A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

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stained with blood.

"Now?" he asked quietly. "Now do you believe?" She stared at him in horror and then, for the third time in her life, she fainted.

Chapter 9

Dominic caught her in his arms and willed them back to Nightingale House. Upstairs, he sat on the edge of her bed and cradled her against his chest. Amazing, he thought. No matter her shape or form, she always fit in his embrace as if she had been made for him, as if she were the other half of his body, the missing half of his soul.

He studied her face, the gentle arch of her brows, the dark sweep of her lashes against her cheeks, the tempting shape of her lips, the slight cleft in her chin, the slender column of her neck.

The pulse beating there.Though he had fed earlier, the hunger stirred within him, stretching like a big cat awaking from sleep, its claws raking his insides.

He took a deep breath and his nostrils filled with her scent—perfume and shampoo and toothpaste. He could detect the boy's touch on her skin. And, over all, the tantalizing smell of her blood, rich and red, flowing through her veins.

His fangs lengthened.

His arms tightened around her as he lowered his head.

Just one taste.Surely, after so many centuries, he deserved just one taste.

He ran his tongue over the skin below her ear, growled low in his throat as he jerked his head up. He had vowed he would never take her by force, never take her unawares. He swore softly. Whether he took a single sip of her blood or brought her into his world, it had to be her decision, her choice.

Rising, he pulled back the covers and laid her down on the mattress. After drawing the blankets up over her, he smoothed a lock of hair from her brow, then bent and brushed a kiss across her lips.

Murmuring, "Sweet dreams, my best beloved one," he vanished from the room.

She woke to the ringing of the phone beside the bed. Still groggy, she grabbed the receiver to make the ringing stop. "Hello?"

"Hi,Tracy , it'sBryan . Did I wake you?" "Uh-huh."

"Oh, sorry.I thought you'd be up by now. I was wondering if you'd be coming down to the beachtoday? "