The Blood Covenant: Book One of The Medici Warrior Series

by Emily Bex

  "Lover, this is amazing. I can't imagine this house was left empty."

  Shade follows her and her happiness bubbles over as she goes from room to room, her mind racing, and he loves watching her, seeing her mind working overtime, decorating already, making mental notes. He hopes this is a good sign, and it won’t take much to convince her to live here and take over the renovations. He loves this woman more and more every second he spends with her.

  "This property belonged to Alec, who in the hell knows what he planned to do with it, if anything. I can’t imagine him here, or Rissa. But I know he received this property through a previous business deal. So I am sure he was just hanging onto it for its land value."

  Taking her hand, he leads her up the stairs to the second floor rooms. “Come along, there is still more to see up here, including my bedroom, or at least where I sleep, not anything elegant or fancy, I just need a bed mostly."

  Leading her down a hall, he opens the door to his room. "Like I said, not much to it."

  ***

  She peers inside to see a room decorated in "early dormitory". Actually, that's being generous. She tries to stifle her laugh but is not successful. There is a mattress on the floor. He has leathers hanging from a few hooks on the wall, and boots lined up underneath.

  "Shade, this looks like a prison cell. Please tell me this is not to your taste."

  Hanging his head, he leans against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his chest. "I have not been here a great deal, just sleeping mostly. It suffices for that purpose only, but there is something I want to ask you."

  Walking up to her, he takes her in his arms and looks at her seriously. "Bel, I have no time to renovate this place, decorate and make it a home, and without you, I don’t need a home. I have deep concerns about you and your safety, you living in Arlington. So this is very serious to me, to you and our relationship. Would you consider doing the renovations, moving in here with me? Living with me? I want to take care of you, protect you, and know in my heart you are safe. There are no limitations on expense. Anything you want, you can have. You need not work. I want you with me as much as possible. I love you and I cannot take this torture of worry, the torture of you not being with me as much as possible. It is a lot to ask of you, but I want you in my life. I am asking you to consider it, think about it, no answer is needed immediately. I will set you up with contacts I have here in the States who will do all of the work you require, help you with whatever you want. Can you make this our home? Make it feel like Italy for me, for us? The house, the landscaping, I leave it all up to you. I plan to bring in house staff from my home in Florence, anything you need. Anything you want. I want us together Kate, si?”

  ***

  She is taken back by his offer. Move in? Live here? She would have to quit her job. Her condo? Would she sell her condo? She's known him, what, a month and a half? She steps back from him, she has to think. She walks from this bedroom and back into a hallway that leads to more bedrooms. Can she see a life with him? Actually, she can't imagine life without him. He already feels like he is a part of her. But he is vampire and she is mortal. How does that work? Does he plan to make her a vampire too?

  ***

  He watches her back away from him and it feels like an ax is being driving into his heart. Cazzo, it was too soon to push this on her. I screwed this up.

  She walks slowly out of the bedroom and into the hall, and he wonders if she will just bolt and run out the front door and down the lane.

  "Si, mi amore, I wish for you to quit your job, the commute would be ridiculous. You won’t need money. I have more than you could ever spend. I hope you can see a life with me, a very long one. Si, you are mortal and I, immortal. It can work, if we put forth the effort. It won’t be easy, but it can be done. At a future date, if it is your will, I wish for you to be immortal as well, just like me. That will give you eternal life, to be with me. I know this is a lot to contemplate, I understand that, but I play no games, and I want you here with me, making this our home together. Can you not see yourself here with me? Would you not like to be given this home to do as you wish? Help me build my empire here in the States, and share in that life with me? I want you as my mate. I want you to be mine, forever.”

  ***

  She stands still and listens to what he has to say. His mate? How strange that sounds. Not wife, his mate.

  "Can I see myself here with you? Yes, I can. Can I see us building a life together? Honestly, lover, it is hard to imagine otherwise. But how can you be sure? How can you be sure about forever? How can I...how can I be sure? How do you know you will not tire of me?”

  "Kate. Come to me."

  ***

  Holding his arms open, she walks into them and lays her head on his chest and he lays his head on top of hers, cradled by that crimson silk.

  "Vampires mate for life. Once chosen, there is never another. I have searched the world over for five hundred years looking for my mate, I have found her, and she is in my arms right now. I crave one thing, to have you feed from me. When that happens, we take the first step toward being mated. No one has ever fed from me before. No one, mi amore. That is reserved for one person, my mate, and that right belongs to you. Going forward, I feed from no other, ever. You are the one I have searched for. And I could never tire of your beauty, the way you hold me, make love to me, and look at me. Never!”

  ***

  No one has fed from him? He feeds from many, but no one feeds from him. Wait...did he just say five hundred years? He's five hundred years old?

  His arms surround her, and there is nowhere that feels more like home to her than being wrapped in his embrace. Could she walk away from him? She already knows the answer to that question. With all the other things swirling in her head, all the confusion of his world, and all the things she doesn't understand, she knows she loves him. And she knows she can't walk away.

  "Yes, lover, the answer is yes."

  He hears her. His heart races and his soul soars. She said yes, she fucking said yes!

  "Si, oh si, mi amore! You have just made me the happiest immortal to walk in this world. I promise to never leave you, come home to you every single night, no matter where in the world I am, I will come home, to this home, to our home, to you. I love you, Kate!"

  Lifting her in his arms, he squeezes her tight and swirls her around in circles right in the middle of his bedroom.

  "First thing you need to decorate is our bedroom, si?”

  He lifts her off her feet as soon as the words leave her mouth, swinging her around in circles. Unnecessary, since her head is already spinning with the choice she has just made.

  "Yes, the bedroom has to go." She laughs with the joy that fills her heart, and the joy she feels from him.

  Kissing her, he sets her down and races with her down the hall, stopping at the stairs and grabbing her up, carrying her down the stairs. He sets her down in the foyer as he leads her back outside.

  “Come on, let’s walk outside a bit, you game?”

  His happiness overwhelms him as she responds, “Show me everything."

  Taking her hand, they walk outside. "I know it’s dark, but the mountains and park sit straight ahead of us. Down to the left are the vineyards, and I wish to expand what is already there. There is a great deal of land here, so at some point, I would love to have horses. I breed them in Florence, and I wish to bring some of them here and do the same."

  “Shade...that park you refer to, that's the National Park Service, the mountains are part of the National Parks. Are you telling me your land extends all the way to the mountains?”

  “Oh si, it extends to the base. There are 3,000 acres of land here, if you can imagine it.

  Walking her around the side of the house, he shows her the patios.

  "I would love to have beautiful gardens here behind the house. I am hoping you can help in that area. Come, let me take you over to the garage. I have a few cars in there, and a few bikes. And beyond that, I think maybe we
need to get you a proper sports car with a stick shift."

  He holds tight to her hand as he leads her with pride across the expanse of the lawn and around the back to the garage filled with some of his favorite toys.

  Three thousand acres? Cars? Is there no end to the things she doesn’t know?

  "Did you say you were five hundred years old? Are you sure you can keep up with me, lover?"

  Throwing back his head, he laughs, harder than he has in a hundred years. Fuck, I love this female!

  “Mi amore, I think I can keep up with you. But you can bet that sweet ass of yours, I will give it all I got.”

  They enter a garage that is separated from the main house, and was clearly built much later, although built in a style that matches the original architecture of the home. The garage is filled with expensive sports cars. Kate is no expert, but she picks out the Lamborghini, a Porsche, a Bugatti, and a Jaguar. There are a few she does not recognize. There are several custom motorcycles lined against another wall, all Harleys.

  “Shade, these are all very impressive, but you know I can’t drive a stick shift, I’ll keep my Miata.”

  He howls with laughter as he tosses her a set of keys, which she catches on the fly.

  “What are these for?”

  “See which car it opens, bel.”

  She walks through the garage, trying to insert the key into the driver side door of the long line of sports cars, moving from one to another. Kate reaches the last car in the line, a silver Jaguar, inserting the key as it slips in without resistance. She looks back over her shoulder at Shade who is wearing an ear to ear grin. She turns the key and opens the door, slipping into the driver’s seat.

  “Lover, this is too much!”

  “Nothing is too much. You will have this and more.”

  “But… I can’t even drive it.”

  He chuckles, “A small obstacle. I will teach you. Now come. Now that we have taken the grand tour, I think perhaps it is time we head back into the city, or we can spend the night and day here if you wish, but I must be able to escape the sun.”

  “Sleep in that prison cell?” She laughs, “I didn't pack for an overnight, and besides, I think I would prefer you in my own bed tonight. I'll make redoing the bedroom my top priority, believe me.”

  “Si, I don’t blame you, that thing is not comfortable. But I would sleep anywhere as long as you were in my arms. It is getting late, bel, we had best be getting back, I need to get there before sunrise."

  Taking her hand, they walk back to the Hummer, he helps her inside and then fires it up and heads down the lane. When they get to the main road, he angles the car so the headlights shine on the sign to the entrance of the property and stops the Hummer.

  "This belongs to you, bel rosso, this is yours now. I want this to be named after you, our mortal wine brands as well. I did all of this for you, this will be ours.”

  She looks at the sign in the headlights of the Hummer, ‘Bel Rosso Vineyards.’ He named it after me? The property? The wine? Did he know I would say yes? Or was he only hoping?

  "Lover, I don't know what to say." It overwhelms her to think he was already planning their life together.

  “You need not say a thing, mi amore. And si, I knew the moment I laid eyes on you I wanted you for all eternity. I have loved you since the day we met, and I will love you every day for the rest of our lives. This is the beginning of our journey, just the very beginning, and it will be a glorious one with love and laughter. I know we have a lot ahead of us. I’m not naïve to all we will face. I know there will be sorrow and pain as well, but I will promise more love than you can ever imagine. Your life is about to change forever, as is mine. We begin here, this night. I have waited for you to come and I had given up hope of ever finding you, and I will never let you go.”

  21

  When Kate woke, it was almost mid-day. She sat up with a start, feeling confused and fuzzy headed. He had brought her back home from the Virginia house and stayed with her only a few minutes as the sun was coming up before teleporting out. She had lain down to take a short nap, and now it was noon.

  Walking to the bathroom, she washes her face, and lets the memories of last night rush over her; his house and her promise. Did she really tell him she would quit her job, sell her condo, and move in? She walks back in the bedroom and drags on a pair of jeans and an old shirt. Kate Reese, have you lost your mind? What if he changes his mind, like the others? You lose more than your heart this time. You will lose everything you have worked to build for yourself.

  There is no one she can talk to about this. Besides, she already knows if she had someone to talk to, exactly what they would say, the same thing she is saying to herself.

  But she wants this man. She loves this man. And she trusts him, but then, didn't she trust the others too? There is an argument taking place in her head, a tug of war, one side pulling her to him, saying let go of your fears, follow him. And the other side is saying, be logical. Protect yourself. But she doesn’t want to lose him.

  The doorbell rings and she looks toward the door with a quizzical look. She was not expecting anyone. She goes to the door and looks through the peephole to see a man wearing a uniform and carrying a package of some kind. She opens the door leaving the chain on, "Can I help you?"

  He looks at her through the slightly open door, "Miss Reese, Miss Kate Reese?"

  She looks him up and down. He's from a local courier service, but on a Sunday?

  "Yes, I'm Kate Reese."

  "I have a delivery for you, ma’am. You'll have to sign for it."

  "Can you tell me who sent it?" She is still skeptical about opening the door.

  He looks down at his notepad, and then reads back to her, "Adami and Costa? It's a law firm, ma’am. Look, I can tell you don't want to open your door to me, but all I can say is I was just paid a ton of money to make this Sunday delivery. Our courier service is closed on Sunday's. I was told to make the delivery, to make sure I put it in your hands personally, and you signed for it. Then I am to immediately return to the law office with the signed receipt. They paid me a thousand bucks, ma’am. I don't make a thousand bucks in a month. So, whatever it is, someone really wants you to have this, today."

  She looks at him a few seconds longer, then releases the chain lock and opens the door. He hands her the thick 10x14-inch brown envelope, along with a pen and the receipt pad for her signature. She signs the pad and hands the pad and pen back to him. She realizes she doesn’t have a tip for him as she slides her hands over her pockets. He laughs, "Really, no need. Not today. Have a good day, ma’am."

  She closes and locks the door and carries the large envelope into the living room, sitting down on the sofa as she pulls open the sealed flap. She removes the thick stack of papers from the envelope which contains, among other things, a deed. It is signed and notarized, putting all of the Virginia property in her name.

  She takes the other document and unfolds it. It is a blueprint drawing of the plot of land, showing the property boundaries, and indicates the location of the house and other exterior buildings. She sits with the papers strewn about her, stunned. He knew. He knew she would have second thoughts in the light of day, when she was alone to contemplate her decision, when she was not mesmerized by those damn blue eyes that could talk her into anything. He knew she would question the wisdom of her choice. He wanted to eliminate all the fears, all the barriers. His message is clear. Sell your condo Kate Reese, and quit your job, whatever happens, this property is yours.

  She wants to call him, to let him know, but the sun shines bright through her window and she knows he is deep in his death slumber. Tomorrow, she will give her two weeks’ notice at work, and call a realtor to put her condo on the market. But right now, she'll call her family and start building the web of lies that will remove her from the mortal world.

  22

  Kate heads straight to Human Resources and submits her resignation before going to her cubicle. She called her family Sun
day night, and now it's time to tell Shannon. She slides into her cubicle and waits for the familiar sound of Shan's office chair to come wheeling around the cubicle wall.

  Shan scoots her chair around into Kate's space as Kate unloads her briefcase.

  "So, how was your weekend? I didn’t hear from you. Did you see Mr. Tall, Dark and Dangerous? Are you two an item yet?”

  Kate keeps her back to Shannon, plugging her laptop into the docking station, shuffling papers, anything to not face her as she answers.

  "Yes, I saw him. We went out on Saturday night, but he's very busy, you know. I really don't get to spend a lot of time with him. But Shan, on a totally unrelated topic, there's something I need to tell you."

  Kate takes a deep breath and sits down in the office chair and finally swivels in Shannon's direction.

  ***

  Shannon hears the seriousness in her tone, and the smile leaves her face. "What is it? Is someone sick? You okay?"

  "Oh, nothing like that. Good news, actually. It's just out of the blue and unexpected, but I got this job offer in London. An ad agency there saw my work, liked it, and called to offer me a job."

  Shannon’s mouth drops open, "What? When did they call? You're not going, are you? Oh Kate! I'm excited and sad all at the same time. What are you going to do?"

  “Well, it's done actually. They called me over a week ago, and I have been talking to them every evening on the phone, and I decided to take it. I mean, I love Europe, and I'll have a flat in London, and I can travel while I'm there. It just seemed too good an opportunity to pass up."

  Shannon is stunned, "Wait. You've already decided? All this was going on and you didn't even tell me?"

  “Shannon, it was a hard decision to make. And thinking about leaving people behind was the hardest part. I wasn't sure I could make the decision and think about it rationally if I was dealing with other people's emotions about it. So, I told no one. Please, don't be mad. I'm sure I'll fly home a few times a year, and we'll still see each other.”