Page 4

We all stare at her and she shrugs. “Whatever. You’re fine. Your bond is real. Not just the bunnies thing but the love. You can trust it, I promise. The rest? Well, I’m not sure. I need to do some research. Talk to more witches. Hit the library. Hey, do you remember Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”

“Yes!” Rosa pipes up. “Oh, I loved that show—I mean, they got so much wrong, but it was such fun. I bet you’re thinking about Giles aren’t you?”

Minnie laughs and points at her. “Got it in one—I always did like a sexy librarian.”

I finally snap and slam my fist down on the table. The wine glasses jump, and Pietro is the only person who doesn’t catch his. Waste of space. He mutters a curse under his breath as the red liquid drips off the edge of the surface and hits the floor.

“Enough!” I bellow. “Are we in danger?”

Minnie glares at me and narrows her eyes. I feel her power then, flowing towards me like an angry river. “Calm down, Don Luca,” she says sarcastically. “Taking a tone won’t work with me. Do you know how close I came to dying just then?”

Rosa sucks in a breath, shocked. I do not suck in a breath, and I am not at all shocked. I knew it.

“Of course you did. You could hear my heart slowing, couldn’t you? Well, it was a close call, and it wasn’t a lot of fun at all, and I did it for you. So, drop the attitude and give me a minute, okay?”

Fuck, I rub the bridge of my nose, try and relax. I can’t remember the last time I was able to. It’s been chaos and carnage since I met Rosa, and being the Don isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I never wanted it, and I’m hoping it doesn’t last. The endless fucking meetings. The legacy of a complete monster like Vincenzo. The politics. The dungeons full of prisoners, the court full of intrigue, the screw-ups and psychopaths that have gathered there over the years. Every day is like having nail guns shot at me.

“I’m sorry,” I finally say, as Rosa’s hand creeps into mine and squeezes my fingers. “Minnie, I’m sorry. But I’m also worried. We have enemies, and I need to keep Rosa safe. I can’t do that if I don’t know everything.”

Minnie smiles at me, her eyes softening. “I know, Luca. But you can’t possibly know everything. Nobody can. All I can do is help you guys figure it out.”

I nod and try to ignore the warnings screaming inside me.

Chapter 4

Rosa

Ilead my man up the stairs to the bedroom, feeling his soul-deep weariness. I don’t need a blood spell to know how exhausted he is, how drained the last week has left him. And now, on top of everything else, he has one more mystery to deal with—a mystery he will see as a threat to me, and therefore, want to stab, shoot, and set it on fire. It’s his default setting regarding all things that are a threat.

Truthfully, that both annoys me and also makes me tingle a little. I know that I’d miss it if it was gone, that’s for sure. I thought a lot about that kind of thing before Minnie broke the spell—how I’d feel if I lost him. Now, it’s very clear I don’t need to worry about that anymore. Other stuff, yeah—like unexplained collapses, freakishly misbehaving mystical amulets, and my still-at-large bastardo of a grandfather. They’re all causes for concern, but right now, I have to push them away. I have to tend to Luca, and to myself, and to the love that I now know is real.

“I should get back to court,” he says, as he follows me up to the top floor of the brownstone. “I have a lot to do.”

“Really? Is any of it as much fun as me?”

“I don’t know. What did you have planned? Will it be as exciting as meeting with the Cosca accountants?”

I look back, raise my eyebrows. Accountants? Who’d have thought? Never mind. I don’t really care about the inner workings of the vamp Mafia.

“I thought I’d give you the world’s best blow job, then let you feed from that artery you like so much. The one on the inside of my thigh.”

Even thinking about it makes my blood pulse faster, my pussy throb with need. It’s that as much as my words that affects him, and he growls, chasing me up the remaining stairs. I’m laughing as I burst into the bedroom, trying to shut the door behind me. It’s only recently been replaced after the last time he kicked it in, so I don’t fight too hard when he wrenches it open. It ricochets backwards, slamming into the wall and dislodging a chunk of drywall before teetering on its hinges. There really is a gap in the market for vampire-proofing home-improvement services. I might start my own company once I’m finished being a Seer.

I run away from him, giggling as he chases me around the bed. We both know he could catch me in a second with his speed, but it’s a game, and we need to play. We both need to decompress after the stresses of the day and the uncertainties of the future. After I duck out of his grasp and scamper over the bed one too many times, he finally decides it’s game over. He appears in front of me in a split second and pushes me up into the corner of the room. He places his palms flat on the walls either side of my face, trapping me, his body pressed so close to mine that I can feel every muscle, every hard part of him. One in particular. I rub myself against him, pleasure already flooding towards my core. He groans as I make contact with his cock, and while he’s distracted, I duck under his arms and make a run for it.

I don’t get very far. He grabs me by the waist and throws me down on the bed. I bounce, a little dizzy, and smile up at him. His sweatpants are swollen in all the right places. I let my eyes gobble it all up, then say, “Need some help with that, sir?”

He raises an eyebrow at the “sir.” “I do. And I’m enjoying this respectful attitude, carissima. I don’t trust it, but I’m enjoying it.”

“What do you mean, sir?” I ask, feigning innocence. “Of course, I respect you. You’re the big bad vampire Don, and your wish is my command. I’m just a sweet girl at your mercy ...”

He laughs out loud, kind of spoiling the effect. “Yeah. Right. Of course. Let’s pretend that’s true ... get down on your knees, sweet girl, and suck my cock.”

It’s a game, an act. It’s a hint at role playing. But boy, does it go straight to the throbbing heart of me. My pussy clenches at the commanding tone in his voice, moisture already building between my legs.

I do as I’m told and fall to my knees. He slides his cock out of his pants, and I draw in a breath. By all that’s unholy, it is a beautiful sight. Monstrous big, thick, dripping with pearly pre-cum. Filling his fist as he strokes its rock-hard shaft. “Open your mouth. Right now.”

As soon as I part my lips, he guides his cock inside me, gasping out his pleasure as I start to suck. He lets me work, lets me torture him and tease him, speeding up then slowing down, cupping his balls and applying pressure to the thick vein that runs along its underside. Then he loses patience, as I knew he would, and buries his hands in my hair as he thrusts. He is so finely attuned to my body, to my pulse rate and the changes in my heartbeat, that he always knows when he’s going too hard or too fast or too far. Sometimes, he does it anyway.