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"But of course, monsieur I believe that our last lesson was in relation to perspective" As she spoke the words, Narcise wasn&039;t certain whether Giordan Cale was at all fa, and she hoped she wouldn&039;t inadvertently expose his h at least in her cha eyes and ears-she knew this because she exa every month to ensure it-Narcise also knew that at any moment

Ah There it was The knock on the door

"Co through her paints Cale removed his coat to lay it over one of the chairs, but he still wore his hat, and she was suddenly nervous that it would cause comment, or that he would need to remove it

Cezar&039;s trusted steward, Belial, entered the chamber "Bonjour, Monsieur David," he said with a bow "What is your desire today?" His sharp eyes scanned the roo that Cezar&039;s sired vampire wouldn&039;t notice that this David was several inches taller and with broader shoulders than the previous one had been, and that there was another scentin the room with the a stool to the center of the roo-away position helped to cae his physical appearance

"I shall have the usual, of course," he said in that clumsy voice, and with the same peremptory tone David always used He fussed with the stool as if needing to position it just perfectly in the light "Mademoiselle, I shall act as your model today to continue your lesson on perspective The very brile of this hat, which I have borrowed for such a purpose, will be an excellent study in the aspects of perspective You will need a charcoal and several soft lead pencils Put away the paints, mademoiselle I have already told you you won&039;t need the brush today How s and sketches before you can think to paint?"

Narcise forced herself to relax slightly He sounded just as Monsieur David would have Cale had obviously planned this well-but as he planning? "I am sorry, monsieur It is just that I ordered new paints and hoped to be able to use them today"

"Always so impatient, the woave a soft knowing chuckle

"I will shortly return with your refreshments, monsieur," the steward said

He left the roo my time"

The door closed behind Belial, and Narcise turned to face Cale "What are you doing here?" she demanded in a low voice

"Can we be heard or seen?" he replied inaround the roo in his mouth that caused the deformity of voice and face, but now his tones at least sounded familiar

"No, but Belial will return shortly How did this co furiously, and she could not understand her reaction to this What did it mean? Why was he here? And why did she suddenly feel such warht inside her?

"I told you you could truston the stool "Get your papers ready and begin to draw, or I fear Belial will be suspicious Once he is gone again, I will tell youhis eyes on her as she pulled out the rough papers that curled froe A hunk of burned coal and her Italian pencils-too slender and short to be used as wooden stakes-joined the parch table, a few stones anchored the paper froot to work

She noticed that Cale had arranged his position on the stool so that he wasn&039;t directly facing the door, nor the table where Belial would place the tray of coffee and sweet breads when he returned And once she acknowledged that added attention to detail, along with the deliberate tilt of his head to shadow his face even further, she concentrated on her oork

Despite his disguise, what a pleasure it was to draw the man she&039;d previously had to sketch from memory She saw, too, that he&039;d affixed soant one, widening it slightly, and as she looked even closer, she noticed faint es to emphasize lines and nonexistent dirossed in her work, drawing the angled guiding lines for the hat that would give the sketch depth and an accurate sense of space, that she was startled when the door opened and Belial strode in

But she felt his sharp eyes scan the roo, and was pleased that she&039;d accomplished as much as she had The steward set the tray on the table then approached her as if he wereover Narcise&039;s shoulder-so that he occasionally did, but never in the presence of Cezar She heard, and felt, hi intake of breath The fine hairs at the back of her neck lifted and prickled, but she didn&039;t move except to continue her work

"You are very talented," he said, low and much too close to her ear and Narcise tensed "Perhaps you will give e to spin and shove the dog away for his boldness Cezar had left three days ago, and had na his absence Apparently this expression of trust had given the man an unwarranted sense of entitlement

"Perhaps you will leave ht jaws "Your s me"

She felt hihtly "Is that so?" he said, obviously atte to force amusement into his voice "But I cannot say the sa breath near her ear "Your scent is as enticing as you are"

"Cezar doesn&039;t value you that much, Belial," she warned "You are replaceable and I aer that made her hand unsteady As if her brother would allow a servant to touch her Even he was not so base

The steward ance, but Narcise had no concerns about anything he lad his attention was focused on her and not Cale

She dared a glance at the ht a flash of fiery eyes beneath the bri back at hi She didn&039;t need Cale&039;s anger, nor hisin this

"You&039;ve co her pencil that drew light, thin lines with the heavier charcoal Broad strokes e in the shadows beneath the curve of the hat brim She itched to work on those lips: so full on the botto the top one that would require delicate shading "Youyou?"

"No," she said, putting the charcoal down and fixing hi me to introduce you to my saber Intimately"

Belial&039;s eyes flashed red, but he drew himself up and away "Do not be so certain of yourself, Narcise" And with that comment, which she assuh, he turned and stalked fro snake," she muttered Belial was a fool who&039;d become too important for hi a corner of it and creating an unnecessary se

"Does your brother allow all of his servants such freedom?" Cale asked quietly

"He won&039;t come back until the lesson is finished," she told him "We are private And, no, Cezar would not allow such effrontery if he saw it Everything must be well under his control, and a servant-no matter how trusted-who over-steps his boundaries will find himself turned out or otherwise disposed of"

"Good" Caleoff the stool He raised a hand to his face, and the luht whatever it was in the palrin "Two of them, in fact" He placed them in a handkerchief on the stool When he took off his hat, then tousled his curls fro to assist him

But Narcise re to tellhere?" She noticed a fat black spider e of one of the wood planks on the floor

"Since I doubt your brother would allow me to court you in a normal fashion, I decided I had better take lint of humor that she&039;d come to realize was part of his personality shone in his eyes, and then it disappeared

"Court me? Are you mad?" No man courted the sister of Cezar Moldavi They merely took-or, at least attempted to

"I would have coerateful for e donation to his cause, and the extra time hich to spend it Are you well?"

She realized her brows had drawn together in a frown He spoke to her with such familiarity; as if they&039;d known each other forever, as if they were friends and intimates "We&039;ve onlywhat she was about to say "But I feel rather as if I&039;ve come to know you even more than that"

He still wore the false nose; perhaps that wasn&039;t so easily reuise Nevertheless, it was clearly Cale, with his steady eyes and the full lips that had traced the oozing blood on her palm so tenderly "I couldn&039;t be more pleased to hear that, for I feel as if I&039;ve known you forevereven though I hardly do, in all the ways that matter Imatches since our last? How have you fared in the-whether there had been any other men since him, and whether she had been forced or not "There are not so h to faceto expose the bested by a woman"

"Which is precisely why I took uish sh, even from a distance, that she couldn&039;t keep her own in check

A ridiculous thought: that he was here to court her Yet, deep in the softest part of her stony heart, she felt a twinge of lightness A girlish leap inside the hard heart of an old crone

"But you did not answer ainst the table where Belial had set the tray-still some distance from her She noticed absently that the spider hadtoward the opposite side with eight-legged efficiency

"Other than ours, I haven&039;t lost a fencing match for more than five years," she told him "And before that, after the first five years in Roht that I lost Perhaps two or three times a year"

Cale&039;s eyes were somber now "I&039;m sorry it was that many tier for it," she said, in a reminder to herself as well as to hiainst lance at him, "for one, is he not?"

Narcise waved the steward aith a charcoal-sed hand "If he acts inappropriately, I kno to handle him"

"I have no doubt of that"

He didn&039;t speak after that, but his eyes scanned her The hunger therein was bold and obvious, but again, he made no move toward her Narcise wondered about that, and felt herself tensing in readiness And, if she must be honest, anticipation

"Are you and David lovers?" Cale asked abruptly

She couldn&039;t control a shocked expression, nor a shiver of distaste "No, of course not"

"Good" He nodded once With a deliberate movement, he smashed the spider under his foot, as if to emphasize his response

Narcise blinked then redirected her thoughts "Once again, I h so much trouble to come here"

"I wanted to see you, of course, but I didn&039;t want your brother to know it," he explained

"Because he wouldn&039;t like it?" Narcise frowned "I ahtily impressed that you won our sword parley, and I believe he finds it a that you&039;re very well-e a business relationship with you"

Cale was looking thoughtful "I&039;m not certain whether he would or wouldn&039;t like it, but either way, I&039;e that you belong with me"

She drew herself back in affront "I don&039;t belong to anyone" A blast of rage shuttled through her, but when he lifted a hand she allowed hi with ether I can feel it, and you will, someday, as well"

She looked away "You&039;re mad" But even she knew her words sounded weak and unconvincing The truth was so, when he was near This was so different from any of the other men who&039;d claimed to love her, to want her, to own her

It was different because, damn the Fates, she felt it, too

"He knows that I could take you away from him, from here," said Cale "He knows that I&039;m the one"

Narcise raised her eyebrows skeptically

"When you trust e to it "And since I cannot co rodent will sain that Ito give"

The flash of disappointment took her by surprise, and yet at the same time, Narcise felt a tide of relief sweep over her "That&039;s why you asked if David and I were lovers," she said wryly, a twinge of annoyance replacing her relief

"No," he said

She waited for him to elaborate, but he did not A heavy silence descended, one in which the dru the chamber, and his as well, and she swore she could hear the in tandem Warmth and softness flooded her, and if she didn&039;t know that it was impossible for a Dracule to enthrall another Dracule, she would believe it was happening

"And so," he said after a longthe connection, "these are your private apartments-where you sleep? Where you paint, and entertain?"

"I do very little entertaining, as you can i one of the heavy pencils instead There was a place that needed a darker shadow, but it was at the outside corner of his eye and required a delicate touch "But I paint and draw here There is another larger room where I practice with my sword"

"Does Cezar allow you any freedoms? Do you ride, or shop, or visit the cafes and museums?"

"I do not leave this premises without him," she replied "I haven&039;t been on a horse in years He brings entertainment here, and the searound very often"

"It enerous bribes, no one has even a suspicion of what it is," Cale said "Do you?"

She shook her head "Do you not think I would have found a way to use it by now if I did? It is an iuarded secret I do not believe there is anyone beyond Cezar and Lucifer himself who knows"

"But what of his makes?" Cale asked "Would it not be clear froical question, for when a Dracule sired, or made, a new vampire, his or her Asthenia was passed on to the new iained a unique Asthenia of his or her own Thus, the further down the evolution from Lucifer&039;s personally invited vampires, the weaker and more vulnerable the makes were, for the more Asthenias they acquired

But Cezar was much too smart to make such a mistake "Contrary to what my brother implies and wishes for people to believe, he has not made any vampirs himself At least, of which I&039;m aware"

That surprised Cale, for his brows rose in shock "How can that be true? He is known for his clan of loyal servants-most of them makes-and for his influence over even the mortal world in Paris"

"But it is true For many years, he held three Dracule captive and forced them to sire vampirs for his use Early on, he used me in the same manner" She spoke matter-of-factly as she reshaped the line at the lower part of his ear

Cale seeest this for a moment "Very clever And if the sires of the vampires are under Moldavi&039;s control, then so are the uess what his Asthenia is, even now?"

"All I can suspect is that it is so so common that it keeps him away from the mortal world unless the environment is very much controlled"

"Then I must count myself flattered that he accepted the invitation to visit my club"

"He admires you-your business acumen, and your wealth"

Cale nodded "Many do," he said with that sudden sifted in that way But I think your brother is more interested in my Chinese contacts, and the partnerships for the opiuet"

"Cezar won&039;t allow hih to become an opium eater," she told hiain, et this particular" She squinted, forgetting what she was about to say as she tried to iine the shape that the now-absent hat had ht ear

Cale sat, an a his mouth "So he does not want the opium for hie very often He avoids anything that lessens his control of himself or a situation"

"I have come to that conclusion"

"Now, if you could cease froet yourto me"

"Very well Cezar wants the opium for his own occasional use, but also so he can use it to influence and control not only his allies, but also the powerful people in Paris Mortals and otherwise They&039;ll buy it froet what he wants done"

Silence descended again as she concentrated onthe shape of his mouth perfect With an artist&039;s detachment, she drew the lips and shaded them, the top lip always darker than the bottom because of the way it was formed and the way it slanted out and curved into the seaan to take over Re how those lips had ue over the sensitive skin there, and the delicate brush of his mouth, hot and tendershe had to close her eyes for a moh, you&039;ll kiss hts with uncanny ability Her eyes shot open and were captured by his "And," he added, "you&039;ll tell me as in the little lead box in the other chamber"

Narcise licked her own lips nervously, and felt his eyes slip to herelse, the man owned his control His desire, his taste, for her was palpable, undulating through the chaers shake so that she couldn&039;t finish the stroke

"Feathers Brown sparrow feathers," she said softly, ignoring the sharp slice of pain froreat secret-many of her rivals obviously kneas in the lead box, and Cale could easily find out hiive hi of herself "The first thing I sahen I woke theafter Luce visitedin the tree outsideAnd that&039;s all I need from you now"

He looked as if he were about to say so more, but then his body tensed At the same time, Narcise turned to look toward the door She heard the footfalls, too By the time Belial and Monique entered the chamber, Cale had stuffed the peach pits back into hisa cup of the coffee, and a piece of the sweet bread David enjoyed in the other hand

Narcise positioned herself closer to Belial in order to distract him from Cale as the latter packed up his satchel and prepared to leave She was favored with one covert glance, warm and intense, fro out the door

She wondered when and how she&039;d see hiain, and realized all at once how badly she wanted to

Was she falling in love again?