Embrace the Night

Page 180



possessively around his neck. Her skin felt cool and clammy.

She drew away for a moment; then, standing on tiptoe, she ran her tongue over the side of his neck. He felt the sharp prick of her fangs at his throat, shuddered with revulsion as she drew his blood into her mouth, and all the while a small voice in the back of his mind warned him that he must learn to submit without recoiling, that he must get used to the touch of her hands on his flesh, her teeth at his throat, her mouth on his.

Nina stepped back, her gaze intense, and he wondered if she could sense the depths of his revulsion. "So, Giovanni," she remarked quietly, "we have sealed our bargain with your blood."
"And now you will keep your promise."

"Yes, as you will keep yours. She is there," Nina said, gesturing at a patch of uneven ground. He was there in two long strides, removing the heavy block of sod, lifting Sara from the hole.

"Gabriel…" Her voice was hoarse, her face pale and haggard. "I knew you would come," she whispered, and collapsed in his arms.

Cradling her against his chest, Gabriel dropped to his knees, quickly removing the ropes that bound her, massaging her hands and feet.

"Leave her," Nina said curtly. "Leave her now and come to me."

Gabriel bit back his words of protest. Sara was not badly hurt, only frightened and exhausted; she would be all right.

Rising to his feet, he went to stand before Nina, his pride already rebelling at her imperious demands. In all the centuries since this woman had transformed him, no one had dictated what he would or would not do. But all that was changed now. He had surrendered control of his life to Nina in order to keep Sara safe.

But he would have his revenge. When Sara's life was no longer in danger, when she had passed through mortality and was beyond Nina's grasp, he would have his revenge.

"You remember your promise, Giovanni?" Nina asked archly. "You will be my slave. You will do whatever I wish, whenever I wish it."

"I remember."

She smiled benignly as she held out her hand. "Let us go, then. It is hours until dawn. We will hunt together, and then you will share my resting place."

"Yes, bella." He took Nina's hand in his. It was cold and hard where Sara's was warm and filled with life. Heartsick that he must leave her behind, he fell into step beside Nina.

"No!" Sara's voice cut across the stillness of the night. "You can't have him! He's mine."
Nina whirled around, her face contorted with rage. "You dare defy me?"