by Reina Torres
But at that moment, she just didn’t want to think about it anymore. She didn’t want to fight it anymore.
“Then take me to your room, Uberto.”
“Our room, Ana.”
He pressed his fingertips into her curves and she gasped, bringing his gaze squarely onto her lips.
“Yes, our room,” she agreed with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, “take me there and show me how much you need me.”
He pressed his lips to hers and nibbled at the fullness of her bottom lip. When she pulled away, his teeth still had a hold on her lip until he let it go with a pop.
“And then,” she looked at him with heat sizzling through her body, “I’m going to show you how much I need you.”
A moment later, her feet were off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his body, hooking her ankles together behind his back. The shift in position rocked his cock against her at just the right angle.
Her head fell back on a moan and his curse was music to her ears.
“Wait for me, mia anima. I want to be inside you.”
She sank down against him as her eyes met his. “You’re always inside me.”
As she watched, his eyes went midnight dark and another thrill passed through her. His lip twitched up to reveal the sharp point of a fang.
“Oh, I’m going to be inside you, Ana.”
And then he was moving down the hall, holding her tightly against him, devouring her lips as they went.
Chapter Eleven
Morning came too soon and the last thing Uberto wanted to do was stay curled up around his mate. That, and maybe wake her up with his mouth, and his hands, and his…
The phone rang and Uberto rolled over, snatching it up in his hand. He didn’t have to look at the screen he knew the call by the ring. He felt bad about answering it with Ana sleeping beside him, but he couldn’t wait.
“Allegra?”
He heard two things. One – the silence on the other end and Two – His growly tone.
“Allegra? What’s-”
“I am sorry, Uberto. The time difference, I forgot.”
“Hey,” he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and scrubbed a hand over his face, “don’t ever be sorry. If you need me, I’m here.”
“I should have checked the clock before I called you, or even the internet for time conversion,” she was rambling, “but no matter where I am, it’s always dark. So how would I know?”
He heard a sharp indrawn breath, and then he swore he could almost hear her squeezing the phone tighter.
“What happened, Allegra? Is it the baby?”
“No!” He winced a little at the volume of her answer, but he was too relieved to care. “Not really…”
He felt his stomach clench. “Where is Valerio?”
“He’s with Salvatore visiting clients.”
“Tell me, Allegra. Tell me what’s wrong, please.”
He felt the bed move and a few moments later he felt a warm and gentle hand on his back.
“It’s not ‘the’ baby, Uberto,” she sighed, and he could hear the painful scratch of her voice made raw with tears, “it’s two.”
“Two?” The word burst from his lips with a gruff congratulatory growl that felt good rolling through his chest. “That is wonderful news!” Then the momentary silence on the other end had him up on his feet. “What’s wrong, Allegra. Tell me, what’s wrong with the babies?”
He could hear her soft sounds. Choppy indrawn breaths. Sniffles. Odd sweeping sounds as if she was wiping her tears on her sleeve instead of a tissue.
“Allegra, if you don’t talk to me right now, I’m calling Val-”
“I’m afraid, Uberto.”
He could hear her alternately mumbling and trying to breathe.
“About what? Talk to me, Allegra.” He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled open a drawer, pulling out a pair of shorts and began to pull them on. “What are you afraid of?”
“I don’t know.” He heard the fear in her voice and the odd crack of her breath. She knew. She just needed time to think.
“Uberto?” He heard Ana’s soft voice and turned to look at her. She was sitting on his side of the bed, a light sheet held over her breasts by her hand. Her eyes were still half-lidded from sleep. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head and moved back to the bed, sitting near her on the edge. Almost immediately he felt her touch his back.
“I was already scared about having a baby,” Allegra had begun to speak softly as if she was thinking through her words before saying them, “I could handle a baby. I have Valerio to help, but two? How will I handle two?”
“You have help, Allegra. You know we’d do anything for you.”
“No, no,” she sucked in a breath, “I should be able to do this on my own. Women have babies all the time. Women take care of babies all the time.”
He murmured back to her, wishing he knew what to say. But he also felt helpless being so far from them. Uberto fisted his free hand, laying his forearm along his thigh. “You’re going to be fine, Allegra.”
“Teach me, Uberto,” she murmured softly into the phone. “Teach me to be as fearless as you are.”
He wanted to laugh out loud, but he knew Allegra was too fragile for that. He wanted to laugh, because he realized how little his brother’s mate understood him. “I’m not fearless.”
Now it was Allegra’s turn to laugh, her chuckles were rough with the remnants of her runny nose. “Yes, you are!” A moment passed, and she continued. “You are so brave. I don’t think you’re afraid of anything.”
“When Natale disappeared, I was afraid. When you were taken from us, I was afraid.” Uberto felt something touch his arm and when he looked down he saw Ana’s fingers slowly tracing the lines of his veins from his elbow to his wrist. Her touch normally inflamed his senses, but now, it settled him, and helped even more when she leaned against him. “And the first time I held Amara in my arms I knew true terror, thinking someone could hurt that beautiful little cub, but I also knew determination.”
Ana moved closer, wrapping her free arm around his middle. She turned and placed a kiss high on his shoulder and he felt the warmth seep through his skin.
“I knew that we’d do everything we could to protect her, because she was family.” He lifted a hand and covered Ana’s hand where it lay on his stomach. He threaded his fingers through hers and felt her fingertips against his skin.
Her touch was addictive and he was willing to be under her thrall as soon as he helped Allegra.
“Do you love your cubs, Allegra?”
“How could you ask that?” Her voice hissed over the line, pulsing with a raw anger. “How could you? You know that I love them, just as much as I love Val.”
He felt Ana pinch his arm and ignored her.
“Because you needed to hear the answer, Allegra. You’re so worried about problems that haven’t even had a chance to happen. Besides that, you’re one of the strongest and most resilient women I know. With you remarkable hearing and your innate sense of space and that amazing mind of yours, you’re going to be a natural with those babies. And you know that Valerio will do everything he can to help you, but you need to remember that you’re one of the family. You have us to help, whenever you need it.”
“Like when I call and wake you up? Sorry, again.” Her voice wavered, but she he heard a little laugh as well. “Thanks for talking me down off the wall on this, Uberto. I miss you. We miss you. Take care of what you need to do in Santa Biago and then bring your mate home to meet us.”
He paused for a moment, hesitating. “How- Allegra, I didn’t say anything about-”
“You’ve got your strength,” she sighed, and her laughter eased some of the tension that had pinched at his neck muscles, “and like you said, I have my ears. You had this… wistful tone when you spoke about going back. Worried and wistful. So, I hope what you were worried about is working out for you. And that you bring her home to meet us.”
His own laugh felt a little raw in his throat. “I’m going to have to be careful what I say around you from now on.”
Allegra yawned on the other end of the connection. “You should have thought of that sooner, but you know how much I love you.”
“Go to sleep, Allegra, before my brother blames me for keeping you up.”
“Good night, Uberto.” He swore he could hear her mind working. “And goodnight to your… mate.”
The phone call ended and Uberto looked down into Ana’s dark eyes, sparkling with mischief.
“And you say she’s blind?”
With a satisfied sigh, he nodded. “I’m beginning to realize that she sees more than the rest of us.”
Ana’s fingers eased away from his skin and she sat up a little higher so that her teeth could rasp lightly over his bare skin. “I like the way you talked to her. Liked the way she spoke to you. She trusts you. Confides in you.” She couldn’t help the sudden stab of jealousy that knifed through her heart. “I’m glad she has you.”
She felt him turn to look over his shoulder at her, but she ducked her head, turning her cheek against his shoulder blade. Emiliana had to concentrate on the task of breathing in and breathing out. She didn’t think Allegra was any danger to what she felt for Uberto or what he felt for her, but she was beginning to realize that ten years ago when she was so sure about everything she felt, she was ready to carve it in stone. “You’ve changed.”
Uberto covered her hand where she’d laid it on his arm and gave her hand a squeeze. “I hope that’s a good thing.”
Emiliana squeezed her eyes shut and drew in a steadying breath. “I think so?” She still wouldn’t release him enough for him to shift and turn around to face her, at least without physically moving out of her embrace. It was a cowardly thing to do, but she couldn’t exactly let all of her defenses down at one time.
Not after she’d held onto her indignation all of these years.
“I know you’ve been telling me that you’ve changed. I’ve heard the words and I thought I was seeing little bits and pieces of it in how you’ve acted, but-”
He didn’t even try to move or break free of the position she’d put them in.
It boggled her mind.
It confused her to no end.
And she had to realize that maybe, all of this time…
“You’re not faking it.” She knew he could hear the incredulous tone of her voice, she heard it loud and clear. “You mean it.”
She could almost feel him smiling through his body. The way the tension in his shoulders eased and the way he relaxed against her.
“And it wasn’t just because I was starting to see it, ‘Berto. It was Allegra’s call.”
Emiliana eased back from him, further onto the bed and watched him turn until he was facing her.
She continued on. “I heard the way you spoke to her, the way she leans on you for help. For reassurance. Where you always like that?”
Her throat was raw with unshed tears.
“Did I miss who you were all these years?”
Remorse clawed at her insides, pulled her closer to the edge of her tears.
“Allegra might be blind, but she sees a side of you that I’ve never seen. Or was it that I was blind to you?”
When he crawled to her, she saw more of his bear pushing toward the surface. His shoulders felt broader and the dark eyes that met hers felt more bear than human. And yet, the gentle way he approached her, touched her nose with his, and then slid his cheek against hers. She didn’t pull away from his touch. She leaned into it.
Her bear leant her some strength, but she felt a warm wave of it from Uberto. It was a heady feeling for her. A gentle rush of heat and need.
“I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited to hear you say those things,” Uberto sat on the bed beside her and pulled her into his lap. He pushed his nose into her hair and took in a long breath. “But I also have to tell you that you weren’t wrong. Not really.”
She sat back a few inches to look at his face.
“I wasn’t the same man ten years ago.” He took one of her hands in his and lifted it to his mouth. Placing a soft, reverent kiss on the back of her hand he looked up again to meet her gaze. “Like you, I knew… everything. The world was supposed to meet my expectations.” His grin took on a rueful twist. “I found my mate in you, so you were supposed to feel the same way. We were two parts of the same soul, right?”
She felt a smile tug on her lips. “You were supposed to feel the way I did.”
“And I was so convinced that if you would just listen to me. If you would just let me explain how things were-”
“And I knew if you would just open your eyes and see how unhappy I was, everything would be just fine.”
Uberto’s eyes closed and he shook his head. “We were young.”
“You were a pain,” she corrected him, and her smile widened when his eyes flew open to meet her laughing gaze. “And yes, we were young.”
“And if you hadn’t sent me away,” he swallowed, and she struggled not to focus to closely on the heavy bob of his Adam’s apple, and how much she wanted to taste the skin along his neck, “I can imagine-”
She heard his laughing tone and she looked up to meet his eyes, well and truly caught in her musings.
“I can imagine that we would have both stood our ground until we’d come to hate each other.”
Emiliana’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. “Something else we can agree on. I would have threatened to castrate you at some point.”
His cheeks colored ever so slightly under the rich tan of his skin. “You did that.”
“I did?” She covered her mouth with her free hand. “Are you sure?”
Uberto’s eyes looked away toward the ceiling and she swore she could almost hear him thinking it over. And counting. “A couple of times. Maybe three?”
Her stomach sank, and she shook her head. “I’m sure I did.” She managed to recover some of her smile. “But, I’m also sure that you probably deserved it.” A silent moment passed between them. “At least, I thought so back then.”
“I’m not perfect, Ana. I will never be perfect.”
“I’m not asking for you to be perfect. I just want to know that we’re older now. More…”
“Mature?” He tried to supply the word.
“Understanding,” she offered up another choice. “And that being your mate doesn’t just mean following your rules or doing what you want.”
He grimaced and shook his head. “If I tried to say that now,” he hissed in a breath, “Allegra and Natale would do the castrating for you.”
“Allegra?” She arched a brow at him. “Really?”
“Of course,” he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and spoke in a soft cadence that brushed their lips together, “Natale would hold me down and give Allegra the knife. I’d likely pray and bleed a great deal, but they would enjoy the pain and suffering. In solidarity to you.”
“Ha! But I’ve never met either of them.”
“It wouldn’t matter,” he nibbled at the sensitive spot just under her ear, “they’ve fallen in love with an Orsino. It’s bound to drive one or all of you into a murderous rage at some point.”
“And what will you do then?” Her laugh ended on a moan as his tongue swept over the same spot.
She felt his breath puff over her skin as if he was laughing too. “Grovel and most likely beg. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make my mate happy.”
Emiliana turned slightly and straddled his lap, allowing the sheet that she’d held to her naked body fall away and pool at her hips. “Then let’s stay here today,” she turned the tables on him and slanted her lips over his. “I want to get to know this new you even more.”
He enjoyed the kiss, but she could feel him preparing to pull back. With a sigh she leaned back a little.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” his immediate response was there in a heartbeat, “I have more
people to see today, mia anima.” He smoothed his hands up her arms and pulled her closer for a kiss. “But tonight, Ana, I will show you how happy you make me.”
“And I,” she gave him a contented sigh, “will do the same.”
Chapter Twelve
Her father arrived the next morning, determined to explain his position, but Emiliana had other things in mind.
Seated beside Uberto she gestured toward a chair a few feet away.
A moment after he sat down in the chair, she spoke. “Am I a woman?”
The question seemed to confuse her father. “What kind of question is that?”
“One that I want answered. Am I a woman?” She didn’t hesitate even though she knew that her father had a short temper if he felt she was playing games with him. The only things she had in her favor were that she wasn’t playing a game and she had Uberto by her side.
The thought itself was comforting.
Nodding slowly, as if he was worried that he was walking into an ambush. “Yes, you are a woman.”
“And that is why you entertained an offer to push me into a mating?”
“An offer from a man like us, Ana. A shifter eager for a mate.”
She felt Uberto tense beside her. He was her mate and the way he took her hand in his she felt comforted by his presence and hoped she returned the favor to him as well.
“Why me? Surely, he knew that I wear ‘Berto’s mark.”
“A mark,” her father only seemed too happy to point out, “that you rejected.”
She felt a sharp twinge of regret in her chest. Like a seed planted in fertile earth, her complaints and her repeated justifications for sending Uberto away and only grown in her father’s mind. And no doubt in the minds of the people around her.
“It was something personal between Uberto and myself, and I made the mistake of telling you about it.”
Uberto’s leaned against her arm. “You were young.” He sighed. “We were both young. And I didn’t help, thinking I knew what we should be, how you should let me care for you.”
“Has it changed?” Her father’s voice was tight, strained. “Have you changed your mind about Uberto?”