how beautiful she looked, with her hair falling over her shoulders in glorious disarray, her lips slightly swollen from his kisses.
"Why?" Sara asked candidly. "Don't you trust me?"
His unflinching gaze met hers. "With my life, cara, but I would rather you didn't see me while I sleep."
Head cocked to one side, she regarded him curiously, wondering what he didn't want her to see.
"Please, cara."
"Very well." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, quickly gathering the clothing she would need for the day.
"Sara, be careful today. Nina could be in Paris. She might have summoned help. Keep the doors and windows locked. Don't open the door for anyone you don't know."
"I have a rehearsal this afternoon."
"Is Maurice picking you up?"
A flush rose to her cheeks. "Yes."
"Good. Stay close to him. Be sure he brings you home."
"A most unusual request," she teased, "coming from you."
"I don't want you to be alone."
"What about you? What if she sends someone after you?"
"I'm not totally helpless during the day, Sara," he said, hoping to ease her mind. And it was true, up to a point.
She worried her lower lip with her teeth for a moment, then sighed. "Maybe I should stay home."
Gabriel clenched his fists at his sides, wishing again that he had agreed to spend the night with Nina, to pleasure her as she desired. But for his stupid pride, his revulsion at the idea of being Nina's plaything, even for one night, Sara would not now be in danger.
"Gabriel?"
"I think you'll be all right, cara. After rehearsal, I want you to buy some garlic and hang it over your doors and windows. Have you a cross? Good, wear it when you go out."
"You're frightening me."
"I know, but you need to be prepared."
He gathered her into his arms, wishing he could spend the day at her side. He thought briefly of taking her away from Paris, but wherever they went, Nina would find them. She would sense his presence, as surely as he could sense hers.
"I love you, Sara Jayne. Be careful."
The sun was up. He could feel the strength draining from his body, and he sat down on the edge of the bed as the lethargy slowly began to steal over him.
"Sara, cover the window."
"What? Oh!" She flew out of his arms and quickly hung a heavy quilt over the window, effectively blocking out the small amount of light that had penetrated the curtains. "Is that better?"
"Fine. Come, sit beside me."
She did as he asked, her arm sliding around his waist. "What's it like when you sleep during the day?"
"It's like death, cara. When I was first made, it frightened me more than anything else. I learned to accept the darkness, the blood, but every time the sun came up was like dying all over again."
She tightened her arm around him, not knowing what to say.
"Gradually, as I grew stronger, I discovered I could stay awake for a short while after the sun came up, and rise before the sun set, so long as I stayed out of the light."
"Do you dream while you sleep?"
"No. And yet, there have been times when I was aware of you, of what you were doing. When the orphanage caught fire, I knew you were in pain, but there was nothing I could do." He gazed into her eyes, remembering how helpless he had been. "It was a terrible feeling, knowing you needed me and there was nothing I could do."
"But you did help me," she reminded him. "If not for you, I'd still be confined to that chair."
"And now, because of me, your life is in danger."
"I don't care! I wouldn't trade a minute of the time we've had together. Not a minute. And maybe she won't come looking for us. Maybe she was only bluffing."
"Maybe," Gabriel said. And maybe the sun wouldn't shine and the rain wouldn't fall.
He held her a moment longer, and then sent her away. "Your promise, cara," he said, not wanting her to see him when the deathlike sleep was upon him. "Remember your promise."
"I remember." She kissed him one more time, then left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
PART One Chapter Twenty-one
She was too nervous to sit still, consumed by curiosity about why Gabriel had so adamantly insisted that she not enter the room while he slept.
She wandered through the apartment, straightening this and that, while she waited for Maurice, her thoughts as unstable as a kaleidoscope. Gabriel was a vampire. Maurice