Embrace the Night

Page 71



She flushed with pleasure. "You were there, at the opera house?"

"Indeed. I've never seen anything more beautiful, cara. Truly, you were born to dance."
"I do love it so."

He took a deep breath, his hands clenching beneath the voluminous folds of his cloak. "And the young man who was with you at the cafe? Do you also love him?"
"Maurice?" She laughed softly. "He is just a friend."

"But he would like to be more?"

"Yes."

"Do you love him?" The words were harsher this time, demanding an answer. "Perhaps, a little."

"Has he asked you to marry him?"

She didn't answer immediately. He could hear the sudden, nervous hammering of her heart, hear the blood rushing through her veins, heating her cheeks.

"Has he?" Gabriel prompted.

"Yes. He said we should marry and start our own ballet company." The thought made her smile. "He said we would tour the world."

He felt the rage building within him as he imagined her married to her young man, walking with him in the sunlight, giving him children…

Summoning centuries of self-control, he fought down the urge to strike out. He had no right to intrude in her life, no right at all. Maurice was the kind of man she deserved. Young, handsome, ambitious. Someone who shared her love of the dance, someone who could share the days and nights of her life.

Someone mortal.

He wanted to kill him.

"If you wish to marry him, I shall see that you're well taken care of. I have a rather large apartment in Marseilles. It shall be yours on the day you wed, as well as a generous monthly allowance."

"I couldn't—"

He held up a hand, silencing her arguments. "You have no parents to provide for you, and I would not see you totally dependent on whoever you decide to wed."

Hurt and confused because he seemed anxious to see her wed to another, Sara took a step forward,