Embrace the Night

Page 132



"I'm lonely," she said petulantly. "Lonely and bored. Won't you amuse me for a little while, Gianni, for old times' sake?"

"No."

"Once you wanted what only I could give you," she said, her voice brittle. "Now I want what only you can give me."

Gabriel shook his head. "There are other vampires in the world, Nina. Seek your pleasure from one of them."

"But none of them are you, Gianni. You owe me a debt. Were it not for me, your body would have been food for the worms these last three hundred and fifty years."

"I can't give you what you want."

"I'm not asking for your love, Giovanni, only a moment of your time."

"No. You have nothing to tempt me with this time, Nina. You can't offer me life. I have no need of gold." He breathed a weary sigh. "Go away."

Her eyes narrowed ominously, her lips thinned, and he wondered how he had ever thought her beautiful. "So," she hissed, "you would deny me a single night in your bed?"

"I would deny you a single minute."

"Think carefully, Giovanni," she warned. "Think about your little ballerina."

In an instant, he was across the room, his hand locked around her throat. "You will not touch a hair on her head! Do you hear me? Not a hair!"

She laughed in his face. "Do you think to threaten me, Giovanni?"

"It is no threat, Antonina. If you dare to lay a hand on Sara, I will drag you out into the sunlight and watch you burn."

She made a low sound of disbelief. "You would die for this mortal woman?"

"If need be. Look at me, Nina. Never doubt that I mean what I say. I will burn beside you rather than let you harm Sara."

"You fool! Do you think I have survived for a thousand years by being intimidated by the likes of you? Be careful where you rest, cara. I have those who will do my bidding by day. They will not hesitate to drive a stake through your ungrateful heart, and then bring me your head." She glared at him defiantly. "And what do you think will become of your little ballerina then?" She laughed softly, wickedly. "I should hate to destroy a creature as handsome as you, mon amour. Perhaps I shall bring her over instead. Would you like that?"

Gabriel's hands wrapped around her throat, choking off her breath. He wished fervently that he could