The Secret Night Read online

  When he pulled back, she gasped his name. Turning his head away, he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, then cradled her close, his anxious gaze focused on her face.

  “Emma?” he managed to ask. “Did I hurt you?”

  “Only a little.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  She stroked his shoulder. “Don’t be. I felt your pleasure when you drank. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

  Overwhelmed, he felt tears gather in his eyes, and he hugged her to himself as a wave of profound relief washed over him.

  “Was that the way you want it to be?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes.” He kissed her lips, then her cheek. “But I was sure you’d want to run away.”

  “I know. That’s why I didn’t give you a chance for second thoughts.”

  “We haven’t solved all our problems,” he forced himself to say.

  “Right. You’re not going to get older, and I will. And we both know there’s only one long-term solution to that problem.”

  He felt his body stiffen and his heart start to pound.

  “I’m…considering letting you make me a vampire,” she said.

  A moment of silence passed.

  “It’s not a risk-free procedure,” he said, his voice rough and not quite steady.

  “I know. I read about it in your books. But Thorn said—”

  “Bloody hell, you talked to him about that, too?”

  “Yes, and he said his research team ought to be able to find a way to make it safer.”

  Drawing back a little, he met her gaze. “And you’d do it? Let me change you?”

  Her gaze didn’t waver from his as she nodded. “I want to think about it more, but I think so. Don’t make me decide tonight.”

  “Of course not.” No, he wouldn’t rush her—even though his own impulse was to leap up with her in his arms and dance, laughing with joy. He could hardly believe this was real. It seemed more like a dream, as if they had, indeed, stepped back into the dream where they’d first met.

  But her smile was real, and the feel of her naked body pressed against his was very real. He didn’t know if he could bear the happiness that filled him.

  “I won’t rush you,” he said, his lips brushing her temple. “To begin with, I know you’ll need to think about your sister and how you’d handle your relationship with her.”

  “Yes,” Emma agreed. “But once she’s back on her feet again—back to her steady, sober self, I think she’ll be relieved to see me settled in a stable relationship.”

  “You wouldn’t be able to tell her what you were—or what I am.”

  She sat up and huffed out a breath. “For pity’s sake, Nick, we can’t figure out everything in one night!”

  He grinned. “You’re right. But may I suggest that we might be more comfortable discussing the matter in a bed.”

  “Yes.”

  He went down to one of the staterooms with her, and they settled into the wide berth, where they talked for a long time about the past few days and the future.

  Finally, he said, “It’s getting late. I have to get back inside the office.”

  She pointed to one of the portholes. “I had blackout shades installed.”

  “You knew I’d come here?”

  “I hoped.”

  He relaxed back against the pillows, his admiring gaze following her nude form as she got up and pulled the blinds, fastening them to the bulkhead with snaps, shutting the room away from the world.

  Then she turned on the bedside lamp and opened the drawer next to her side of the berth. Pulling out a small box, she handed it to him.

  When he lifted the lid, his breath caught. Inside were two silver rings with a bold Celtic pattern worked into the surface.

  “They’re beautiful. You made them?”

  “Yes. I’ve been spending my time in the silversmith workshop, when I wasn’t reading. Working was a way to steady myself, and then I realized I wanted to make these rings.”

  She lifted up the larger ring and held it out, and he slipped it on his finger. He did the same for her with the smaller ring.

  Contentment and the sunrise made his voice drowsy as he said, “You were taking a chance, weren’t you, making rings for us?”

  She smiled, a sultry woman’s smile. “I hoped I could…persuade you to my way of thinking. I hope you like them.”

  “I love them.” Against his will, he felt his eyelids drifting closed.

  “Sleep,” she murmured. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-2537-4

  THE SECRET NIGHT

  Copyright © 2006 by Ruth Glick

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  [http://www.eHarlequin.com] www.eHarlequin.com

  * 43 Light Street

  ** 43 Light Street/Mine To Keep

  † Peregrine Connection

  Table of Contents

  Letter to Reader

  About the Author

  Books by Rebecca York

  Cast of Characters

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Copyright