Part 2 (1/2)

He took me at arm's length and visually scanned my body. ”No, what will make you sick, though, is running around in next to nothing.”

I stared down at the thin pale pink silk nightgown I was wearing. It hung almost to my feet. It had spaghetti straps and a v-neck line. It covered all of me, but left little room for the imagination.

I snorted. ”Like I have a choice. You won't let me leave to go shopping and the stuff you bring in looks like this.”

”I believe this has a matching robe.”

I growled and went to walk back up to the house. Grabbing hold of my arm gently, he pulled me back towards him. His finger slid over my shoulder and under one of my straps, tugging on it gently.

”I'm sorry,” he said, but didn't take his hand away. Giovanni's eyes could get him out of trouble with anyone. His long thick black eyelashes curled slightly on the ends. I'd found myself staring into his eyes all the time lately, wanting very much for them to stare back at me. To see me in the same light. For him to want me as I wanted him. He gave me a wink and a nervous laugh escaped me.

As he moved his fingers down towards my breast, my nipples hardened. My eyes followed his and I found that the silk nightgown seemed all too pleased to show off how erect my nipples were. My body was responding to him more and more as of late. I wasn't sure if it was due to not having s.e.x in four months or because I was really attracted to him. He was hot and I had gotten used to having s.e.x, lots of s.e.x, so there was no telling.

He pulled his hand away and turned his body from me. I stepped in closer to him and drew his face back around to me. As I stared at him, so many things ran through my mind. I wanted to know our history. I wanted to know how someone so perfect could be so evil, but most of all I wanted to know what it felt like to be naked and in his arms.

Yeah, four months was a long time without s.e.x for me. Maybe going cold turkey wasn't the brightest idea I'd come up with. What else was new?

”Tell me what you're thinking, Bella.” For some reason Giovanni wasn't able to read my thoughts. He could answer my call for him from anywhere in the world, but he could not scan my mind. I don't understand how vampires get their powers and how they know which ones will develop and which ones wouldn't. I was losing track of who could do what and happy to only be dealing with one vampire at the moment.

”It's nothing,” I said, unconvincingly. Giovanni touched my chin and tipped his head to the side. He wasn't buying it. I tried again. ”Was it like this before between us? Was it this intense? This overwhelming?”

He thought about my questions for a minute. ”Yes, in many ways it was like this. Yet, it was so much more than this and I do not mean just s.e.x, although that was part of it, too.”

”More than this?” I had a hard time believing I could have felt more than I already did.

”Yes, Bella, it was an amazing time for us, at least for the first seventy-five years or so we were together. The last twenty were not as grand as the years prior.”

Hearing him talk about our time together being that long made my head hurt. Being only twenty-five years old, I couldn't comprehend spending that much time with someone. I stared at him, knowing the entire time we had been together we never aged or changed, but something went wrong somewhere. I knew, only from being told, that I'd stopped sleeping with him and started acting more like a roommate than a lover somewhere along the way. That's when I'd met Pallo. Pallo also told me that I was frightened of Giovanni by the time our paths crossed. I'd refused to run off with Pallo for fear Giovanni would kill him then me. According to the stories, my fear had come true, but instead of killing Pallo, he had turned him into a vampire-he sired him. He had no problem killing me, though. I was crazy for letting myself get close to him again and I knew it. But for some insane reason, the idea of leaving him scared me more than the thought of him turning on me.

”Bella, what troubles you?”

”I was just trying to figure out how it all went wrong. If, as you say, and I believe you, that our time together was even better than it is now, then why did I leave you for Pallo and why did you ...?” I couldn't bring myself to say kill me and he didn't look like he wanted to hear it.

Giovanni pulled me close to him. Sliding his hands under my hair, he caressed my shoulders. I tipped my head back and rolled it around. My neck muscles were tight from worry and the feel of his hands on my skin was making that go away. I pulled my hair up and turned my body around so that my back was to him. He moved closer to me and continued to rub my shoulders and neck. I bent my head down. Giovanni traced a path down my spine and then returned to my shoulders. I backed up into him, allowing our bodies to press against each other. I let my hair fall and drew his arms around me. I stood, savoring my moment of Zen in his arms.

I heard a noise off near the end of the house. Giovanni pulled me tighter to him.

I knew that he was looking around, he'd heard it, too. We heard it again. He tried to pull back from me.

”No, don't. Call one of your men. Don't leave me.”

”I will take you to the house, then I will investigate this further. You do not have to be afraid.”

I ran my hand over his leg. ”Please, stay with me. I don't want anything to happen to you, Giovanni.”

I wasn't sure if it was the please that did it or not, but he pulled me tightly to him and our bodies lifted off of the ground. I never once worried about him dropping me. It seemed silly to trust a man who'd played a key role in my death in another life, but I did.

He set us down on the balcony with ease. I tugged on his hand, doing my best to yank him through the open French doors leading to my room. He seemed sluggish once we entered. Turning, I found him staring out into the night sky. He hadn't gotten to his position by being easily distracted. Something was running loose on his property and he wanted to find it. He was driven. I'd give him that much. I'd been told he was close to five-hundred years old. He didn't look a day over thirty. I would have been jealous, but I knew the same would happen to me. I would cease to age, as well. This was my cut-off point. I would look almost identical to the way I do now, four-hundred years from now. If something didn't kill me before then.

I ran my hand over Giovanni's and tried to draw his attention from the window. I led him over to the large, iron-framed bed that sat in the center of the room. He was still looking off into the night. ”Giovanni, they can handle it. Come on.”

He turned and his eyes widened when he saw me pulling him towards the bed. ”Gwyneth ....”

Putting my finger on his lips, I pulled him close to me. I rose onto my tiptoes to kiss him. At first, I thought he was going to back away. He went to take a step back but stopped. Instead, he artfully moved my body around until my back was pressed against his stomach. His muscular arms wrapped tightly around me and his body swayed, taking mine with it.

We rocked and moved to a beat playing in our heads for what felt like eternity- yet was only seconds. Every time I tried to turn my head to kiss his cheek, he held me tighter, preventing me from doing anything but looking forward. He was being a gentleman, trying to do his best to talk me out of having s.e.x without the use of actual words, to wear me down. At the rate he was going, you'd think he'd be winning. He wasn't. He was only making me hornier.

”Giovanni, if you don't want to do this then just say so.”

He pressed his mouth to my ear. ”It is not I who does not want this to happen, Bella.”

”Me?” I snorted. ”I'm the one who pulled you in here, remember?”

”How could you want this to happen after everything I have done to you?” The sorrow in his deep voice moved through me.

I ran my hand up the side of his leg and pulled his body tighter against mine. Grabbing a fist full of material, I tugged gently on it. The sheer silk material not only showed off how excited I was to be near him, but it allowed me to feel his excitement in return. His impressive, rigid c.o.c.k, pressed firmly against my lower back. My body craved s.e.x and I craved Giovanni. The combination left me on the verge of begging him to enter me. I needed to feel what it was like to have him buried deep within me.

I reached up and ran my fingers through his silky hair. Giovanni moved his hand to my neck, skimming his fingers down the length of my body and over my breast. I pulled at his head to get him closer to me. He kissed the side of my neck and I tipped my head more for him. When he reached my hip he stopped and pulled me tighter against him. A moan escaped me as his clothed c.o.c.k rubbed my body just right.

”Giovanni,” I whispered.

His breathing grew shallow and the very sound of it spurred me onward. My nightgown rose as he kneaded the material in his hand. Glancing down, I saw that he'd managed to get it up and over my knee. A few pulls later and his hand branded my bare thigh. Turning my head towards his, I met his mouth. I was the one who took the kiss to the next level. I plunged my tongue into his mouth and felt his caress mine. His hand moved higher up my bare thigh to my hip. Our kisses sped up as our bodies continued to sway. Pleasure built within me and we'd done nothing more than kiss. At this rate, I'd explode before we ever made it into a bed.

I found his hand on my hip and put mine over his, easing it over to the apex of my thighs. His breathing was choppy, as was mine. I tipped my head back more. He pulled away from my lips and planted kisses on my neck. It felt so good. Too good. Giovanni's touch pushed me towards my crescendo.

My eyelids were heavy from the intoxicating allure of promised s.e.x. Desire clung to the air around me and it was all I could do to stay upright. Lazily, I open my eyes and glanced at the full-length mirror. As I closed my eyes again, Giovanni slid his fingers over my pink silk panties. I was moist and eager for him. He pulled the edges of the material and slid his fingers in. Peeking out, I caught a reflection of someone standing behind Giovanni.

Fear shot through me and I spun around quickly. Giovanni's eyes widened. A look of horror moved over his face. ”I am sorry. I thought you were all right with ....”

Putting my hand up, I stopped him from going on. I ran towards the open door. I stopped short of running out it and then stared back at the mirror.

”I thought ... in the mirror ... it looked like he was standing behind you. I thought he was going to hurt you.”

Giovanni looked back at the mirror and then at me. ”Who?”

”Pallo.”

Chapter Four.

I made my way down the tiny dirt path. The sun was so bright that I a.s.sumed it meant it would be very warm. I was wrong. A slight breeze was blowing that I could feel even through the tan sweater I'd tossed on.

I moved the little, brown wicker basket I was carrying to my other hand, pleased with my yield so far. The basket was half-full and I'd only been out collecting herbs for a little over an hour. Giovanni's herb garden was not in a regular little square formation. No, he'd covered the side of the mountain that his home was built on. Different levels held different bounty and each was more beautiful than the next. It wasn't well kept, but not overgrown. Whatever he had done to maintain the gardens had left them feeling very natural and extremely pleasing to the eye.

I knew that Giovanni was in my room asleep. Dawn had come while he was still trying to convince me that I hadn't seen Pallo's reflection in the mirror. Had I not freaked out, I'm sure we would have slept together. In a sense we did. He lay down next to me and literally slept in the same bed as me all night. I was being silly about the Pallo situation. Giovanni was probably right, but I couldn't shake the feeling he'd been there-with us, in the room, watching us. Giovanni was the one who had sired him and therefore, in theory, would be able to sense when he was near. I understood all of what Giovanni was telling me, but I still believed I'd seen Pallo.