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Sara was filled with disappointone

She pressed her face into the pillow and drew in a deep breath, inhaling his scent, wondering why he had refused to stay the night It would be so wonderful to awaken in Gabriel&039;s ar, when the world was new

Maybe tonight she would ask hi, she slid out of bed Tonight, she thought She would see hiht

"Aren&039;t you tired of the ballet?" she asked later

They were sitting in their favorite cafe, at the table Sara had coht lass of dry red wine

Gabriel lifted one black brow "Are you tired of dancing?"

"Of course not!"

Gabriel s you dance You have such passion, such life"

His words brought a flush of pleasure to her cheeks Her dancing didhave more passion, she mused, and she owed it all to Gabriel He had transfored the world Nohen she danced, the , more depth; her body seemed better able to express deep emotion, whether it was Aurora&039;s love for the prince in Sleeping Beauty, or sorrow for lost love in Giselle

A last bite, and she pushed her plate away She wiped herbehind the cloth while she summoned her nerve

"Gabriel?"

"Yes, cara?"

"Why don&039;t you ether anyway It would be ever so much easier if you lived with me"

"I told you before, cara, I have e it"

"But"

"No, Sara, either we go on as before, or we end it now"

"That&039;s not fair!" She stared at hiht occurred to her "You&039;re not married, are you?"

"No"

"Then why? Please, Gabriel, it would be so wonderful to wake up in your arms"

"No questions, Sara Jayne, remember?"

"No questions, no questions!" She threw her napkin down on the table "I&039; he was being unfair But he could not explain his reasons to her To do so would be to lose her forever, and he wasn&039;t ready to let her go, not yet

He lifted his glass, drained the last few drops of wine, and rose to his feet "Shall we go?"

With a curt nod, she stood up and walked swiftly toward the door, acutely aware that he was close behind her even though his footstepsthat he walked on air

Outside, Gabriel took her ar south, toward her apartment, he turned north, toward a sid posture, in the tension of her arrasp In all honesty, he couldn&039;t blary, and yet, even if he wanted to explain why they couldn&039;t live together, what could he say?

Sorry, cara, I&039;m a vampire In the three hundred and fifty years of my dark existence, I&039;ve trusted no one to knohere I takethe day And you would not want to see , with the stillness of a sleep that is like death You don&039;t want to see er is upon me, when my eyes look like death and no mortal is safe in my presence

They turned down a narrow path Few people frequented this place after the sun went down, but Gabriel had no fear of the dark, or of ht A faint breeze whispered through the leaves, singing songs to the night Drifting shadows played hide-and-seek with the light of the moon

He sensed the man&039;s presence as they drew near the small pond located at the far reaches of the park

"Your purse, linted off the blade of the knife in his hand

"I&039;m afraid aze h quality of his clothing, his expensive leather boots, the fine wool of his cloak

"I think not," the brigand said with a sneer He esture with his knife "Give it over, now"

"No"

The thief lunged forward, but before he could strike, Gabriel&039;s hand closed over the asped at the look of horror that flickered in the htened around his wrist and the knife fell froers

She felt a rush of nausea at the sound of the bones being slowly, deliberately crushed The blood drained froony bubbled in his throat as tears welled in his eyes

"Mercy, o!"

Gabriel&039;s back was toward her, and she saw him stiffen at the sound of her voice, as if he had suddenly re a step forward, Sara placed her hand on his shoulder "Please, Gabriel, please let hiand&039;s arainst his chest

"Don&039;t co Sara by the hand, he led her back toward the street

"I&039;ve got to stop," she said weakly, "Please, I&039; to be sick"

Gabriel wrapped his ar her as she retched

When the spasm passed, he wiped her mouth with his handkerchief, then swept her into his ar hiely in her presence Why hadn&039;t he siiven the man his purse? Certainly he could afford the loss of a few francs

When they reached Sara&039;s apartlass of water to rinse her mouth, and then fixed her a cup of hot tea heavily laced with brandy

"Better?" he asked when she set the elanced away She could still hear the awful sound of theas Gabriel crushed his wrist The memory of it sickened her even as she th

Superhuman She reht with that man, he had said Can&039;t you sense the evil that surrounds hi deep into his eyes, but it wasn&039;t evil she saw reflected in the sray depths, only love and concern