Carpathian 08 - Dark Legend
defeated, she couldn't follow him until their child no longer needed her.
Gabriel raised himself above her, looking down onto her beautiful face. "Francesca, you can do this thing for both of us. Give me your word."
"Do you have any idea what you are asking of me?" The words were a strangled whisper and with the stirring of her breath the last of the flames spluttered and went out. The chamber was once more inky black.
Gabriel could easily see her beloved face, the shimmering tears she was so valiantly trying not to shed. He bent his head to taste a teardrop. "You have given me more happiness than I could ever have dared to hope for. I want our daughter to know you, Francesca, your courage, your compassion, the essence of you. You are the best part of me. I love you more than life on this earth, more than my own life or that of my brother. I thank God every day for you." His mouth drifted lazily over her face, her long, wet spiky lashes, along her high cheekbones, the corners of her mouth, and down to her throat. "Please do not feel sorrow. What I have done, I have done to the best of my ability. I cannot regret my choices, nor would I change anything but the briefness of the time I have had with you. Eternity looks good when I know I'll eventually share it with you, honey."
Francesca clasped her arms around him, holding him tightly to her. Love was an overwhelming, all-encompassing emotion. He was her life; he had somehow become her life. "Come home to me, Gabriel. Do not make me face a life of emptiness without you again. I was strong the first time because somehow I convinced myself that we were working together, you hunting and me healing. We were apart, but for many centuries, you were still with me."
His tongue swirled over the creamy swell of her breast, then traced a line along her rib. "And I will still be with you. No matter where my body may be, I will be in your heart, in your soul." His mouth moved over her heart, a warm dance of flames.
"You have to believe you can defeat him, Gabriel. You have to know you can. I am willing to aid you. We can work together. I can at least share my strength and power with you."
Gabriel smiled against her satin skin, nuzzled her breast again, unable to ignore such an erotic temptation. "You will not aid me in any way.
You cannot connect with my mind while I am hunting. It is dangerous, my love. Lucian will know the moment you are with me and he will use me to harm you in some way. That would be much more likely than your giving me strength. You have to trust me to know what to do."
Her body was a miracle to him. Everywhere he touched her, each time he touched her, it was an incredible experience. He shifted his body to blanket her once more, his thigh edging hers so that he could lie over her, his body easily, naturally pinning hers.
Francesca could feel him, thick and heavy, so hot with need there was an answering fire immediately in her body. She smiled up at him, raising her hips as he surged into her, leaving her breathless and beautiful and hungry for him all over again. "Just come back to me, Gabriel," she whispered softly against his throat. "I love you so much and I am no longer so very strong without you beside me."
He was tender and gentle, his body moving in hers with long, sure strokes to heighten her pleasure. "I will always be with you, Francesca.
In this life or the next, there is only you. That is a promise I know I can keep."
Chapter Sixteen
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It was well past midnight and the lights of the city were soft and muted by the layers of fog hanging in the night sky. Gabriel stood on the balcony looking not at the city but at the young girl asleep inside the adjoining room. She looked far too small for her large bed, a slight figure clutching a stuffed animal beneath the intricate quilt Francesca had made. His heart went out to the teenager. She looked so vulnerable and childlike in her sleep. She still was not completely safe. She was a rare gift to his people and she would be much sought after. It was a precious treasure he was guarding and the weight of the responsibility was tremendous. In her slender body and gifted mind, she might carry the life or death of one of their Carpathian males.
With a wave of his hand he closed the door firmly and the locks slid into place. His hands moved gracefully, weaving intricate safeguards at every entrance to the room. Skyler would be safe from all but Lucian. Gabriel did not fool
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