Embrace the Night

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"It's my fault," she said, her voice ragged with regret. "My fault that he's dead."
"No, cara, if it's anyone's fault, it's Nina's and she's paid for it." Quiet tears slipped down Sara's cheeks as she mourned the death of her friend.

"It's only because of Maurice that I was able to come after you," Gabriel told her, gently wiping away her tears. "We owe him a great deal, you and I." He caught her hands in his and pressed them to his lips. "Tell me what you want, Sara."

"What do you mean?"

"The danger is past now. There's no one to hurt you, and now you must decide what it is you want to do with your life."

"Don't you know? I want to spend it with you."

"Are you sure? I warned you once before that, once you were mine, I would never let you go. Are you prepared to be mine for as long as you live, to share my dark existence? Can you be happy with only me, knowing you will never have children, that I will be the only family you will ever have?"

"Yes, Gabriel." She stroked his cheek with her fingertips, then sealed her promise with a kiss. "I'll live only for you, dance only for you. I'll be your sunshine, as you'll be mine, and all my tomorrows will be yours."

Humbled, as always, by her love and her trust, Gabriel drew Sara into his arms and held her close to his heart. He would lay the world at her feet, shower her with love, and pray that his meager offerings would be reward enough for sharing the loneliness of his existence. Gazing into her eyes, he vowed to do all in his power to make her happy so that she would never have cause to regret her decision.

And then she was lifting her face to his, pressing her lips to his, and there was no more time for thoughts of the future; there was only the here and the now, and the woman in his arms.

She had spoken truly, he thought as he covered her mouth with his. She was his sunshine, the light to his darkness, and from this night forward, all their tomorrows would be one.

PART TWO

NOW AND FOREVER
Chapter One

Los Angeles, 1995

He stood on the upper balcony of a mansion located in the hills overlooking Los Angeles, staring at the lights that stretched away as far as the eye could see. So many changes in the world since he had gone to ground half a century ago, he mused. Miraculous changes in science, in people and places. So many