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" As he stood there, watching me, watching me examine him, I asked him sharply: "Am I beautiful to you?" The expression on his face grew even darker. Never have I seen him the way he looked. A scorching heat came into his face, and it seemed he blinked to clear his vision. His perfect vision. He left me and went out of the room. I went after him. In truth, I couldn't bear to see him the way he was, yet I pursued him. "Am i beautiful to you?" He stared at me as if I frightened him. I held tight to his arm. "Answer me! Look at me! What do you see?" He was in a dreadful state. I thought he'd pull away, laugh, flash his usual brimming colours. But instead he dropped to his knees before me and took hold of both my arms. He kissed me roughly on the mouth. "I love you," he whispered. As if it were a curse he laid on me, and then he spoke this to me: "Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle; she died young. "
― Anne Rice , The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)
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" Come inside," he had whispered. I was trembling, on the edge of tears. And why was that? So glad to see him, touch him, ah, damn him! We entered the room, the press of his hand against my back oddly comforting. Ah, yes, this intimacy, because that's what it is, isn't it? You, my secret... Secret lover. Then the realization came to me as we stood together. He's going to kill me after all. He won't do it yet, but he's going to kill me. The dance will end like this. "But how could you not know such a thing?" He asked, reading my thoughts. "I love you, if I hadn't grown to love you, I would have killed you before now. "
― Anne Rice , The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)