Dark as Wine [Bordeaux Trilogy Book 3] by Morgana de Winter

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Locked away from life in her tower prison, Adriana Bordeaux can only dream of finding the love she so desperately yearns for. Desolate in her loneliness, she offers up a plea to Morpheus, Guardian of Dreams--for legend holds that a maiden who is pure of heart may summon the Lord of the Night and he must grant her heart's desire. Astride his fiery night mare, Despair, Morpheus comes, as he must, but it his wrath Adriana has called down upon herself. For the Lord of the Night is not pleased that he is compelled to answer the summons of a mere mortal. Into her dreams he steals with punishing kisses and rough caresses, only to find himself as surely caught in the web of passion that he has woven as Adriana--the mortal woman destined to steal his heart--and his life. Rating: Contains graphic explicit sex and language.

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Adriana Bordeaux longed to be rescued from her prison.

She'd been locked in the tower since her sisters, Bianca and Cerise, had been stolen away by the unnaturals. Her father, devastated by the loss of two of his daughters, was determined that he was going to protect his only remaining child from the dark and dread forces that lived in Hellsing wood beyond their borders, but in doing so, he was protecting her from any life at all.

She yearned for a life of her own with a longing that bordered on desperation. It had become so painful to her that she could think of little else. Even the books that had given her so much pleasure in the beginning no longer did. Instead, she spent her days searching for the knowledge that might free her.

The day came when she found a very old and tattered book of legends among those that had been brought to her. She knew her father could not know that it was among the books chosen for her, else she would not have had it, for the book told tales of those very creatures from the dark woods of Hellsing from which her father was so determined to protect her. She hid it whenever he visited her, but in the evenings when she was alone in her lonely tower room, she would take it out and read it once more.

One story spoke to her more than any other, lifting her spirits, giving her hope when she had begun to feel that there was no hope for her. It was the legend of the guardian of dreams, the Lord of the Night, Morpheus Dragunas.

According to the legend, if a maiden who was pure in every way petitioned the lord of the night, he would be compelled to come to her and grant her heart's desire. She knew that itwas not something her father wanted for her, and yet she also knew that she had to live her own life.

She feared, though, that she would not be found worthy. She was guilty of envy for the love her sisters had found, and she was guilty of disobeying her father. Perhaps she was not pure enough to summon Morpheus?

Still, she couldn't think that it would hurt to try. If he did not come, she would be no worse off than before.

Doubt filled her when she thought of father. If the Lord of the Night answered her pleas it might well break her father's heart. She didn't want that, but she needed something for herself. Surely, once he saw that she was happy, he would understand what all parents had to learn in time, that when their children grew up, they had need of their own life, to live it as they saw fit.

As she read the story, over and over again, she wavered back and forth, fearing she would break her father's heart, hoping that she could summon Morpheus and he would grant her heart's desire, fearing that he would find her unworthy and not come to her at all. Finally, she decided to see if Morpheus would come to her.

Kneeling before her tower window, she lifted her arms in supplication to the heavens and cried out, "Come to me, lord of the night! Come to me, Morpheus, I beg of you, and grant me my heart's desire."

She sat in front of the window for a very long time, so long her back began to ache and her knees, and still there was no sign of Morpheus, lord of the night. "Please," she murmured hopelessly. "I know I'm not worthy, but I do try so hard to be good, and I'm so desperately lonely. I need a husband and a family of my own."

She had no idea how long she sat beneath her window after she had uttered her final, desperate plea, but the moon had moved across the sky, and she knew it was growing very late. Finally, she rose stiffly, moved across the tower room, and crawled into her cold and lonely bed.

Adriana was despondent the next morning when she awoke, for even as she closed her eyes, she had hoped that Morpheus would visit her in her dreams. That he did not seemed an indication that she was not pure enough to summon him.

In her heart, she assured herself, she had known that he wouldn't, but she found she simply could not give up. He was her only hope. Night after night, she knelt beside her window, calling to him, fighting the tears that streamed down her cheeks, and dripped cold droplets on her night dress.