Embrace the Night

Page 133



squeeze the life from her body, but such a thing was impossible.

With a cry of frustration, he let her go, then wiped his hands on the sides of his trousers, as if touching her had somehow denied him.

Rage flickered in the depths of her hell-black eyes. "You will regret this night, Giovanni. I promise you, you will regret this night!"

"Nina!" Fear for Sara's life rose up within him. "Damn you, Nina, come back here!"

But it was too late. She was gone in a swirling gray mist, her voice trailing behind her like smoke. You will regret this night…

Gabriel ran a hand through his hair. Damn! What had he done? Why hadn't he given Nina what she wanted? A night of his time. What difference would one night have made?

He glanced out the window. The sky was growing light, changing from black to indigo. Antonina would have to go to ground soon, as would he.

Muttering an oath, he found a scrap of parchment and quickly wrote a list of directions, advising his servants that he had been called away in the middle of the night, leaving instructions that the crate in the basement was to be shipped to Paris immediately, along with his horse. He left enough money to pay for his passage, as well as a generous gratuity. As an afterthought, he invited his servants to take up residence in the castle until he returned, if they so desired.

With the last detail taken care of, he went below to seek his rest, confident that his instructions would be obeyed without question.

His last thought, as the darkness carried him away, was of Sara.
Chapter Twenty

She was never going to see him again. Finally, after three long months, she had resigned herself to that fact. She had stopped looking for him in the audience while she danced, she had stopped searching for his face in the crowds that lingered outside the theater, she had stopped waiting for his knock at the door.

And she had told Maurice that she would marry him in the spring.

She glanced at him now as he donned his hat and coat. He was indeed a handsome young man, lean and fit from hours of dancing and exercise. The ballerinas in the corps de ballet eyed her with envy because she had everything. She was the prima ballerina. Her name was well known in Venice and London and Paris. And she was going to marry Maurice, the premier danseurof the company. Perhaps, one day, they would even form their own ballet company.

She walked him to the door of her apartment, accepted his kiss, bade him good-bye.

Closing the door, she leaned back against it and closed her eyes. She had everything she had ever wanted, so why was she so unhappy? Why did she have to force herself to smile when she was with Maurice? Why did his kisses leave her cold and unmoved?

Because of Gabriel. Always Gabriel. Forever Gabriel. He was out of her life, but he would never be out