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floor. Margaret s eyes gleamed. "I told you he d protect me. I told you& ." As Jean-Pierre gave into the darkness, he saw a blur that looked slightly like Elise standing before him. "Femme de la dame, Je t'aime." Chapter Five Domme, France--near Dordogne Valley Jean-Pierre glanced over at Elise and wondered when, if ever, she d speak to him again. They d been in France for a month now, and she d barely spoken to him. He d thought that she d accepted what she was when he d woken to find that she d killed Margaret, but she hadn t. Elise seemed to hate her very existence now and she blamed him for it. The blank look on her face as she stared out at the black river spoke volumes. She d been prepared to die. She d accepted that her heart would not last much longer and she d been ready for the inevitable. He d changed all that without first speaking to her about it, and he would regret that for all eternity. "I did it because I love you," he said, hoping that this time she would answer him. Elise dropped her head against the window and moonlight spilled over her long dark hair. She was a vixen, a raven of the night, and she had no idea what kind of control she had over him. He would do anything for her. Hell, he had waited hundreds of years for her to return and would wait a hundred more for her to be ready to accept him once more. After all, they had an infinite amount of time. "Jean-Pierre," she whispered. At first, he thought that his mind was playing tricks on him, but when she turned and looked directly at him he realized that this was no trick. "Yes." "I m pregnant." His breath caught in his throat. Paralyzed by both shock and joy, he didn t move. He d never intended to fully turn her, at least not until they were able to have children, but it had happened anyway. His original plan had been to shift her enough that her weak heart would heal, but she would not be a full vampire. He d only ever heard of partial vampires being able to have a child. This was new, exciting, and he wanted to run and hold her in his arms. The sad, faraway look on her pale face kept him at bay. "I am pleased. Are you not?" A tear ran down her cheek and he felt as though his heart would shatter. "Are we evil? I mean & I know that you give me blood from a cup, but where do you get it from? Do you kill people for it?" "Not innocent people, no." Her eyes widened. "But you still murder people to feed me." "Vampires kill only the ones who deserve to die--murders, rapists, child molesters & that is all. We do not take blood from the innocent. It goes against our very code. It is common for us to purchase supplies of blood from blood banks now as well. It is easy to pay a doctor to claim that you have a certain blood disorder that requires infusions." He d been paying for blood shipments for over twenty years. The advent of modern blood banks had been the equivalent of fast food restaurants to his kind. "Will our child be evil?" "We are not evil. Not in the way you think of the word. Tell me how a creature that rids the world of evildoers is evil himself. Would he not be considered a hero?" She shrugged. "I guess, but then can t we go into churches or be around holy objects." "Ahh, I do not know the answer to these questions, but I can tell you that we are not evil and that I cannot see how a God that hates us would allow us to conceive a child." "My heart would have never allowed me to carry a child. At least, not before you made it strong." Elise stepped away from the window and took a tentative step towards him. He didn t move, afraid that she d shrink away if he dared to touch her. As she approached, he couldn t keep his eyes off her slender waist. Their child grew within her. Against all odds, they d managed to create a life. She reached out and laid her hand on his shoulders. He drew in a sharp breath and waited to see what Elise would do next. Cupping his face in her hands, she leaned down to him. "I remember everything." He was a bit confused by her statement. "You remember me siring you? I swear to you that I did it only to save your life." She touched his lip. "Shhh, not that. Well, I do remember that, but that s not all I remember. I remember us, here in France long ago. I remember our wedding, and how gentle you were with me when we made love that night. And," she looked away from him. "I can remember what happened after you d gone out to feed, that night--the night I died." Jean-Pierre tried to stand. He needed to move, to do anything other than sit there. The thought of Elise reliving those last few horrifying moments threatened to destroy him. Elise pushed him down in the wingback chair and stared down at him. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |