I didn"t want to go to Pallo, but I didn"t want to stand around and watch Giovanni push me away either. He didn"t say a word as I stormed out onto the balcony. My white heels clicked loudly on each stair, announcing my presence to the group below. I looked out and saw James was the only vampire in the water. That didn"t surprise me a bit. Caradoc was sitting with his legs propped up-reading a book, typical, and Pallo was nowhere to be found. Neither was Malita. I"d say I was shocked, but I"d be lying.
I walked over to sit by Caradoc and felt flecks of water splashing up at me. I looked down to see Mikhail treading in the deep end, smiling up at me. Caradoc let out a small grunt.
"If he gets my clothes wet, can I kill him?" Caradoc asked.
Mikhail"s eyes widened. I smiled and shook my head. "No, but if he gets your hair wet you can."
Laughing, Mikhail dove under and swam away towards James and the two busty, blonde sisters. I waved at James and gave him a big thumbs-up for having two chicks" hands all over him. He winked and looked towards the box hedge maze. I knew he was giving me an indirect explanation of where Pallo was. I nodded to him again and sat down next to Caradoc.
"So, how"ve you been?"
"Just fine, thank you for asking." His tone was so snippy that I wasn"t sure it was him at first. Caradoc was an old-school vampire. He spoke when spoken to and was so full of manners that he could write a magazine column. This wasn"t his norm by any means.
"Hmm... how are things going at the Park?" I wanted to get him talking. I knew Pallo"s amus.e.m.e.nt park was thriving. He wasn"t a risk taker when it came to his money. No, Necro"s Magik World & Supernatural Theme Park was doing just fine. Pallo was rich beyond his wildest dreams, as were most master vampires, and I was positive that every detail was seen to prior to their journey here, but I wanted Caradoc to open up and this was the only way I knew to get him to talk.
"The Park is fine, Gwyneth." He shifted in his seat.
"Caradoc, if I didn"t know any better I"d think you were mad at me."
He closed his book and laid it on his lap. His gaze flickered towards Giovanni"s house and then back to me. "Whatever would give you that idea?"
I smacked my leg and pointed at him. "You missed me, you ol" stick in the mud. You missed me admit it."
He pulled his feet down and sat up straight. He adjusted his collar several times before looking back at me. "I suppose I was rather taken aback by the sudden end of our weekly get togethers."
I jumped up and gave him a big hug. He and James had been stuck on babysitting duty every time that Caleb had to go out of town on business. Being a bounty hunter for the supernatural generally meant that he would be gone for several days at a time. Since my life had been threatened on more than one occasion, my father had asked Pallo and Caleb to keep an eye on me. Because Caradoc and James worked for Pallo, they had ended up coming to stay with me on a regular basis. James generally brought an armful of movies and Caradoc usually sat in the chair reading and pretending to be annoyed with us.
I hugged him tighter to me. "I knew you were a softy," I teased a second before Giovanni appeared behind us. He glanced down at me and smiled.
"I hate to interrupt you embarra.s.sing poor Caradoc, but would you like to walk with me? I have some things I wish to discuss with you."
"Of course."
Caradoc gave me a gentle squeeze before releasing me. I stood and took Giovanni"s outstretched hand.
Chapter Seven.
I was happy the night wasn"t as cool as it had been the night before. The breeze from earlier in the day was all but gone and the sound of nighttime filled the air. Giovanni stayed quiet until he had me a good distance from the house. I knew that vampires had amazing hearing. I was betting that omnimorpheleons did, too.
He turned to me when we reached the far end of the grounds and took both my hands in his. "I am sorry. I did not set out to anger you. I really do just want you to follow your heart and after that, if any piece should remain that feels for me I would be a happy man. I am not foolish enough to believe seeing Pallo did not move you and I"ve already told you I will not try and stop that again."
"Giovanni, what do you want me to do? I feel like you"re shoving me at him and shutting yourself down from me. I thought that after all the time we"ve spent together, you felt something for me, too. You don"t push people away that you care about."
He pulled me close to him. "You do if you ever want them to return to you again, Bella."
I held tightly to him and willed him to stop trying to shut me out. I knew that I"d grown to care a great deal for him over the last several months, and I didn"t want to have the door to his heart shut in my face. I stood there breathing in the scent of his cologne, letting him hold me to him.
"You know, I"ve spent more time with you than both Pallo and Caleb put together."
"If time was all it took to keep you, then we would not be having this discussion right now. We would be off somewhere exotic celebrating our three-hundredth anniversary."
He was right, d.a.m.n. It didn"t matter that I"d spent only three months with Caleb and Pallo. The short time had been packed full of so much pa.s.sion and betrayal that I was still trying to get over it.
"Shall we head back now?" he asked.
"Only if we"re okay."
"Then, yes, we should head back."
He had to slow his stride so I could keep up. His legs were longer than mine and that meant a nice leisurely pace for him was a workout for me. I let him guide me in the darkness. My night vision had grown stronger since Pallo"s attempt at turning me, but it was nowhere near Giovanni"s pure vampire sight. He stopped and stood very still. He turned his head towards the maze.
I listened for what he might be hearing and picked up the faint sound of a woman"s cry. "Bella ...."
"Go, I"ll follow behind you." I knew he would beat me there and didn"t want to hold him up. He bent down and kissed my cheek and was suddenly gone. I turned and rushed towards the maze. Remembering Pallo was in there gave me an extra burst of speed.
I hit the opening of it and ran along with my hands out, feeling the hedges as I went. I"d been in it enough times with Giovanni to know my way around it, but I"d never attempted it while running or worried. I hit two dead ends before I caught sight of Giovanni. He turned, saw me coming at him, reached out, and grabbed me.
"Come, it"s fine." He tried to maneuver me away from whatever was around the corner. I heard another tiny cry and pushed past him. When I made it around the corner, I stopped so fast that I fell backwards. Giovanni caught me and pulled me upright.
I looked down at Malita"s half-naked body and saw Pallo under her. She rolled off him and tried to cover herself with her shirt. Even in the dark, I could see and, thanks to my new gifts, smell the blood on her neck. She"d let him feed off her. James had told me that feeding combined with pa.s.sion was the closest thing to a high a vampire could get. Pallo"s shirt was torn open and his pants were unb.u.t.toned. Yeah, he looked like he was buzzing. He stared up at me and his arm rose quickly to his lips. He wiped his sleeve across his mouth and shakily pushed to his feet, lacking his normal grace.
"Missed a spot," I said dryly.
I tried to back up but Giovanni"s body pressed against my back. He had tried to keep me from seeing this. Why? If he really wanted to make sure I"d come back to him, then what better way than to expose Pallo"s s.e.xual rendezvous.
A small smile formed on Malita"s lips as her gaze met mine. It left quickly, but I"d caught it. "Well, isn"t this embarra.s.sing."
"Indeed," Giovanni said from behind me, never once breaking his rea.s.suring hold on me.
Pallo did everything in his power to avoid meeting my gaze head on. Giovanni put his hands to my shoulders and I laid mine over his. It was a little show of affection, but it was enough to get Pallo"s attention. He glared out from dark brown eyes. Pallo"s gaze fell southward, as Giovanni leaned over me, adjusting my suit jacket. My fear of popping out had come true.
Wonderful.
When Giovanni"s hand brushed over my breast Pallo snarled and flew at us. I didn"t have time to think before Pallo was in my face. He snarled and I drew back into Giovanni"s body.
Giovanni put his mouth to my ear. "He will not harm you. He is just upset." I tensed, not believing him. Pallo looked like he wanted to rip my face off. "Bella, he is my creature, I made him, I can read his feelings and he does not wish to harm you, only to scare you."
Pallo glared at Giovanni. "I am not your creature anymore. I am my own master now." His gaze slid to me. "No, Gwyneth, I would never hurt you. Can all parties present claim the same?"
He was being petty and I"d had enough. "Just leave, Pallo. Take your pet omnimor-whatever-the-h.e.l.l-she-is and go. I don"t want you here."
"I can see you are perfectly happy here, but I am afraid you will have to cut your visit short. Your father has asked me to bring you home, and I fully intend on doing so. You have a wedding to get ready for. So, I strongly suggest you stop f.u.c.king Giovanni and start packing."
"What, are you mad I might be f.u.c.king Giovanni, or that I"m not f.u.c.king you?" I spit the words at him. He had said something very similar to me once before and it still hurt to think about it.
"Gwyneth, would you be so kind as to give me a list of all the men you are having s.e.x with. I am having trouble keeping track of my compet.i.tion."
My hand flew up and struck him across the face. It happened so fast that it took me a minute to realize what I"d done. When his head turned back to me his eyes were swirling to black and for him that was a bad thing. Giovanni sensed it, too, and pulled me back from Pallo.
Malita put her hand on Pallo"s shoulder and tried talking to him. She might as well have been invisible for all the mind he paid her. I could see she was hurt by this, but I"d be lying if I said I gave a d.a.m.n.
"Bella, go back to the house. I will be in shortly."
I didn"t want to leave the two of them alone in the maze. I knew they"d kill each other. They"d been waiting for centuries to get a chance at it.
I grabbed Giovanni"s hand and pulled him back towards me. His body turned slightly to me, but he never took his eye off Pallo. "Please," I said. "Come with me. Don"t do this. Don"t fight him." I laced my fingers in his and tugged again.
Pallo"s tongue ran out and over his developing fangs. He sneered at Giovanni. "She begs for you to leave and run. She fears for your safety."
Giovanni"s arm muscles tightened. Even at five hundred plus years old, he didn"t appreciate being called a wimp. I leaned up and did the only thing I could think to do. I pulled Giovanni"s head down towards me and licked his cheek while I kept my eyes on Pallo. I pressed my cheek up to Giovanni"s all the while staring at Pallo. "No, Pallo, it"s not his safety I"m concerned about. It"s yours. I think we all know who the real master is here."
Giovanni grabbed me hard around the waist and I saw Pallo come charging at us. My feet left the ground and my stomach dropped out as Giovanni skyrocketed us upwards. We came down next to Caradoc who was still sitting poolside. Giovanni thrust me towards him.
Caradoc leapt to his feet and looked up. Pallo was hot on our trail. He came to a sudden stop right in front of me and made a move towards me. A flash of black struck him and sent them both flying into the pool. I screamed and went to dive in after them. I knew they"d tear each other to pieces, and I couldn"t let that happen.
Caradoc grabbed my waist and lifted me off my feet. I kicked out and caught his shin. He dropped me, and I dove in the water after them. I had to come up for air. I didn"t have the luxury of not requiring it like they did.
Hands grabbed at my shoulders. I turned around and found Mikhail next to me. "Stop them please," I begged him. He looked at me and at the two vampires entangled and nodded.
"Guys," he said. James and Caradoc dove in and I scrambled to get out. I turned and watched Caradoc lifting Giovanni out of the water. James and Mikhail broke the surface with Pallo. I pushed off the tile with my knee to stand up and someone pulled on my arm. It was Fritz helping me to my feet.
"Thank you, Fritz." I turned back to the vampires.
Pallo was being restrained by James and Mikhail. Caradoc was doing his best to hold Giovanni back. I went to head towards them but Fritz"s hand came out and grabbed my arm. He pulled me close to him and leaned into me.
"You must be some piece of a.s.s to make two master vamps go head to head over you."
I spun around and stared at Fritz with wide eyes. I couldn"t believe what I"d just heard him say. He reached out to touch me again and I backed up fast. I didn"t like the look in his eyes. He was dangerous, and he knew it.
"What? Not handing it out to the omnis, too?"
I looked at him and narrowed my eyes. I wasn"t sure who he thought he was talking to, but it wasn"t me. "No, flock-of-Fritz, I"m just not handing it out to you."
I turned and ran towards Giovanni and Pallo. The second Pallo spotted me, his eyes lit with a fire that made me slow my pace. "You have had your fun! You win. You hurt me. Does that make you happy, Gwyneth? You can stop f.u.c.king him now. You made your point. I was wrong."
I didn"t feel the need to clarify the fact that Giovanni and I had not had s.e.x yet. Pallo was being an a.s.s and he didn"t deserve an explanation. Giovanni almost broke free of Caradoc"s grip. I dove forward and snagged hold of his arm. "No! Enough!"
His dark gaze scanned me slowly before he directed them at Pallo. Turning to face Pallo, I unleashed my anger on him, as well. "No more! Do you hear me? No more!" Pallo snarled and my magik decided to retaliate. It surged through me. I let it spill out and at him. It sent him hurtling backwards out of James and Mikhail"s hands. James shot me a look of shock, and I couldn"t be positive but I think Mikhail smiled.
Pallo pulled himself up and turned to me. "Gwyneth?"
"Shut-up! I"ve had enough of you, Pallo. I"ve had enough. Do you understand that I can"t do this anymore? I can"t continue to ride this roller coaster with you. I"m done. Stay out of our lives." Pivoting, I took hold of Giovanni. He was hard to budge at first, but he finally gave in and followed me.
Chapter Eight.
I closed the French door behind us and turned to Giovanni. I wanted to hit him, too, for allowing things with Pallo to escalate to that level.
"Are you hurt?" I asked.
He looked himself over. "No."
"I can"t do this anymore. I can"t."
He took a step towards me and water squished out of his shoe. I let out a laugh and that opened the floodgate for my tears. Giovanni came to me and held me to him. We were both soaked and cold. I started to get undressed and he turned to leave. I grabbed his arm, visually scanning his face.
"No, I"m not sleeping alone in this house with all the things you"ve got spending the night. It"s like one giant, dead sleepover."
He laughed and stared out the window. "Yes, I didn"t plan on having quite so much excitement tonight. I had rather hoped we could spend a quiet evening together. I had wanted to take you into town. I am sorry."
I let my wet suit jacket fall to the floor. I undid my pants and peeled them off my legs, along with my underwear. Giovanni turned back to me from the window and saw me standing naked before him. I picked up my pink, silk robe from the back of the chair and slid it on.
I covered the distance between us quickly and reached out to touch him. He caught my wrist with his hand and looked down at me.
"Do not do this to hurt him. There are other ways. This doesn"t have to be one of them."
Tossing my hands up, I walked away from him. "I give up! What"s the point? You find every reason in the book to keep me at arm"s length and I can"t fight that." I headed for the door. I"d had enough and was going to go sleep in the guesthouse that sat on the back right corner of the main house. It wasn"t as far away as I"d like to be, but it would do.
Giovanni came to me and touched my arm. I opened the door and headed outside. "I meant what I said, Giovanni. I can"t do this anymore." He came out behind me and called my name. I turned around, waiting to hear what it was he had to say to me.
"Bella, don"t go, please. Stay with me, here tonight."
I needed some fresh air and time to clear my head. I explained this to him and he nodded and headed back into my room. I heard the bath water running and knew that he was giving me exactly what I"d asked for, time. I put my elbows on the rail and looked out over the back yard. So much had happened there in the last week that it was losing its peaceful charm quickly.
I was about to head back into my room when I heard the busty-twins coming out of the downstairs guest room. They were whispering to each other. I heard them talking about the night"s excitement. One of them said that she couldn"t understand what was so special about me. I believe that her exact words were that I was a faerie-wh.o.r.e. That was the pot calling the kettle black if I"d ever heard it, but I kept my mouth shut and listened to them.
"What about Malita and Pallo?" one asked. I was angry that I couldn"t see them anymore, their voices were alike and I couldn"t tell who was who.
"Oh, I know ... how sweet is it that he showed up here?"
"You know he was her first."
"Stop it! G.o.d, I wish my first lover was as hot as him. Do you think he was any good? I mean his body is like, rock hard .... What do you think of James?"
"He"s got a nice a.s.s. Can you believe Pallo and that girl had a thing? I mean come on, Malita is so much more his thing. I heard they ran together for a few years. That"s what Fritz said anyways."
I walked back into the bedroom and left them talking in the shadows. So, Pallo had been the one to take Malita"s virginity. My gut clenched when I thought about the two of them having s.e.x. I closed the door to my room and looked out across the yard. I saw Pallo"s figure standing close to Malita"s. I pulled the drapes and didn"t want to see anymore.