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.com/abclit.htmlcenturies.I hope you will not abuse my trust in your discretion.""Oh, no," Roxy assured him.Her face was pale, her eyes wary as he took her chin in his hand andstared into her eyes."Honest, Christian.I would never tell anyone your secret."He looked at her a bit longer, then released her chin and swept his hand toward the stairs in an elegantgesture."As neither of you wish to see any more of the dungeon, we can return to the upper floors andcontinue the tour."I wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of there and throw myself into Raphael's arms, but thememory of Christian's anguish was strong.I gave Roxy a feeble smile in answer to her questioning lookas I shook off the clinging sense of nightmare, heading up the stairs toward the bright glow of reality.Chapter Thirteen"So, what does it feel like when you're drinking someone's blood?" Roxy asked.Christian glanced in the rearview mirror and gave me such a woebegone look I couldn't help laughing.Itwas the first time I'd laughed all evening, and it felt a bit stiff and unsure in his presence, but I gave myselffull marks for being able to laugh with a man who I'd just discovered had a lifespan that could be tickedoff in centuries rather than decades."Do blood clots get stuck in your teeth? What if someone's anemic; are you hungry again an hour later?Has anyone ever bitten you? If you run out of blood, do you shrivel up like a really old orange?""Roxy!""OK, here's an easy one.How come you can eat and drink when other Dark Ones can't?""What makes you think I can?" Christianasked, his eyes on the dark road ahead."We saw you!"He glanced at her."At the hotel," Roxy added."You had dinner with us, remember? And you were in the bar earlier.Wesaw you drinking then& didn't we?"His eyes met mine in the mirror."With your sleight-of-hand abilities, you ought to be the one giving the magic show, not Dominic," I said.He smiled.Roxy finally figured it out."Well, that's just not fair! If I'd realized you were only putting on a show, I'dGenerated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlhave known right away who you were.OK, on to the next question ""I have no idea if you can do any of those handy mind-control things that the heroes in your books do,Christian, but if you can, I'd appreciate it if you gave Roxy the mental command to shut up."He laughed."Can I help it if I have a bunch of questions?" Roxy asked with an infuriated look back at me."This isaonce-in-a-lifetime situation here and I'm not going to waste it! Besides, you got to ask all the questionswhen we were seeing the castle; now it's my turn.""Questions about the origin of the Conspirators' Gallery are notquiteas offensive as asking someone whatthey pick out of their teeth.Stop being so rude.""You don't mind me asking you personal questions, do you?" she asked him.Christian gave her a look that said yes, he did mind, but she ignored it."See? He doesn't mind.Now,about this eternal damnation you suffer ""Oh, for God's sake Roxy,lay off him!" She turned around in the seat to level me another glare beforeturning back to pout out the window, but both glare and pout left me unfazed.I watched the back ofChristian's head as we drove the few miles back to the hotel.It was difficult reconciling the friendly,amusing Christian I'd grown to like with the tormented immortal who viewed me as his only means tosalvation.And it left me feeling guiltier than ever.I leaned back against the soft leather seat and closed my eyes, thinking back over all the times his mindhad touched mine, trying to adjust my mental picture of him with the emotional one his mind had left me.It washimI felt approaching the bar the first night.It washishunger that filled me when he bent to kiss myhand, not Raphael's as he stood watching us.It washisdesperate need that scared me the night Raphaelcame to my room.And it washiswordless scream of anguish that ripped through the night when I gavemyself to Raphael.Christian was wrong about me, I knew he was.But how was I supposed to make himunderstand that?I let my body relax into the seat, trying to clear my mind of everything but what I wanted to do, followingMiranda's rules regarding meditation.I stretched and reached with my mind.Christian ?Immediately he was there, his thoughts warm and reassuring.Or they would have been except that I feltanything but reassured with the ease he invaded my head [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]