“Casimir.” She said his name softly.
“Get the fuck out of here.”
She remained where she was. She understood everything now. He detested himself for not saving the widow, but more, he believed he had become the thing Sorbacov tried to create – the monster he’d refused to be all those years of empty loneliness – of being everyone but Casimir Prakenskii.
She shook her head. “I’m not going to do that. I’m never going to do that. You’re mine, Casimir. Mine. You aren’t Sorbacov’s. You don’t belong to him. You never did. Luigi and Arturo can’t turn you into a monster. You aren’t capable of being a monster. Don’t you dare ever put yourself in the same category.”
“I burned that fucker alive.”
“You found a woman dead, in a pool of blood, a woman he tortured and killed. We’re fire elements. What did you think was going to happen? Had I come across a scene like that, do you think I could keep fire under control? You can blame yourself for Carlotta suffering those nights you were outside, but you and I both know, we can only make decisions based on what we know. We had a timetable. You couldn’t risk getting caught just to satisfy curiosity. Had you broken into that building, you might have blown our covers. We didn’t know what was in there.”
He didn’t respond, he just looked at her. There was pain in his eyes. Pain a monster would never feel.
“I need to come to you now, Casimir. I need to put my arms around you and hold you. Will you let me do that?”
He continued to stand there without speaking, his eyes drifting over her face. He was utterly still, as if holding himself together and if he moved he would shatter into a million pieces.
She didn’t ask again. She crossed the space between them and slid her arms around him, pressed her body into him tightly. Laid her head over his heart. “If I haven’t told you yet, I love you. I know it’s too soon to say that. I know you’re going to say I don’t know you, but now, right now…” She tilted her face up so her eyes could meet his. “I saw all of you. The best and the worst. I saw what they tried to shape you into, and I know that’s part of who you are. I also know they didn’t succeed the way they wanted because of your character, because of who you were born to be. Because of your genetics and your parents and your brothers. You might not have been raised with them, but they were there for you. Inside you. Helping you hold out against the monsters. I see you, Casimir, and the man I see, the one you are, that’s the man I love. Don’t take him away from me. Don’t let the Arturos, Luigis and Sorbacovs win.”
Very slowly his arms came up to wrap tight around her. He didn’t say anything at all, but he nearly broke her in half tightening his hold on her, locking her to him so hard he clearly wanted to share the same skin. They stood there, just holding each other, and then he finally dropped his head over hers, his lips in her hair.
He drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “You have to go to Luigi. Can you do it? Can you play out this charade? The cops will want to question him about Arturo. We can’t kill him now. Not and have it look like an accident. Someone will be suspicious.” He loosened his hold on her to catch her chin in his palm, lifting her face to his. “Can you do this, Giacinta? Because if you can’t, we’ll leave. We can disappear and come back in a few weeks or I will, and finish this.”
“I’ll finish it.”
“It might be best if you go to the States and wait for me there.”
She shook her head. “You can’t get close to the Sorbacovs and you have no chance at all without me. With me, with both of us acting together, we can eliminate them and come out of this alive. I’m not about to let Luigi and his plan to rule Italy as head of two families ruin our chances to ensure your brothers and my sisters a peaceful, happy life.”
His gaze moved over her face. Possessive. Still angry. Still upset, but loving her. She felt that. Loving her. He didn’t say it, but she felt it.
“Kiss me, Casimir. Right now. I need to carry your strength with me when I go down to him. It’s going to be a long night. Tomorrow I have to be the real me and go to the hotel as if none of this has touched me. The world doesn’t know me as Luigi’s niece. I’m the woman who sold him chandeliers. Everyone thinks he gave me my big break here in Italy and that we remained friends.”
He didn’t hesitate. He framed her face with both hands and brought his mouth down on hers. Gently. Tenderly. A haunting, evocative kiss that would stay with her for a long, long time, as he meant it to.
“I’ll be in your bed, malyshka,” he whispered against her lips. He kissed her again. A little harder. A little longer. A lot more aggressively.
A slow somersault started in Lissa’s stomach. Little darts of fire streaked through her bloodstream. It didn’t seem to matter what the circumstances were, his kisses got to her. Claimed her. Took her out of whatever horrible world she was in and brought her into a much better one.
She stepped away from him because she had to. She wasn’t going to cling. If she did, he was in no state to let her go. He’d walk calmly downstairs and put a bullet in Luigi’s head and take her out of there. She was certain of it. She didn’t need that connection between them to know what was in his mind and what he would do if she hesitated.
Lissa walked slowly down the stairs, dread in every step. She’d told Casimir she could do this – and she would – but it wasn’t easy and she didn’t want him to witness her struggle. That definitely would be a disaster. She stood in the doorway of her uncle’s study. He was on the phone, his back to the door, swearing at someone. She caught the name “Angeline” and she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the doorjamb. Of course he would have to call his wife and tell her Arturo was dead. She would find out sooner or later, and it was better coming from him. He would give her the tale he’d given to Lissa – that Arturo and the widow were lovers and into kinky games.
“Tio.” She didn’t want to eavesdrop on his conversation. He spun around, and she shook her head. “Sorry,” she mouthed. “I didn’t see you on the phone.” She made as if to leave, but he waved her inside.
“I have to go,” Luigi said decisively into the phone, and hung up. “He was up there of course, or you wouldn’t have taken so long.”
“Tomasso liked Arturo. I had to tell him something since I went into his bedroom.”
He nodded. “I called the hotel. He was there and very thorough. He familiarized himself with the layout before he even spoke to the head of security. I had them pull the tapes to see what time he arrived. He couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with Arturo’s death.”
“I know this sounds horrible, Tio, and I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but if the widow was having an affair with Arturo while Cosmos was alive, could she have been carrying on with someone else? Someone who might have been jealous?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t hear any rumors about anyone else. Cosmos was pretty demanding. To get information, I had to become friends with him. I even had dinner at his house occasionally. That’s how Arturo met her. I needed to know the layout of the house and the routine his bodyguards had so I could give it to you. Maybe Aldo thought an Abbracciabene shouldn’t be spending so much time with a Porcelli soldier and he arranged to have Arturo killed in order to send a message. Who else, Gia?”
“Tio.” She gentled her voice. “You have to call me Lissa even when we’re alone. No one can know who I am. That was your order.”
He sighed heavily, nodding as he did so.
“And you can’t go to see Aldo Porcelli. You can’t. Even to get more information. If he put out a hit on Arturo, then I have to take him out this weekend. In the meantime, you need to retire to your wing of the house and have the men you trust the most guarding this place. Don’t get into your car, don’t go anywhere. Don’t allow even a cop to talk to you alone. Have your bodyguards in the room with you and have at least one standing behind anyone insisting on meeting with you at all times.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll do that,” he agreed.
; “I don’t need a bodyguard. I’m nothing to Aldo. Keep Tomasso here with you. He’s been loyal and now, with Arturo dead, you need someone good.”
“Absolutely not.” He stood up. “He’ll go with you. Someone needs to watch over you. I’m not taking any chances with your life.”
He was back to being Luigi, head of the Abbracciabene family. The man who had ordered the hit on his own brother. He wanted Aldo killed. He was too close to his goal to allow even the death of his oldest friend to delay his plans. He needed Lissa alive to take out his last obstacle.
Lissa nodded. “I’m exhausted, Tio Luigi. You must be too. You’ve been so sick and you don’t want to have a relapse, so let’s both go to bed.” She didn’t give him a chance to protest. She couldn’t be in the same room with him, not for one more moment.
12
Luigi had purchased his home in a small town far from Ferrara, supposedly to keep his niece safe. If Lissa hadn’t taken everything her uncle told her at face value, she would have realized that the Porcelli family would have kept tabs on the new head of the Abbracciabene family, no matter where he was located. Italy wasn’t so huge that he could hide.
Polignano a Mare was a very small coastal town rising out of the cliffs on the Adriatic Sea. The population varied at times, but it rarely reached more than four thousand. The town offered breathtaking views over the sea, was magnificent with its white-washed streets and variety of old churches, and boasted a beach with stunning, warm, turquoise waters, and cliffs rising on either side.
Lissa loved the town and the people who lived there. They were friendly, waving and chatting when she wandered around town or stopped at Salvadore’s, the little cappuccino bar. The town was one of her favorite places in the entire world. She looked forward to visiting it often.
Casimir told her that Luigi’s wife and sons were in his much larger estate in the city of Bari, only about forty-seven kilometers from Polignano a Mare, a short enough drive. Bari had an international airport, making it easy for Lissa to fly in from the States. That also made it easy for Luigi to travel back and forth in forty minutes or less using the main highway. He could retire to his apartment feigning illness, sneak out, and be home in record time.
The hotel was beautiful, family owned and an enchanted retreat for celebrities that heard about the gem on the staggeringly beautiful cliffs. Lissa had been there a few times just for drinks and dinner. The food was always amazing and the views spectacular.
Tomasso reached around her to open the door of the hotel for her, his body brushing against hers. A shiver of awareness went through her, the way it always did when he was close. She leaned back into him for a moment and turned her head to look at him over her shoulder.
Casimir would be gorgeous to her in any role he assumed, but she was particularly fond of his bodyguard persona. “I inherit Luigi’s house here in the village if he dies. He showed me the papers many times over the years. I love it here.”
He dipped his head, his mouth brushing her ear, sending more shivers arrowing straight to her core, igniting a fire.
“Is that your subtle way of telling me Luigi’s home needs to stay intact with no fire damage?”
His body crowded hers, forcing her to step inside the beautiful lobby. She laughed softly, grateful Casimir could make an attempt at humor when he’d been so quiet the night before. He’d held her all night, his body tight against hers, one leg between hers, the other over her thigh. His arms had wrapped her up, locking her to him. She hadn’t minded being close – she loved it – but she hated that he was so quiet.
They’d both drifted off to sleep that way, and when she woke, he was still close. Closer even. His mouth on her breast, his fingers gliding over her body, sliding down and in, until she was panting and pleading. He made love to her so gently and tenderly, almost reverent in his touch on her body. The memory brought tears to her eyes.
Casimir was wild in bed, and she caught fire every time with him. They burned together, hot and passionate and so out of control it was crazy – ecstasy, but crazy. This time had been different, his every touch slow and beautiful. He’d whispered to her in Russian. She spoke the language, and he’d said, Ya lyublyu tyebya fsyem syertsem. I love you with all my heart.
She cherished those whispered words. He’d said them like they were ripped from his soul as he buried his face in her neck, his body deep in hers, while she pulsed around him, the moment so beautiful she knew it would be forever etched in her mind.
“Something like that,” she admitted with a quick, teasing grin.
Coming to the hotel gave her breathing room. Without Luigi close she felt alive again, happy. Relaxed even. She was Lissa Piner, a glassblower from California, enjoying a favorite area of Italy. She had business with the owners of the hotel, yes, but she could appreciate her surroundings and even the bodyguard who had been appointed to her for security.
“Miss Piner?” An older woman dressed in a streamlined skirt and jacket greeted her with an outstretched hand. She was flanked by the head of hotel security and her manager. “I’m Mariana Loria. Please call me Mariana.”
“And I’m Lissa,” Lissa said, taking the woman’s hand.
Mariana had a firm handshake. Her nails were beautiful as was her skin. Her hair was streaked with gray, but it only added to her elegant beauty. “Welcome to my hotel, Lissa. We’re so grateful you made the trip. We’re very excited about the unique designs you’ve come up with for us.” She gestured around the lobby. “As you can see, we strive to give our guests a very different experience here. We want them to never forget their visit. Private balconies with dramatic views of course are offered, and the rooms are utter luxury, but we want every appointment inside the hotel, everywhere a guest looks, to look and feel like luxury.”
“This is one of the few hotels that isn’t owned by a conglomerate,” Lissa said. “I love that it’s a family hotel and so welcoming and beautiful. I think you’ve managed to convey that as well.”
Mariana inclined her head with a small smile of approval. “I like to think so. We’re very proud of the fact that this hotel has been in the family for generations and each generation has improved it. We want it to be very modern, yet maintain the old-world feel of a glamorous past.”
Lissa walked through each room Mariana wanted to add a chandelier in. Five in the lobby. Two in the ballroom. Three in the five-star restaurant. If she got such a large order, the farm would be in money for a long while, especially since Mariana wanted the hotel’s chandeliers to be original designs no one else had. She had sketched ideas based on the hotel’s history, in keeping with a days-gone-by, opulent era. The chandeliers she had in mind would drip long spiraling white buds and cascading white leaves that shimmered with light from every angle.
“You do understand that because I have to do each piece by hand, each will be slightly different.”
Mariana nodded. “We looked over the crystal chandeliers every other hotel has. They’re beautiful but not unique. We want beautiful and unique. We want each piece to shout luxury and glamour. Your work does that. It’s innovative, creative, and each piece is a work of art.”
She led the way into her office. Tomasso put his hand on Lissa’s back, barely there, but she felt his touch and it warmed her. He moved into the room with her and stepped to one side to stand against the wall, his hands at his sides, appearing relaxed. He didn’t give anyone the option to tell him to wait outside.
Mariana waved gracefully toward a high-backed chair, and Lissa sank into its comfort. It had taken an hour to walk around the various rooms and allow Lissa to study each room’s unique signatures.
“We would very much like three separate designs, but ones that look similar, so they go with our hotel and are unique to us.”
Lissa caught that Mariana had used the term “unique” several times. Clearly it was important to her that the designs for the hotel were strictly theirs. A brand for them. Everything in the hotel was that way, from the silverware in the resta
urant to the furniture and pictures on the walls.
Lissa nodded. “I can do that.”
Without warning she felt the brush of a thumb across the nipple of her left breast. She had to suppress a gasp as little arrows of fire streaked straight to her sex. Instantly she was damp. She glanced over her shoulder at Casimir. He wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was straight ahead, as if zoned out, but his thumb was pressed tightly into the center of his palm.
Clearly your thoughts are on something besides your job, she accused.
Casimir didn’t reply or show in any way that he heard her.
Fire Bound (Sea Haven Sisters Page 22