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.I would give my life for her.That is the way of the Vampire.”“I understand, milord, but still she fears the Changing.Surely you can understand how unsettling it is for her to know she will be forced to drink blood in order to live.”“I would like it that the only blood she will consume is mine,” Garrick told him.“And then only if she desires it.There is no law that says she must drink from me but, aye, she will need Sustenance to thrive.It need not be mine, nor any human or Vampire.It could be animal if that is what she wishes.We breed animals for that purpose.”“But to kill—”“The animals are not slaughtered,” Garrick said.“Nor are they drained dry.We are not savages, Your Grace.We are…” He swept his hand to the side.“A different species.Nothing more.”“I bid you try to understand Antonia’s apprehension and disquiet.You are the first Vampire she has encountered.”“I will be gentle with her, Your Grace,” Garrick said.“I will speak with her, allay her fears as best I can.Know this.I will protect her, care for her, lay the world at her feet if she asks it of me.Whatever she needs to alleviate her reservations, I will see she gets it.I will do whatever it takes to make her happy.She gave me back my life.I will give her the world.”“That is all a father can ask,” the baron said, a sudden smile lighting his round face.“You have my blessing to wed my daughter.”“That pleases me.Now.Tell me where I may find her so I can begin to set her mind at ease.”Chapter ThreeGarrick found her sitting in a wicker swing in the garden.At his approach, she stilled like a deer caught in lantern light, her hand on the chain beside her, gripping it so hard her knuckles bled of color.“Are you afraid of me, milady?”The moonlight gleamed on her unbound ebony hair.She shook her head.“No.”“Then why are you sitting there as though you expect me to pounce on you and rip out your throat?” he inquired.She lifted her chin.“I don’t like cats.”He angled his head slightly to the right.“What don’t you like about them?”“They’re sneaky and aloof and arrogant,” she answered.“And they can be mean.”“All things that could be said of me,” he said, the lines crinkling at the edge of his piercing blue eyes.He hunkered down before her and plucked a blade from the grass, put it to his lips, bit down and spoke through a smile.“You left out lazy.”“You are not helping your cause,” she muttered, looking across the garden so she wouldn’t have to stare into his mesmerizing gaze.“Cats love people who are there for them, who take care of them and keep them company.”She turned to look at him.He was now sitting with his legs crossed, wrists resting on his knees.He was gazing at her as though she might well be his next meal.She felt the blood rising in her cheeks but was unable to tear her eyes from him.“I would never hurt you, Tonia,” he said softly.“You swear it?”He put his right hand to his heart.“I swear it.”“I will hold you to it,” she said with a sniff.“I would expect nothing less from you, dearling.”“You sought me out for a reason, milord?” she asked.“To thank you,” he replied.“For saving my life.”She nodded for there was suddenly a lump in her throat preventing her from speaking.“And my sanity.”Her inquisitive look prompted a long sigh from him.“That night you found me, I smelled your perfume before I knew there was someone there,” he told her.“Gardenia.It is the scent my mother used to wear.I equate it with being safe, protected.” His smile wavered.“Loved.” He glanced away.“That scent dragged me up out of the fiery pit I’d been thrown into.When I opened my eyes and saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman in the world.I wanted you to touch me.I willed you to touch me.I would have been happy with just the tip of one finger on my face.”“You compelled me?” she asked, eyes widening.“You glamoured me?”“No,” he was quick to say.“Not at all.I was in so much pain, I hurt so badly, I just wanted the comfort.You were looking down at me with compassion and I’ve known so little of that in my lifetime, when it is given to me it’s like a drug I crave.I concentrated for as long as I could each time I clawed my way to consciousness on the look in your eyes.That kept me from drowning in the madness of my agony.”“I am glad I could help,” she said and found she meant it.“So am I, milady.I will be forever grateful you decided to take a moonlight ride with your sister.” His eyes were glittering with an emotion she couldn’t fathom.There was an awkward silence then she got out of the swing.“I-I need to change for the evening meal,” she said, glancing up at the moon, which was sailing like a spectral ship across the black sea of the sky.“Then I bid you enjoy your repast,” he said, tipping his head so he could look up at her.It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if she would see him at the table but caught herself in time.Panthera did not eat human food.Or did they?“We do,” he said, reading her mind.“As yet, I don’t feel up to solid food.”“Your insides suffered as well from the sun?” she asked.He nodded.“They did.I could feel the blood boiling within me.”“I am sorry, milord,” she told him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]