"The maze." She shook her head. "It frightens me."
"There's nothing to fear."
She looked up at him, her eyes luminous in the moonlight. Her hand was small and warm in his.
He could see the pulse racing in her throat.
"Come, Rhianna," he whispered, his voice low and seductive. "Don't be afraid."
As though mesmerized, she fell into step beside him. Her gaze darted nervously from right to left as they went deeper into the maze. Soon, tall hedges rose on every side, cocooning her in a silent world of greenery.
She lost track of time until it seemed as though she had been walking through the maze for hours.
Rayven was a tall, dark figure beside her. The moon cast silver highlights in his hair. His black cloak floated from his shoulders like thick black fog. She had never seen a cloak like his. It seemed alive somehow, moving when he moved, surrounding him in protective folds. His profile was sharp, all hard planes and angles, yet curiously beautiful. She wondered if this was what death looked like, dark and seductive.
It took her a moment to realize he had stopped walking. Glancing around, she saw what had once been a rose garden, though all that remained now were a few dead plants. In the center of the small garden was a bronze statue of a snarling wolf, and beside it, the figure of a raven carved in black marble.
A shiver of unease tiptoed down her spine. An odd choice of ornamentation for a garden, she thought.
Conscious of Rayven's gaze, she turned to face him. "I... I'm sure it must have been very lovely, once."
He raised one dark brow, his lips curved in wry amusement. "Do you think so?"
"I don't know. But it could be."
He turned away from her and stared at the statues, felt the darkness rise up within him, heard the wildness calling to him, bidding him to shed the thin veneer of humanity and run wild and naked through the night.
"My lord?"
Her voice, the underlying fear, drew him from the edge of darkness. Feeling as though he, too, were made of cold marble, he turned to face her once again.
"Could you work a miracle here, sweet Rhianna?" he asked softly. "Could you change this ugliness into beauty?"
Rhianna looked into his eyes, wondering if he was talking about the garden, or himself.
He placed a finger beneath her chin and tilted her face up. "Could you, sweet Rhianna?"
"I'll try, my lord."
"Would you kiss me, girl?"
"If you wish."
"No, Rhianna, not as I wish. I want you to take me in your arms and kiss me of your own free will."
He was lonely, she thought, as lonely as she.
Time slowed, and she became acutely aware of her surroundings. She felt the cool dampness of the grass beneath her feet as she stepped toward him, until their bodies were almost touching. His cloak was soft beneath her fingers as she placed her hands on his shoulders. Her nostrils filled with his scent, a wild musky scent that made her think of damp grass and rain.
And then she rose on her tiptoes and kissed him. His lips were cool and firm. When she started to draw away, his arm curled around her waist, holding her close against him. She felt the tremors that shook his body, sensed that he was keeping a tight rein on his emotions, sensed the underlying strength that dwelt in him.
Her eyelids fluttered down as his tongue traced her lower lip, then plunged into her mouth. Heat and fire exploded within her, radiating outward, until she felt as though she were melting in his arms. Distorted, disjointed images flickered in her mind - a wolf crouching over its prey, an enormous black bird drinking blood from a crystal goblet, a thick gray fog moving through the darkened streets of the village.
She heard Rayven swear under his breath as he let her go.
Like a slate wiped clean, the images disappeared, and she blinked up at him, feeling dazed and suddenly bereft.
"Rhianna? Rhianna!"
"Aye, my lord?"
"Are you all right?"
"I... I don't know. I thought I saw..."
"What?"
She shook her head. "I don't remember."
Cursing softy, he pulled her into his arms, his chin resting lightly on her head. "I beg you to forgive me, sweet Rhianna," he whispered hoarsely.
"Forgive you, my lord? But why? What have you done?"
"I hope you never find out," he replied, his voice suddenly harsh.
He held her for a long while, letting his power move over her, calming her. She