He heard the argument getting louder as he quickly made it to the living room. His extraordinary hearing told him that his father and Luke were losing the battle. He silently cursed his libido for enticing him to leave them in this serious situation without help.
“The unfortunate reality of the situation is that we cannot identify what or who provoked the attacks,” Eric pointed out.
“I think Sophie made a good argument.” Giovanni chimed in, making it apparent he’d returned to the debate. All eyes- with varying emotions, turned in his direction.
“Some would say you’re too close to the situation,” Harmony, the Amazonian woman directed her concern his way.
“However close you think I am to the witch doctor is my business and of no consequence in these proceedings.” Giovanni defended himself.
“I was referring to your sire,” Harmony shot back. “But now that you opened that can of worms, it might be important to note you’re compromised two ways. Perhaps you should recuse yourself from this discussion.”
Giovanni ignored the angry glare from Gregor and argued, “Like hell! If I leave this trial there’d be no one defending my father.” He fisted his hands at his side, guilt taking a front row seat on his emotional rollercoaster. “I think you have enough evidence at this point to reconsider the punishment laid out before us.”
“I think we can all agree Luke and Gregor were attacked, but for the safety of all concerned they will continue to be detained. Is that fair?” Anastacia asked the group.
All said ‘yeah’ except Gio, who voted ‘nay’.
“Good, it’s settled.” Anastacia tapped the gavel against the table closing the case for now. Gio may not have liked the outcome, but at least the wolf and his father had been spared, for now.
“And the nephilim?” Gio asked.
“We’ve called in a telepath.” AB answered firmly.
Gio felt a moment of pity for the young nephilim. Telepath’s were relentless in gathering information, and the ones the council often employed didn’t care about damaging the subject’s brain. While he and Dante had hurt his body in search of answers the telepath would unravel cupid boys mind and not care what else he or she destroyed in the process.
Deep down, he knew he should protest the use of such force, and it bugged him that Sophie had that kind of influence on him. He was someone to be feared, not someone who was sympathetic. He’d built a reputation, and in a few days the dark haired, green eyed vixen was reducing him to someone who’d ordinarily disgust him.
Regardless, his instincts told him he needed to find a way to help Christopher without ruining his reputation, and to avoid seeming weak in the eyes of the council. It would be easier that way. They’ve already made it clear that he had loyalties elsewhere. While there was truth to the accusation he was still committed to his place on the council. The safety of the town and its inhabitants came first. What the council didn’t understand was his loyalties at this moment were on the same path. They were the ones not seeing the truth of the matter. He nodded his head to the council, “I’ll have him brought back to headquarters.” He pulled the angel half-breed up out of his chair.
“No. Carter will take him, along with Luke and Gregor to the police station.” AB interrupted Giovanni from exiting with his prisoner.
Two Amazon women stepped to either side of him and waited for him to release Christopher. They towered over his six foot three inch frame. He released Christopher rather quickly.
“I think that would be good. Sorry, Gio but I have to agree with everyone else on this. You may be too close to the situation.” Eric offered as he patted Giovanni on the back.
Giovanni nodded stiffly. He’d have to find another way to rescue Christopher. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever expect to want to protect a possible hunter, but Sophie, and the feelings she elicited in him, made him want to be a better man in her eyes. He hated the way she seemed to be nervous or anxious around him at times. He also disliked being shoved aside which was what his long-time friends and fellow council members were doing.
“I’ve spoken to Sophie about proper protocol when addressing the council.” He grumbled. He needed to protect her and letting them know he’d dealt with the insubordination appropriately would keep her from seeing the council’s wrath – which could be merciless when warranted.
Chapter Twelve
The council dispersed quickly and Giovanni made his way from the room faster than most. He needed to find some privacy and put together a plan to save the idiot nephilim from untold punishment. He wanted Sophie to see him as more than a monster, and saving Christopher, while it was the right thing to do, might also win him points with his raven-haired nymph.
He felt a touch of guilt for lying to the council on reprimanding Sophie, but he knew it was necessary. At least they’d be happy they decided to give each other space. The space would keep him from having divided loyalties. But the space didn’t keep him from imagining how he could, and would, someday, take pleasure in making her scream his name in the throes of passion for all the trouble she has caused him. All of the ways, included touching her skin, which only pulled him deeper into the fantasy his mind was creating. He loved the heat her touch created between them. So much warmth for a man who’d been cold for so long. A harsh cold reality he’d simply accepted long ago as his own penance.
“Proper protocol?” Sophie stood in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest, and irritation written all over her beautiful face.
She startled him, stopping him in his tracks to search for an acceptable response. He was surprised to see the woman had followed him down the stairs, and he wondered if she knew the punishment Christopher was about to face.
Sophie narrowed her knowing green eyes on him. “Pray tell,” dear Gods why am I speaking in old English? “What is proper protocol?”
“Sophie,” he sighed heavily, “if I hadn’t addressed it they would’ve sent someone else to address it with you.” He moved closer, needing to touch her. He slipped his fingers into the belt loop of her jeans and pulled her waist against him. A mischievous smile made his lips twitch upward, “This new promise of cooling things off for a while is not going to work if you insist on looking at me with that disapproving glare.” He opened the door behind her and slipped them into the den. “If you insist on remaining in close proximity to me, flashing those beautiful green eyes in my direction I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you.” He whispered in her ear as he pressed her against the wall. Evidence of his attraction to her pressed into her body and a moan escaped her lips. She didn’t mean to, and she slapped her hand over her mouth immediately, but it was too late.
He nuzzled his lips against the skin of her neck and tingles of energy ran through her body. Normally, she was ticklish on her neck, but his touch sent passion through her, overriding the usual response from her sensitive skin. His lips kissed the apex of her neck and she almost lost it. His day’s growth of stubble scraped against her hyper-sensitive skin, and her knees went weak.
“You drive me mad with need.” His voice was raspy as he slipped a knee between hers to support her weak-legged response.
“Really? I don’t mean to.” She lied to him and herself. “If you’ll tell me what I’m doing wrong, I’ll stop.” Please don’t stop.
For a moment longer he was lost in her honeyed scent, then her words funneled through his fuzzy brain, and he pulled his head back, shock in his eyes. “You really don’t know the power you have over me, do you?”
Sophie shook her head, her long black hair moving with the motion. She didn’t dare speak for fear her voice would give her desires away. If she had half the effect on him as he had on her he was a saint in pulling away.
That sexy grin tipped his lips upward again. “I could tell you, but I’d much rather show you.” He pressed her harder against the wall making it impossible for her to escape-not that she wanted to escape. His hands moved to her arms and caressed her skin soft as a feather sending invol
untary shivers down her spine. His eyes grew darker, and bore into her soul as he pinned her to the wall with a simple look. One hand moved under her shirt and caressed her belly. Sophie felt herself losing control. With every touch her need for him grew. She wanted to touch him back, but every time she reached for him he snatched her hand, kissed the inside of her wrist, and put it back down at her side. He was forcing her to feel his need for her, and enjoy his touch.
His hand moved up her stomach and with two fingers he unclasped her bra. Thankful she was wearing a front clasp. A gasp left her lips, and he covered the sound with his mouth. Every part of her body ached for his subtle seduction, his gentle touch. She pushed her chest forward, her breasts aching for his cold caress. But he held back. “I feel your need for me, I can smell your desire, taste the urgency in your kiss and body language, but do you feel my desire for you?” He asked, really needing her to know he wanted her.
Sophie felt a sudden brazen urge. She reached her hand in between their bodies and unbuttoned his jeans. “No, but if you’ll let me inspect the evidence I…”
Giovanni growled and punched the wall behind her. Sophie didn’t flinch. His hand shook as he lowered his head and stepped back from her. He needed to feel pain to get his mind off taking her right there. It would be so easy. She was ready for him, he was ready for her, but whatever was between them was different, and he wasn’t going to blow it with impatience. He crossed the room with a few long strides and watched as multiple council members made their way across Sophie’s front yard to their vehicles through the window. It was a sobering reminder of the important matters going on around them.
“You can’t do that, Sof.”
He used an abbreviation of her name that sounded intimate and wonderful to her ears. “What?”
“It’s taking everything I’ve got to walk away from you right now.” He continued to keep his back to her as he watched more cars leaving down the street.
She placed a soft hand on his shoulder, “I know we agreed to slow things down, but I can’t do that when you touch me, kiss me, or look at me with those stormy, sad eyes. I can’t explain it, Gio, but I want you too. So much so that I’m willing to move as fast as you are.” Sophie was surprised at the words that escaped her lips. Was she really this weak? She couldn’t even make it one hour before she crumbled under his touch?
He turned, happiness sang in his eyes. “You mean it? You’ll be my girl?”
Sophie smiled and nodded her head, “Yes.” She couldn’t help herself. He was so happy that it was infectious. What the hell? Sometimes you have to take a big risk for big rewards. She knew it wasn’t smart, committing to him in the midst of a highly-stressed situation, but she couldn’t resist the draw between them. She’d just have to enter this relationship with a guarded heart.
Giovanni grinned as his lips captured hers in an explosive kiss. One she reciprocated with ease. He fit her like a glove.
As the kiss deepened Gio was transported back in time, back to a world where he was still human. The centuries melted away and he found himself in the arms of his first love, Beatrice. She’d just agreed to marry him, and he couldn’t be happier. Her usually chaste kisses were gone, and she allowed him access to explore her mouth while his hands roved over her body. She was his sunshine. The one bright spot in his otherwise miserable existence, and she finally agreed to be his.
His lips moved from hers, and caressed her neck causing giggles to escape her and chime through the air around him. He’d stolen her away to the forest behind her father’s mill to ask for her hand. Her father had told him no, but he couldn’t help his desire for her. His fingers tangled into her black curly ringlets as he searched for the pins that held them captive on top her pretty head. She was so fragile and perfect, and his, all his to protect for the rest of their lives.
“Well, lookie here.”
Giovanni noticed the smell of alcohol before he saw his drunken bastard of a father. His biological father eyed him and Beatrice. Giovanni tried to push her behind him protectively. He knew how bad the bastard could get when he’d been on a binge. His tattered clothes, blond hair soaked in dirt and grime, and the evil glee in his blue eyes told him he’d been on a long drinking journey, and was still in the midst of it.
“Ain’t Miss Beatrice LaFonatello a sight for sore eyes.” He grabbed Bea’s arm and ripped her powder blue sleeve off as Giovanni pulled her back and tried once again to push her behind him.
“Thank you, Mr. Brainard. You are looking…unwell yourself.”
She was a firecracker and that was why he loved her so. Even in the thralls of danger she kept her head and came out smelling like lilacs. Lilacs, vanilla and honey. It was an enticing scent that only Bea possessed.
“I’ll forgive you for tearing my dress since we are to be family soon.” She offered a tight smile and Giovanni loved her for it. A kindhearted firecracker who was always willing to see the good in people even when they were bad, very bad.
Gio’s father laughed. It sounded more like a deep roar. “There ain’t no way your father is gonna to let you marry my boy.”
Gio’s hands fisted at his side as he stepped in front of Beatrice again. He knew full well his father’s brutality, and refused to let her see it. She may not have been willing to back down, but she couldn’t stop him from stepping in front of her. He’d deal with the consequences later. “You’re drunk, father. It would be best if you left now.”
His father stopped laughing and focused deadly eyes on his son. “You think so, do ya?”
Giovanni didn’t see the punch coming until it was too late. It hit him straight in the jaw and slammed him backward onto the ground. His head hit a rock. He heard Beatrice scream his name and then the darkness overtook him.
“Gio, are you okay? Answer me.” Sophie spoke urgently in his ear.
He was on the floor being awakened by a rainfall of kisses on his face. His hands went up to her neck and cupped her face. It was his beautiful Sophie with tears in her eyes and worry in her face. “What happened?” He asked in a raspy voice.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. One minute we were kissing, and the next we were transported back in time. You were kissing some girl,” she slapped him playfully on the chest. She knew there was no need to be jealous after watching him propose to Beatrice. From the clothes and their talk she knew it was a time long forgotten, but she couldn’t help feeling a little slighted having to see it. “Then you were fighting with your father, at least you called him your father, and he sucker punched you, and you were knocked out. When you popped out of the memory you were on the floor, cold, and I was trying to wake you. And then you woke, and…” she wasn’t sure what she was saying anymore. She was just so happy he was awake and alive. Well, as alive as a vampire could be.
He pulled her down to him and kissed her lips softly to quiet her babbling. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Sophie.” Passion flared in his body when she kissed him back. It was a tender kiss, not explosive, but it was just as dynamic. When their lips parted he said, “I’ve lived a long time and had a lot of experiences. I think it might be best if we try and keep a barrier up in my mind so you don’t have to see those things.” He sat up and she stared coldly into his eyes.
“Don’t you dare!”
“Don’t I dare what?” Gio was truly surprised at how quickly she went from happy to sad to angry. He seemed to know just how to push her buttons, and he had no clue how he was doing it.
“Don’t you dare hide your past from me! I’ll try not to invade your privacy with these new powers, but you need to understand I can’t always control them.” Gio nodded as she went on. “Anyway, I’ll try not to invade your mind, but don’t you dare try to hide anything from me. I want to know you, all of you, the good and bad you.”
“There’s a lot more bad than good, I’m afraid.” He shook his head sadly. There was no way he’d let her see all the horrible things he was responsible for. “I haven’t always been the man I am today. I was, a
t one time, long ago, the monster you think all vampires are.”
“I’m sure there is. You’ve lived a long life as a vampire. But I know that, and I accept that.” She looked at him closely. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, but she knew he was vastly older than that. “How long?”
Gio stood up. He was speechless. She was amazing. She was accepting him for all the good and bad, and she had no idea how much bad there was. It made his heart warm. “How long… what?”
“How long have you lived?”
The Witch's Vampire Page 14