who wasn't starring in a porn film.

He wasted no time exploring my nether regions and within moments, I was a squirming mess. My hands were everywhere on him, and man alive, he was all hard and muscled and ... hmmm.

Desperation mixed with mind-numbing lust. Gabriel was surprised when I got on top of him and rubbed my wet self along the ridge of his length. I wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing because I was really close to a mondo orgasm.

He flipped me onto my back, dispelling the tight, coiling pleasure in my womb. His gold eyes were wild and seemed to have changed shape.

"I'm the alpha." He growled.

Oh, come on. Growling? He didn't scare me. Getting all particular about who was on top didn't deter me from my goal. Talking to me like that only made me hotter.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and tried to get his cock inside me.

He growled again. Something animalistic flashed in his eyes. He got up on his knees, grasping my wrists to yank me up with him. "Submit to me."