Part 16 (2/2)

”Do you go out of your way to not make sense?” Ken asked. ”When you told me to get Gwen, how did you know something was wrong?”

”When I realized that our drinks contained something a little extra special,” Pallo said.

”How'd you know?”

”Angela looked attractive to me,” Pallo said. ”I have known her for over a hundred years and in that time she has never once appealed to me.”

”I don't think they could have sneaked anything into my water.” Ken leaned back against the seat, taking this all in.

”Do you normally go about the city shooting yourself in the arm?” Pallo asked, voice barely above a whisper.

I couldn't believe what I'd heard. Ken shot himself in the arm? Impossible. The man went to the shooting range twice a week and was an expert marksman as far I knew. He lived and breathed guns.

”No. No, I don't.” Ken sighed. ”You're right. When will hers wear off?”

”I do not know,” Pallo said.

A cool breeze tickled the tiny hairs on the back of my neck.

”You may rest now. I will come soon.” Giovanni's voice filled my head. ”Tonight marks a new beginning for us, Bella.”

Pallo's arm slipped around me tightly as I pa.s.sed out.

Chapter 18.

”Come, my child,” a voice said. I knew this voice. It was the one that came to me in my dreams, the one that always talked about me being the balance between lightness and dark. I made my way towards the light. Hey, after having recurring dreams for about twenty years, curiosity gets the best of you. I pushed my way through the darkness to the light, and pulled at it. It broke open. I stood before the field of flowers from my dreams, only now a river ran through the center of it. I walked towards the water. The flowers moved out of my way on their own to prevent me from trampling them. I approached the edge of the river and looked around. Ripples formed in the water before me.

”Trust them, they will help you.” The woman's voice was soft and breathy.

”Help me with what? Trust who?” I was so lost it wasn't even funny.

”Caleb and Pallo,” she said.

Caleb? Caleb was gone, he was dead. How could I trust him?

”Their love for you is great.” Her voice got further away, and I screamed out to her.

”Wait, wait! Tell me more.” I was desperate.

”If you need me, come here.” I screamed for her to return but she didn't.

Something pulled me back from the river's edge. It was cool and comforting against my bare arms. I opened my eyes and found myself lying in bed with an arm wrapped around my waist. I stayed very still and tried get a bearing on where I was. I looked down at my waist and saw a well--defined arm with tiny freckles on the shoulder blade. The smell of vanilla filled the air again.

”Pallo!” I licked my lips to try to moisten my dry mouth.

”You're awake,” a tender voice whispered in my ear. I turned my head to see him.

”Just rest.”

He held me tight. His heart beat against my back. His breath was cool on my neck. He pulled himself up and leaned over me. I still couldn't get used to his vampire speed. I looked into his face. His hair hung carelessly over his face like a curtain, and he pushed it back. Our gazes locked.

”Sleep, my precious one, sleep,” Pallo whispered.

I sat up and looked around. We were in the yellow bedroom again and I was naked. My hair was damp. I pulled the covers up to cover my b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

”Why are we here?” I asked him. I left out the real question I had, which was, 'Why the h.e.l.l am I naked?'

”It was the safest place to bring you.”

”It looks so real,” I said to him.

”It is as real as we make it.” He eased me towards him. I let myself be lowered back into the safety of the large, soft bed. I looked into his eyes. Sadness was hidden in them. I knew that he had feelings for me, and I knew I had strong feelings for him. I didn't understand how Giovanni had come between us.

”Saying I'm sorry isn't enough, is it?” I said, my voice quivered.

”No, because you have nothing to be sorry for.”

I let the tears come. I was hurt, angry, and embarra.s.sed. I couldn't look at his face anymore. I couldn't stand to see the pain in his eyes. I had hurt him twice. I wanted to die.

”Gwyneth,” he said, placing his hand over mine. ”Please do not think such terrible thoughts.”

Pallo's hand slid up my arm. ”Giovanni is very powerful. You knew him many years before you met me. He has only grown stronger these past five centuries.”

I didn't want Pallo saying his name. I hated this Giovanni, and I hated myself for what had happened. I let a stranger take a bite out of me. I put his hands on my body, I pulled him towards me, I encouraged him. Some part of me saw the signs that it wasn't Pallo, but I didn't care. I was drawn to Giovanni's body. I did this to myself.

”Stop punis.h.i.+ng yourself, there was nothing you could have done differently. I should have been with you. I should not have allowed myself to be tempted by Angela.” He caressed my shoulder and neck, his fingers dancing over the bite mark Giovanni left on me. ”I let this happen to you once. I should not have been so careless to let it happen again. Can you forgive me?”

I laughed. ”You want me to forgive you? I was the one who let a stranger touch me. That wasn't your fault.”

I caressed his cheek. His hand slid back down my arm. My heart fluttered from his touch.

”Giovanni is not a stranger to you. He caught your interest long ago. You cared for him for many years. You tried to love his demon, but it was too evil for you, and it is because of him that we met.”

I had no clue what the h.e.l.l Pallo talked about. If he thought this would jog my memory, he was mistaken. I stayed still and listened to him tell the story of how we met. He talked of seeing me come to his village when he was a young man of twenty-seven. Pallo told me how his father had tried to convince him to take a wife. His father felt that a man his age should already have a family. He told me how he helped his father run their family's vineyard, and of his two younger sisters who had blonde hair, and his same chestnut brown eyes. The joy on his face when he told me about chasing them around the yard and caring for them was overwhelming.

One day he had headed to town to discuss the purchase of more land and saw me walking in the streets. He could still remember the red dress I wore. ”I had never seen any such dress before on a woman. I thought you were an angel with your long hair and skin that s.h.i.+mmered in the sunlight. I thought that a G.o.ddess had graced my presence. I was not wrong.”

He followed me home, to a large house on the edge of town. He had heard that a rich, powerful man had just recently moved to that house. But no mention had been made of the rich man's mistress. He watched me from afar for many days, thinking I didn't see him. ”I had never been so attracted to anyone as I was to you. You were captivating I needed to know more about you.”

One day, while he watched me pick flowers in a field, he dozed off in the summer sun. When he awoke, I stood over him, laughing at him. I had apparently known he had been following me all along. We spent every day together after that. He said that I never took him to my home, and I only met with him during daylight hours. We were in love.

When he finally confronted me about Giovanni, I didn't deny it. I merely told him that the Giovanni I cared about no longer existed. He asked me to run away with him. He wanted to make me his wife. He had dreams of me being the mother of his children. I was too afraid of Giovanni to go with him. We stayed and tried to hide our affair. Pallo said I disappeared for several days without notice.

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