All the Stars Look Down: A Duo of Christmas Romances

by Elizabeth Hunter

  And she did it wearing red lace under her clothes.

  Well, Nonna, life certainly is interesting now.

  Beatrice watched Zeno as Fina came down the stairs. The hungry look was back, but his cheeks had color, so she knew he’d fed recently. Smart of him. He must have sensed Fina was cautious about vampires, so he was being considerate and not taxing his self-control. Zeno was still talking with Enzo, debating soccer, which they both avidly followed. They shared a love for the same Italian club, and conversation seemed to swing between perfect excitement and utter despair. Often within the same sentence. When Fina came down, she joined them and the three talked like old friends while Beatrice watched from across the room.

  Excellent. Things were progressing nicely.

  Gio bent down and kissed her temple. “Happy, darling?”

  “I’d be happier with presents.” It was just so fun to annoy him about the present thing.

  “You’re hopeless.”

  “No, I’m present-less.”

  “You poor deprived girl.”

  “Have you ever thought about trying to steal Zeno away from the Vatican?”

  He cocked his head at the change in subject. “Many times. He’s a quiet sort, but I know for a fact he can take care of himself. Doesn’t attract much attention, and he’s a bulldog when it comes to research. He’d be an ideal employee. Previously, I’d not had anything to tempt him away from his comfortable cave in Rome, but now…”

  She looked up at him innocently. “Look how helpful I’m being, meddling like this. You’re so lucky to have me.”

  Giovanni smiled, his green eyes sparkling. “I know exactly how lucky I am. And I have to say, I approve. As long as Fina continues to like him, of course. I have no interest in replacing her, but I think she could use some help.”

  “He’d be perfect for it. And I’d breathe easier knowing that there was someone we trusted at the library. Someone stronger than a human.”

  “I’ve been thinking along the same lines.” The humor fled Giovanni’s face as he sat down next to her. “My reputation and Emil’s protection have so far warned off anyone who might cause trouble, but as word of Andros’s books spreads, I don’t want to take chances. My sire’s collection contains secrets I’m not even aware of. There could be others threatened by it. Even someone as well trained as Rudy would not be enough.”

  “So, Zeno or no Zeno, we need to find a vampire to live and work in Perugia.”

  “I think so.”

  She looked back at the pair, who were totally engaged.

  “Well,” she said, “hopefully this will end well for everyone.”

  “Let’s get business out of the way, then go find some Christmas pipes for Enzo, eh?”

  “Sounds good.” She raised her voice a little. “Hey, let’s go over what we found today, and then we’ll eat.”

  All business, Zeno and Fina walked over to the dining room while Enzo drifted to the kitchen, uninterested in the “library stuff.”

  The excitement made Beatrice’s blood run. She’d been on and off the phone all day with Dez in California and the priest whom Zeno had referred her to last night. What they’d put together brought Rafael’s manuscript much closer than she ever would have expected.

  “After we looked over the letters last night, I had my assistant in California look up some of the ship manifests and passenger lists we’ve collected from that period.”

  “Why did you collect those?” Fina asked. “Just curious.”

  “To examine what was being shipped in and out of California at the time. Most of our interest has actually been in the cargo, but I had Dez look for any passengers out of Monterey from 1803. We know that was the last letter that Rafael sent. Know that he told his friend he had a plan. So I started looking there.”

  “Meanwhile,” Zeno said, “I asked a certain priest who specializes in genealogy to look into Father Pietro. There were only so many Franciscans named Pietro who came from prominent families in Rome during that time. And from his handwriting and vocabulary, he had more than a church education. Pietro came from wealth.”

  They all sat comfortably at the dining table, Giovanni and Beatrice on one side, Zeno and Fina on the other. Beatrice had to bite back a smile at how close the two were sitting to each other.

  Zeno continued, “There was one Franciscan who stood out. The third son of a very prominent family, his brothers had taken over the estate, but he was educated for the church. Why he became a Franciscan, I do not know. But there were records of his family because they owned quite a lot of land and were minor nobility.” Then he smiled. “And what we found is very interesting.”

  “A sister?” Fina asked. “Was there a sister?”

  Zeno’s eyes locked with hers. “How did you know?”

  “I didn’t. Just suspected. How else would Rafael have been so confident that Pietro could give Antonia his message? She had to have been part of his family. A sister seemed the most likely.”

  “Very clever,” Zeno said. “Yes, Pietro had a sister named Antonia. There was a mention of her marrying in 1805, but after that, we could find nothing. And nothing about the identity of who she married, either.”

  “So we don’t know if they found their way back to each other?” Fina looked stricken.

  “Not necessarily,” Beatrice said. “Dez found him. There were numerous Rafaels who sailed from California in 1803 and 1804, but only one with a name that struck me. Rafael Szarka left the Presidio of Monterey in March of 1804. He sailed down to Mexico—well, Baja California—then back to Spain. After that, we have no idea.”

  “Szarka is not a Spanish name,” Zeno said.

  “No, it’s Hungarian.” Beatrice waved a hand. “Don’t ask. I can’t tell you. But this is our Rafael, I’m certain of it.”

  “So we know his name,” Fina said. “And presumably, he went back to Spain. But we have no idea what happened after that.”

  Zeno squeezed her hand where it lay on the table. “We’ll keep looking, cara. This much progress is already far more than I would expect to learn in such a short time.”

  Giovanni nodded. “Now, let’s eat. Then we will go show Enzo the city at Christmastime.” He put his arm around Beatrice. “I think we’re all ready for a little fun.”

  Fina couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. Giovanni and Beatrice dragged them all over Rome. They gaped at churches and piazzas decorated with thousands of lights. They visited the giant Christmas tree near the Colosseum. They wandered past the shops near the Spanish Steps and took in the toys and luxury fashions that decorated the store windows.

  Spending time with Zeno was effortless. The more she knew him, the more she liked. Though she still hadn’t caught a glimpse of the rumored fangs. He joked with Enzo, listening to everything the boy said, and appeared to truly enjoy their conversations, unlike some adults who only condescended to children. He took her arm with old-fashioned manners… but then, he was old-fashioned. He casually mentioned how Rome had changed over decades, but he still seemed to enjoy the modern lights and markets.

  He was… perfect.

  And he was a vampire. He would never die. Never grow older. She tried not to think too far ahead, but the simmering interest she’d nurtured for over years of correspondence had heated to a full, rolling boil. She wanted him. And she suspected he wanted her. But was it only a casual interest in a woman, or something more serious?

  Fina didn’t have casual affairs. In fact, Zeno spending time with Enzo broke one of her cardinal rules. The few men she’d dated over the years had never met her son. No relationship had become serious enough for that. But Enzo had already met the vampire, and she could see the hero worship starting to take hold. The boy had no paternal figures in his life—her own papa and brothers no longer acknowledged her—and she knew her son was hungry for male interaction, especially as he’d grown older. It was part of the reason he looked forward to Giovanni’s visits.

  “Fina.” Zeno called her ove
r to one stall as they strolled through the market of the Piazza Navona. “Look at these!”

  He was laughing, holding up gaudy earrings with flashing Christmas lights on them, only to have them short out when he held them up to his ears. He grinned and pulled a few euro out of his pocket to give to the vendor.

  “No,” she protested. “Look. They’re…” She started to laugh. “Well, they’re awful, aren’t they? And they don’t even work, Zeno.”

  He leaned down and took her arm, whispering in her ear, “They probably did, cara. But vampires and electronics do not get along well, do they?”

  “Oh?” Then she remembered. Beatrice had told her the current all immortals carried in their touch, called amnis, wreaked havoc on anything electronic. She wasn’t sure why. She smiled up at Zeno. “And here I thought you were only a Luddite.”

  “Oh, I am. Computers are not my friend.” He hadn’t leaned away from her ear. “I prefer a hands-on approach when I want to research something.”

  Her heartbeat took off. He was so close. Just beside her neck, his breath tickling above her scarf. The perfect position to kiss her. Or bite her. She looked around for Enzo, but he was in a circle surrounding a couple of street musicians with Beatrice and Giovanni.

  “Cara mia…,” Zeno said gruffly. “Surely you know.”

  She could hardly breathe. “Yes.”

  “And would you?”

  “It… depends.”

  He pulled a little away to look into her eyes, but his arm was still linked with her own. “On what does it depend?”

  Were those fangs behind his lips? He was murmuring, but was it because he did not want her to see him?

  “It’s not that you’re what you are, Zeno. Maybe a little, but it is more that…” She glanced over at Enzo again. “I do not bring people into my son’s life who are casual. I rarely date and when I do—”

  “Why would I be interested in dating you?”

  Her heart plunged. Was that derision in his voice? How could she have been so wrong? Her face felt as if it was on fire.

  “Dating,” he continued, even as she looked for escape, “is a ridiculous modern concept. Why would I take you to the theater or the cinema once a week for months when I could work with you for one day and know you better? And I don’t eat regular meals, not the kind you do. So dining is not an option. Dating is useless.”

  “But I—”

  “We already suit each other, Fina. It was obvious before we even met.”

  Was she starting to see the side of him that was the “terror of the Vatican?” She could see his temper brewing.

  “Zeno, I think we misunderstand each other.”

  “I am not interested in something casual. Do I look like a casual person?” His head swung around the marketplace. “I am older than everyone here, save Vecchio and that old vampire sitting by the fountain.”

  “There’s a vampire by the fountain?” Her wide eyes looked over his shoulder.

  “He’s not dangerous—pay attention.”

  Her own temper piqued, she pulled her arm away and said, “I am not one of your assistants to order around, Zeno Ferrara. I may be a quiet person, but quiet does not equal meek.”

  “Are you afraid of me?” He stepped closer. “Is that what this is about?”

  “No!”

  “Then why do you step away from me?”

  “I do not.” Did she?

  A pair of young men came up to them, clearly interested in the scene. She knew their type. Calling at the girls. Hungry to feed their ego with feminine embarrassment.

  “Signorina, does he bother you?” one asked.

  The other said, “Old brute, you should leave the lady alone.” Then he laughed. “She is too pretty for you anyway. Signorina, run away with us! Leave the rude one. We know how to take care of a lady.”

  “Perhaps both of us can try,” the other said, leering.

  With a swiftness that was more than a little inhuman, Zeno turned to them. She could see the edge of his fangs when he gritted his teeth. He gripped both of them on the side of their necks and hissed, “Leave the piazza now, and do not ever speak to her again.”

  Without another word, both boys turned and left the square. They did not look at her. They did not turn back. There were no obnoxious comments thrown over their shoulders. It had all happened so quickly; no one in the crowd even turned to stare.

  Speechless, she felt Zeno grab her hand. He pulled her to a secluded corner near the fountain, and she could see a cold-eyed man turn to watch them with narrowed eyes.

  “Is that the vampire?” she whispered.

  “Fina,” he growled, raking his hand through his hair. “I am sorry. I have a possessive streak and—”

  “Are we safe?”

  “I would never hurt you.”

  “No, from that vampire over there.”

  He turned and hissed something in an unknown language. Slavic, perhaps? With a grim smile, the other immortal melted into the night.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I promise—”

  “Would you ever use your… whatever that was on me?” Her eyes felt huge, blinking as if to clear the frightening image from her mind. “Like you did on those boys?”

  “Fina, no.” He leaned his forehead against her temple and she felt it in her hand, like a trickling of warm water stealing up her arm. “Do you feel that, cara?” he whispered.

  “Yes.”

  “That is amnis.”

  “What you used on the boys.”

  “I can manipulate the human mind with it. I can move the earth with it. I feed it with mortal blood, and it keeps me alive, even after one hundred years on this earth.”

  She couldn’t stop the shiver that overtook her. Zeno wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she felt it again, heating her skin. That warm trickle of energy spread over her limbs, as if an invisible blanket fell.

  “I can use it to warm you. I can bring you extreme pleasure. But I will never use it to manipulate your will, Serafina. I promise you.”

  “How can I be certain?”

  “Because I wish to use far more enjoyable methods of persuasion to convince you to accept me.”

  She looked up. “Accept you how?”

  His dark brown eyes burned into hers. “As a lover. A friend. A part of your life. Your son’s life.”

  “You do not wish to date me,” she said breathlessly.

  “We are beyond that. We know each other. Maybe not our bodies, because we have only just met. But my mind recognized yours. From the first letters. I have kept them all. Every one.”

  “I suspect you keep all your letters. Neatly filed. Organized by date and cross-referenced by mutual acquaintance.”

  A smile broke through his severe expression. “See? You do know me. But yours were the only ones I pulled out to read over and over. Trying to guess who you were from the angle of your signature. They stayed in my desk.”

  “I kept yours in my briefcase,” she murmured.

  “In the red-striped pocket?”

  Her eyes went wide again. “How did you know?”

  “Because I know you, too.” He bent down, lips brushing over her forehead. “The girl with the fiery name and the careful signature. Cautious Fina.”

  Her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

  “Loyal Fina,” he whispered as his nose touched hers. “Beautiful Fina.”

  His lips pressed against her own and she leaned into him, opening her mouth as Zeno’s hands came to cup the back of her head. Soft, searching kisses turned into deep tangles of tongue and lips and teeth. She felt them, growing long in his mouth, the fangs that had so frightened her.

  She pressed closer, devouring him. Swallowing the groan that came from her throat. He tasted of heat and wine. The tip of her curious tongue reached up to caress the length of one fang and Zeno growled into her mouth. His hands fisted in her hair.

  “Stop,” he said against her lips. “We must stop now or I will steal you away. Th
en Giovanni would burn me alive for kidnapping his best employee.”

  A strangled laugh from her mouth. “Oh yes. I’m sure.”

  “No, really. Burning is what he does to his enemies.” His thumb brushed the edge of her mouth and when he pulled it away, she could see the smear of red. Had she cut her lip on his fangs? She hadn’t felt a thing.

  “The kissing.” He closed full lips over the drop of her blood, then teased her with a glimpse of his tongue running over one fang. “Mmm. The kissing comes with practice.”

  “Oh.” And there was her face. On fire again. Zeno smiled wickedly.

  “You’re beautiful, Fina. And your taste…” His eyes flicked over her body. “I can’t wait for practice.”

  “Zeno—”

  “When does Enzo go to sleep?”

  “What? I… I don’t—”

  “I can be patient, but I don’t want to be.” He took a step back. “Do you need patience?”

  Did she?

  No.

  She wanted him to heat her blood again. To make her feel alive in ways she hadn’t since she’d become a mother. She wanted Zeno to see the red lace under her clothes. She wanted to know just what he meant by practice.

  “He’ll go to sleep as soon as we get home,” she said. “It’s very late.”

  “Good.”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the market stalls in the piazza, carols playing on pipes and flutes filling the air while they walked under twinkling gold lights. When they got back to Giovanni and Beatrice, she could see her son rubbing his eyes. Fina realized it was almost midnight.

  “Time to go, I think,” she said cheerfully. “Enzo, did you have fun?”

  She saw her son eying Zeno’s hand as he held hers. The vampire showed no sign of letting her go anytime soon. Nor did she want him to. Still, the public declaration made her a little nervous.

  Enzo looked from his mother’s flushed face to Zeno, then back again. He smiled. “Yes. Very fun. But Gio was right. Some of those pipers were just terrible.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Zeno sat back, leaning against the stone walls that lined the courtyard, closing his eyes as he listened to the comforting sounds of a family retiring for the night. He heard Angela’s quiet snores in the downstairs bedroom. The guard’s unobtrusive footsteps. Enzo’s sleepy murmurs from the second story. Beatrice whispering something just past Zeno’s hearing as she and Fina talked in the hall.