Read Online Covenant With the Vampire by Jeanne Kalogridis - Free Book Online Page B

difficult enough to have a misshapen, sickly body! But the worst
pain it inflicts is the knowledge that I shall always be denied the love of
a husband, and children. I am forced to lead a solitary life and depend on the
platonic affections of my brother and uncle for comfort. And I am crippled by
jealousy - of the happiness my brother and his new wife clearly share, even of
the small attentions Uncle paid Mary at the
pomana.
    God save me from my own evil heart!
    Brutus kept up the barking the night before, and last night began only minutes
after I had drifted off to sleep - and so, off to the kitchen with him! I was
so tired that when I returned alone to my bed, I fell at once into a dream.
    And was awakened by a thrumming at my bedroom window. Or rather, in the
dream
I was awakened by such a sound - soft but insistent, as if a bird were
beating its wings against the pane. The night air had grown exceptionally cold,
and I had closed the window before retiring. In the dream, I rose, and went
over to the source of the sound, not at all frightened by it, nor even curious,
as if I knew exactly what, or who, awaited me there; as if I were irrevocably
drawn.
    I threw back the shutters and opened the window. And saw nothing save a shaft
of moonlight, which streamed in, forming a golden-white pool of light on the
floor. In that circle of light, flecks of glittering dust floated - lazily at
first, then faster, faster, until they swirled, merged, and coalesced into a
form.
    The motion made me dizzy; I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Uncle
stood in the cone of light. I remembered at once that this was the same dream
I had had the previous night, and the night before that - always seeing Uncle's
face at the window. But now, with Brutus gone, he was free to enter.
    He seemed somehow younger, handsomer; again, this evoked no surprise. I felt
no shock, no fright, no sense of impropriety to see him standing in my boudoir
in the middle of the night. No; wicked woman that I am, I stepped forward, boldly
threw my arms about him, and whispered, "Uncle! I am so glad that you have come!"
    He stood perfectly still and straight, as if reluctant to move. Beneath my
hands, his muscles - so strong he is, for a man of any age! - tensed, rigid and
firm as stone. For a moment, neither of us spoke, only gazed into each other's
eyes (his eyes are beautiful enough to make a woman envious! deep, rich evergreen,
large and heavy-lidded). In the moonlight, his skin glowed as though infused
with radiant white fire.
    And then he said, "Zsuzsa, I fear this is a grave mistake. I shall go - "
    "No!" I begged, and held him more tightly, fearing he would disintegrate into
glittering dust in my arms. "It is what
I
want! Don’t you see?
I
have drawn you here, night after night! Only kiss me… !"
    Beneath the fine silk of his cloak, his muscles shuddered, then relaxed, and
he lifted a night-chilled hand to my cheek and stroked it. As I stared into
his eyes, mesmerised, I saw his pupils redden, as if the forest therein had
been abruptly consumed by flame.
    "Please," I whispered, and he leaned forward and pressed his lips to my cheek.
Oh, those lips were cold, but it was a cold that burned, and I fell back and
let myself be supported by an arm as unyielding as steel.
    "I am so hungry, Zsuzsa," he sighed. "I can no longer resist…"
    He brushed his lips against my skin, so that I felt his breath hot upon me,
and drew them down, down, across the line of my jaw, over the soft curve there
to the tender flesh of my neck. I trembled in sheer ecstasy as he lingered there;
then he reached with his free hand and pulled the ribbon that secured my nightgown
at the collar. It came undone, and the gauzy white fabric fell down around my
waist. I am fair; my skin has never seen the sun, but his was fairer and, when
the moon broke through the clouds, shimmered with flecks of gold and pink and
blue fire