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Chas opened his eyes to find bright sunlight blazing through a half-shuttered

He lay there for afestooned with random cobwebs, then off to the side and around an unfamiliar chamber He couldn&039;t remember where he was or how he&039;d co in the bed on which he lay, Chas felt hardly a niggle of concern There&039;d been ht that had taken hio; many times he&039;d awakened after too roup of va on her side on the bed next to hiht came the rush of memories-some strident and clear, others murky and hot and red

But first, before he tried to make sense of as real and what had been dreamshe just looked Such beauty, such exquisite beauty was breathtaking Even in repose, she appeared uniinably lovely

Her cheek, perfectly ivory, without a flaw, rested on hands folded as if in prayer-an irony in and of itself The position caused her already full, sensual lips to plue to her face Her eyes were closed of course, but that was one thing he reed with black, flecked with dark colors

Long, shiny hair, the color of coal, clung to her face and throat, tu into a pool on the bed between them He reached over and touched it to see if it was as silky as it appeared It was

He could see the shadow of her breasts where they showed through a low neckline of the cheainst the nored it

This was Narcise Moldavi

He was in bed with a vampir-and one he&039;d meant to kill, at least at so that Narcise slept on the side of the bed farthest froh the , and felt the rehout his body His naked body

With that realization of pain,backCezar Moldavi and hismatch between him and Narcisethe s their trialsperhaps they&039;d gotten a bit das wereslow and dark and red, of pain and agony with everyThere were ti as if forever and everup some stairs

Here Into this chas turned darker and hotter, and ht naked and glistening froold and hot, her fangs long and white and lethalbloodthere was blood and pain, and he had an i into him

Narcise stirred next to him and then she opened her eyes

When she saw that he ake, she sat up abruptly "You&039;re alive" Her eyes ith shock and happiness,about her shoulders against a thin white shift

Chas felt another loosening inside his belly, deep and fluttery She was right there, she was lovely and sensual and they were alone He wasn&039;t so weak that he couldn&039;t reach over, pull her to him-

He closed his mind to the temptation She was a va him into the Devil&039;s dark world

"I don&039;t remember much," he said

"You nearly died," she said "From an infection The doctor came, more than once, but he wasn&039;t certain if you&039;d live"

Chas sank down onto his back, re pain on his side, the cool, quick hands ad to his wounds, the haze of heat and confusion that followed, Narcise He stopped his thoughts, afraid of where they were about to lead It was ihtened his lips That was Lucifer&039;s game, wasn&039;t it? She was irresistible for a reason

"What day is it? How long have I-we-been here?" he asked instead

"Nearly a week," she told him

"A week?" Shock and concern alain "It&039;s been a week since we left your brother?"

Narcise nodded

Good Christ, Corvindale was going to be furious Surely by now Maia had followed instructions-reluctantly of course-and contacted him about Chas&039;s disappearance

He turned his gaze back to hers "You stayed here withto let you die" She frowned irritably "I&039; over him, her slender hands on his skin, flashed into hisover hi weakness and the raw pounding in his head, he sat up abruptly, yanking the coverings away fro what he would find

"What have you done toat the four neat little nance and fury rushed over hihtened and fluttered He stared at her, not trying to hide his revulsion "You dared?"

Her eyes had widened again, then returned to norhtened her full lips and lifted her chin defiantly "The infected wound wasn&039;t healing, and the doctor could do nothingin the saliva of a Dracule that pro it"

Chas heard what she was saying, but it took ato penetrate the fury "There are bite violated and unsettled, particularly by the sordid i to hi intimately over his skin, the pain of penetration, but the release from swollen veinsnausea mixed with that shiver of lust, deep in his belly, and Chas sed hard

This is what they do They enthrall And lure

"I hoped that drawing out the poison, whatever was infecting you, re with my saliva Whatever it was, it worked to keep you alive"

He looked away, his heart beating too hard, his fingers curling into the blanket "I&039;ed to say "But I suppose I must be"

She&039;d withdrawn froer, and now she looked at him from where she stood on the other side "At least you&039;re honest," she replied, and turned her back to him

As he watched, at once struck by the inti this space with a woan to braid the inky waterfall of her hair

"Did you enthrall e and furious as he watched her slender shoulders and the delicate edge of her shoulder blades through the thin cheantly muscled arms, unlike any he&039;d ever seen on a woman, and he could see the roundness of her buttocks, the curve of her hips He hated that he wanted her, that his body was changing and responding to her mere presence

Narcise had stilled at his question, then turned slowly back to face hiony "Did I enthrall a helplessone?" Her deep blue eyes were both fierce with rage and aith pain "If you knehat I&039;ve lived through, how I&039;ve been violated over decades of captivity, you would never have asked such a question"

Chas felt as if he&039;d been struck, and he let his head fall back onto the pillow Mortification and sha revulsion and distrust, and he stared at the ceiling, utterly aware of her, knowing he&039;d wounded her deeplyasking himself why he cared

She was a vampir A hand creatures and took froiven their souls for immortality, power,was an inherent violation of life and liberty They were conscienceless, depraved, self-centered creatures, with Corvindale being the only real exception he had encountered-the only one who didn&039;t find it agreeable to feed on living huifted with the ability to sense, stalk and slay these creatures-he knew there was a reason he had That he was meant to do this as surely as a priest was meant to consecrate the hosts But

Narcise had finished her braiding in silence and now she walked over to the single chair on the other side of the cha through the , but that she looked at it with longing

Yes These were creatures who&039;d given up the light to live in darkness And soretted it

"What do you plan to do next?" she asked

"I need clothing and food," he replied, "and then I must send word back to London To my sisters"

"London Is that where Dimitri is? I&039;d like to find him, and see if he wouldwell, I know he and ht helpto be of assistance I suppose you wantyou to hier and hurt, lightened "Is it possible? To get to London, through the blockade?"

He had a mild wave of surprise that she would even be aware of the war between England and France, but then he recalled who her brother&039;s companion was Surely even Narcise had been privy to some of the political discussions between Bonaparte and Cezar "Yes, but it will take soht or more, and all the while, Corvindale would be saddled with Maia and Angelica Chas would never hear the end of it

Then a terrible thought struck hie on hi Narcise with him And the first place he&039;d look to do it would be with Maia and Angelica

He was up and out of bed in an instant "Where are my clothes? My breeches? My shoes?" He irls would be in danger The rooone You only had your breeches, and they were so-"

"I need soet word back to London" He looked around the cha to materialize

She&039;d risen from the chair and before he&039;d even taken a step, she was handing him a neatly folded pile "You didn&039;t allowfor you"

Chas took the out of the inn to see to business, he ht have been chastened by her tone But he couldn&039;t worry about that now Moldavi had had a week A week Through his alliance with Bonaparte, he could have sent people after Maia and Angelica already, crossing through the blockade

His knees wobbled a bit as he drew on the breeches, but Chas ignored it There&039;d be time for weakness later The shirt fit well, but the boots were a bit tight-although certainly adequate As soon as he was dressed, he started for the doorthen stopped, with his hand on the knob as he turned back to Narcise

"I&039;ll be back as soon as I can I trustI trust you&039;ll be well alone here?"

She lifted her brows in a wry expression "I&039;ve been alone for the last week, Woodmore I suspect I&039;ll do just fine in your absence"

Narcise wasn&039;t at all oblivious to Chas Woodmore&039;s revulsion toward her She didn&039;t coave her a sort of co that he wasn&039;t about to force himself on her

Or try to, anyway

She had no worries about protecting herself froh to be wavering while on his feet, she was also, of course, stronger and faster than he was even in his prime Nor did he seeh she wasn&039;t completely certain he wouldn&039;t try

The last week of tending to him, however, had helped to ease Narcise into her new life: a life where she was beholden to no one, a life where sheand even drawing supplies

Nevertheless, she was never wholly coht, when she knew Cezar or hisfor her She&039;d becoain whatever it was she needed: pencils and paper, a pouch of sous or livres, clothing for herself or Chaseven a full, hot vein on which to feed

Philippe had visited her chamber more than once She wasn&039;t certain if it was coincidence that he was always the one to bring neater for the bath, or whether he sensed that there was a reason he was drawn to this particular chamber

Until now, Narcise had always approached feeding as so to her brother&039;s friends Athe span of months when she atte of fresh blood was forced down her throat

There was a residual layer of eroticism that always aroused her when she was in such an intimate situation, but it never required satiation-at least on her part

Philippe see the three tiet himself-or herself-half unclothed There were moments when she nearly allowed herself to finish what they, or more accurately, their bodies, obviously both wantedbut she never could succumb so far

For decades, she&039;d protected her e herself fro all but the physical response locked deeply away She was fully aware of that, cognizant of that steely control

The one chink in that armor had coether so tightly she suspected it would never soften again

Now that she was free of Cezar, however, Narcise realized there could be a chance for her to open herself again And after ten years, she hadn&039;t forgotten nor forgiven Giordan No, in fact she burned with revulsion and loathing for himbut she remembered how it had felt to be awakened Not with malice or control, or even by reflex

But with love and affection