“Yes, my lord.”
“Once an antidote is produced, we’ll have to test it.” The Prince looked over at Maximilian. “Perhaps you can convince a few of the recruits to donate their bodies to science.”
The large man grinned. “With pleasure.”
“Stefan, coordinate the testing of the toxin with Maximilian. I want reports as soon as possible.
“I’m sure I don’t need to impress upon everyone the need for caution.” The Prince laid stress on the word. “Matthias was felled from a rooftop in full view of witnesses. It’s possible the hunters are here to do more than harvest blood.”
He paused and two of the Consilium members exchanged a look.
“Such as?” Aoibhe pressed.
“Such as force us into an open confrontation that would attract the attention of the Curia.”
At the mention of the name, the Consilium members looked troubled. Stefan fidgeted with his pocket watch, opening and closing it repeatedly.
“On my order as Prince of Florence, Teatro is now closed. I want the underworld evacuated and all communal gatherings canceled. Citizens are to remain in their primary residences and feed inside. This is for everyone’s safety.
“Niccolò, now that the patrols are under your supervision, I expect that there will be no further breach. See to it.
“Pierre, the human intelligence network is to be charged with locating the hunters and discovering their supply lines. Someone knows where they’re hiding. I want them found.
“Maximilian, until we have protective shields, no one is to escalate a confrontation.”
“Yes, my lord.” The Consilium members, augmented by Stefan, spoke in unison.
“You are dismissed.” With a curt nod, the Prince strode out of the chamber, the weight of his principality heavy on his shoulders.
Chapter Forty-three
“You say this film is based on a novel? Was it written in Italian?” The Prince held aloft the DVD cover to The Godfather.
“No, English.” Raven placed the DVD into the player and nodded at Ambrogio to turn on the projector. “That reminds me. You said sard was English. But in my dictionary, it isn’t a profanity; it refers to a stone.”
The Prince turned his attention to his servant. “Ambrogio, we’ll ring if we need anything.”
“Yes, my lord.” He bowed and exited the room.
The vast sitting room on the second floor had been transformed into a theater. The curtains had been pulled over the windows and a large screen had been hung on the far wall. A projector sat on scaffolding behind a large antique sofa.
Lucia had even provided buttered popcorn and Coca-Cola.
“Sard? The stone?” Raven sat on the couch, tucking her uninjured leg under her.
William sat beside her. “Sard is Old English. I’m afraid my profanity is a product of my human life. I never quite caught on to the modern words.”
She handed him the large bowl of popcorn, but he refused.
“You have to eat this when you watch a movie.”
He looked at the contents of the bowl and wrinkled his nose. “What is it?”
“Corn that’s been cooked. And buttered.”
He pushed the bowl away. “We don’t eat such things.”
“Just try it.” She handed him a single, buttered kernel.
He examined it closely.
He sniffed it.
He popped it into his mouth and began chewing. “Not bad.”
“Good. I knew you’d like it.” Raven grinned.
William picked up a paper napkin from the ottoman and discreetly removed the remains of the kernel from his mouth.
“What did you do that for?” She stared at him as if he’d grown another head.
“We can’t digest human food.” He balled the napkin up in his fist and put it aside.
“I guess I’ll save the M&M’s for myself. I think you’ll like this film. It’s about the Mafia.”
He gave her a puzzled look. “Why do you think it would appeal to me?”
Raven pushed her hair behind her ear. “It’s a great film with a great cast. The opening scene sets the tone for the entire movie—it’s a meditation on justice.”
She glanced up at him before focusing on her drink. “I think you’ll find it interesting.”
William observed her for a moment. Then he closed his eyes and inhaled.
He opened his eyes directly.
“You’re anxious.”
“No, I’m not.” She reached into the popcorn, pulling out a healthy handful.
He took the bowl from her hand and placed it on the ottoman.
He moved closer. Too close.
“Tell me what’s troubling you.” He placed his hand on her knee and she tensed.
“Nothing.” She moved away slightly and nibbled on her popcorn.
“You’re lying. I can smell it.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “How can you smell a lie?”
“Your body chemistry changes in accordance with your moods. You’re anxious about something and every time you lie, your anxiety peaks.” He moved closer and caught her chin, lifting it. “Whenever I touch you, I elicit the same reaction.”
“William,” she protested, looking away.
He pressed his lips to her temple.
“Are you anxious about going to bed with me?” His lips moved against her skin.
She closed her eyes at the sensation.
“I said I wasn’t sleeping with you tonight.”
“You’re planning to engage in sex with me soon.” He kissed her again, this time brushing his lips against her forehead. “Why not tonight? Why not now?”
She leaned into him but only for a second.
“You’re going to spill my drink.”
He took the glass from her hand, placing it on a tray next to the popcorn.
“Problem solved.” He kissed the edge of her jaw, pulling her closer. “I am a vigorous lover. All vampyres are. Because you’re human and because I—” He cleared his throat. “I’ll be careful. You tell me what you want, how gentle, how hard . . .”
He brought her hand to his thigh. “I’ll lead the dance, with you in mind. All you have to do is feel.”
Raven felt her skin flushing and she mumbled a curse word.
He touched the apple of her cheek with his index finger. “It pleases me that I excite you. I’m looking forward to watching your face when you climax. Tell me, what do you enjoy? What do you crave? My tongue between your legs, in your mouth, on your breasts?
“Do you want my hands to roam your body or would you rather I lifted your arms above your head?
“Do you prefer to be above or below? Sideways? From behind?” He kissed her ear.
Raven shot off the couch so quickly, she almost fell.
“Stop.” She pressed a hand to her face, trying to cool the heated skin.
“Why?”
“I don’t like bullshit and that sounds like bullshit. Stop talking to me like that.”
William’s expression changed in an instant. He stood, glaring. “What’s the issue, Raven? I thought we’d come to an understanding.”
She held up her hands. “I just want a quiet evening and a movie. Can’t we forget about all that other stuff ? And relax?”
William moved toward her but stopped, noting that she was extremely agitated.
She didn’t appear afraid, but neither did she seem comfortable.
His seductive strategy was failing and that pricked his pride.
His features hardened. “We are going to bed together. You will welcome me inside your body. It’s only a matter of time.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
He gestured in frustration. “Why the hell not?”
“Do vampyres transmit sexual diseases?”
“Of course not!” His nostrils flared. “Do you think I would do that to you? That I’d knowingly give you a disease?”
“Humans have to discuss disease before they have sex.?
??
“Vampyres are impervious to human diseases. We cannot contract them or transmit them. Next issue.” He crossed his hands over his chest.
When she didn’t respond, his eyes narrowed.
“This is all subterfuge. What’s the true reason you won’t go to bed with me?”
“I went to see Bruno,” she blurted out.
“I know. And?”
“He didn’t remember me.”
“I warned you about that. Vampyre blood can cause memory loss.”
Raven looked over at her cane, which was resting against the sofa.
“We went out. We had dinner and laughed. He kissed me. Today, he was completely indifferent. He barely looked at me.” She gave William a tremulous look. “I’m tired of being invisible.”
His expression softened. “Come here.”
“No.”
He extended his hand in her direction. “You aren’t invisible to me. I think I’ve made that clear.”
Raven turned to stare at the empty movie screen. “What happens when you really see me?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You wouldn’t,” she mumbled. “You’re beautiful.”
“You seem to be forgetting that I want you.” He gestured to what stirred behind his trousers. “Badly.”
She met his eyes and gave him a long look. “Tonight I don’t need a lover. I need a friend. Can you give me that?”
“Vampyres don’t have friends.” William retreated a step.
He was about to deny her; she saw the resolve in his gaze.
Abruptly, his face changed.
“If that’s what you desire,” he said primly, gesturing to the couch.
She sat down, and this time he positioned himself a few feet away. He placed the popcorn bowl between them and handed her the drink.
“Thank you.”
He didn’t answer, his posture stiff, his face glowering.
She pressed play on the remote control.
William was so engrossed in the film he didn’t notice Raven set the popcorn bowl aside. Nor did he notice when she moved toward him.
During the scene when Michael comes to his first wife on their wedding night, she rested her head on William’s upper arm. Without thinking, he shifted so that his arm went around her shoulders.
She burrowed against him.
“Is it dangerous?” she asked.
“Is what dangerous?” He looked down at her profile.
“Having sex with a vampyre.”
His gaze returned to the screen. “It can be.”
“For my body or my heart?”
He leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“I thought your heart was part of your body.”
She met his eyes and the smile faded from his lips.
“I can’t answer that, Cassita,” he whispered.
Raven tried to focus on the film, pretending his words didn’t trouble her.
In the middle of the night, Raven awoke in William’s arms. They were in his bed.
William was on his back, shirtless, stroking the skin of her shoulders, while she curled into his side.
The room was dark. The curtains had been drawn across the balcony doors. A small shaft of light shone from under the door that led to the hall.
She blinked up at him, trying to make out his features.
He smiled. “Hello, pretty girl.”
The shadows made her bolder, as she forgot that he could see in the dark. She lifted her hand to his face and pressed against him. Her green eyes darkened with an unexpressed emotion.
Somehow, her feelings transferred themselves to her lips. She kissed him purposefully, nibbling his lower lip before taking it into her mouth.
William touched her neck, angling so he could deepen the kiss. As soon as their tongues touched, sparks flew.
Raven moved her leg over and between his, shifting so she was half on his chest. She rested her hands on his shoulders, enjoying the feel of the muscles under her fingers.
His tongue entered her mouth and retreated, enticing her to follow, while his palms brushed the length of her back to rest on the curves of her bottom. By all accounts, he liked what he felt, squeezing and kneading the flesh with his hands.
She licked at the seam of his lips before dipping inside. Back and forth and in and out.
William’s pace was focused but unhurried, as if he were determined to enjoy every point of contact, every sensation.
He traced the hills and valleys of her spine before grabbing her oldfashioned nightgown and lifting it to her thighs.
“William,” she murmured, pressing their lower bodies together.
He rolled her to her back and whispered fine kisses along her jaw and down to her neck.
She drew in a sharp breath.
“Please don’t feed from me. Not our first time.”
He lifted his head, conflict visible in his eyes.
He blinked slowly, like a cat.
“If that’s what you desire.”
He nuzzled her cleavage before slipping her nightgown from her shoulders, baring her expansive breasts.
“These are exquisite.” He brought her breasts to his lips, eagerly licking and sucking.
His mouth, like his tongue, was cool. Raven enjoyed when he laved her nipples, before pressing them against the roof his mouth.
She wound her fingers in his hair, massaging his scalp.
“I could spend days right here. You truly are a work of art.” He rested his chin below her breasts and gave her a wide, enchanting smile.
Once again, Raven forgot he could see clearly and believed only that he was referring to how she felt under his hands.
She tugged his head toward her and kissed him, allowing herself to explore the muscles of his back and lower down, where his hips met his backside.
William was lean and strong and, it seemed to her, controlled. But she could feel the power coiled beneath her fingers.
“You aren’t attached to this nightgown, are you?” he whispered, fingering the fabric that pooled around her waist.
She shook her head. “It’s yours.”
“Mine?”
“It’s what I woke up in the night after you took me home. You must have dressed me.”
In a flash, the nightgown was torn down the middle and carelessly tossed to the floor.
“It must have belonged to one of Lucia’s predecessors. I never should have put you in it.” He rested his hand on her lower abdomen, gazing down at her appreciatively. “You’re far more desirable naked.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of her black lace underwear, coaxing her to spread her legs.
She bit her lip in anticipation, squinting against the darkness at the beautiful man who knelt before her.
“Very lovely,” he murmured as his fingers traced a pattern over the lace.
Then, with a quick rip, her underwear was gone.
Raven held her breath, eyes wide.
“Cassita,” he said gently.
He placed his hand over her heart. “Your heart rate is too fast. Breathe.”
She struggled to breathe deeply, excitement and anxiety still overtaking her.
William’s thumb stroked the skin beneath her right breast.
“You aren’t a virgin. Why are you so anxious?”
“It’s been a long time,” she managed to say, feeling shy.
“Humans are fools,” he muttered. “Your figure is perfect—lush and attractive.”
He kissed down the center of her body, stopping just above her pubic bone.
He closed his eyes and inhaled.
“You smell incredible.”
He reached up to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to lick you until you climax, then I’m going to enter you and you’ll climax again. Don’t forget to breathe.”
He moved back and placed his hands on her upper thighs. “Open.”
She did as she was bidden. Then his mouth was between her legs.
Raven?
??s head sank back on the pillow and she closed her eyes, focusing entirely on the incredible sensation of his cool tongue on her most private places.
There was something exceptionally erotic about having a powerful being between her legs, eagerly giving her pleasure.
She clawed at the sheets, a series of moans escaping her throat.
William lifted his head, remarking her reaction with a wicked grin. Clearly he was enjoying himself. He teased and licked, nipped and sucked, before closing his mouth over her.
Raven’s body tightened as she came, then she floated on a wave of pleasure before crashing down.
She tried to pull away, but he held her to his mouth, coaxing every last tremor out of her body until she finally collapsed against the bed.
Then he arced over her, hand against her hip, and pushed inside.
She was still sensitive and felt herself stretched beyond what she thought she could take.
William cursed and withdrew before filling her once again, very slowly.
He brought their noses to within inches of one another and brushed the hair from her eyes.
“Look at me,” he ordered.
She glanced up at him, at eyes that burned into hers.
“Don’t think. Give yourself over to pleasure.” He moved inside her, withdrawing and plunging forward, again and again.
The strokes were deep, intense, but the pace was slow.
Raven placed her hands on his lower back and slid them to his backside, urging him to increase his speed. She felt his muscles flex and contract under her grasp.
He bent down to take her breast in his mouth and she closed her eyes, groaning in delight.
A few more strokes, a few more kisses and nips to her breast, and she was orgasming again.
William nuzzled her neck and licked at the flesh, biting her gently.
She ignored him, focused as she was on the feeling that spread from her insides throughout her entire body.
His pace increased slightly but he gave no sign of coming.
“Are you—?” she managed to say, still in the throes of an incredible climax.
“No.” He grinned at her knowingly before kissing her neck once again. “I can go for hours.”
Raven felt the last of her orgasm recede. She rested her hands on his lower back, stilling him.
“Did you say hours?” She panted, out of breath.