Page 21 (1/2)

She was never going to see hined herself to that fact She had stopped looking for hi for his face in the crowds that lingered outside the theater, she had stopped waiting for his knock at the door

And she had told Maurice that she would lanced at him now as he donned his hat and coat He was indeed a handso and exercise The ballerinas in the corps de ballet eyed her with envy because she had everything She was the prima ballerina Her name ell known in Venice and London and Paris And she was going to marry Maurice, the premier danseurof the company Perhaps, one day, they would even form their own ballet company

She walked hiood-bye

Closing the door, she leaned back against it and closed her eyes She had everything she had ever wanted, so as she so unhappy? Why did she have to force herself to smile when she ith Maurice? Why did his kisses leave her cold and unmoved?

Because of Gabriel Always Gabriel Forever Gabriel He was out of her life, but he would never be out of her heart, and try as she ht, she would never make it so

"Gabriel" His name was a sob on her lips

"Cara"

She whirled around, her heart cli into her throat at the sound of his voice, at the world of tenderness in his endearment for her

"Gabriel!" She stared at him, unable to believe he was there, that she hadn&039;t conjured his i heart

He wore black breeches, black boots, and a dark green shirt His cloak fell from shoulders even broader than she reray of storm-tossed clouds

The silence stretched between theed to run into his arms, to lay her head on his chest and cry out all the unhappiness of the past three months

He yearned to hold her close, to assure hi rejected

And he was afraid that if he touched her again, he would never, ever let her go

And then she saw the aching loneliness in the depths of his eyes and knew she would risk anything, even the pain of rejection, to comfort hihting a losing battle since the moment he first held her

"Cara"

Just that one word That was all he said But it broke the barrier between them In less than a heartbeat, she was enfolded in his ar her naain, his loneliness banished forever by the sight of her tears - tears of love, of happiness, of acceptance

He held her close for a long h he had come home at last, and then he bent his head and brushed his lips across hers And shehiain,himself absorb her warmth, her sweetness

"Ah, cara," he murmured, "if you only kne much I&039;ve azed into his eyes "I tried to call you with my mind"

Gabriel nodded "I heard you"

"Why didn&039;t you answer?"

"You must knohy"

"Because you&039;re a"

"Va why the as so hard to say In her heart, she kneas true, but deep inside she believed that if she never said the word, the truth would go away

"Sara" He rested his chin on the top of her head

"Why have you coo?" He had told hier held any affection for hie for her pro&039;s the saain"

"I won&039;t," he promised "If you&039;re sure you want me to stay, I&039;ll stay"

"I&039;m sure"

"And what of Maurice Delacroix?"

Maurice! Guilt washed through her She had pro

At her silence, Gabriel drew back so he could see her face "What is it, cara?"

"I"

A sudden heaviness settled over Gabriel Had she fallen in love with the other man in his absence? "Sara?"

"I I didn&039;t think I would ever see you again," she stammered, "so so I" She sed hard "I told Maurice I&039;d marry him"

"I see"

"But I don&039;t want Maurice! I want you"

"Do you?"

"Yes! You&039;ve got to believe me I only said I&039;d marry him because it didn&039;t matter If I couldn&039;t have you, it didn&039;t matter Don&039;t you see?"

"Has he made love to you?" He spoke the words cal all the while that he would kill Delacroix with his bare hands if he&039;d dared do ht

"Of course not," Sara replied indignantly She studied Gabriel&039;s face anxiously "You believehis lips "I would know if you were lying, cara"

Gently, he enfolded her in his eain, conscious of the warh her, the steady beat of her heart She was so young, so alive

"Gabriel? You didn&039;t tell me what made you decide to coh, knowing she deserved the truth "I&039;er, Sara"

"Me? How?"

"It&039;s a long story Co her hand, he led her to the sofa and sat down, drawing her down beside hihts, absently noting that the furnishings were new

"You remember the story I told you about how I caht me over caain"

Sara stared up at hiht of Gabriel caressing another woman "You never told o I thought she was the most beautiful woman I&039;d ever seen"

"Oh And did you did she ?"

"No, cara," Gabriel replied quietly, "we didn&039;t But when I refused, she becary and threatened my life" He paused a moment "And yours"

"Mine? But why?"

"She is also jealous, cara"

Sara frowned "How does she know about ed "I don&039;t know Perhaps she&039;s been following me"

"And she threatened to kill me?"

"Not exactly"

Sara sat very still, her whole body suddenly cold "What, exactly?"

"She threatened to make you one of us"

"No!" There was a wealth of horror, of revulsion, in that single word of denial

"That&039;s why I came back, Sara To protect you, if I can"

" Ifyoucan?"

Gabriel nodded "She&039;s a very old and very powerful vampire I&039;m not sure I have the ability to thwart her"

Sara stared at him, more afraid than she had ever been in her life If Gabriel, as possessed of supernatural strength and poasn&039;t sure he could protect her, what chance did she have?

Vampire She loved Gabriel with her whole heart and soul, yet she knew she would rather be dead than become what Gabriel was, a man cut off from humanity, from God She didn&039;t want to live off the blood of others, to spend endless days in darkness She wanted a hoan to shiver convulsively, and Gabriel drew her into his arh he hts, and he quietly da to Nina&039;s demands He should have reme, proer Perhaps it wasn&039;t too late

"No!"