Embrace the Night

Page 209



life. She needed him, wanted him, as she had never wanted anything else.

With bold abandon, her hands explored the broad expanse of his back and chest; her fingertips traced the taut muscles in his arms. She marveled at the strength that lay dormant beneath her hands, the power he held in tight control as if hewere afraid of hurting her.

But she wanted all of him, and she urged him on, nipping at his ear lobe, caressing him, begging him to take her.

And he did. Like a dark angel, he rose over her, his long black hair falling over his shoulders, his whole body quivering as he possessed her.

She gasped as his flesh joined hers. David had always been a gentle lover. Never demanding, often hesitant, he had frequently let her be in control. But there was no hesitation on Gabriel's part. He took her as if she belonged to him, as if it were his right. He made love to her masterfully, skillfully, powerfully, and she gloried in it. Never had she felt more fragile, more feminine, more desired.

She closed her eyes in complete surrender, her heart and soul and mind bound to his…

She was in a blue bedroom, reclining on a blue and rose quilt. Heavy blue drapes hung at the window. Candlelight flickered on the walls. And Gabriel rose above her, whispering words of love to her in French and Italian. Only it wasn't her, she thought, confused. And yet, itwas her. She could hear his voice, touch his skin, smell the sweat of their combined bodies. His hair was like a dark cloud, his eyes turbulent, like the sky before a storm.

His eyes… surely it was a trick of the candlelight that caused them to glow like a bloodred flame…

Sarah opened her eyes, frightened by the images playing in her mind. And Gabriel was there, his dark gray eyes blazing, glowing. Surely it was only a trick of the light, she told herself, and then there was no more time for thought. Ecstasy spiraled through her and she cried his name, her nails clawing his back and shoulders as their bodies merged in perfect unison, the one giving pleasure to the other and finding pleasure in the giving.

Gabriel turned his face away, not wanting her to see the blood-lust that was surely glowing in his eyes. It had taken every ounce of his self-control to contain the hunger that seethed within him, to keep from satisfying his lust for blood as he satisfied his lust for her flesh.

And yet it wasn't lust. He had loved this woman in another lifetime. He loved her now. And he would never let her go.

"Gabriel?"

He took a deep breath and then he turned on his side, drawing her with him, his arms wrapped around her, protectively, possessively.

"Cara?"

Cara. That was what he had called the girl in the blue bedroom. The girl whose emotions and desires Sarah had felt as though they were her own.

Gabriel gazed into Sarah's eyes. "Are you all right?"