by Reina Torres
“I will be here, Allegra, for you. What you need from me you will have. Whatever it takes to make you believe that I’m telling you the truth, is yours.”
She leaned her head down and felt the fine wool of his coat under her cheek. Allegra drew in one breath after another, concentrating on slowing her heartbeat, calming her nerves.
Being with Valerio had been instinct, a jump from the Lion’s head, but conscious thought hadn’t really played a part yet. And now, he was giving her that, sitting still with her as she relaxed against him.
The sound of his heartbeat calmed her, even when his own heartrate thundered within his chest, her own slowed down, easing into a rhythm that echoed the brook just a few feet away. They sat in silence as she brushed her cheek against his shoulder, enjoying the fine fabric under her cheek, the heat of his body against hers, and scent of him as it filled her lungs and whispered over her tongue.
Her body heated, her breath quickened, and her nerves danced just under the sensitive surface of her skin.
“It’s been so long,” she began and her thoughts drew her back into a darker place, “I-”
She felt a hand on her arm. It didn’t hurt, it soothed her. “I’m here.”
And he was, he was a rock that sheltered her in the darkness and gave her his strength.
Allegra turned, ever so slightly, adjusting her seat in his lap to bring her closer, lifting her face toward his, taking a deeper breath of him into her lungs.
“You’re not…” She felt him tense against her, but she didn’t move away. “You’re not completely human.”
He waited.
Waited for her to push him away.
Waited for her to scream.
To put distance between them.
It nearly slayed him when she leaned closer and took in another breath along the side of his neck, nearly where it met his shoulder. It took his breath away and he could feel his bear crouched within him, waiting.
“How did I not know?”
Her words stoked a fire within him. “How do you know?” he wondered aloud.
She flushed and his mouth when dry. He wanted to know if that beautiful flush that colored her face and neck, colored more of her supple flesh. His bear pushed him with a shoulder, rising up to break his fangs through and score the inside of his lip.
“One of my therapists, the one who taught me how to get around with my cane, was a jaguar. The scent was something… new. It was like I could smell a faraway place not a person, something wild… more,” she shrugged, “than human.”
Valerio couldn’t stop the low growl that escaped his lips, nor the arms that wrapped around her lush body.
Allegra wiggled a little and instead of loosening his embrace, he gathered her closer. “What?” She didn’t fight him for freedom, instead, she cuddled closer, setting her hand on his chest, calming the bear within. “What’s going on?”
He struggled to keep his breathing even. Struggling to find his human voice to explain. When he opened his lips, his bear rode him hard. “Mine.”
She relaxed even more, lowering her hand over his chest and around to his side.
His bear luxuriated in her touch, the feel of her body against his. “Mine.”
Her laughter peeled his lips back from his teeth in a snarl.
“Are you jealous?”
Valerio pulled her closer to him and she sucked in a breath when her rounded backside shifted in his lap, he knew she could feel his erection under her thigh. He was rock hard and hungry and when she sighed, her breath heating the side of his neck, she cuddled closer.
“Yes,” the word nearly hissed out from between his lips, “did you… care for him?”
Her laughter wasn’t the response that he was hoping for… or even expected, but when she leaned her head back against his shoulder he nearly forgot the whole reason he was jealous, but she didn’t.
Through her laughter, she stroked his chest and regrettably, his ego. “My therapist was a jaguar shifter and a woman,” she confided. “As much as I’m sure she was as gorgeous as she was good at her job, I think the only woman I’d date would be Catherine Zeta Jones and last I checked, she’s taken.”
He nodded, struggling to catch his own breath. “So, no.”
“No, that I’m not interested in my therapist. Or is there another question that I missed between all of the growling?”
He nodded and then shook his head, struggling still.
“Then maybe I get a question.”
Her fingers found their way to the buttons on his shirt. Drawing in a breath, he pressed his chest against her curious fingers, watching as she used her fingertips to walk her way up through the line of buttons. Buttons to his collar. Collar to the heated skin of his neck and to the line of his neatly trimmed beard.
“What are you?” She smiled as he swallowed and his Adam’s apple pushed against her fingers.
He dropped his head and nipped at her fingertip, holding it for a moment between his teeth before letting it go.
He expected her to lower her hand away, but he was just learning that Allegra wasn’t going to be what… or who anyone would expect. She raised her hand, fumbling her touch over his chin and smoothed her fingers over his lips.
“Tell me?”
He leaned into her touch, felt fur push through his skin, drew her scent into his lungs.
Her hands touched his cheeks, stilling for a moment and then smoothing her palms back towards his ears once and then again, as if she was petting him, soothing him.
Instead the bear wasn’t in a mind to be soothed. He wanted to be closer. He wanted their mate.
Valerio did too. So, he needed to answer her question. He needed to know if who he was… was enough for her. “Bear.”
“Bear,” she repeated the answer, her eyes moving over his face as if she could see… and maybe she could. “Grizzly? Brown?” Her laughter made him thirsty for her kiss. “Dare I hope… a panda?”
The growl that passed his lips had her sucking in a breath.
“I like bears,” she sighed, “the bigger… the stronger… the better.” Her hands wouldn’t let go, she slid one around the back of his neck, the other through the short-cropped hair behind his ear.
His hands moved over her shoulders, danced over her back, sliding over the full curve of her backside, holding her closer. “Mine.”
She flicked her tongue over her bottom lip and then rubbed it over the back of her teeth, steadying herself. “As long as you’re mine too.” She tugged him closer and he went willingly, pausing when their lips were a hairsbreadth away from each other. “Yours.”
It was a battle of wills that was fought within him. His bear wanted her naked, writhing beneath them, wrapped around them, begging for more. Valerio wanted that too, but not right then.
So much had been forced on Allegra in her life that he wanted to make sure that when he made her their mate, it was because she wanted it. She was already his perfect match, his equal. But when he joined their bodies together for the rest of their lives, she would make the choice with a clear head.
And yet, he wouldn’t give up the opportunity to taste her, just a little.
He parted his lips and brushed a kiss against one corner of her mouth and then the other. He felt her press her lips against his, open and pliant.
The sigh that he swallowed was followed by her tongue. She teased and he chased, sweeping over her teeth to meet the heated stroke of her tongue again.
Allegra’s fingers bit into the back of his neck and he mourned her close-cut nails. He would have loved to feel her score his flesh, bite into his skin and scratch him raw.
Her teeth closed over his lower lip, nipping them together until he hissed out a groan.
She pulled back, a gasp bursting from her lips. “Did I hurt you?”
Valerio couldn’t stop the way his heart thundered in his chest, he couldn’t stop the need that flowed through his veins. Leaning closer, he rubbed his cheek against hers and felt her cling to
his shoulders.
His teeth scraped the sensitive lobe of her ear, leaving him to soothe the scratch with his tongue. “Yes, Allegra, you hurt me.”
She tensed in his arms and he felt her shudder against him. “Do not apologize, Allegra. I like your fangs.”
“Do you now?” Allegra flushed and drew her tongue over the plump flesh of her bottom lip.
He tasted her lip, following her tantalizing show with a searching sweep of his own before he leaned back again to draw in a deep breath. Allegra was beautiful on her own, but scenting her arousal, the heat of her skin and deep within her body, he felt his body hovering on the change, his eyes bleeding black with his own barely restrained passion.
“Always, Allegra. If it’s your mouth on me, you can do what you will.”
“Be careful what you say, Valerio.” She trembled in his embrace, but it wasn’t fear he smelled, but anticipation. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
He gave her one last kiss before helping her up from the grassy expanse in the heart of their home. “Anything you want, Stellina, you shall have.”
Chapter Seven
While the ladies were tucked away in Natale’s workshop, the three brothers had a few moments to speak before Valerio took his mate to her dress rehearsal at the Zoo.
Valerio sat at the table, his gaze drifted time and time again toward the closed doorway, turning his coffee cup about when he turned back to the table.
He tried to ignore the looks Uberto was giving him from the kitchen Island.
When he reached the table, sitting down across from him, Valerio met the eyes of his younger brother. “You have something to say? Say it.”
Uberto shrugged and took a quick sip of his coffee. “I always have something to say. I don’t need your permission.”
Salvatore flared at him. “You might need my permission to say it,” his grin bared his teeth. “But this time,” he sat back in his chair and turned slightly to look directly at Valerio, “I agree.”
“No.” Valerio shook his head once. “We are not having this talk again.”
“We will have this talk until you see reason.”
Valerio leaned on the table, bracing his arm on the edge. “You are my brother and the leader of our family, Salvatore. But when it comes to my mate, I will do what’s best for her.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, brother.” Uberto slipped another sip of coffee passed his lips. “It’s not.”
“You should be concerned about what’s best for both of you, together.” Salvatore meant the words, but Valerio still balked at the idea.
“Her debut concert is in two weeks. After that is over, I will mark her. We’ve already discussed the issue.”
“The issue,” Uberto leaned back in his chair and stared right at his brother, “is that you’re denying what’s between you. It would be one thing if she didn’t want to be yours, but-”
“We already sense things from each other. What if I give her the mark and those feelings intensify?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Uberto was nearly tipping the table in his direction as he leaned on it. “She wants you, don’t deny-”
“I’m not denying anything!” Valerio was barely holding onto his temper. It didn’t help that inside of him, his bear sided with his brothers. “I just want you to listen to my wishes. This is important to her, the culmination of all of her hard work and I don’t want to be the distraction that ruins it for her.”
He looked at Salvatore, and felt a strange pressure in his head as his bear struggled for control.
The door opened and the men were on their feet as Natale and then Allegra entered the room. Salvatore growled with possessive satisfaction as his mate rubbed her hand over the swell that was their unborn cub. Beside her, Allegra walked confidently through the door. For the last few days, she’d walked around the shared areas of their penthouse and learned the distances and doorways that might cause a problem and didn’t need an arm or a guide unless she was going somewhere unfamiliar.
Before he knew what he was doing, he was at her side, reaching for her hand. She met him halfway, curling her fingers through his.
“Is everything okay?”
Worry darkened his features for a moment. Had she heard them through the heavy door? Or had she felt his anger? Either answer worried him and added more credence to his arguments with his brothers.
Allegra needed to focus on herself, and he would give her that opportunity, because he couldn’t do anything more important than take care of her.
Dress rehearsal had gone smoothly. The director of the zoo and the head of their charitable arm that raised additional funds for homes and animal care had proclaimed the upcoming event a huge success in ticket sales. The greater part of the group left after the main part of the rehearsal, until only Allegra, Essa, and Jane remained to practice the final piece of the night.
Jane walked Allegra to her chair on the temporary stage that they’d erected in front of the fountain, and set her hand on the back of the chair before brushing a motherly kiss on her cheek.
Allegra took her cello from its stand and placed the cello securely between her knees as she found the right placement for her feet. Reaching behind her she picked up her bow from the back of her chair and then rested it on her thigh until she could slide her fingers down to the frog and hold it at just the right angle.
A little shiver crawled up her arm and a smile tickled at her lips, she could almost hear the music waiting as if it stood in the wings, waiting behind a curtain, just as anxious as she was, waiting for the lights to come up.
And there, in the darkness, she felt the hum. Electricity rolling through the emptiness.
And then a light. A warm glow sitting off to the side, waiting, just like the music.
Waiting, like the swan she hears padding along the cobblestones behind her. It’s like she could see it, even through the back of her head, because she had seen it… years ago.
A flutter.
Wings took flight, just enough to push into the air to flutter down into the water.
And she felt the breath of the bird as if it was her own and lifted her bow. She let it glide over the strings like wings controlling the rate of her fall.
It’s just the swan and the water, feathers and flight, longing and joy.
Until the last note fell from the string like a sigh and Allegra released the breath she held in her lungs. She took a moment to wonder if she’d actually managed a breath during the song, or if she’d been that rolled under by the music that she’d held it all in while she played.
Jane closed the lid of the piano behind her, protecting the keys from the elements and curious fingers and stood from her seat on the bench.
Allegra heard the soft steps walking up beside her and Essa’s soft chuckle.
“Brava, Allegra. Brava.”
“Thank you, Essa.”
“No no,” he touched the back of her hand and took the bow from her, “I did nothing but listen to you, my dear and it was a pleasure.”
“I agree.”
Valerio. And the trembling started all over again.
Her imagination told her that the light… in the darkness… that was him. Who else could it have been?
Who else would she want it to be?
“Mr. Nylund,” she felt a hand take her cello and she stood up from her seat, “this is-”
“Mr. Orsino, yes. He introduced himself to me the other day. One of our newest patrons. Quite an intelligent young man, really.”
She could almost hear Valerio flinch from Essa’s words.
“Sir, please-”
“No need to shy away from the truth. Why anyone with eyes-” Essa’s words died on his lips as quickly as new ones formed, “oh Allegra. I am so sorry.”
Jane gave her a kiss on her cheek. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”
“Really, I’m fine,” she laughed and felt Valerio move closer, “it’s nothing that I haven’t said over the years. It’s funny ho
w much we just say an old adage or idiom and not think about it. Please, Essa, don’t worry about me. I’ve developed a thicker skin over the years. It is truly a pleasure to play at all, but to share it with others, it makes me happy.”
“Well, Jane has promised me a ride home,” Essa spoke gently to her, “and Mr. Orsino has promised to see you safely home.”
It took her a few tries to say the simple word, “Yes.”
“Get your rest for the event tomorrow night, Allegra.”
“I agree,” Jane added her own thoughts in, “but have fun you two.”
“I will do my best.” Valerio’s assurance was filled with a hesitation that she hadn’t heard before. Reaching out her hand she found his wrapped around hers as if it was second nature.
Then again, maybe it was.
“Well, good night then.”
Moments later she heard the soft turn-over of a car engine and the subtle spray of gravel as the car left through the service entrance. Leaving them alone.
And that’s when she felt the tremble starting again. Not in her hands or her head, not where the music was. No, she felt the tremble in her heart and in places she didn’t really talk about.
Okay, places she never talked about, no matter how much she wanted to feel. To replace horror with joy.
And with Valerio standing beside her, offering his warmth, she knew she was so very close to getting it.
She felt a hand brush through the hair at her temple and smiled. “You like doing that, touching my hair.”
He leaned closer. She could smell his scent and the bear beneath it. “I like touching you.”
“I really like it too.” She meant every word and feeling that came with it. “Maybe we can pack up my cello and go home?”
“It’s already in its case,” he told her. “I’ll put it in the car before we leave.”
“Oh?” That got her attention. “We’re not leaving yet?”
She felt the shrug through their joined hands.
“Not unless you want to.” His voice was as mysterious as it was sensual and she felt it all the way to her toes. “You said you used to come to the zoo.”