its wings folded. Weapons of every kind imaginable decorated the walls.
A solarium located in the eastern corner of the house was filled with plants gone wild.
Caught up in exploring the wonders of the castle, an hour became two, three.
She spent a few minutes in the music room, running her fingers over the yellowed keys of a small pianoforte. She had often wished she could play, but there had been no time to learn, and no one to teach her. She smiled as she remembered that Lord Rayven had promised her lessons. A rather elegant-looking harp stood in the far corner of the room. She found a violin resting in a dusty case atop an equally dusty table.
On the third floor, she counted twelve rooms that she assumed had once been bedrooms for the master's children and servants. All were empty, the floors covered with a thick layer of dust.
She climbed another flight of stairs and found herself in a round tower room that overlooked the river and the forest beyond.
She went down several narrow, twisting flights of stairs and found herself in a dungeon. Wrinkling her nose against the damp, musty smell, she held her lamp higher and took a few steps inside, her footsteps muffled on the hard-packed earthen floor. Long rows of iron-barred cells lined both sides of the corridor.
Standing there, she felt a sudden sense of evil.
Men had died here. She could almost hear their screams echoing off the gray stone walls, taste their fear as they met violent death...
With a squeal of fright, she turned and ran out of the dungeon. She took the stairs two at a time, her heart pounding as ghostly images rose up in her mind - grotesque images of blood and horror, of men being tortured, of terror and pain beyond bearing.
She was gasping for breath when she reached her room. Inside, she slammed the door, turned the key in the lock. She blew out the candle, then fell across the bed, willing her heart to stop pounding, her pulse to stop racing.
There was nothing evil in the dungeon, nothing to fear. It was only the fact that she had never been away from home before coupled with a vivid imagination that had her running scared. She was lucky to be here, in this place. For the first time in her life, she had a room of her own, food enough to eat, a beautiful dress. And, if Rayven was to be believed, anything else she wanted was hers simply for the asking.
Comforted by that thought, she fell asleep.
Rayven sat in front of the huge fireplace that dominated his bedroom, his elbows braced on the arms of his chair, his chin resting on his folded hands. He stared into the flames, but it was the girl's image that filled his vision. Vivid blue eyes deeper than any ocean. Beautiful blue eyes wide with fear. Pale pink lips.
Skin the color of wild honey. Golden blond hair that reminded him of the sunlight he had not seen in four centuries.
She had cleaned up well, he mused. Perhaps too well. Never before had he brought home one so young or so innocent or so lovely. For a moment, he contemplated sending her away. But only for a moment.
He glanced out the window, judging the time. She would be asleep by now.
He licked his lips as he rose from the chair.
A thought took him to her bedside. For a moment, he stood gazing down at her, bewitched by her beauty, her innocence. She slept on her side, her cheek resting on one hand. Her hair was spread across the pillow like a splash of sunlight, tempting his touch.
Moving slowly, he lifted a lock of her hair. Soft, he mused, so soft. He let the fine strands trickle through his fingers and then, unable to help himself, he stroked her cheek, let his fingertips slide down the length of her slender neck to rest lightly on the pulse throbbing slow and steady in her throat. Heat rushed through his fingertips. Ah, yes, he would have to be extremely careful with this one. She aroused far more than his accursed hunger.
Muttering an oath, he withdrew his hand.
She stirred on the bed as he sat down beside her.
"Sleep, sweet Rhianna," he murmured. "Dream your young girl's dreams." He brushed a lock of hair away from her neck, placed his hands lightly on her shoulders. "Rest well. You have nothing to fear."