A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

Page 89



He grunted softly. "I have not forgotten your last words to me."

"Oh, that." Her laughter fell on his ears like the tinkling of tiny silver bells. "You don't think I came here because of that, do you? I admit I was angry at the time, but even I cannot stay angry forever. You have nothing to fear from me."

"I would like to believe that."

"Then believe it." Rising on tiptoe, she ran her tongue over his lower lip,then kissed him. It was not the kiss of a friend, but of a lover, and, as she had no doubt intended, it reminded him of the nights they had shared, nights filled with passion and blood.

She smiled a knowing smile."Au revoir, mon amour ."
A wave of a slender hand, and she was gone.

Dominic stared up atTracy 's bedroom window. Had Kitana gone there first? Filled with a growing sense of unease, Dominic hastened toTracy 's side. She was asleep, but tossing restlessly.Bad dreams, perhaps?

Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he took her hand in his. "Rest now, my best beloved one," he murmured. "I will watch over you until the dawn. Nothing will harm you while I am here."

She stilled at the sound of his voice. A sigh escaped her lips as she turned onto her side, slipping deeper into the peaceful abyss of sleep. He listened to the steady beat of her heart, the soft, even sound of her breathing.

Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek, smoothed a lock of hair from her brow. They had shared many lifetimes, each different from the last yet the same in so many ways. Each time he had found her, he had been certain that, at last, she would be his, forever his, yet each time he had lost her before he could bring her across.

"But not this time, querida ," he murmured. "Come what may, I will not lose you again."

He stayed at her side until the first golden rays of dawn brightened the sky and then, reluctantly, he left the house to seek his lair.

Tracywoke slowly. Sitting up, she glanced around the sunlit room, expecting to see Dominic there even though she knew it was impossible. She had felt his presence so strongly last night. Had it been a dream, or had he actually been there in her room, sitting on the edge of her bed, holding her hand? She had been having a frightful nightmare when his voice penetrated her dreams, chasing away the horror that had been pursuing her. Had she truly heard his voice, or had it been another dream?

Dominic.

She wished suddenly that he were there, that she could climb into his lap and feel his arms holding her close. Strange, that she should think of his arms as a place of safety when, in reality, he was far more dangerous than anyone else she had ever met. Of course, even though Dominic might be dangerous, she knew that he would never hurt her, and that no one else would ever be able to hurt her, either, so long as she was with him. She knew that he would defend her with his very life, if need be, knew that he had defended her life and her virtue countless times before.