“Aren’t you?”
Dante turned to face him and planted his hands on each firm butt globe as he rubbed his swollen cock against the rigid bulge in Alex’s slacks. “What does that tell you?”
A low grumble echoed in Alex’s throat as he pressed his mouth against Dante’s. Dante welcomed the cold, seeking tongue as it swept inside. His arms crept around Alex’s neck, his body and mind focused on what they were doing to each other and how good it felt.
A rap sounded at the door. A voice announced, “Dinner is served.” Muffled footsteps moved along the corridor on the lush carpet.
Dante moaned in disappointment. They released each other. Alex ran a finger from his temple to his neck and said, “To be continued.”
“I would hope so.”
Dante washed his hands and face in cool water, giving his rigid cock time to soften and subside. In the mirror, he saw Alex removing the gems from his carry-on and feeding them into the secret pocket of the leather belt Dante would wear. The last thing he pulled from the bag was the emerald-and-diamond necklace set in heavy gold. It was the most valuable of the treasures Dante would carry.
Brilliant flashes from the diamonds and emeralds reflected in the mirror, almost blinding him. The provenance of the necklace determined it had been designed in the early nineteenth century as a birthday gift from an emperor to his mistress. It had disappeared after the fall of that small empire, resurfacing only thirty years ago in America. Now an Italian who owned a palazzo in Venice had purchased it at a Christie’s auction. Global was under contract to Sotheby’s and Christie’s to make some of their deliveries, and the Venezian palazzo was their destination.
Alex ran his white fingers reverently across the dazzling jewels, his expression serious. “Did you know the only couriers robbed or killed were delivering items similar to this— whose value mirrored that of these gems?”
For the first time on their journey, Dante felt a small stab of alarm. “No, I didn’t. I wonder why Hank didn’t pass on that little bit of information.”
“As CEO of Global Diamond Couriers, Hank Walton is quite good at omitting important details if he thinks it’ll bring a reaction. In fact, he plans this kind of thing with great care. He told only Malcolm and me because he did not wish to alarm you unduly.”
“He seems to have complete faith in the two of you guarding me.”
Now, Alex’s face broke into a smug smile. “Oh, yes.”
He’d never seen Alex smug before. He smiled, remembering their hair-raising adventures in Naples and New Orleans. “I do recall some of your work.”
He watched Alex’s nimble fingers zip the hidden belt compartment. Dante threaded the leather strip through the loops on his slacks and fastened the buckle. His jacket hid most of the belt. After running a comb through his hair, they were ready to go.
Alex opened the door and peered out, then signaled the all clear. Dante felt a little silly because he’d never worried about his safety when he’d carried precious metals and stones before. He was always cautious, but he’d never been afraid. Now, he wondered if he should be. Although he knew it would be rare if he were to be attacked in as safe a place as Venice, he wasn’t eager to be roughed up. And certainly not to die.
So I’ll be patient, he told himself. I’ll play this charade of being in danger, even if it doesn’t seem quite real.
Dante stepped out first, and Alex followed because the corridors were too narrow to walk side by side. Dante knocked on Malcolm’s door, and the three of them went in tandem to the dining car. Despite their relaxed postures, Dante knew his friends. Knew the vampires were on full alert.
The minute they stepped into the cramped dining car, the smell of foods roasting and baking mingled with the scent of wine, coffee, whiskey, and liqueurs caused Dante’s stomach to growl. They each ordered a la carte, the vamps pretending to eat while surreptitiously slipping their food to Dante, who planned to clean every plate.
“Is everything in place for tomorrow morning?” Malcolm asked, as he held a fork of pulled pork poised to go into his mouth. Of course, it would never make it there. It would end up on Dante’s plate and in his stomach instead.
“Sunblock, makeup, dark glasses, gloves, and hats with wide brims,” Alexandros answered. He toyed with a fluffy pudding slathered with red cherry sauce and topped with a snowy dollop of whipped cream. His laugh was light, as if Malcolm had said something humorous. Dante’s laughter joined in, but they were all playacting.
“Mmm, this food is excellent.” Dante meant it. “I was starved, despite the wonderful breakfast and lunch we had aboard the company jet from London.”
“A top French chef is in charge of the cuisine here.” Malcolm lifted his head, nostrils flaring, to enjoy the scents fully. “The food does smell wonderful. A pity swallowing it would make me so ill.”
“Malcolm and I must send our compliments to the chef,” Alexandros said.
Dante almost choked on his dessert. Their laughter was no longer an act.
“I’m a little worried about tomorrow morning,” Dante said once they’d composed themselves. “Can you stay awake until we reach our hotel?” Once sleep hit the two vampires, it was difficult to wake them before late afternoon.
“We’ll have slept enough to guard you. No one’s going to pass out on you. The dark glasses and wide brims will help fool our natures into thinking it isn’t daytime.” Malcolm reassured him.
Dante stared out the window. The train rocked along, its ride rougher than that of modern trains. The faint clickety-clack of the wheels on steel rails formed a rhythm section all their own. The train swayed over another difficult patch. A passenger walking down the aisle grabbed the back of a booth to steady herself.
For a moment, Dante didn’t know if he was being manipulated into feeling confident all would be well or if Malcolm was saying what he believed—or wanted—to be true. Either way, he decided he’d have to be on full alert tomorrow to keep his guards awake until they were safely ensconced in their hotel suite. Since Venice was reportedly safe, except for an occasional pickpocket, his concern wasn’t about being attacked; it was what in hell he’d do if the two vampires collapsed in a deep sleep on the street.
Also, Alexandros had almost died from sun poisoning in Naples, and he couldn’t allow that to happen again.
Getting real, he admitted to himself, if he were actually in danger—if his delivery had been noted and leaked to criminals—there was a slight risk tonight because Malcolm had a separate cabin. Judging from how small their quarters were, it wouldn’t have been possible for all three of them to get any rest in one cabin. The double bed in their sleeping cabin filled almost the entire room, and Dante looked forward to sharing it with Alex, even though they’d be crowded. Malcolm would’ve had to sit at the banquette if he’d stayed with them.
If Malcolm was with them, Dante couldn’t have sex with Alex.
“You’re smiling,” Alexandros said in a soft voice.
Dante gazed into eyes as green as the emeralds Alex had let sift through his cool, white fingers in their cabin suite. Like the inclusions in natural emeralds, his eyes held layer after layer of depth. One could study Alex’s eyes for days and not discover every mystery they held. Dante nodded without speaking, but reached under the table and ran his hand along his lover’s thigh. He was smiling because his thoughts had been on those few seductive moments before dinner was announced. It had been the only time they’d been alone together since they’d flown out of Los Angeles two nights ago.
His hand crept toward the juncture of Alex’s legs, and the instant he caressed the stiff boner there, a cold hand stopped him.
Alex grinned and whispered in his ear, “Patience, Signor Rocco. Do not start something we cannot finish.”
His breath was cool and smelled fresh and clean. Considering his meals consisted of drinking blood, this never failed to amaze Dante.
Malcolm stood. “Shall we go?”
Their meals were included in the cos
t of their tickets and tips were prohibited. Dante and Alex rose together, and this time Malcolm took the lead.
Alexandros put his arm around Dante’s shoulder and followed. Whereas Malcolm would have been searching around for anything menacing, Alexandros had the uncanny ability to sense a coming threat sight unseen.
“We can play chess in the lounge car,” Alex suggested. “A pianist will be playing music appropriate to the era there this evening.”
“You two play. I’m going to read the Italian newspapers.” Dante’s spoken English was good, but his reading of it wasn’t. Now that he was back on Italian soil, homesickness filtered in. Reading a paper that he didn’t have to struggle over would be a sweet treat and more absorbing than a game of chess.
While the pianist’s fingers flew over the keys with muted renditions of jazz, swing music and the blues, the two vamps sat and studied the carved ivory pieces on the chessboard in silence. Alex’s seat was near Dante because he’d know trouble was coming before it happened.
At first, Dante was aware of the music and the occasional tick of a playing piece tapping the board as it was moved or toppled, then he concentrated only on his newspaper. He read every page, every ad, and loved it.
He felt a touch on his shoulder and fingers that squeezed without hurting.
“Time for bed,” Alexandros said.
“Who won?”
Alex looked up at Malcolm, emerald eyes dancing, and bowed slightly from his waist. “Herr Müeller, of course. He usually does. As a former officer in the Prussian army, he’s a consummate strategist.”
Dante checked his watch. Almost midnight. The witching hour. For him, it signaled the hours when he would be bewitched by the hands and mouth of an ancient Greek immortal, whose strategies in the art of fucking couldn’t be surpassed.
Chapter Three
Alexandros closed the door behind them. Raimundo had been here. Their bed had been prepared for the night, and chocolates in gilt foil lay on each pillow. The steward had pulled the shades down in both rooms, and the lights were set on low. He opened his arms, and Dante came into them, so warm and alive. He heard his lover’s heart beating regular and strong. He ran his hand up Dante’s throat, cupping his jaw to tilt his face up. Angling his head in, he captured lips he thought he’d never tire of kissing.
Dante’s response was immediate. He opened his mouth as Alexandros plunged in to taste him, to savor his heat and wetness. Their tongues met in a dance, seducing as he enjoyed this human he loved. He felt his dick grow and fill until it was stone-hard and big. He couldn’t suppress a groan as he released Dante and moved away, reaching inside his slacks to settle his cock so it would align with his thigh.
Puzzled, Dante said, “What?”
Alex put a finger to his lips and studied Dante’s protruding slacks. “I think you’d better take care of that thing.”
Brow furrowed, Dante adjusted his cock, too, until they each just had one thigh a little fatter than the other. He finished not a minute too soon because a knock sounded at the door.
Raimundo wheeled in a small cart carrying a flagon of champagne and two crystal flutes. He lifted the bottle from a metal bucket of icy slush and held a linen cloth under the drips as he allowed Alex to inspect the label and then Dante.
Dante turned questioning eyes to his partner.
“Excellent,” Alex said to the steward.
“Shall I pour?”
“Please do.”
There was a pop when the cork was removed and a gurgle as the pale drink filled the flutes. The bubbles danced in the wine, and Alex watched with pleasure as his lover’s eyes widened and a small smile crept across his features.
Raimundo bowed.
“Thank you.” Alexandros slipped a bill into the steward’s hand.
“Press the button when you’re ready,” Raimundo said, and backed out.
Alex passed a flute to Dante and clicked his own to it. “Happy anniversary, Signor Rocco.”
Dante’s face broke into a wide grin as the significance of the champagne became clear. “To Naples.”
“And to us.” Alex even managed a slight touch of the wine to his lips, although it would’ve made him ill to swallow it.
Dante sipped and sighed at the taste of the bubbly wine. “Perfetto.” Then he drank deeply and coughed.
“You forgot about the bubbles so quickly, my lover.”
Dante’s eyes watered. “I did. It tasted too good, and I think my meal made me thirsty.”
They laughed together when he’d overcome the effect of the effervescence, and Alex let the sounds of happiness wash over him. Then he drew a small box from his carry-on on the rack above the sofa and handed it to Dante.
“What’s this?”
“We’ve been together a year now.”
The laughter faded from his lover’s face and embarrassment filled it. “I had no idea we were celebrating or I’d have gotten something for you.”
“What I feel for you has only grown deeper…richer…as we’ve been together. I thought it required something special, so I had this made for you.”
“You had something made for me, and I’m not even Count de Bienville of New Orleans?” Happiness filled Dante’s face as he teased in reference to a forfeit Alex had once paid for him.
Alex experienced a moment of anxiety because of what he’d dared with the gift and he studied Dante’s face as he opened the box.
The banter stopped as Dante drew in a sharp breath. “It’s beautiful, Alex.” His dark brown eyes glistened with unshed tears in the soft lighting. “Sometimes I forget you aren’t human.”
“Once was,” Alex said, his throat tightening. His concern dissolved when he saw how his gift had touched Dante. “Will you wear it on your left hand?”
Dante looked into his eyes without flinching or dodging him. “Yes.”
Marriage between vampires and humans was forbidden all over the world, but Alex slid a gold band whose central emerald was flanked on either side by a dark blood ruby onto the third finger of Dante’s left hand. Their initials, the date they’d met, and today’s date were engraved inside the band. Murmuring endearing words of commitment, he knew his human could not translate but would sense their depth of feeling and meaning, he turned Dante’s palm over and kissed it.
Dante’s voice was hoarse as he struggled for composure. “It reminds me of you. The emerald reminds me of your amazing eyes.”
“And the blood rubies of what I am?”
For a moment, Dante froze, then he set his flute aside, and his lips tightened puckishly. “No…of your sense of humor. You know I love you, whatever you are. Feeling for you what I do, I’m just damned lucky you’re a vampire and not a demon.”
Dante’s voice was low as he said, “Come here, Alexandros Nicolaides. Let me thank you properly for my wonderful gift.”
Alex could feel the ring as Dante threaded his fingers through his and drew their hands behind his back to rest on the swell of Dante’s ass. Alex, being a little taller, bent his head as Dante’s mouth sought his. Kissing him was like being drawn into a living furnace that satisfied the need he had to be connected to life. Dante’s hot body locked against his, igniting the desire he’d had when the knock for dinner had interrupted them. A growl issued from deep in his throat as he sought to meld his hard, hard cock with Dante’s.
Dante released their hands and reached for the buttons on Alex’s shirt, but Alex ripped them open with one quick pull. Dante broke the kiss, yanked off Alex’s shirt and ran his hands across Alex’s chest, pinching and gliding over every inch of him. Fingering the fine blond hairs on Alex’s arms and chest, he followed them down his belly.
Alex was so lost in the sensations Dante created that he was barely aware his belt had been unbuckled and his slacks unzipped, until Dante’s hands were stealing their way up the inside of his silken boxer briefs, spreading their warmth over his sensitive inner thighs and around his aroused cock and balls. He stood still and let Dante make love to him�
�something deeper and more pleasurable than just a good fuck. It was making love at its richest. A moan escaped his throat as the briefs joined his slacks at his ankles and Dante took him into his mouth and sucked while his hands kneaded Alex’s buttocks and finally closed in to caress the hole at the base of them.
When Dante’s tongue whipped around the tip of his cock, Alex’s climax was sudden and so powerful it wracked his body hard enough to rock him. He clung to Dante’s shoulders to keep from collapsing and pinning him to the floor.
When he’d recovered, he gently drew Dante up, rid himself of pants and briefs, then carried him to bed, where he slowly undressed him. He knelt to straddle him, careful not to rest his cold weight on Dante, letting his gaze wander over the lover spread beneath him.
“Perfetto,” he murmured, as he stroked the wet cock jutting up at him.
Dante, eyes closed, was restless with desire.
Alex rolled him over and, as his eyeteeth lengthened into fangs, he dragged them lightly, tauntingly over the unblemished form. His fingers massaged the taut back muscles, down to the important one in the cleft between his butt cheeks, and then his fingers dipped into the heat when the thick muscle there relaxed and let him in.
He was aroused again, his cock big and thick and icy. When he plunged into the opening he’d prepared, Dante gasped and caught his rhythm until Alex climaxed again as he drove Dante over into the free-fall of orgasm.
Pulling out, he threw on sweatpants and a shirt to make his way down the corridor to the lavatory to wash. “Lock the door behind me and don’t open it for anyone. When I get back, I’ll ring for the steward.”
Dante nodded in the midst of slipping on some casual clothes.
“That is a stupid idea. You shouldn’t be left alone. Come with me.” He held out a hand, and Dante, smiling, locked his fingers with Alex’s.
Holding hands, and because the swaying corridor was too narrow for them to be side by side, they stepped together sideways. At Malcolm’s door, they knocked and waited for him. He stood guard outside as they entered the lavatory together. Then he led them back to their suite and returned to his own.
Night Train to Venice Page 2