Page 19 of Sacrifice

Michaels let the energy dwindle. A rosy glow burned in the girl’s cheeks and the shadow of hair regrowth blossomed beneath the skin of her scalp. He knew he shouldn’t linger, shouldn’t even have come. He bent to whisper in her ear, released her hand and faded from the hospital room to return to his place before the tapestry. Cool calm had dowsed the acrid fire the dybbuk had left in its wake.

Back at St Thomas’s, the child’s mother awoke. She rubbed at her eyes. “Lucy, who are you talking to?” she said.

“An angel,” Lucy replied with a nonchalant shrug. She turned a page of her book. “He told me I’m going to be a doctor when I grow up and save lots of kids like me.”

“Did he now?” her mother said. She stroked her daughter’s cheek. “You look much better today.”

Fourteen

Eve steppedfrom the limousine and was instantly blinded by a barrage of camera flashes. Behind the red-carpet barriers, paparazzi called Lucien’s name, vying for the shot that would make the front page.

Lucien offered Eve his arm, and she took it gratefully. Sky-high heels and a slinky dress weren’t her natural camouflage. Tonight’s outfit waved the ‘look at me’ flag as she’d never done before and the last thing she wanted to do was fall flat on her face in front of a pack of London journalists. She hadn't realized Lucien was so well known.

The Dorchester was beautiful. An enormous Christmas tree drew them in through its lavishly decorated reception, sparkling with tiny lights, and on to the golden-doored lifts that would deliver them to the ballroom.

“You look fabulous,” Lucien said once they were alone in the elevator. The Latin timbre of his voice brought goosebumps to her skin.

There was no denying, she felt fabulous too.

Was it the dress? Was it all the attention she’d lavished on her appearance for once? Maybe, but it felt like more than that. Lucien had been delighted to hear about her degree thesis. Sheknew she wasn’t just arm-candy. Tonight, it was her specialist knowledge that made her important. She was being appreciated at last, and it felt great. More than great. And it didn’t hurt that this man had an effect on her body she’d couldn’t explain. Her skin tingled from head to toe just being near him.

She caught herself in the lift’s mirrored wall. OK, the dress was pretty special too. She broke out in a spontaneous grin.

“Thank you,” she said and smoothed the dark silk with her hand. “The dress is gorgeous. I feel incredible in it.”

Lucien reached out to run his palm lightly over the fabric of her hip. “You do feel incredible, yes.”

Electricity crackled, and his eyes widened a little. “I have something else for you,” he said.

Lucien took a small black case from his inner jacket pocket and opened it to reveal a necklace of brilliant cut diamonds and sapphires that sparkled with a light that articulated wealth and history.

“Now I don’t want you to get too excited,” he smiled impishly at her, “But this necklace is nearly five-hundred years old. Elizabethan. Once worn by the Queen herself. May I?”

How could she refuse him? Eve lifted her hair, and he looped the chain gently around her neck. His fingers lingered on her collarbone and beneath them Eve’s skin blossomed with heat. She looked up, into the mirror, not to see the jewelry but to take in the man, almost to check this was real.

“It’s too much,” she said, feeling the heat spreading down her back.

Lucien didn’t seem to think so. He stepped back to admire her. “It completes you, I think.”

Eve’s heart pounded. There was something about being near him that made her feel so alive. He was intoxicating.

The chime of the elevator broke the spell. The doors opened and together they stepped out into a room full of the mostbeautiful people she had ever seen. Lucien placed his hand on the small of her back and leaned into whisper in her ear. “I may have an ulterior motive.”

Eve’s mouth dried; she’d hoped that he had.

“Petrovsky isn’t just a collector of Babylonian antiquities. Those gems around your neck are likely to give him wet dreams.”

Eve giggled. That wasn’t quite what she’d been thinking.

“Collectors can be obsessive. I know he wants that necklace. He needs to know who he’s dealing with. Make sure you show it off.” He planted a soft kiss just beneath her ear and it ran ripples through her.

Was he her boss? Should she feel bad about this?

No. He was an important sponsor of the museum for which she worked. A client then? No, she wasn’t senior enough for that. Who was Lucien Knight to her?

A goddam billionaire, baby, and a seriously sexy one at that.

It was hard not to laugh out loud.

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