Romance with a Bite

by Tamsin Baker

  She stared at him, but didn’t smile. She was pissed.

  “Can someone call Segana? I’ll expect her in the president’s office, ASAP. I will call you both in after I speak with your boss.” And with that, she made her way inside, slamming the door after her.

  Zev and Arvid looked at each other, then turned their attention to what was being said behind the door.

  “Welcome back, Natalia, how was your trip to New York?” asked President Luigi Carosone.

  “Well, not as exciting as your trip to Venice, Mr President.”

  For a moment, Zev couldn’t hear any more as Segana came towards them. Zev tried his best not to look at her, the displeasure of seeing her making his body go cold. Natalia was his beloved Hosidia, and Segana, the evil bitch, had killed her many times.

  No, this time it wasn’t going to happen. He wouldn’t permit history to repeat itself again. The only way to keep his beloved alive was to stay away from her and just keep on fucking Segana so she knew there wasn’t any other woman in his life.

  “Have you met her?” she asked them both.

  “Unofficially,” answered Arvid.

  The moment she went into the office and closed the door again, he heard Natalia’s voice.

  “I was promised the two best bodyguards in the business, not two grannies trying to please the child they are babysitting.”

  “I assure you they are the best,” Segana snapped back.

  “According to whom?”

  “Ouch. She doesn’t like us, does she?” teased Norse.

  Zev looked at his friend and whispered, “We both know she has a valid point.”

  “Give them a break, Natalia, they did as I instructed.” The president came to their defence.

  “You should have known better than dancing with those underaged girls. Now I am left to clean the crap, as per usual.” Exasperation was obvious in her voice.

  “My guards are in place to ensure his safety, not his behaviour.”

  “Should I remind you that so far you’ve lost two of your best guards?” The door opened and Natalia’s head popped out.

  “Can you gentleman come in please?”

  They both entered the office and stationed themselves near the door, backs to the wall.

  “You both read the document?” At their nods, she took it from Zev’s hand and placed it on the desk.

  Zev tracked Natalia’s every movement. Her hair was longer and straight, and her face thinner now. He shut his eyes for a second to absorb the timbre of her voice, almost similar to how he remembered it. Clear and soft, even when she was pissed off. He remembered how he could calm her down by kissing her. The urge of to take her and hold her was stirring feelings he should keep deeply buried.

  “Out of everything you could have done, dancing the Bunga Bunga was the worst.” Silence for a moment.

  “What the hell were your personal bodyguards doing? What were they doing while you were making a fool of yourself?”

  “Enjoying the Bunga Bunga, of course,” the president laughed.

  Neither Zev nor Arvid laughed.

  “Mr President, I’m not laughing, and I am glad to see your bodyguards are not laughing either. You have caused too many scandals and unless we can fix this, you have no chance of winning the next election.”

  “I need a stiff drink,” said the president.

  “It’s nine in the morning,” Natalia scolded.

  “I haven’t slept all night, so it’s late for me.”

  Natalia walked to the liquor cabinet, poured some whisky in a glass and handed it to the president. He quickly swallowed the liquid.

  “From now on, no decision will be made unless approved by me.”

  “Natalia, as I am the head of security, I will approve all decisions,” said Segana.

  “First of all, bring your fangs back in. Secondly, you’ve approved everything so far, and how did that work for you?” There was no response, so she continued.

  “Two of your best security guards were killed a few weeks ago. Now you bring us Black Panther and Thor and they’ve already fucked up, and all this before I even met them. So, let’s cut the crap. I will be in charge when it comes to decision-making.” No one said a word.

  Zev held his breath while the two headstrong women bickered. There was obviously no love lost between them, and while he never interfered with Segana complaining about the president’s personal assistant, now he was worried that he would show his attraction to her, and the vengeful bitch would harm the love of his life. Again. He was proud of how Hosidia held the power in this conversation. She was a strong woman, but even strong women were no match for Segana’s wrath.

  “You may leave, and I will give them new instructions.” She waited for Segana to go.

  “Luigi, do not move an inch without my approval. Is that understood?”

  Zev could tell from the familiar tone in her voice and the fact that his official title was ignored that there was more to this relationship than boss and employee. He couldn’t afford jealousy. Her sweet scent intoxicated his senses when she moved closer to them.

  “Your job is to keep the president alive and out of trouble,” Natalia said to Zev and Arvid.

  “You already have most of the press against you, Luigi, and by behaving like a moron you are not going to make them like you.” She then stared down both bodyguards.

  “Why in God’s name was he permitted to do that?”

  “Apologies, Miss Natalia. We were given orders to stay with the president, not to tell him what he can and cannot do,” said Zev.

  “He’s a good one, Natalia,” the president agreed.

  Ignoring him, she turned her attention back to the bodyguards.

  “Fair enough, but from now on, keep an eye on him, please. He’s like a misbehaving child.”

  “Just in case you forgot, I’m still here.”

  She ignored him.

  “Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself before. I am Natalia Bonacchi. As you can see, the president’s nanny.”

  Zev smiled. She had the same sense of humour. She was the same soul, and he remembered very well his Hosidia’s anger going from zero to a hundred, then laughing again in a matter of moments. How he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her.

  “Your name?” she asked, her tone firm but relaxed.

  “Zev Akoi from Africa.”

  “How old are you, Zev?”

  “2089 years old, ma’am.”

  “Where were you turned? And how old were you?”

  “In Rome, and I was thirty-one years old”

  “A gladiator, I presume?”

  “You presume correctly.” How many times had he dedicated his battles to his adored Hosidia? How cruel was fate to keep them apart for centuries, and even worse, for her to have no notion of the love that they’d shared.

  Zev answered, trying not to look her in the eyes. The last thing he wanted was for her senses to awaken and for Hosidia to realize what he was feeling. They couldn’t afford that. Not unless he wanted to see her dead. Again.

  She was asking questions that a normal human wouldn’t think of. Jealousy rose at the thought that she had learned that from other vampires. Modern women loved to be bitten by vampires. It was the hype of the century. He looked at her slender neck for bite marks. There were none. It could be worse, he thought. She could be involved and in love with one. But then again, if she was, he’d be assured of her safety from Segana’s jealousy.

  He could never forget the time in 79BC when they’d made love for the first time under the Roman sky. Sadly, they’d made love for the last time before he was turned into a vampire under that very same sky. He would never forget the gentle way she had treated his wounds from his last battle.

  Hosidia was so close, but he was unable to reach out to her. That impossible longing sent a cold shiver through his body. Out of habit, he rubbed his upper arms with his hands. While she gave her attention to Arvid, Zev took a small pill from his chest pocket and placed it under
his tongue. He always carried a couple of Fiestafruit with him. The pill was a combination of mango, apple and orange with vitamins B and C. They helped vampires to keep their body warm as a human.

  “I am Arvid Zetter, from Norway. I am 2080 years old. I also was a gladiator in Rome and I was turned when I was thirty-five years old. I was known as Norse.”

  ‘Did you two fight against each other?’

  “Oh, ma’am, you wouldn’t fight against the powerful Zev and live to tell the tale. I suppose from a human prospective, you see us as dead.”

  “I do not.”

  Zev never liked anyone who made assumptions, but here he was assuming that she had lived or loved with a vampire to feel they were not dead, as society generally saw them.

  “Please, call me Natalia. Not Miss, and not ma’am. I’m not my grandmother,” she said, smiling.

  “Is your friend always this serious?” She didn’t get an answer, but she got cheeky smile.

  If Zev had a beating heart, it would have stopped the moment he had realised that Natalia was his beloved Hosidia. It has been one hundred and forty years since the last time he’d seen her. Zev wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. Loving Hosidia had cost her life four times. He was not going to revisit a past that had made per pay so dearly for his love…four times over.

  He wasn’t going to give Segana another chance to destroy the woman he loved. He only wished in the past he would have been more careful, but life for a vampire then had been limited. They could only exist in the dark, unlike the freedom of today, where they could live their life almost like a human. Thanks to science now they had a choice.

  CHAPTER 2

  ROME 2019 Natalia

  Sometimes she questioned her own judgement when it came to her job. Of course, it was a position she loved, but she was getting tired of being the president’s babysitter. To the media, President Luigi Carosone was a larrikin who loved women and was unfaithful to his wife. To the people, he was a man who came from humble beginnings and clawed his way to the top.

  For Natalia, he was much more. He was the father she’d lost once her own dad together with her mum died in a car accident when she was very young. He’d molded her to be his personal assistant and advisor, and hopefully one day to have her own political career. None of that changed her desire to put her hands around his neck and strangle him, however.

  Her phone had run hot with calls from journalists asking for confirmation regarding the president’s latest indiscretion.

  “What the fuck did you do?” she’d greeted him when he’d answered her call.

  “Honey, come back home. This old pervert is in hot water again.” In his typical fashion, Luigi had then handed the phone to his wife.

  Natalia didn’t have to ask if it was true. That’s how Luigi was. When in Rome… Though his intentions were never sinister.

  “I’ll catch the first flight to Rome in the morning.” She paused a moment.

  “Mamma Irma, make sure he doesn’t give any statements to anyone. I’ll deal with this shit when I’m back.”

  The drive from Fiumicino Aeroporto to Montecitorio took forever. She couldn’t wait to reach the Chamber of Deputies and deal with the problems presented to her. She didn’t even bother going home to shower and change first. There was no rest for the wicked.

  As she’d exited the lift, first thing she noticed were the two new bodyguards standing straight and tall, guarding the president’s doors. She walked forward, determined to find the answers that she needed before she had to deal with the media’s assholes.

  “Oh God, he’s not making this easy for me,” she said under her breath. They were both drop-dead gorgeous—tall, broad shouldered—dressed impeccably in their elegant, dark blue uniform suit. She didn’t remember any bodyguards looking this hot at Montecitorio before. These men were every woman’s dream. One blond with pale skin, the other as black as the espresso she loved to drink.

  Without a doubt, she knew they were vampires, their crystal blue eye contacts were almost dazzling her.

  No, she would never go there.

  “The president already in his office?”

  Both answered, but she didn’t hear what they said. Her mind was muffled by their appearance. She was human, and she wasn’t going to let a good-looking man pass buy without noticing. Double that and any girl would be in trouble.

  She felt drawn to the dark-skinned one. Short hair, luscious lips, skin as smooth as satin and the brightest blue eyes. In that moment, she wished she could see the real color under those special contacts that vampires were wearing nowadays to protect their sight from the ill effects of daylight.

  For an instant, they both stared at each other. No one spoke. The world had stopped, but not for long. The hot flash she felt in the pit of her stomach brought her back to reality.

  “Can you both have a look at this two page document and let me know if it’s an accurate accounting of the details of the incident?” She gave Zev the yellow folder she’d been holding.

  “It won’t take long, just a few minutes. Please sign both pages,” she said.

  Their skin touched, for only moment. A shiver went down her spine, and suddenly she felt the urge to grab him by the neck and kiss those delicious-looking, full lips of his. She shook her head. What the hell was wrong with her? She was working. This wasn’t the time to get horny for a gorgeous vampire. Plus, vampires had never done it for her in the past. Breaking the spell, she took a few steps back.

  “Can someone call Segana? I’ll expect her in the president’s office, ASAP. I will call you both in after I speak with your boss.” And with that, she made her way inside, slamming the door after her.

  How she going to deal with the scandal she wasn’t sure yet, but definitely this gorgeous mammoth of a vampire wasn’t going to make things easier for her. She had a six sense for this kind of stuff. But if he was trouble, she definitely was going to stay away from him.

  After asking both bodyguards to come into the president’s office, she did her best to concentrate on the problem at hand, rather than her reaction to the handsome vampire.

  She asked questions, anything to keep her mind occupied and out of the gutter. She was aware that any vampires who was desired by a human they could feel it and sense it and the last thing she wanted for him to invade her thoughts.

  Natalia didn’t understand why she felt so attracted to him. He wasn’t her usual type. The blond Viking was. In a human form, of course, with a beating heart and a naturally warm body. She’d never dated a vampire. She’d promised her grandmother that she wasn’t going to be the typical human flighty female who wanted the thrill of being bitten and then becoming succubus with wanting of their pleasure. That hype wasn’t for her. She was happy living a normal life—as normal as someone whose grandmother had been bitten and turned late in life could be. She had learned everything from her. She was aware that he had the ability to infiltrate her dreams and ended up in a sexual relationship it would be very awkward working together. Knowing of all this, she couldn’t stop feeling the need to go and run her fingers all over his body and kiss his full lips.

  During their brief conversation in the president’s office, she had the sensation that Segana was throwing daggers her way. Everyone knew that that bitch wasn’t her favorite co-worker. Natalia’s job was to make sure things ran smoothly, but every time she made a suggestion in respect to the guards, Segana would undermine her.

  She wasn’t afraid of the vampires And she definitely wasn’t afraid of Segana. Natalia wondered if those bodyguards belonged to her. Was she their maker? Was she in a relationship with either of them? Maybe both, since she was too alpha not to be the one holding the power.

  She felt a tinge of jealousy. No this wasn’t going to be a good thing.

  She had better keep busy and away from him.

  “I am going to meet the prime minister,” she informed the president.

  “What for?” asked Luigi.

  “Stay out of trou
ble please. Don’t move an inch without letting me know first.” With that, she was gone.

  ROME 1279 Sabrina (Natalia)

  Sabrina placed the bronze mirror that Zev had given her as a gift on the window sill. He told her it had to be in a position so the sun would reflect on it to be able to see her own image. The mystery of the object was like magic to her. Never in her life had she seen such frivolities. He had told her it was from a faraway world called China and it was over a thousand years old. She started twisting her long brown hair with a red ribbon and wrapped it around her head.

  She slipped on a linen chemise, followed by the breast band. Over that she wore a loose, brown, ankle-length kirtle, a round, low-cut neckline exposing her décolletage. Long, fitted sleeves covered her knuckles with small buttons at the wrists so it was easy to turn them up when in the kitchen working. On top, she wore a linen apron tied around her waist. To finish, she wore her knee-high stockings and her turnshoes made of leather. She pinched her cheeks to make them rosy and, after hiding her mirror under her straw bed, she made her way to the monastery. She didn’t mind all the hours of hard work she had to do in the kitchen, and she was excited knowing that by nightfall the butcher would be there, keeping her company.

  She was the pasta maker for the monastery. The friars sold her homemade pasta all over Rome. At night she would go to work at the castle, since the king and queen had become gluttons for her pasta, and she would work most of the night to get everything ready. When everyone went home, she would have the kitchen to herself—almost. The butcher was there too, working away at his job. Her sweet and strong Zev.

  Sabrina could sense him behind her. Keeping to himself in the dark, he would slaughter his animals and stayed away from everyone, but her. Neither of them could deny that they shared something special. This was her favorite part of the night. Everyone was already sleeping, and she and Zev were working to prepare the next day’s meals.

  She gathered the ingredients to make her dough. Tonight, she would make vermicelli. The sooner she could complete her task, the sooner she could get to bed.