He clenched his fists at his sides to keep from crossing the floor and taking her in his arms. It would be so easy, he thought, so easy to press her down to the bed that had once been his and satisfy his desire, his hunger, in one swift, fatal embrace.
Adrianna looked up then, her gaze meeting his. The expression glittering in his eyes sent the breath rocketing from her lungs. She was no expert on men, but she knew desire when she saw it, and never had she seen it burning hotter or brighter than in this man's eyes.
Awareness hummed between them, vibrant, palpable, so intense, it was frightening.
She took an involuntary step backward as he pushed away from the doorway and moved toward her. There was a predatory gleam in the depths ofNavarre 's eyes, a hunger that went beyond desire, a need that transcended the boundaries of time.
With a cry of despair, she shook her head, her foot catching on the bedspread as she recoiled from his touch.
The look in her eyes, so like the look he'd once seen in Katlaina's, cutNavarre to the heart, ravaging his soul as the sun would ravage his body dared he linger in its light too long.
He began to tremble convulsively as he fought to control the hunger raging through him. Never had he wanted a woman as he wanted this woman. Never had the urge to take what he wanted been so strong.
Never before had he truly realized how difficult it was to separate the desires of the flesh from the desire for blood.
"Forgive me," he rasped, and fled the room as if pursued by the devil himself.
Outside, he took a deep breath, willing his hands to stop shaking, his heart to stop pounding. Foolish heart, to be so easily swayed by the fear in a woman's eyes.
At home, he stood at the attic window and stared out into the darkness.
"Vampire." He spoke the word aloud, as if to remind himself of who and what he was.
Vampire. A solitary, soulless creature who hunted the night.
Vampire. An inhuman monster who lived off the blood of others, who dared not befriend humans for fear that desire would turn to blood lust, that a kiss of affection might be a prelude to sudden death.
Vampire. A ghoul who was not welcome in the world of humanity or among his own kind. Territorial creatures, those of the undead, jealous of their hunting grounds, secretive in their ways, zealous in the protection of their lairs.
"Vampire!"
Never had he loathed the word, loathed what he was, as he did at that moment.
Never before had the gulf between himself and the rest of the world seemed so wide, or so deep, or so impossible to cross.
Adrianna wandered through her house, bemused by what had happened between herself and Navarre. In spite of what he'd said, she didn't believe for a minute that he had come knocking at her door to ask if she was happy with the bed! So why had he shown up at her door so late at night?
She shied away from the answer that immediately came to mind, yet she could not forget the desire she had seen blazing in his eyes, could not forget the tension that had hummed between them like an electrical current.
She wondered what would have happened if she hadn't backed away, if he had pulled her into his arms, tipped her face up to his, and kissed her. Would she have protested, or would she have melted in his arms like butter left too long in the sun?
Going into the bedroom, she changed into her nightgown, brushed her teeth, then settled herself in bed to read for a few minutes.
But she couldn't concentrate on the story. Something kept niggling at her mind, something about Navarre...
She stared at her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall across from the bed, and then it hit her. When he had crossed the room toward her, he had passed in front of the mirror. She had seen her face, the fear in her own eyes, but Navarre had cast no reflection in the glass.
"I must be hallucinating," she muttered, and picked up her book, determined to put it out of her mind. It had been nothing more than her mind playing tricks on her because she'd been so upset.
But that night her dreams were again filled with shadows, and lurking deep in the shadows was a tall dark