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Savanah had gone to the theater every night for the last week Sitting in the front row, she couldn’t decide if the “Magnificent” in Santoro’s title referred to his rely handsome face, or his incredible physique Most likely all three

She had to adood looks and his hard, lean body, he was far and away the best prestidigitator she had ever seen, and she had seenas ordinary as sawing a woh Savanah was pretty sure he could e both feats with ease No, he stood on a bare, well-lit stage and performed the impossible She had seen hie and, seconds later, step out of a siht a bullet, fired by the local chief of police, in his bare hand He had levitated a full-grown horse into the air He had levitated hi suspended in midair, had invited everyone in the audience as so inclined to come up and see for the hie ician A recent article in a neighboring newspaper suggested that Santoro the Magnificent had sold his soul to the devil in order to obtain his re if that also accounted for his devilish good looks

One of the highlights of the ht at the front of the stage and vanished froht, only to reappear moments later in the rear balcony of the theater She had seen sis performed before, but always there had been a trick involved—soht of hand or a stunt double, because it was virtually impossible for a man to teleport himself from one place to another in a matter of seconds

Savanah would have traded her brand new Jimmy Choo suede boots—boots that she had scrimped and saved for—to know Santoro’s secret If it was a trick—and what else could it be?—it was the best one she had ever seen She reh to touch hi hi, and disappear To this day, she was convinced he had dropped into a cleverly hidden trapdoor After all, people didn’t just vanish into thin air

Santoro’sfeat occurred when he transformed into a wolf in full view of the audience Smoke and mirrors, some said, but Savanah was sure it was ht have agreed if she hadn’t seen him perform, up close and personal, on several occasions There were rumors that he was a Werewolf, but she had dishts when thehi hiain, he had called her out of the audience Was it mere chance that he had picked her, or did he remember her as she remembered him? He had bid her watch closely as two men tied his hands and feet with thick rope and then bound hiain, he had disappeared before her eyes, leaving the ropes and chains behind

The last ti himself the Great Zander, but she had known it was hi to blink, she had watched his every ht of hand or a device of so trick after another, convinced once again that he was either the greatest ifted with Supernatural powers That had been two years ago

Last night, Santoro had again called her out of the audience He had taken her hand in his and kissed her pal up her ariven no sign of it Even-voiced, he had asked her if she was afraid of heights and then explained that he was going to levitate her She had expected him to put her into some kind of trance or hook her up to an invisible hile he distracted the audience; instead, he had looked into her eyes and then, to her utter astonishment, he had lifted his hand and she had risen vertically into the air She had hung there for what seeaze locked on hers, before he slowly lowered his hand until her feet again touched the floor Before she’d left the stage, his gaze had caught and held hers In that brief ain if he remembered her from times past and then, to her aed at all He looked exactly the way he had when she had first seen hio Why hadn’t she ever noticed that before?

Now, as he finished his act, she applauded as wildly as the rest of the audience Perhaps he really was a wizard Perhaps he was a ue with the devil, but whatever he was, he was theroonificent and slipped into a pair of orn jeans and a bulky black sweater The crowd had been with hier to suspend belief and be entertained Another teeks, and he’d move on to another theater in another town It was an easy life, and one that suited hiht o’clock show during the week, shows at six and nine on Saturday nights, and one show at eight on Sundays In the summer, he cut the six o’clock shows Matinees were out of the question at any ti, as he did so, of the wo He wondered if it was coincidence that she had been in the audience again, not only in this city, but in others He had seen the recognition in her eyes when she’d stepped onto the stage, knew she remembered him from times past The hell of it was, he reo

She wasn’t a kid any longer, but a beautiful young wo and thick, it fell in waves down her back and over her shoulders Her eyes were a soft shade of blue, re him of the noonday sky he hadn’t seen in over ninety years Her skin was smooth and clear, what used to be called a peaches-and-cream complexion And her mouth…He swore under his breath Her lips were full and pink, the kind of hts, and hot skin

Rane frowned as he turned out the lights There was souely familiar He shook his head She reo