After hundreds of years as an immortal, he’d amassed a fortune. Owning a Greek shipping company named after his father was one of his greatest satisfactions. He was beyond wealthy, but with the restriction of staying indoors unless thick clouds or heavy fog completely blocked the sun’s rays, there were limits to how much he could enjoy it. His regret ran soul deep.
Providing I have a soul, he thought wryly.
“Good work, Nicolaides. Stay as long as you need to. If you’ve time, I have another contact you could make across the bay.”
After the call ended, Alex lay back in bed, his hands behind his head, and wondered why Dante Rocco had interested him from that first glance. Later, it’d made sense because of who the human was. Not being a trained tracker, he’d done an incredible job in following Alex, especially in resuming the tail undetected after the incident when the thugs had attacked him. That he’d failed to pick up any signs Dante was behind him again both intrigued and irritated Alex. He’d been dangerously careless in thinking Dante had aborted his mission.
The image of Dante on his knees, white-faced and shaking from pain, but wielding a gun, ready to shoot the man with the knife threatening Alex, opened in his mind. There was no way he could’ve known Alex wasn’t in any real danger.
Later, he’d watched Dante’s face lose color when he’d realized he was in the presence of vampires, yet he’d stood up to the prince. A coward would’ve collapsed, but Dante had held onto his courage—even after Garibaldi’s head rolled almost at his feet. When Alex had stepped in front of him to declare he was under his protection, he’d felt Dante’s fear. And his strength as a man.
It had been years since he’d experienced this kind of bond with a human being or had enjoyed the unbelievable sex they’d shared tonight.
Hank’s mention of the bay sparked the idea that maybe Alex would take Dante on a night boat across it. It would be a more pleasant trip than the one on the night train to Naples. On that thought, Alex fell asleep, ignoring the little voice in his undead head that warned him not to be sucked into falling in love.
§§§§
The sun wouldn’t set until almost seven that evening, but his windowless room below street level fully protected Alex from the sun’s damaging ultra-violet rays. He awakened at four-thirty in the afternoon and sang in the shower as he anticipated Dante’s visit. After he’d dressed, he called the concierge to arrange for his company’s private yacht to cross the Bay of Naples just after sundown.
Last night, Dante had politely refrained from inquiring what was in his wine glass, so tonight Alex arrived early in the bar and ordered three of the synthetic blood drinks to tide him over for the evening. It would never taste as good as human blood, but over the centuries he’d become accustomed to satisfying his thirst without biting men and women. No matter how desperate he’d been, he’d never allowed himself to bite a child. Honor told him it would be better to step into the sun than to drink from a little person. It would be too easy to make a mistake and drain someone so small rather than just taking a nourishing sip.
By five o’clock, he was sitting in the lobby reading the Napoli News when he heard his name paged. He approached the front desk.
“A call for you, Signor Nicolaides,” the clerk said.
“Thank you. I’ll take it on one of the house phones,” Alex said.
“Signor Nicolaides, I’m glad I caught you before you went out this evening. My name is Agapeto Maciodi, and I’m Prince Massimo’s new lieutenant. Perhaps you’ll recall I was seated on the immediate left of His Highness?”
Alex tried to picture the vamp, but couldn’t be sure. “I’m sorry. So much was going on last evening that I apologize for not being able to call up a picture of individual council members.”
“Of course. It was quite an unusual meeting. However, I’m telephoning at the prince’s direction to inform you the council will have an answer tomorrow or the following day at the latest regarding your company’s proposal. Even if the opposing service is selected, he’d like to hire you separately to appraise his purchases. He asks that you consider this offer and be ready with your answer at the time you’re notified of the decision as to which courier company the prince will use.”
“I’ll do that.”
The voice on the phone dropped so low Alex strained to hear it. “Some on the council believe you should be warned that Giacomo has been removed, not only as the prince’s official gemologist, but from the council itself.”
Alex felt a twinge deep in his gut, but Giacomo had only himself to thank for the loss of the council seat. You didn’t try to usurp a royal’s power to decide who lives and who dies by giving the order to kill someone. Before he could pull his thoughts together and respond to this new development, the voice filled the silence.
“I believe you understand the seriousness of this from Signor Giacomo’s viewpoint.”
Alex cleared his throat. He didn’t need it spelled out for him. His experience several years back with the vamp had revealed his instabilities. “It would seem he blames me for the loss of face because he missed the enhancement of the diamond and for his removal from the council. It’s unfortunate he doesn’t realize there was nothing personal in my actions. I wasn’t aware I’d be asked to appraise the stones or that he provided the same service for the prince.”
“There are some in whom passion outweighs reason,” the quiet voice continued.
Which was a polite way to say Giacomo was crazy, Alex thought. “Thank you for the notice. I do understand. I’ll be careful.”
He’d returned to his seat and resumed reading the newspaper when Dante burst into the lobby. If Alex had a living heart, he was sure it would have been trip-hammering against his lungs. Since vampire hearts weren’t technically alive, he had to be satisfied with the happiness spreading through his chest like warm honey.
Dante was dressed in dark slacks, sneakers and a white turtleneck that hugged his slim body. He’d tossed a jacket over his shoulder and it hung from one finger. He was gorgeous as usual, but furrows on his brow indicated worry. He looked around frantically.
“I’m here,” Alex said quietly from behind him, taking in the spicy scent of musk from his aftershave, a scent he’d first connected to this man when he’d rescued him and later when he’d stood in front of him to declare he was under Alex’s protection.
Dante whirled at his greeting. “Someone named Maciodi called me just before I left the hotel. Did they call you about Giacomo?”
Alex put a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, but apparently you’ve forgotten what I said about his fighting abilities. I have nothing to fear from him, and if he cannot hurt me, he cannot get to you.”
He watched as Dante’s furrows subsided little by little.
“Hello,” Alex greeted quietly. He gazed into Dante’s dark eyes because he dared not touch him here in the lobby to show the affection he wanted to express. He had to use his voice and eyes.
Dante smiled. “Hey, you with eyes the color of emeralds.”
It was like a caress. “Would you like a drink now? I have a surprise for you, so we’ll eat later.”
“Is the surprise in your room?”
Alex inhaled sharply. “If you’d prefer, we can go to my room first.” He fought to make his penis behave, but the sudden slight rise appearing in Dante’s slacks gave notice his lover wasn’t trying to control his.
“I’d like that very much.”
Another vampire entered the elevator with them, so a hot sex romp there was out of the question. However, the suppression ratcheted up his desire and apparently Dante’s, too. Inside Alex’s room, they dispensed with foreplay without speaking. Dante must have been as hungry, as greedy for Alex as Alex was for him. They stripped and fell on the bed together, mouths meeting and hard cocks mating as Dante lay on top of Alex and took his pleasure by rubbing himself over the cold, hard rod beneath him, until straining and panting, they climaxed together, drenched in sweat when they’d finished.
For a time, Dante remained on top of Alex as the simmering passion they’d shared slowly cooled and brought them back to sated reality. Being human, Dante was more spent than Alex. After he’d rolled off Alex, he stayed in bed. Alex felt him watching through the open bathroom door as he washed cum from his body.
“You have a wonderful ass,” Dante said. He was now on his side and had propped himself up on one elbow, head in that hand. “But your right bun’s larger than the other. That thigh is, too.”
Alex stepped into black boxer briefs and slacks, smiling as he walked toward him and pulled a black crew neck sweater over his head. “As a young man, I was a superb athlete. I won many contests in Greece. I’m right-handed and right-footed, so that side of my body is more developed. Does it bother you?”
“Oh, no. No way. I love it. Every time I see that butt, I want to lick it. To jam myself into you.” He rose, went to Alex and wrapped his arms around him. He kissed him and slid his hands down to cup Alex’s ass.
As Dante deepened the kiss and squeezed the globes in his hands, Alex groaned with pleasure, but then released the enfolding arms and moved away.
“Later, lover. We need to go. The sun is going down, and my surprise is waiting. I see you brought a warm jacket as I suggested.”
As they entered the taxi that was to take them to the harbor, it suddenly occurred to Alex that since Dante was Italian and lived in Italy, the romantic excursion he’d planned wouldn’t be a surprise after all. Disappointment crept through him.
“Dante, I don’t know where you live. I assume it’s in Italy, but I’m not sure where.”
“I live in Tuscany. Florence to be specific. I was born there and grew up there. And you?”
“I live in New Orleans, the international business center for the courier service that employs me.”
“Both cities have rich histories.”
Alex took Dante’s hand and squeezed. “Yes, I believe they do. Except Florence’s art and architecture were unrivaled during the Renaissance. It’s also known as the Athens of the Middle Ages, and since I’m Greek, I’d love to visit it someday. I understand it’s beautiful. Sometime, we must talk longer about our cities.” He hoped they’d have enough time together to do that before their business here concluded, but he wasn’t sure.
At the dock, Dante whistled as his gaze fell on the sleek white yacht awaiting them. “Is this yours?”
“No. Global owns it. It happens to be docked here right now, but it isn’t always.”
Dante shivered and pulled on his coat. “The breeze off the bay is chilly at night, isn’t it? No wonder you advised me to bring a warm jacket.”
Alex looked up at the man dressed in a navy blue uniform and cap and wearing deck shoes. “Good evening, Neville. Permission to come aboard?”
“Aye, sir. Welcome aboard.”
Alex introduced the men, and Neville put the boat in motion. They moved out over the dark water. They sat on deck, and Alex put an arm around Dante’s shoulder and pulled him close, absorbing the welcome warmth given off by his supple body.
Dante said, “It’s a fairyland, isn’t it? The pinpoints of lights from the land and from other boats as they reflect against the black waters in the darkness lend it a surreal feeling. So far, I like your surprise.”
Alex pressed his lips to Dante’s hair. “I hope there’s more to this surprise. Have you seen Pompeii at night?”
“Is that where we’re headed? I haven’t been to Pompeii, period. I’ve always thought I’d go, but it’s one of those things that, since it’s always available, I’ve never taken time for it.”
“I understand. There are things in New Orleans I’ve never seen and always think I will.”
“What would you like to see there?”
Alex laughed. “It’s silly, but I’d always wanted to see Louie Armstrong’s trumpet in the New Orleans Jazz Museum. They didn’t have that music form in my time. Then Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Old Mint building where it was housed. Now, it’s supposedly in a twenty- year time capsule. I guess there are some things we shouldn’t put off.”
Dante nodded, and they traveled in silence, content not to speak.
The boat docked near the sea gate, and they disembarked. Away from the breeze over the bay, it was warmer and they removed their jackets.
A lighted path led them to the entrance, where Alex purchased tickets. They entered the ancient town through turnstiles with other visitors.
“Were these sidewalks put in for tourists?”
Alex couldn’t repress a low laugh. “No, Dante. These are walkways put in thousands of years ago. The Oscans were here first. About six hundred years before the birth of Jesus, I believe. Did you know Prince Massimo is Oscan?”
“Christ, no. That raises the hair on my arms.” He stumbled for about the fifth time as he spoke.
Alex took his hand. “The stones are rough and uneven. I’ve been here before and I see very well in the dark.”
Alex was rewarded when Dante gasped as they walked into the Forum. Floodlights blazed beneath a dark blue velvet sky sprinkled with twinkling, celestial diamonds. The floods highlighted every structure, creating soft and deeper shadows here and there.
The remains of a temple rose before them. “These columns and steps and the back wall are all that remain of the once magnificent Temple of Isis. The roof disappeared long ago.”
“Unbelievable that we should be seeing something so old, something buried beneath ash turned to concrete for centuries. The design is brilliant. I’d guess ancient Roman. My ancestors’ engineering feats are world-renowned. Magnificent. The statue against the remaining back wall…is that Isis?”
“Yes. An Egyptian goddess, but her cults soon swept through Greece and Rome. I believe she’s been Helenized in appearance here because she’s dressed in a gown of linen so thin we see her nipples. You’re right about the temple. It was built by the Romans.”
“At this distance and in this light, the statue resembles a study in charcoal.”
Alex waited unspeaking, letting Dante experience the view. Then he went up the steps beside Dante so they could see her up close.
“Amazing how much of the statue survived.” Dante sighed. His voice grew husky. “Did you bring me to this incredible place to seduce me, Alexandros Nicolaides?”
As they stood in the shadows Isis cast, a rush of feeling for Dante flooded Alex. With a finger under Dante’s chin, he tipped his face up, then leaned in and kissed him. The scent of Dante’s blood filled his nostrils. He ran his hands over the narrow waist and hips, brushed a hand across the enlarging cock. He tugged the turtleneck down just enough to reveal the tender area where Dante’s neck met his shoulder. Dante’s pulsing blood rang like tiny, seductive gongs in Alex’s ears. Everything around him faded as he focused on that spot. He pressed his lips against the delicious place and licked as his cock called to him and his fangs came out. A small moan of pleasure escaped him and he allowed his fangs to lightly brush across the place wet with his kiss. He sensed Dante’s arousal and knew how easy it would be to sink his fangs in and drink.
He was losing control! Abruptly, he pulled his mouth away and let the turtleneck snap back into place. He stepped back, turned and doubled over as pain shot through his gut because he’d denied himself what his whole being, emotions and body, craved.
“Alex!” Dante cried out in alarm and reached for him.
Alex threw out a hand to stop him from drawing closer or touching him. “I’m fine. The pain will pass. Centuries of existence have proven it will pass.”
It did.
After it was safe to touch Dante again, he straightened and put an arm round his waist.
“Sorry. Someday I’ll explain why that happens and why it isn’t harmful to me, but now there’s much more to see. We’re approaching the basilica, where legal and commercial business was transacted until the eruption buried everything in its ash flow.”
They toured some of the buildings, and in an inner Roman garden, Dante
stared at a faded wall painting depicting Priapus, the god of the garden, whose erect cock was so long he trundled it around in a wheelbarrow. Dante threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, that is just so gross. I can’t believe it.”
Alex laughed with him, feeling carefree and happy. “I know, but among the ancients the phallus symbolized prosperity in business and fertility in the garden and in the bed. No one was embarrassed by it.”
Since he hadn’t had dinner, Alex bought Dante a chocolate gelato in a cone from a gelato stand, and they sat on one of the benches until he’d finished it. The simple gesture must have aroused Dante because as they wandered back among the ruins again, Dante slid his arm around Alex’s waist and kissed his neck. Alex noticed the bulge growing again in his lover’s slacks.
Returning to the Forum, they came to the ruins of the Temple of Apollo. The bronze statue of the Greek god stood there nude, with only a strip of cloth over his arms in the manner of a shawl. The hair between his hipbones was as curly as that on his head, and his penis and balls hung long and relaxed.
“In my time, among the Greeks, love between men was an acceptable thing,” Alex said in a hushed voice as they paused to study the bronze.
“And was it men you loved?” There was a sudden stillness to Dante’s body as he waited for Alex’s response.
“Oh, yes. Only men. Never a woman.”
He sensed Dante relax. They continued their walk.
In that deep night under the stars and in this mystical place, with Dante’s hand on his larger butt cheek as they strolled, Alex couldn’t control—didn’t want to control—what was happening to cause the heaviness between his thighs.
Suddenly, Dante pulled Alex in front of him, hands gripping both ass cheeks. The hot mouth tasting of chocolate that he crushed over Alex’s meant business. Alex knew he wasn’t going to get away this time with denying what he felt for Dante, what he wanted from him.
“I have to have you. Now. Where can we go?” Dante almost growled.
Passion ripped through Alex. He felt himself tremble with the stinging heat of his erection and the hunger in his tight, muscular ass. “Behind the wall?” he murmured.
Night Train to Naples Page 6