"She doesn"t know?" Leandro asked, turning curiously to his brother before leaning to address Tatiana. "He is our father."
Marcello stiffened. He dropped his arm and motioned his fingers to an attendant standing motionless behind him. The servant bowed and turned. Suddenly, the sound of violins drifted in from the other room.
Gio smiled. His dark eyes narrowed on the dark beauty before him. Without him having to say a word, she stood and walked around the table to him. Gio rose, taking her arm. Lord Adolfe"s mouth fell open slightly, but he didn"t dare protest as Gio shot him a look of warning and led the woman to the front hall for a dance.
Lord Adolfe blinked and turned to her. His smarmy grin again lit his lecherous face and he seemed to forget all about her stabbing him. It was obvious he wasn"t used to being refused.
"Mademoiselle, would you do me the honor of--" he began.
"No," Tatiana stated loudly with a hard finality. Lord Adolfe gasped. She ignored him, instead turning at the soft sound of laughter behind her back.
Tatiana looked up at Marcello. He gave her a half smile and bowed to her. Lifting her hand into his, she let him lead her from the seat. She noticed that other couples had gathered on the dance floor--mainly the vampires stealing away the drunken men"s women. The human men were lethargic, nearly asleep in their chairs.
Tatiana shivered, drawing closer to Marcello"s chest. He tried to dance with her, but she couldn"t move. She looked earnestly up at him, her round jade eyes trying to be brave.
"Please," she whispered. "Let me retire. I don"t want to watch this."
"Watch what,bellamia ?" Marcello asked. At his insistence, she allowed him to lead her to the gentle, beautiful music.
I don"t want to watch you kill these people, she thought, hoping he"d hear it. He did and stiffened.
"You really do think me a monster, don"t you?" he mused quietly. He didn"t speak again, pulling her closer to his chest as they danced.
As the night wore on the dancing didn"t stop. The men still sat with their eyes in a stupor. The wine in her veins made her forget all but Marcello and the movements of his lithe body close to hers. He didn"t speak as he wove a spell around them. She almost forgot there were others in the room.
"Marcello, here."
Tatiana blinked, turning to see a blond vampire who came with Gio. He was offering his dance partner"s wrist to Marcello as if it was most natural to do so. She glanced around, seeing that the other vampires fed on the drunken women. The women moaned, rubbing themselves against the immortal creatures who kept them enthralled. Some of them had several bite marks in various places. Almost in a trance, the vampires would switch partners, only to drink from a new victim before switching again. Tatiana had no desire for the other vampires to drink from her. She moved closer to Marcello.
"You must drink," the blond one said. "You must try her. Gio"s wine is strong in her veins."
Marcello looked uncomfortable. Without knowing where the words came from, Tatiana pushed the woman"s wrist away from them and said, "He already has a meal."
Marcello stiffened in concealed surprise and turned to her. The blond vampire smiled in appreciation of her boldness. His eyes edged with a bit of jealousy until she realized he"d actually wanted Marcello to switch partners with him.
Tatiana kept her eyes on the blond vampire, more out of fear than anything else. To prove her point, she wrapped an arm around Marcello"s neck and pulled him to her throat. Her fingers wound into his silky hair. Marcello had no choice but to bite her. The others stopped dancing at her comment to watch.
She smiled slightly at them, letting them see she belonged only to one of them. She wouldn"t be traded about. Leandro frowned at her and turned away. She didn"t have time to think about it as he climbed up the stairs and disappeared out the door. A light moan escaped her as Marcello"s lips caressed and sucked at her neck. He pulled back at the sound, biting his lips to heal her, before lifting his cheek in a soft nuzzle against her face.
When he pulled back, his gaze was rimmed with the red of her blood. Looking deeply into her eyes, he murmured, "A fine vintage indeed. My compliments to your winemaker, Gio."
Tatiana shivered in pleasure as the heated words rolled over her. She looked up at him, dreamy-eyed.
Leaning over, Marcello kissed Tatiana"s cheek lightly. "Go to our room,bella mia , and await me there."
Tatiana stiffened. Her eyes opened wide as if to protest. She swallowed nervously before nodding in agreement. She saw the look on Marcello"s face, begging her not to cause a scene.
She gave him a small curtsey and turned, making her way along the empty side of the table. When she was gone, Marcello felt a presence beside him.
"She is a very beautiful mortal," the blond vampire said.
Marcello felt the restlessness of his vampiric guests. Tatiana was a tempting treat whom they all wanted to taste. He would"ve asked them to leave, but he couldn"t be rude and kick them out of his home. Instead, he smiled, turning to look at the blond vampire who had asked to taste his witch.
"S, Gereon, she is beautiful, but she is not so special." Marcello grinned widely. At Tatiana"s dismissal, the vampires began spilling over toward the men to drink from them. Others disappeared with women down the hall where Cesare once slept to slake their other desires. Others, still, lounged on the chairs by the wall, sipping their oblivious, drunken meals at leisure.
"She is possessive, jealous. It amuses me to indulge her. Just as it will amuse me to break her heart."
Gereon laughed.
"Now," Marcello said, letting his green tinted eyes fall on the woman Gereon held. He reached for her, entrancing her to him.
Lifting her wrist to his mouth, Marcello bared his fangs. "How about that taste?"
Tatiana waited in the bedroom for Marcello to come to bed. She was too afraid to change from her dress, though she did take the silk flowers out of her hair. She also put the emerald necklace away in the wardrobe along with her gloves The visiting vampires didn"t leave until it was nearly dawn. She felt them more than she heard them outside the door. When the door to the bedchamber finally opened, Tatiana sat up on the bed. Her wide eyes turned to Marcello. His gaze looked a bit gla.s.sy.
"Are you...?" she began, coming to her feet in worry.
"Drunk," he stated easily.
Tatiana was confused. "But, you can"t drink win ... oh.Oh !"
His meaning dawned on her and she recoiled from him.
"Yes, oh," he chuckled.
"You mean you ... you...?" Tatiana studied him carefully.
"I sent the humans home in their carriage. They will sleep for about a day, but will be fine."
"You did?" she asked, surprised.
"We are not always monsters,bella ," he sighed. Marcello shrugged out of his jacket and laid it over the chair. She watched him in open interest as he undressed.
"Are the vampires gone?" she asked.
"Yes," he stated easily. "And they will not be back anytime soon."
"How come you never told me of Jiri?"
"He has nothing to do with you," Marcello answered, unb.u.t.toning his white shirt. "He has little to do with me."
"Oh," she sighed. Her eyes found a spot on the floor and she stared at it to keep from looking at the unintentional seduction his undressing had become. "I didn"t know you could get drunk off of blood."
Marcello chuckled. "Only with a certain blend of wine that is very potent on humans. Don"t worry,bella mia . You were not given any."
"Oh, yeah I know." She dared a glance. Marcello pulled his shirt off and kicked off his shoes. She shivered with longing. Trying to sound nonchalant, she asked, "So ... who did you drink from? One of the women?"
Marcello"s eyes whipped around to her and he stopped in his task of freeing himself from his breeches. Striding across the bedchamber with supernatural grace, he stood before her. She knelt on the bed and didn"t move as he raised his hand to her chin. Softly, he asked, "Why all the questions,bella mia ?"
"No reason," she lied. "Just curious."
"Would it bother you to know that I drank from another woman?" he persisted. His dark eyes searched her.