"You once loved me," Antonina said. "Remember? Ah, those long summer nights we spent together, cara - "
"Don't call me that!"
Antonina lifted a delicate black brow. "Did she hurt you, Gianni? Is that why you've come here, to lick your wounds?" She moved toward him, her footsteps so light she seemed to float across the floor. "Come out with me, Gianni," she crooned, her dark eyes shining with the lust for blood. "Let us hunt together."
Slowly, Gabriel shook his head. "Go away, Nina," he said wearily. "I don't want you."
She drew herself up to her full height, her expression regal, haughty.
"You wanted me once, Giovanni Ognibene. Can you deny that it was good between us?" A knowing smile teased her lips. "I see that you remember the nights we spent together. In all these years, mon amour, Ihave not found another lover to compare with you."
He stared at her, hating her because what she said was true. They had been good together. She had loved him with the passion and strength and endurance that only a vampire could possess. She had been insatiable, hungry for his touch, and he had delighted in it. At the time, he had thought it was because he was a superb lover. He knew now that, even as a mortal, she would have been insatiable, forever lusting for more.
Eager to put some distance between them, he walked to the fireplace and rested his hand on the mantel. "You haven't told me why you're here."
"I'm lonely," she said petulantly. "Lonely and bored. Won't you amuse me for a little while, Gianni, for old times' sake?"
"No."
"Once you wanted what only I could give you," she said, her voice brittle. "Now I want what only you can give me."
Gabriel shook his head. "There are other vampires in the world, Nina. Seek your pleasure from one of them."
"But none of them are you, Gianni. You owe me a debt. Were it not for me, your body would have been food for the worms these last three hundred and fifty years."
"I can't give you what you want."
"I'm not asking for your love, Giovanni, only a moment of your time."
"No. You have nothing to tempt me with this time, Nina. You can't offer me life. I have no need of gold." He breathed a weary sigh. "Go away."
Her eyes narrowed ominously, her lips thinned, and he wondered how he had ever thought her beautiful.
"So," she hissed, "you would deny me a single night in your bed?"
"I would deny you a single minute."
"Think carefully, Giovanni," she warned. "Think about your little ballerina."
In an instant, he was across the room, his hand locked around her throat. "You will not touch a hair on her head! Do you hear me? Not a hair!"
She laughed in his face. "Do you think to threaten me, Giovanni?"
"It is no threat, Antonina. If you dare to lay a hand on Sara, I will drag you out into the sunlight and watch you burn."
She made a low sound of disbelief. "You would die for this mortal woman?"
"If need be. Look at me, Nina. Never doubt that I mean what I say. I will burn beside you rather than let you harm Sara."
"You fool! Do you think I have survived for a thousand years by being intimidated by the likes of you? Be careful where you rest, cara. I have those who will do my bidding by day. They will not hesitate to drive a stake through your ungrateful heart, and then bring me your head." She glared at him defiantly. "And what do you think will become of your little ballerina then?" She laughed softly, wickedly. "I should hate to destroy a creature as handsome as you, mon amour. Perhaps I shall bring her over instead. Would you like that?"
Gabriel's hands wrapped around her throat, choking off her breath. He wished fervently that he could squeeze the life from her body, but such a thing was impossible.
With a cry of frustration, he let her go, then wiped his hands on the sides of his trousers, as if touching her had somehow denied him.
Rage flickered in the depths of her hell-black eyes. "You will regret this night, Giovanni. I promise you, you will regret this night!"
"Nina!" Fear for Sara's life rose up within him. "Damn you, Nina, come back here!"
But it was too late. She was gone in a swirling gray mist, her voice trailing behind her like smoke. You will regret this night...