Eternal 1: Eternal Embrace

by Ann Lory

  Cassandra, no!

  She spun around, thinking she’d heard Dimitri, but he wasn’t there. A feeling of apprehension came over her, but she pushed the feeling aside and continued on her way out of the house to the cliff where the stairs led down to the beach.

  Dimitri fought to awaken. He had to get to Cassandra. The sun would disappear any minute and she would be at the mercy of Gabriella if he did not get to her in time. He opened his eyes and struggled to his feet. Releasing the lock on the chamber door, he moved rapidly down the hallway.

  He knew the moment the sun disappeared; his strength returned and he was racing to Cassandra’s side. When he arrived at the beach, he breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her standing just out of reach of the surf, its foamy fingers reaching out to touch the tips of her shoes. The wind caused her silken hair to billow and cascade around her face. She was gazing off at the distant waves, purple flecks dancing in her eyes. She was so beautiful that his heart ached just looking at her.

  Cassie jumped at his approach, then smiled warmly up at him. “I was just thinking about you.” Her voice was a husky whisper, causing his heart to flip in his chest at her confession, and her smile made him melt all over.

  He took her in his arms, and held her against him for a long moment, enjoying the feel of her soft body against his. Her warmth seeped into him and he took in the scent that was hers alone. Dimitri hated to break the tranquil moment between them, but he slowly pulled away, gazing down at her. “It’s dangerous for you to be out here alone at night.”

  “I have you to protect me.”

  Her trust in him was staggering. He relished it for a moment, but knew that it was going to be short lived. He’d lied to her for months now and the truth might be more than she could accept. “Let’s return to the house.”

  They started back, then Dimitri felt it. “Gabriella.” He growled her name fiercely.

  “What did you say?” Cassie stared at him in confusion, wincing when he squeezed her hand and shoved her behind him. As he did, she noticed a shimmering mist weaving its way toward them; then a woman seemed to materialize from within its midst, standing regally before them. She was absolutely breathtaking: tall and slender with curves in all the right places, golden hair cascading down her back in a riot of shiny silken tresses. Her skin was pale and perfect, her face smooth and heart shaped, with a small, pert nose, hollow cheekbones, lush red lips, and eyes as black as Dimitri’s -- except hers were cold as ice when she looked at Cassie.

  Cassie gasped and shivered, feeling as if death had her in its cold grip. Surely her eyes were playing tricks on her.

  “Hello, Dimitrius,” the woman purred. Her voice was sultry, with a heavy French accent.

  Cassie wondered if this woman was an old girlfriend; she couldn’t help a twinge of jealousy at the thought.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce me, Dimitri?”

  He ignored the obvious suggestion.

  “Oh, Dimitri your manners have taken a terrible turn since last I saw you.” Despite the teasing words, Cassie could hear a hint of cruelty in the honeyed tone. The woman fixed her dark gaze on Cassie and smiled, the action not reassuring Cassie in the least. “I am Gabriella Delancré, an old ... friend of Dimitri’s.”

  Cassie reached to take the slender hand extended to her, but Dimitri stopped her. His hand closed over hers and pulled it out of reach from the smiling woman.

  “Do not play your games, Gabriella. What do you want? How long have you been here?” His eyes were as cold as his words, and they glared at each other.

  “Can’t an old friend drop by and see how you are doing? From the looks of things, you are quite well, n’est-ce pas? I arrived last night hoping to see you, but you were with this ...” she motioned at Cassie, “little one.” She laughed; the sound was grating, hurting Cassie’s ears. “I haven’t seen you in almost one hundred and fifty years, and that is fifty years too long, mon amour.”

  Cassie’s shocked gasp was loud. “What is she talking about?” she whispered. Dimitri turned and looked at her bewildered face.

  Gabriella’s laugh grew louder. “You mean you didn’t tell her? For shame, Dimitri.”

  Cassie thought she saw hate fill Dimitri’s eyes as he faced Gabriella again, then was shocked anew when the Frenchwoman came to stand behind Cassie with blurring speed. Cassie let out a surprised yelp as the woman’s hand closed over her shoulder, but Dimitri jerked Cassie away, moving in front of her and walking backward, pushing Cassie along as he went.

  “Do not touch her, Gabriella. Your hands do not deserve to touch her.”

  Suddenly, Cassie felt it again, the same pure and overwhelming evil that had been present the night before in her dreams. Fear welled up inside her.

  “You would defend this mortal against me?”

  “Till my dying breath.”

  “Be careful, Dimitri, or it may be.” Gabriella sidestepped Dimitri until Cassie could see her fully once again, but Dimitri shoved Cassie so roughly that her gaze could not fully connect with the woman’s icy black stare. “Do you know what he is?” Gabriella lifted off the ground and floated in the air, her hair and gown billowing around her. Cassie’s mouth instantly went dry. “Do you know how long he has walked the earth?”

  “Stop this pettiness, Gabriella.” Dimitri seemed enraged.

  Gabriella’s form began to shimmer, then dissolved into mist and slowly disappeared. “Ask him, see if he can keep you safe from me ... or whether you are really safe from him.”

  Silence shrouded them, except for the sound of the ocean touching the shore. Dimitri turned to look at her again, and his heart plummeted. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with fear as she looked at him.

  “Dimitri ...” her voice trailed off, as she tumbled forward into his arms.

  He caught her to him and swung her limp form into his embrace effortlessly, carrying her toward his home and toward the inevitable ... truth.

  * * * * *

  Cassie came to in the warmth of Dimitri’s study, wrapped in a blanket in one of the dark plush chairs. The orange and blue flames of a crackling fire danced in the fireplace. She looked around wildly, her glance falling on Dimitri, who sat in his high-backed chair across from her.

  His eyes were intense as they watched her. He rose, and she gave a startled cry, jumping from the chair and tossing the blanket to the floor. “What happened out there? Who was that? Was last night a dream or did it really happen?”

  Dimitri sighed, knowing he needed to tell her the truth. Without it, there would be no way to protect her from Gabriella. She would have to know what she was facing. He walked toward the mantle, staring at the clock as it chimed eight times, announcing the hour.

  “I was born in the year 1472 in Greece. My mother was Isadora and my father was also named Dimitrius; they were lord and lady and owned land as reward for my father’s service to the sultan of Turkey, who had invaded Greece nineteen years prior to my birth. I was their only child.”

  He turned and faced her. “My father was of the nobility, but in that time only the king held titles. My father had no love for the sultan, but to keep his family and people safe, he obeyed the sultan’s wishes.

  He drew a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, fear of her reaction coursing through him. “I grew up happy on my father’s land. I had everything a young boy could want, and most of all, I had the love and attention of my parents. I would spend summers in my father’s orchards and vineyards pretending I was a great warrior fighting for my country against Turkish oppression. Because of my father’s sacrifices, I went to the best schools in Paris, where I studied hard, wanting to make my father proud.”

  He moved to stand in front of her and saw disbelief in her eyes; he couldn’t blame her. “When I was twenty, I left my father’s home because I wanted to see the world. I stayed a while at court in Italy; then I visited Ireland, Scotland, and England. In 1500, I turned twenty-eight and returned to Paris. Always I was intrigued with the city ... an
d that is when I met Gabriella.”

  Cassie watched emotions play across his face, sadness, anger and, ultimately, despair. He looked far away, as if reliving past events.

  “It all began at a ball. Her beauty was radiant, and some force I did not comprehend drew me to her. People warned me to stay away, that I was courting unknown death to associate with her, but I did not heed their warnings. I thought they were jealous that I succeeded where they had not -- and so I sought her out.” He smiled grimly, his fists clenched at his sides. “Little did I know it was she who had actually sought me.

  “She asked that I escort her home, so I called for my carriage and we left. When she invited me to stay for the night, I followed like a lovesick boy. She seduced me and when I next looked at her ...” his voice trailed off. His eyes held need and hope for understanding from Cassie, then she trembled as memories abruptly unfolded in her mind.

  “Dimitri, come to me, mon chére.” Voice husky, Gabriella patted the mattress beside her. Her blond hair fell in ringlets around her pale face and her black eyes held his. He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

  Her breasts almost spilled out of her silk burgundy robe as she leaned over, giving him an enticing view. Diamonds and rubies still glittered around her neck and on her earlobes.

  Dimitri obeyed, scooting closer to her, the sheet falling around his waist. She ran a long nail over his jaw and down his neck. He shivered and grabbed Gabriella around the waist, pulling her tightly against him. Her breasts were crushed against his chest, and she gave a sultry groan, staring up at him. Her mouth curved in a knowing smile, her pink tongue darting over parted moist lips. Cupping the back of his head, she tugged him down to her. “Kiss me.”

  His lips crashed down on hers, ravishing her. He groaned as her hands slid down across the expanse of his chest. Her fingers skimmed over his flesh, her nails raking and pinching. He was surprised at her strength when she suddenly pushed him back, straddling his hips. He grinned at her and fondled her breasts.

  “You’re a little vixen.”

  She laughed. “You have no idea.” She lowered herself over him, trailing lips and tongue over his jaw, then down to the base of his throat. He groaned as she licked and caressed his racing pulse with her tongue.

  She looked up, her eyes suddenly cold, before she lunged forward and, with brutal force, bit into his throat, tearing and ripping at his flesh.

  “No, Gabriella! No! Dear God, please don’t do this!” Dimitri cried out and jerked at the burning pain. He tried futilely to pull Gabriella away. Her growls and satisfied moans filled his ears as she continued feeding. When she finally looked at him again, he gasped in horror at her glowing eyes and blood-stained fangs, at the blood that trickled from her lips. Repelled, he attempted to throw her from him, but she grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head.

  He twisted and bucked beneath her, but she barely stirred. Smiling maliciously, she lowered her head again ... He grew weaker and weaker, feeling the frozen fingers of death as she drank his life’s blood ...

  “I begged her to stop.” His voice was filled with terrible anguish now. “But I was powerless against her superior strength. I fought her, but she brought me to the point of death, then she asked me to choose life or death.” He closed his eyes, not looking at Cassie. “I chose life, not understanding what that meant until it was too late.”

  Gabriella cut her wrist with a long nail and held her bleeding arm to his lips. “Drink, Dimitri! Drink and know the wonders I give you with this new life.” Feeling weak as a newborn babe, he was forced to drink the sticky sweetness of her as she held his head. He heard her moans as he drank and drank, then she drew her wrist away. “Enough!”

  Pain slashed through him, clawing and ripping at his insides. Dimitri bit his lips to bleeding to keep from screaming at the excruciating torment that threatened to tear him apart. He twitched and convulsed, falling to the floor. “W-wh-what’s hap-happening to m-me,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

  Gabriella touched his sweat-soaked forehead. “Didn’t you realize? You have to die before you can be reborn.”

  “That night, I left my old life behind for one of eternal death.” His eyes opened, focusing on her face.

  Cassie’s hand trembled as she covered her mouth. “What are you saying?” Her voice was hoarse with an edge of terror.

  His black gaze held hers. “I am vampire.” He spoke the words quietly but they sounded like thunder in her ears. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him. How could he expect her to believe this?

  Believe it.

  His voice whispered in her mind, but she shook her head in denial and covered her ears as if doing so would block out his words in her head. “No, it’s not true! Why are you doing this?” Tears gathered in her eyes as she pleaded for the truth.

  “Please believe me. I do not tell you this to hurt you but to protect you.” His voice was a soft whisper.

  “I don’t believe you. There must be some other explanation.”

  He seemed to gather himself, stared deep into her eyes. She watched in amazement as his incisors grew into fangs and his eyes began to glow. I am what your eyes see, yet your mind refuses to believe. I am vampire.

  “Oh, my God,” she cried. This couldn’t be happening to her, this wasn’t real. A sob tore from her throat as she looked at the man she loved, the man she thought she knew, and saw him transform before her eyes.

  Dimitri reached for her and she shrieked, falling back over a stool, then shrieked again when he tried to help her. Her cry of terror stopped him and he jerked away as she scrambled to her feet.

  “Don’t touch me!”

  She saw him take deep calming breaths; the glow of his eyes and fangs finally returned to their normal state.

  “Cassandra, please. I could never hurt you.” His voice was pleading.

  She shook her head as she backed away from him, moving toward the study door. “Last night wasn’t a dream, was it?”

  He shook his head, intent on her.

  “Why can I hear you in my mind?”

  He had been dreading the question, knowing how much he had violated her trust -- and that she might never forgive him. “I drank from you, I hadn’t meant to, but I took too much. To restore what I had taken from you, I gave you my blood.” Horror appeared on her face.

  “How could you? When did --” As if remembering, she stared accusingly at him, hurt and betrayal radiating from her. “The dreams ... when we danced ...” She was shaking so hard and looked so pale, he thought she might pass out. He ached to comfort her but her hands came up to ward him off. “Stay away!” He froze. “Am I going to be like you? Have you turned me?”

  Pain filled his heart. “No, Cassandra, I could never do that to you. Never. We share a bond now, one that cannot be broken. I will always know your thoughts, your emotions, where you are -- and you will always know mine.”

  She shuddered, and fresh tears fell from her eyes. “No, I don’t want this ... this bond. I wanted to be closer to you, but not like this.”

  “I am sorry, so very sorry.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. “Stay away from me.”

  The agony in Cassie’s eyes tore at him. Ignoring her protests, he moved toward her and grabbed her arms. She jerked and pulled but he knew his grip was like iron. “Cassandra, I cannot; your life is in danger.”

  “Let me go! Let go!” Her screams reverberated through the room and out the study door.

  Rowlin came running, then stopped at the study’s entrance, clearly surprised at the scene, but he did not interfere.

  “You cannot hold me prisoner!” She hit and clawed at him, fighting with every ounce of strength she possessed, he knew. He also knew that striking him was like hitting a solid wall, but still she fought him.

  “No, Cassandra, please don’t fight me.” He was filled with torment but tried to be gentle with her. “Cassandra, you must listen to me. Your life is in danger from Gabriella, the woman out on the beach
. You cannot go out unprotected.” He held her until she had nothing left to fight with, then surrendered against his chest.

  “Why won’t you let me go?” It was a plea more than a question. Dimitri slowly released his hold on her. She took advantage and immediately bolted for the door, running past Rowlin, down the hall and outside to her car. She wasted no time in flinging herself into the Nissan, then peeled off with squealing tires.

  Dimitri could hear her sobs as she raced down his drive. He stalked toward Rowlin, who gulped at the look on his face. “I will watch her at night, you will follow her during the day. We will both ensure that no harm befalls her.”

  “As you wish, sir.”

  Dimitri walked outside, his body changing into that of a black hawk, and he took to the sky.

  Cassie was speeding recklessly, skittering close to the edge of the road’s curves that dropped off to the ocean below, the car’s tires squalling at the abuse. The radio was blaring with loud angry music and he knew her turmoil as he touched his mind to hers. In his fear for her safety, he willed her to calm and watched as the car slowed to a reasonable speed.

  When they arrived at her apartment, he hid himself and saw her run for her apartment door, slamming it shut behind her.

  Cassie sank down on her couch, pulling an afghan around her, and cried. Hours later, she still lay there, wide awake. Dimitri knew she felt numb and void, and that everything made sense to her now. She had only seen him at night, bright lights hurt his eyes, his avowed allergy to silver. He felt her mind think that over and ponder that it might have been the cross that he’d shied from. His stomach clenched as her heart ached for him, for his loneliness and now for hers.

  Her cat, Patches, lay above her head, softly purring. The sound seemed to comfort her. She wiped the last of the tears from her eyes. Dimitri stiffened as she wondered where he was and if he was reading her thoughts.

  Dimitri?

  His head jerked up at her call, pondering if he should answer her, knowing she was still confused and scared.