“How can you be sure?” Maia asked, her voice louder than requited.
“She is Adrian’s bloodmate,” Lane said in a lower tone.
“Bloodmate?” both Lavinia and Maia asked at the same time.
Lavinia turned to face the detective. “What’s a bloodmate?”
“It’s something straight out of vampire lore—” Lane started, but Maia talked over him.
“Is it anything like the Wolf’s Hunger?” She looked first at Lavinia, then at Adrian, with a surprised expression.
“I haven’t heard of any Wolf’s Hunger,” Lane said. “But it’s a strange coincidence because what Adrian has is called a Vampire’s Thirst, and the only one who can cure him is his bloodmate.”
“A Wolf’s Hunger consumes a werewolf, making him hunt for prey, but nothing can satiate him until he finds his soulmate.” Maia glanced at Adrian, her head cocked to the side. “Did you experience anything similar?”
Adrian snuck his arm around Lavinia’s waist, and he pulled her to his side before answering Maia. “I did. My thirst was never-ending.”
“Well, if this Vampire’s Thirst works any similar to our Wolf’s Hunger, then you were lucky to find Lavinia before you went insane. Werewolves who experience the Hunger and don’t meet their mates are sentenced to death because they become too violent.”
Adrian’s hold on Lavinia tightened, and she felt his body stiffen at Maia’s words. “I’m here,” she whispered, inching closer to him and tilting her chin up to look at him.
He regarded her with a soft smile and nodded.
“You found her—” someone said from behind them.
Pivoting on his heels, Adrian turned both of them to face the newcomer. “Lando,” he greeted an elegant vampire, another day-walker.
The man stared at them for a long, awkward moment before he blinked. “You found her,” he said again.
“Fate smiled upon me tonight,” Adrian said, his arm anchoring her firmly.
“I’m happy for you, brother,” Lando said, bringing his fist to his heart.
Lavinia noticed how the man didn’t look at her but kept his eyes on Adrian the entire time.
“Well, I suppose there isn’t any immediate need to speak with the librarian now,” Lando said, his face illuminated by a genuine smile.
“Not anymore.” Adrian slightly relaxed his stance. “I might have a few questions for him in the future, but for now I’m all set.”
“No problem. I’ll introduce you later.” Lando nodded and turned to acknowledge Lane and Maia, who had remained silent and still during the brief exchange. “Lane—” he said. “Mrs. Conti, always a pleasure to see you.”
While the detective greeted the vampire in the same polite vein, Maia tensed, her eyes shining with a warning light as she nodded and said, “Carenzi.”
If Lavinia hadn’t been looking at the vampire, she would have missed the devastated expression that for a moment marred his handsome traits. A blink of an eye later, he looked serene again.
He bowed at Maia, then addressed Adrian with a parting, “I’ll call you in a few days,” before turning and leaving.
“We should go, too,” Adrian said, gently pressing his hand against her side.
“I agree.” Lavinia had questions of her own, and she didn’t want an audience for it.
“Do you think it is a good idea to leave with this vampire?” Maia asked, but the previous sting was gone from her words.
“Yes, I think so,” Lavinia reassured her.
“I’ll check on you tomorrow morning. Answer your cell phone, or I’ll unleash both the Wolf Council and the Directive on him.” Maia’s smile lessened her threatening warning.
“I will. I promise.” Lavinia left Adrian’s side to hug Maia. “I might be a half-breed, but my wolf is never wrong,” she whispered to her.
“Okay,” Maia said, reaching for the small evening clutch she had given Lavinia to match her dress. “Take this and use it if he so much as breathes the wrong way around you.” She slid a small can inside Lavinia’s purse before releasing her. Then, she pointed index and middle fingers at her eyes, then turned them toward Adrian in the universal I’m-watching-you sign.
“She’s safe with me,” Adrian said, his voice tight and guarded.
“Let’s go drink something,” Lane said, offering his bent arm to Maia. “Adrian, I’ll talk to you later as well.”
“We’ll be home,” Adrian said, taking Lavinia’s hand in his.
“We?” Lavinia asked, watching the other pair entering the ballroom.
“We. From now on, it’s we. Whatever we do, we do it together,” Adrian said.
Although Lavinia couldn’t deny the pull between them, she didn’t like that he was deciding for the two of them without consulting her.
She stepped away from him. It hurt, but she withstood the pain with gritted teeth as she addressed him. “I agreed on going with you only because I need answers.”
“I’m yours. You are mine,” Adrian said, his intense stare touching her as tangibly as any caress could have, making her shiver. “You feel it.” His eyes roamed over her. “Your scent. Your pulse. Your breathing. Your body tells me you want me as much as I want you. There’s no need for words between us.”
“That might be true, but we’ll still have our conversation because I need to talk about this insanity that’s driving me into the arms of a stranger.”
At the word stranger, Adrian’s eyes flashed. “I’m your bloodmate.”
“I believe you. My wolf can detect lies, and she’s accepted you as her own already. Still, can’t you see how strange this situation is? We’re still wearing masks,” she said. “I don’t even know what your face looks like.” She reached for his white domino mask, but he stopped her, moving her hand to his lips for a soft kiss.
“Let’s go to my place,” he said. It sounded more like a plea than a request, and when she didn’t answer right away, he added, “Please.” He reached for her hand and gently held it in his. “I’ll answer your questions, but all I ask is that you come with me.”
Lavinia locked eyes with his. “Promise me that you’ll let me go if I don’t want to remain.”
“It will be the hardest decision of my entire life, but I won’t keep you against your will. I would never use my strength to subdue a woman. And I’d rather die than to harm you in any way.” He brought her hand to his chest. “Pick up that silver spray can that mama bear gave you,” he said, the corner of his full, sensual lips turning up. “Feel free to use it on me if I do anything you don’t like.”
19
Adrian couldn’t wait to sink his fangs into Lavinia’s invitingly soft flesh. Walking by her side, inhaling her scent, and hearing her blood throbbing in her veins was torture.
“Before we leave—” Lavinia started saying but stopped, hesitating.
“Yes?” He looked at her and was swept by her beauty. The half mask did nothing to conceal the perfection of her olive skin, and the eyes peering from the holes were a deep, mesmerizing green.
“I’d like to dance,” she answered, biting her bottom lip, her gaze locked with his.
“Of course,” he said, steering Lavinia back toward the center of the ballroom.
The idea of staying one moment longer than necessary at the gala didn’t sit well with him, but she could have uttered the most bizarre request, and he would have answered in the affirmative. Pleasing Lavinia, making her happy had become an imperative in the short time they had spent together. Any doubt he could have had about the Vampire’s Thirst being real was now a moot point. He, an ancient and powerful vampire, was at the mercy of this petite she-wolf. Utterly and irrevocably.
The orchestra director raised his wand, and a Viennese waltz started.
Lavinia’s smile blinded Adrian when he placed one hand on her back and took hers in his free one. He led them into the first movement of the dance, and was pleasantly surprised when she followed him without a hitch.
As the music transporte
d them away to another time and space, Adrian focused on the feel of Lavinia in his arms. She was soft but not pliant, making him wonder about her past. His need to feed from her vein was getting stronger, but the happiness exuding from Lavinia as he spun her around the room rewarded him plenty. Their synchronized steps drew the attentions of several couples who stopped to look at them.
When the orchestra director put down his wand, Adrian asked, “Would you like another dance?”
She nodded. “I’d like that very much.”
They stood for several pieces, and a crowd formed at the side of the dance floor, admiring their performance as they glided across the room. When the first notes of an Argentine tango echoed in the air, Adrian raised an eyebrow in a silent question. Lavinia nodded, and he grabbed her waist as she raised her leg to him in the initial movement of the passionate dance.
If the waltz had been a study in elegance, the tango soon became an incendiary dance that ignited Adrian’s senses. They moved as if they had been dancing as a couple for years. The sensuality of the notes grew into a frenzy as Adrian let her drop backward before pulling her up at the last moment. The melody ended amidst a loud applause.
“Thank you,” Lavinia said, her chest rising and falling fast. “I needed that.”
“Truly my pleasure.” Adrian bowed to her before taking her hand for a light brush. His body sang at the brief contact, and his mind supplied him with ideas of what he would like to do to her. “Can we go?” he asked instead, keeping his fangs in check.
“Yes. I don’t think I could dance another set after that tango anyway.”
“I feel the same,” he admitted, placing his arm around her shoulder to steer her toward the foyer.
After retrieving her cloak, they waited for one of the valets to drive Adrian’s Ferrari to the entrance.
Once they were parked in a secluded spot further along Villa Pamphili’s celebrated gardens, Adrian removed his domino mask and waited for Lavinia’s reaction. He kept his eyes on her, feeling the heat of his need rise like flames all around him. “I showed you mine—” he said. “You show me yours.”
A subtle blush colored the exposed part of her face.
He reached for the mask’s bracket, which she held like a shield between them. “It’s only polite.” He gently tugged at the lacquered baton, moving the half mask to the side and uncovering her face one inch at a time. His blood boiled. The act was as decadent as stripping Lavinia of her clothes, and he knew she felt the sexual undercurrent as strongly as he did. Her intake of breath and the sudden shivers on her skin told him as much.
“Exquisite,” he said when her black mask was out of the way. He feasted on her lovely traits that revealed a Mediterranean ancestry. Big, luminous green eyes, a pert nose that had a delightful small bump on its bridge, fleshy lips of a dark shade of pink, a smatter of freckles.
Lavinia’s chest rose and fell fast when he brushed the side of her throat and let his hand travel down to the swell of her breasts pushed up against the low bodice of her white gown.
“Like a beautiful bride,” Adrian whispered, acting by instinct and leaning toward the vein pulsing at the hollow of her throat.
Lavinia’s gasp resonated loud and clear in the small confines of the Ferrari—part pleasure, part fear. Resting his forehead against the softness of her chest, he dropped a chaste kiss on her gown. He wouldn’t take her in a car. Their first mating would take place in a bed of roses and only when Lavinia felt comfortable with him—with them.
Through some vagary of fate, this she-wolf was his bloodmate, and he would do everything in his power to make her happy. Even if it meant he would have to wait to feed from her vein until she gave him permission.
Exercising his legendary control, Adrian pushed himself off her and turned on the engine.
“Did you take dance lessons?” he asked, driving toward the villa’s gate.
“I watched videos on YouTube,” she answered.
“You learned how to dance the waltz watching videos?” He turned to look at her. Lavinia’s small chuckle resonated in the car, warming his ancient heart.
“I learned lots of different skills on YouTube,” she said.
Tilting his head, he studied her profile. “I’m intrigued.” He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt the slightest interest in anything. “What else did you learn?”
“Hmm, let’s see—” She regarded him with her liquid eyes for a moment before continuing, “How to weave a wicker basket, how to prepare Korean kimchi—”
“Korean kimchi?” he couldn’t help but interrupt her.
“Yes, you know, the fermented cabbage—”
Adrian laughed. “I know what kimchi is. Never tried it because I was turned two millennia ago and there weren’t many Korean restaurants in Rome at the time. I’m curious about why you would like to prepare fermented cabbage, though.”
“I like Korean soap operas,” she answered. “And they are always eating kimchi.”
“Have you also learned Korean, watching YouTube?”
“I’d like to, but no. I just read the subtitles.”
“Okay, what else?”
“I might tell you later,” Lavinia answered.
“Now I need to know.” He passed a car and sped up, barely making the yellow light before it turned red.
“All in due time,” she said, her tone mischievous.
“And of that, we have plenty.” Keeping a fast pace, Adrian followed the Lungotevere Road, slaloming in between cars and collecting at least a red on the final stretch to his house.
Lavinia didn’t comment on his driving but kept looking at him, and only when he parked did she say, “Didn’t we have all the time in the world?”
Adrian couldn’t help but laugh. This was the second time tonight that she had elicited such a reaction from him. Nothing short of miraculous.
“We do, indeed,” he answered, holding the passenger door for her.
“Wow,” Lavinia said after he let her inside his house. “I mean, you own a Ferrari, and I should’ve expected your house to be in the same league as your car…” She paused, her eyes roaming the foyer in a slow sweep. “But this is beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”
Used to a level of wealth very few people could boast about, Adrian was surprised by her shock, but also deeply pleased by her reaction.
“I’ve had a long time to acquire the pieces you see. A positive aspect of being undead is that what you buy today will eventually become a precious antique.” He gestured toward the double staircase at the end of the room. “Let’s go upstairs.” When she hesitated, he said, “On the second floor, there’s a small library where we can sit and talk more comfortably.”
Lavinia nodded then and followed him. Her eyes lingered on the paintings and sculptures he had been collecting since he was turned.
“I’m no expert, but these look like originals to me,” she said, pointing at a set of Etruscan vases displayed on an antique French dropleaf table.
“They are. I bought them from a Roman merchant whose wife was of Etruscan origin.” Adrian pointed at the red and black cup sitting on a shelf by itself. “This one was unearthed during the Renaissance along with the rest of the tomb’s ceremonial jewelry, which I gifted to the Etruscan Museum in Tarquinia, during World War I.” He watched her reaction with great trepidation.
Lavinia looked around before settling her gaze back on him. “You are so—”
“Ancient?” he finished for her, feeling a pang of pain.
She shook her head. “I was going to say interesting and so very different from the guys—”
His growl surprised them both.
Lavinia’s mouth opened to say something, but a loud bang from the front door area silenced her.
Adrian placed her behind him and let his fangs fully lower.
20
A strong scent filled the air. The smell was familiar to Lavinia, but she didn’t remember from where the memory came. As she shook in fear, her wolf roared,
clamoring for a shift.
Someone had burst into the house. A man—a werewolf like her, and there was something off about his scent. A touch of evil clung to him. Steps resonated in the house, sounding closer and closer until someone reached the foot of the staircase.
She couldn’t see the intruder because Adrian stood in front of her, but her senses screamed danger. Her body started shivering more violently as her limbs elongated and her wolf pushed the transformation into completion. The beautiful, white gown Maia had given her tore up, falling to the floor in pieces.
Adrian looked over his shoulder at her wolf, and she nudged her nose against the back of his leg.
“Give me the half-breed, and I’ll leave,” the man said.
With a snarl, Adrian lunged for the werewolf.
The man transformed as he jumped. His wolf was black and three times the size of Lavinia’s. He met Adrian in an explosion of fangs and fur, roaring loud when he suffered the vampire’s bite on his neck.
Lavinia’s wolf circled the two, barking and pacing, eager to enter the fray and defend her mate. She jumped onto the marble banister to get a higher point of view on the fight, her tail whipping madly about her. When the werewolf’s jaw made to close around Adrian’s side, she launched herself at the black wolf, smashing against the bigger beast with all her might.
The animal growled in surprise, snarling at her as she pushed him backward. He hit the landing but was immediately back on all fours and ready to attack Adrian, ignoring Lavinia. Lavinia threw herself at the werewolf and bit his hind leg, closing her jaw against his coarse fur. Her opponent jerked his body to get rid of her, but she didn’t let go, clamping down hard on flesh and sinew. Blood filled her mouth.
The werewolf reached for her flank, his large fangs tearing her hide and making her howl. Freed from her hold, he turned, aiming for her exposed neck. With a terrifying roar, Adrian swept him away before he could pierce her jugular. They rolled on the marble floor, their bodies tangled. Adrian grabbed the wolf by his throat and forcefully bent his head to the side as he lowered his fangs to the exposed fur.
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