Embrace the Night

Page 130



Maurice's arms, in Maurice's bed.

Gabriel threw back his head as a long, anguished cry rose in his throat, and then he urged the stallion into a run, flying like the wind across the darkened land.

But he could not outrun his misery, or the image of Sara with another man. A mortal man who could walk with her in daylight.

A man who could give her sons.

She had finally put him from her mind. She stopped trying to read his thoughts, stopped trying to send her thoughts to him. She spent her every waking hour with Maurice, mentally extolling his virtues, telling herself that she loved him. They danced onstage together. He was the prince to her Aurora, the Albrecht to her Giselle. They shared candlelit dinners after the theater. They went walking together in the early afternoon. They spoke of marriage. She let him kiss her, and occasionally she endured his caresses, but she refused to let him move in with her.

She went on a shopping spree and bought herself a new wardrobe: hats, shoes, petticoats, gowns and day dresses, feather fans, lacy parasols, a sleeping gown of gossamer silk.

She redecorated her apartment in shades of mauve and white. She indulged her every whim. She danced as she had never danced before.
And at night, alone in her bed, she cried herself to sleep.

He felt a presence when he stepped into the Hall— a presence he recognized. And loathed.

She was wearing a dress the color of fresh blood. Her hair, black and glossy, fell over her shoulders in loose waves. Her complexion was glowing, and he knew she had fed recently.

"What are you doing here?"

"Giovanni, mon amour, is that any way to greet an old friend?"
"We are not friends," Gabriel retorted sharply.

"Lovers, then," Antonina purred. "Even better."

Crossing the room, she ran her hands across his shoulders and down his arms, appreciating the solid feel of him, the latent strength that rippled beneath her fingertips.

She felt her blood stir as she gazed up into his eyes. "Ah, Giovanni, I have missed you."
Gabriel took hold of her hands and pushed her away. "What do you want, Nina?"