Embrace the Night

Page 158



Restless, he paced the room, the smell of garlic strong in his nostrils. He stared at his palm, noting that the burn from touching Maurice's crucifix was still raw and red.

Garlic and holy water, sunlight and silver crosses—such ordinary things, and yet they had the power to weaken him, to destroy him.

With a start, he stared toward the window. And there, deep in the shadows of the night, he sensed the presence of another immortal.

Antonina.

Yes, Giovanni, I am here.
Leave her. Leave this place.

He sensed her smile, knew she could feel his gut-wrenching fear—fear for Sara's life, for his own. I shall have my revenge, Gianni. She shall suffer for days, but your suffering shall last for eternity.
Nina!

Too late, Giovanni. You should not have refused me. I wanted only to give you one night of pleasure. Now she shall have many nights of pain. And you will feel what she feels, Gianni. That will be my revenge.

Nina, wait…

But she was gone.

Cursing himself, cursing Nina, he went into Sara's bedroom, needing to see her, to ascertain that she was all right.

He stared down at her for a long while. Lying there in her high-necked white sleeping gown, with her golden hair spread across the pillow, she looked like an angel newly fallen to earth. Her goodness, her generosity of spirit, made him ache for things that were forever lost to him.

Needing desperately to hold her, to touch her, if only for a moment, he slid under the covers and drew her into his arms.

She stirred at his touch. "Gabriel?" "Go back to sleep, cara," he whispered.
"Is something wrong?"

"No, love. I just wanted to hold you."

With a sigh, she snuggled against him, her arms stealing around his waist, her legs entwining with his.
He closed his eyes, reveling in her nearness. Her scent filled his nostrils; the warmth of her touch filled