“Cradle robber.” Her dimple peeked out. “That is an amusing idea.”
He pulled her up and she floated over him, coming to rest on his chest.
“Hello.” Ben slid his hands over her shoulders, down her back, and over her bottom before he reversed course and did it all over again.
She melted into him.
“I know you didn’t take another lover,” he said. “But did you have anyone who just hugged you? Chloe? Even Cheng?” Ben didn’t like the pirate, but he did care about Tenzin, and Ben was starting to think she’d been completely touch-starved.
“Chloe forced a few hugs on me, but Cheng and I aren’t currently speaking.”
His hand paused. “Because of me?”
“In a sense. He is not jealous—he knows our relationship was not comparable to what you and I share—but he did not approve.”
“Of what?”
“Of my taking you to my father.”
Ben frowned. “Really?”
“He thought I overstepped the limits of friendship.” She looked up and into his eyes. “He could understand the impulse of the moment, but then I refused to leave you alone.”
So Cheng was offended on Ben’s behalf? That was… oddly honorable of him.
“I will say the following thing was kind of annoying,” he said. “But I have to admit that if you hadn’t followed me, I probably would have been worried about you.”
Ben took a deep breath and tasted the air. He could smell the water in the canal, the scent of wool warmed in the sun, and above everything, Tenzin’s blood.
The constant, comforting scent of her had quickly become the reason he took his next breath. He did not need to fill his lungs, but he did need her. It was a little frightening how much.
Tenzin laid her ear over his heart. “He did not understand what we are.”
“Sometimes I don’t understand what we are.”
She didn’t speak for a long time. “I think we don’t have to be one thing. Humans try to classify everything because it makes life less confusing for them. But you are not human anymore.”
“No.” And Ben was learning to be okay with that. “Giovanni told me years ago that whatever we were, we were more alive together than we were separately.”
“Hmm.” Tenzin looked up and over Ben’s shoulder, narrowing her eyes at something only she could see. “I think he was right.”
He traced a finger along an old silver line that ran from her belly to her hip. “Are you going to tell me about them?”
She looked into his eyes and then away again. “Someday.”
He nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know.”
By the time they headed to Rome, he felt ready to meet the world again.
“We need a proper bed for that house.” Ben looked down as they left Venice behind. “I’ll call Silvio when we get back to New York.”
They flew above the clouds and out of the swarm of insect life that hovered over the lagoon. When the city lights were only a twinkle on the ground, Tenzin set a relaxed pace. After all, it was only an hour or so to Rome.
“Where do you want to stay in the city?” she asked.
Ben frowned. “Giovanni’s house, of course.”
“Because you have options now.” Tenzin flew in front of him and turned, flying leisurely through the deep blue sky. “You should probably know about the safe houses now. Did Tai tell you?”
Ben knew there was probably nothing that would hit her while she was flying, but Tenzin flying backward still made him nervous. “Can you not?”
“Not what?”
“Um…” He was being ridiculous and thinking like a human again. “What are you talking about? Safe houses?”
“They’re a little like human embassies, I suppose. Consulates? I’m not sure of the word.” She shook her head. “They are little pieces of Penglai Island in different cities around the globe.”
“Oh right,” Ben said. “Yeah, like embassies.” And that was a bird barely missing her shoulder. “Tenzin, can you just—”
“There are safe houses with facilities in all the major cities of the world.” She completely ignored him and any random objects flying in her vicinity. The wind whipped her hair around in a riot while birds darted this way and that out of their path.
Ben asked, “So there’s one of these safe houses in Rome?”
Tenzin did a barrel roll before she answered. “Where did you think I stayed when we were in Rome?”
Ben had never really thought about it. He stayed at his uncle’s house near the Pantheon, and Tenzin was always just… around. Come to think of it, he’d never asked her where she stayed. “I always assumed you had a house.”
“I don’t have houses everywhere. How many houses do you think I have?”
“I mean, you have one in Venice, so I didn’t want to assume—”
“Seventeen.”
Ben blinked. “Seventeen what? Seventeen…?”
“Houses.”
Ben’s jaw nearly dropped. “You have seventeen houses?”
“More like twenty, but not all of them are houses. One is a cave in Bali and there’s one in Turkey that couldn’t be classified as—”
“Twenty?”
“Keeping in mind that not all of them are used regularly.”
“How many do you use regularly?”
She shrugged and rolled again so she was flying above him. “Define regular.”
He looked up. “If you were roaming around? Maybe once a year.”
“Oh, then I only have five. New York, Shanghai, Venice, Tibet, and Fes.”
“Fes?”
“Very few automobiles in Fes. I like it. I bought a house there only five years ago.”
Ben muttered, “I had no idea.”
Tenzin flew in front of his face, her eyes glowing. “I am telling you so many things, and I’m not worried about killing you! Chloe will be very impressed.”
Ben couldn’t stop his smile. “Good to know. So tell me about these vampire embassies.”
She floated to his side again and rolled in the wind. “I don’t know if other courts have them, but Penglai has bought property in cities around the world so that anyone in the court who needs access to a safe place has one in what might be hostile territory.”
“And there’s one in Rome?”
“There’s one in all the major vampire capitols.”
“So… Paris? London? Nairobi?”
“Of course. Buenos Aires, New York, Winnipeg.”
“Winnipeg?”
Tenzin looked at him like he’d taken a blow to the head. “Where else would you put the vampire capital of Canada?”
“I mean, obviously Winnipeg,” Ben muttered. “Don’t know what I was thinking.”
“So we can stay in the safe house in Rome if you want,” she said. “Or we can stay near the Pantheon. I’m sure we’ll be safe either place.”
Ben sensed this was more about Tenzin than him. “Which place would make you feel more comfortable?”
She looked over her shoulder. “The Penglai house.”
“Then why don’t we stay there?” He sidled up to her and slipped an arm around her waist. “I don’t mind.”
“Fabia was very angry with me; I don’t want to needlessly provoke her.”
Ben had to smile. “New Year’s resolution?”
“I think Chloe would be proud that I’ve done as well as I have.”
“So is that why you don’t want to stay at the Rome house? Fabia’s my friend. She wants me to be happy.”
“I think she is in love with you. I don’t think she realized it before, but she is.”
“I don’t think so.” He looked at her. “Fabi will be fine. I’m more worried about you and Beatrice.”
“Beatrice has a right to be angry.” Tenzin settled under his arm like a bird beneath a wing. “She wanted to change you herself. Her or Giovanni.”
Ben couldn’t dispute her, because that was probably a part of their anger at
Tenzin. Maybe a big part.
“I will admit,” he said, “when I considered the idea, I always thought it would be one of them.” He took a deep breath. “And if that happened, I would be angry, but I would have you, and we’d work through it together. No matter what, I’d have you.”
She floated up to his face and framed his cheeks with both her hands. She leaned forward and kissed him, lingering at his mouth until her amnis rose in his blood and he felt their connection like a thousand invisible threads binding them together.
Tenzin holding his hand in Rome, while Ben grieved the first time he’d taken a life.
Tenzin next to him while he piloted a truck of rotting vegetables through China.
Dancing through a sweltering summer night in Venice.
Laughing through an overly formal ceremony in Edinburgh.
He remembered a kiss in a cave that had almost taken his life, and a sword in China that had ended his mortality.
She had been there. For everything, she had always been there.
“If it had happened the way they wanted it” —he whispered against her lips— “I wouldn’t be flying with you.”
“No.”
Ben kissed her again. “So I think things happen for a reason, even if we don’t see the purpose at the time.”
Tenzin smiled. “You really are Giovanni’s son.”
41
The safe house in Rome was not fancy, but it was nestled into a particularly green space bordered by the Tiber River and the Circus Maximus. The location was probably chosen because it presented the best balance of the elements that could be found in Rome, though Ben thought it also might have been because of the gelato place on the corner, which rivaled the one by the Pantheon in excellence.
Of course, it had been a while since Ben had gorged himself on gelato, so he decided that when Giovanni, Beatrice, and Sadia arrived in Rome, the best place to meet them was at Sadia’s favorite cremeria near the Pantheon.
“Tenzin!” Sadia ran toward her favorite vampire, holding out her arms. “You’re here! You’re really here!”
Tenzin leaned over and grabbed the small girl, lifting her into a hug before she set her on her feet. “And you are very tall now.”
Sadia huffed out a breath in the cool spring night. “Yeah. I am.”
“Hi, gremlin.” Ben felt like a whole lot of chopped liver.
“Hi.” She hugged him around the waist and lifted her arms. “Piggyback ride.”
“Are your legs not working?”
She threw her head back. “Pleeeeeease? I was on the plane for so long. Forever and ever.”
Ben rolled his eyes; then he lifted his little sister and put her on his back before he walked over to Giovanni and Beatrice.
Giovanni was smiling with everything on his face. His mouth. His eyes. Even his hair looked happy.
Beatrice was smiling with her mouth, but her eyes looked concerned.
“Hey, B.” Ben leaned over and gave his aunt a long hug. “I’m okay. We’re okay.”
“Mm-hmm.” Her smile was tight, and her eyes kept darting to Tenzin over Ben’s shoulder. “I want you more than okay.”
He took her shoulders in his hands. “I am far more than okay.”
His aunt examined his face. She pinched his chin between her fingers and stared into his eyes for a long time.
“Mama, what’s wrong?” Sadia was hanging off his shoulders. “Voglio il gelato.”
Beatrice allowed herself to smile. “Nothing’s wrong, baby. Everything is good again.” She clapped her hands and reached for Sadia. “Stop climbing on your brother and get down. You’re a big girl, and your legs aren’t broken.” She took Sadia’s hand, helped her down, and they walked to the cremeria, which was brightly lit in the dark azure twilight.
Tenzin watched Ben and Beatrice as they chatted in line, waiting to buy ice cream for Sadia. Giovanni stood next to her, watching the evening crowd, from the elderly humans out for a stroll to the ancient vampire who sat on the wall bordering the Pantheon, trying to remain inconspicuous in the shadows of Rome.
“I can smell his amnis on you,” Giovanni said. “You’re nearly mated.”
“It’s too soon for that.”
“No, it’s really not.” Giovanni glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Does he understand what that means? Do you?”
“He’s not a child, Giovanni. Neither am I.”
“He’s my child.”
“He’s your son; he is not your child.” Tenzin watched Ben. She watched the strong, even line of his shoulders and the softness of his grip as he held Sadia’s hand in his. She watched Ben’s eyes as he measured the world around them, weighing every danger that might threaten the precious and vulnerable girl he’d claimed as his sister.
Mating was complicated. She had taken Stephen as a mate for political reasons. That blood bond had been planned and accounted for. It was never intended to be something permanent.
Would Ben want something permanent?
What had permanent ever meant to her? When life stretched into eternity, did creating permanent bonds make sense? The thought of taking a mate again, having her body and mind so entangled with another…
She wanted to be with Ben. Ben wanted to be with her. Did it have to be more complicated than that?
What they were was enough. For now.
Giovanni spoke softly. “My son looks peaceful.”
“He still has terrible moments,” Tenzin said. “But know that I will end any human or vampire who threatens his peace.”
“He wouldn’t want you to.”
“That’s why he is who he is, and I am who I am.” Tenzin looked at Giovanni. “He is a good man. And a better immortal than either of us.”
Giovanni smiled. “My sire spent years trying to mold me into the perfect vampire, the most excellent and ideal specimen of immortal life. Philosopher, warrior, scholar, poet, artist.” He looked at Tenzin. “And five hundred years after he failed, a street child picked my pocket and became the man I could never be.”
“He made himself,” Tenzin said. “But you made that easier.”
“You’re right.” Giovanni looked at his son. “He is better than either of us.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Tenzin patted his shoulder. “You’re really an excellent librarian.”
Ben looked over his shoulder when Giovanni burst into laughter. His eyes met Tenzin’s and held.
Philosopher. Warrior. Scholar. Poet. Artist.
If Benjamin Vecchio’s canvas was the people he loved, then he was already a master.
This is why he is necessary.
He was still learning. She was still growing into her next life.
One day we will be infinite.
Epilogue
Three months later…
Ben froze midstride, his sword poised at Tenzin’s hip.
She watched him, her head cocked to the side as she took the measure of his stance. He was loose, his hips relaxed and his arm poised to strike. The corner of his mouth turned up. He knew he had the advantage.
They’d set the rules for no flying, and with Ben’s increased speed and reflexes, he was on the verge of besting her.
Again.
Unless…
Tenzin ran her tongue along her bottom lip and let her fangs grow.
Ben blinked, his eyes drawn to her mouth. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
She nicked the corner of her lip with her fang and let her blood well, and his eyes glazed over. “What?”
Growling, Ben slapped her ass with the flat of his sword before he leapt on her. “You fight dirty.”
“That isn’t a win!” she managed to yell before he tackled her to the ground.
His mouth locked on hers, and he sucked the drop of blood into his mouth. She wrestled him to his back, only to have him flip her over and spread her legs with one knee.
Were they wrestling or was this foreplay? She often had a hard time distinguishing between the two.
/>
The low, happy growl that came from Ben’s throat told her that it was foreplay.
Excellent. Sex would be much better than losing to him in another duel. It had happened twice now, and she was worried it would become a habit.
He had the advantage in strike distance now, and it was highly annoying. She had to stop agreeing to fights on the ground. It was far easier to fight dirty in the air.
She wiggled away from him and ran up the stairs, eager to see if he ran or flew trying to catch her. More and more he defaulted to flying, which delighted Tenzin.
The wind loved him. It danced around him in flight, played with his hair, and lifted him with a manic kind of glee. The wind had always been her comfort, but for Ben, it would be his joy.
Mood swings still happened, and Ben still had dark nights. He’d seen his father driving a cab on Houston Street three nights before and sank into a sullen mood he’d only shaken when he woke that night. She was hoping that challenging him to a duel he was likely to win would brush the last of the shadows from his eyes.
Judging by the low chuckle behind her, the idea had worked.
She flew up to the loft and crouched in the corner, daring him to come in.
Ben set his toes on the edge and hovered. “Tell the truth—you did that because I was going to win.”
“You wish.”
He smiled, and the beauty of it made her forget to breathe. Seeing Ben happy had become her obsession.
He fell on the mattress he’d dragged up to her loft and tugged her hand. “Come here.”
Gladly.
She jumped on him, bracing herself over him as he stripped the clothing from her body. They rolled and tumbled in the bed, falling out once, only to have Ben float them back.
Their coupling was fast and full of laughter. Though Ben was still learning her body, he knew what brought her pleasure quickly and what would draw out sensual torment.
That night he wrapped her in his embrace and pinned her high on a wall, wringing a climax from her before he found his own release. It was fast and intense, and she took his blood as he came, drawing out his pleasure as long as she could.
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