Love Me Again by Wendy M. Burge Page A

even imagine Varek dead, cold in the ground, his vibrancy snuffed out. “Varek, don't you see that you read our fates wrong? We weren't meant for each other or none of this would have happened.” She was almost stuttering, grabbing at straws now.
    “Our fates are still intertwined, you little fool, don't you see that? Why else would you be here? Why else would I be here? But fate is a fickle bitch; I'll grant you that. After all, the most peculiar things can happen when you least expect it.” He sounded almost bored, his musing gaze studying Robert as they flashed past.
    Having noticed whom he was watching, Christina couldn't believe what she was hearing. “Are you threatening my husband, your highness?”
    Varek's eyes were anything but bored or impassive when he looked directly into her startled gaze. "I am your husband, Christina. Tell me that you don't see my face when he lies above you. How often do you have to convince yourself that you love him? That you are happy in your safe, dull little world? So, tell me, lark, who are you trying so strenuously to convince, me or yourself?” His smile was brutal as he stared her down, his whole demeanor as possessive as if he had thrown her down on the floor and claimed her body physically.
    When she tried to pull away again, he jerked her flush against him and she shivered as his warm lips brushed her ear, his moist breath caressing the sensitive skin. Against all her will, her body responded.
    She tried to shut out the feel of his voice as it whispered hotly in her ear. “Now that you've been in my arms again, do you really want to be anywhere else? You can't deny it because your body won't let you. Is your body weeping for me even now? If my fingers were in you right now, would they be dripping with your essence?” His cheek brushed her with a tender caress. “My God, lark, I need to come home.” This last anguished whisper was a stark testament to his pain.
    Thankfully, the music ended and after a long, tense pause, he slowly let her go. His face was an impassive mask as he watched her, waiting for her decision. When she stumbled slightly his hand shot out to steady her, the warmth of his palm searing her through the thin silk of her glove. Almost blindly she shrugged him off, and reluctantly he released her. How she stood standing she would never know. Her life was disintegrating about her feet as he gave her a bow, his searing gaze compelling her. Just the sight of him, standing there before her, so beautiful and golden and powerfully lithe, almost brought her to her knees. Her eyes slid closed as the room tilted under her feet. When she opened them again, he was gone.
    Christina looked around in a daze and when Robert materialized at her side, she was barely aware of him. Varek's insidious words were all too true. She had always belonged to Varek, ever since she had first seen him when she had been an ungainly child of eight. It was still indelibly fused on her memory how he had taken her hand and kissed it so gallantly, his gaze even then a force that could not be denied. From that moment on she knew no one would ever take his place in her life. She had loved him with an unswerving devotion that had years later turned into a consuming passion, and she had been one of the fortunate few whose love had been returned with equal fervor.
    The love of a lifetime. A love such as the celebrated troubadours through the ages had glorified. And it had ended just as all those fabled legends had, in tragedy.
    But, she wasn't that same person anymore. She didn't belong to Varek anymore, or did she?
    Reaching out blindly, she grabbed hold of Robert's arm. Her anchor in a world gone suddenly insane. Without a word spoken, they turned as one and headed for the nearest escape, ignoring the curious stares following them.
    Sergei hung back and studied Varek as he watched Christina disappear, the archduke's steady gaze narrowed and resolute. Sergei could tell by the tension radiating