A Whisper of Eternity - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,103
would pass the daylight hours lying beside the woman he loved.
For the first time in his life, he would awake from the Dark Sleep with her beside him.
Chapter 32
Kitanaslipped her arm aroundBryan 's shoulders, felt him stiffen in response to her touch. "Are you still angry with me,man amour ?"
He lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. "What difference does it make? It's done now, and it can't be undone."
"Ah, my sweet, do not be sad or angry." She made a broad gesture with her hand. "The world awaits us. You have only to tell me where you wish to go."
"Anywhere?"
"Anywhere."
He grunted softly. "I always wanted to go surfing inAustralia ."
"We can leave tomorrow, if you like."
"Yeah, and I can ride the waves at midnight." He turned to face her. "You've taken the sun away from me."
She ran her finger over his cheek. "Have I given you nothing in return?"
"A lust for blood?"He stared into the ashes of the fire. "I know too well the addict's curse - undying, infernal, unholy thirst. Swear to dawn, 'Never again!' yet come the night, another sin. Once so proud, now Hunger's Whore, hunting, seeking, drinking more..."
She laughed softly, a rich, deep sound that had the unexpected power to arouse him. "I've made a poet of you."
He grimaced.
"Complain all you want, monamour , but you can't fool me. You may miss the sunlight, but you revel in the power that is now yours."
He stared into her eyes. Once, those eyes had filled him with dread, but no more. She had said she loved him. Perhaps she did. He had tried to resist her, tried to hate her, but it was impossible. When they were alone together, she was the most enchanting creature he had ever known. She was warm and playful and, as Dominic had said, the most incredible lover a man could wish for.
He was about to tell her he wasn't angry anymore when she went suddenly still.
"What is it?" he asked.
"He's done it at last."
Bryanfrowned at her, wondering what she was talking about, and then swore under his breath. "No."
"Yes. After all these centuries, Dominic has made a fledgling of his own."
Chapter 33
She woke slowly, eager to leave the dark dreams that had plagued her through the night. Eyes still closed, she stretched.And frowned when her hand encountered someone in the bed beside her.
Fully awake now, she turned to find Dominic lying beside her, his gaze intent upon her face.
"Dominic, what are you doing in my..." She paused when she realized she wasn't in her bedroom, or in any other room of her house. "Where are we?"
"How do you feel, my best beloved one?"
"I feel fine. Where are we?"
"At my house inMaine ."
"What are we doing here?" She frowned as she gazed around the room. The colors in the wallpaper seemed to vibrate with life. She could hear the rustle of the leaves from outside. Though there were no windows in the room, she knew that night had fallen.
She looked at Dominic again. "What happened?" she asked, and then her eyes widened as memory returned." Petrina!" Her hand flew to her throat. "She bit me. She drank from me..."
She stared into Dominic's eyes, searching for answers and yet afraid of what she might see. "You didn't!" She recoiled in horror. Tell me you didn't."
" Querida..."
"How could you do such a thing?" She was on her feet almost before she realized she wanted to rise. "You knew how I felt!"
Dominic sat up. The blankets pooled in his lap.
Tracystared at him. He looked the same as always, yet different somehow. Even as angry as she was, she couldn't help admiring the width of his shoulders, his broad chest, the latent strength in his well-muscled arms, or the narrow line of black hair that started at his waist and disappeared beneath the blankets. She had a sudden, inexplicable urge to find her paints and draw him as he looked now. She would call itVampire at Dusk . ...
She looked up at his face again. He was still watching her, his expression guarded.
She held out her hands, turning them this way and that, wiggling her fingers as if she had never seen them before.
She was a vampire. She said the words in her mind, trying to determine what she was feeling. Every sense she owned was alert and alive.
"I'm a vampire." She said the words aloud, surprised to find that the idea was not as shocking or abhorrent as she had expected.