Embrace the Night

Page 248



He thought of vampires he had known, male and female alike, who had initiated mortals, then used them to do their bidding. In the old days, mortal slaves had often hunted prey for their vampire masters.

"I could," Gabriel admitted, "but I won't."

"Will I always feel so desolate when we're apart?" "I don't know. I've never initiated anyone before."
"Initiated. Is that what this bonding is called?"

Gabriel nodded as he watched the emotions play across her face: doubt, fear, anxiety, resentment.

Had he done the right thing? Or did she hate him for it? She might have preferred death to being subject to his power, and yet he could not let her die, not when he had the ability to save her.

Sarah released a long, shuddering breath. "Why didn't you just make me what you are?"

"I wanted to, but I found I couldn't make that decision for you, cara. I couldn't bring you over against your will."

"I wish you had."

"There's still time. You're young and healthy. Perhaps, in a few years, you'll decide to be as I am. If not, then I will follow you from life into death."

"I've already made my decision," Sarah replied, smiling tremulously up at him. "I think I made it the first time I looked into your eyes."

He knelt before her, his deep gray eyes dark with desire, his hair as black as the night, reminding her of a medieval warrior rendering homage to his lady.

"I'll do whatever you wish, cara," Gabriel said, his voice soft and low. "Only tell me what you want."

Only tell me what you want. And she knew, in that moment, that she wanted to be with Gabriel, like Gabriel. She didn't want to live each day knowing they could never truly be one, didn't want to watch the years pass by, knowing that he stood on one side of the vast gulf of mortality that yawned between them, while she stood on the other.

The thought of being what he was, repugnant to her only days before, now seemed far less frightening than the thought of being parted from him again.

"I want to be yours, now and forever," she whispered. "Iwant to share the night with you, and spend the day resting in your arms."

His gaze moved over her face, his eyes warm with love. A faint smile played over his lips.

"I can arrange that," he murmured, and slanting his mouth over hers, he swept her into his arms and carried her up the stairs to their bedroom.