Dark Legend Page 0,50

at my side. It may seem a simple pleasure to you, but it is unique for me."

She glanced up at him, so that he had a quick glimpse of the sweep of her long lashes and then the perfection of her profile. "I'm certain you had plenty of opportunities, Gabriel." He was extraordinarily good-looking in his dark, masculine way, and she knew he would attract women easily. "You can't make me believe you went centuries without..." She trailed off when he stopped abruptly. He was so good at pleasing her, so good at knowing exactly what she needed.

Gabriel caught her chin in his hand, forcing her head up to look at him. "I am a hunter, Francesca, a Carpathian hunter. I did not feel passion as you think I did. There was no desire for a woman. I wanted there to be desire and I merged at times to see what the feeling was like for those humans I occasionally met. But I never wanted anyone until I awoke from the dead and heard your voice." A faint smile touched his mouth briefly, then was gone. "The feelings you produce in me are far different from the ones created by humans. Much more intense and urgent." He dropped his hand away from her. "My words put pressure on you that you do not need at this time and I do not want it to be so. I really wanted to respect the distance you wish to put between us. I had every intention of waiting until you were more at ease with our relationship."

She laughed softly. "You can hardly take the blame for our lovemaking, Gabriel. That was entirely my doing."

A small smile flitted across his face. "I do not know if I can honestly say that is so, but I think you have had enough adventure for several risings."

"You must learn to say days or nights," she corrected gently. "This is the age of computers. It is dangerous how quickly information can be exchanged. You have been away a long time. I know you assimilate information at a rapid rate but technology is making things much more difficult to hide our presence from the world. You are used to a world where the human threat is nearly nonexistent, but that has changed with the age of computers." His hand brushed hers and without thinking she entwined her fingers with his as they began to stroll along the sidewalk.

"I must admit I have never considered humans a threat; they are easily managed."

"You sound very arrogant, Gabriel, although I sense you don't mean to be. Our people are in dire straits, our race all but doomed. I keep up on the news in a roundabout way, so I know what is going on. There are some human women with extraordinary psychic talent who are compatible with our race. The Prince of our people has a lifemate who once was human."

There were several moments of silence. Once again, without conscious thought, Gabriel had reached out to share this new knowledge with Lucian. He touched his twin easily, lightly, as he had done for nearly two thousand years. Lucian was immersed in a complicated text he was finding highly interesting. That always astonished Gabriel. That Lucian had retained his need for knowledge. He had always been a sponge soaking up information. Now he reciprocated, sharing all that he had learned of the modern world, flooding Gabriel with so many facts, he began to laugh.

"What is it?" Francesca asked softly, seeing genuine affection for just a moment in the depths of his eyes.

Gabriel broke the contact instantly, swearing softly in the ancient language. Why didn't he think? It had never mattered before, his ingrained habit of reaching out to his brother. Even after Lucian had turned, he hadn't fought the habit. Why should he bother? The more knowledge they each had, the better the battle. It was very different now. This time it could cost Francesca her life. Gabriel had battled Lucian many times over the last few centuries.

He had inflicted mortal wounds on more than one occasion, yet he had never bested Lucian, never managed to destroy him. He had no reason to think the outcome of their battle would be any different now. He could not afford the luxury of a mistake. Lucian must not know of Francesca's existence.

"What is it?" Francesca repeated, this time shaking his arm. "You went from smiling happily to looking like a wolf, your eyes still and