A Whisper of Eternity - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,48

She was sitting in the living room working a crossword puzzle when he entered the room. Herheart skipped a beat when she looked up and saw him standing there, clad in brown leather boots, buff colored trousers, and a loose-fitting white shirt. He reminded her of a hero out of a Regency novel.

"This came for you." Crossing the floor, he handed her an envelope. It was addressed to her in care of aMaine post office box.

"Thank you." She opened the envelope and withdrew a sheet of paper. It was a letter from Mr. Petersen.

"Good news?" Dominic asked.

"Yes." She glanced down at the letter again. "Mr. Petersen says he's pleased with my work. He wants a dozen seascapes to be delivered within sixty days." She looked up at Dominic. "I don't have that many canvases."

"I will take care of it."

"Thank you."

"I brought you something else, as well," he said.

"Oh? What?"

He left the room, only to return a moment later carrying a huge cardboard box and two smaller ones.

Tracyread the lettering on the cartons. One held a 36-inch television set; the others contained a stand and a combination DVD/VCR player, yet he carried the boxes effortlessly, as though they weighed no more than a pound or two.

Dominic set the boxes down and began opening them. He lifted the TV set out of the carton and put it on the floor. "Where do you want it?"

"Over there, I guess," she said, pointing at the wall across from the sofa. "We can move that table."

They spent the next few minutes assembling the stand and rearranging the furniture. Dominic plugged the set in and after a little trial and error, had the VCR hooked up.

"What made you buy a TV?"Tracy asked.

"You cannot paint or read all day, every day," he replied with a shrug. "I did not want you to get bored."

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else you want?"

"Cable would be nice.Oh, and a stereo."

"I will see what I can do."

"Too bad we don't have any of my DVDs," she remarked.

He smiled a sly smile,then left the room. Moments later he returned with a cardboard box.

"What's that?"

"Your movies," he said, dropping the box on the sofa beside her.

"You never fail to amaze me," she said, grinning.

They spent a pleasant evening watching a DVD ofThe Mummy . Dominic admitted he hadn't watched many movies. Books were more to his liking, but he seemed to get a kick out of watching this one.Tracy had seen it several times before but she never tired of watching Oded Fehr .Or Brendan Fraser, for that matter.

About halfway through the movie,Tracy went into the kitchen and came back with a bowl of popcorn and a can of root beer.

Sitting down, she looked at him and shrugged. "I'm hungry."

His gaze met hers and then he glanced at her throat, his eyes darkening. "So am I."

Tracystared at him, her mouth suddenly dry. "Dominic..."

He didn't say anything, only looked at her, his whole body still, waiting for her decision.

She saw the need in his eyes and while the thought of letting him drink from her was instinctively abhorrent, on some deeper level, she wanted to take him in her arms and ease his pain.

When he stood up, she reached for his hand. "Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Didn't you... do that earlier?"

He nodded.

Then why... ?"

"Your nearness arouses me in more ways than one," he said bluntly. "Good night."

And just like that, he was gone.

Tracyblew out a sigh of exasperation. Why should she feel so guilty because she didn't want to let him drink from her? But feeling guilty wasn't the worst of it. Stronger than her guilt was the unexpected surge of jealousy that burned through her at the thought that he might be going out to ease his physical desire with someone else.

"Oh, girl," she muttered, "you're losing it."

She slippedThe Mummy Returns into the DVD player, put on a fresh pot of coffee to keep her awake, but Dominic didn't come back. She couldn't help wondering where he had gone. Was he prowling the streets here, inMaine , or had he taken off for some distant land?

She stayed awake until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer; then, filled with resentment and jealousy, she went to bed.

Her dreams were frightening that night, filled with shadowed images chasing her down unfamiliar paths. She heard distant cries for help, never certain if they were her own or someone else's as she ran through a maze of dark streets. Leering eyes watched her; maniacal laughter filled the air