“Rio?”
He must have heard the question in her voice, because he smiled reassuringly. “You don’t have a thing to worry about. I grew up listening to my mom mope about how she was never going to have grandchildren. During the past year, both Cam and Nino found their mates. Mom’s ecstatic because she figures she’s going to get grandchildren soon. That you’re Fata is just a bonus. Believe me, she’s gonna love you.”
Rosie wrinkled her nose, staring at her hand tracing patterns on the table. “Or is she going to think I’m a slut? I mean, last night I picked up a guy in a bar and slept with him. Today I have magical powers and a soul mate.”
“Hey.” Rio grabbed her hand and squeezed, hard enough to get her attention. “You’re not a slut, Rosalia. You and I, we’re meant to be together. Whatever we do is meant to be. Anyone says differently and I’ll make them eat their words.”
His expression was dead serious and the weepy feeling she’d had earlier returned, making her eyes well again. “So when do I get to meet the folks?”
Rio looked at Sal. “What do you think?”
Sal took a sip of wine before he answered. “I think we should shift her around a few times, try to draw the bergoia out into the open but keep Rosie one step ahead until we can get rid of it. Then she can go see your parents.”
Rio groaned. “Shit, Sal, you want me to subject her to my brothers, don’t you?”
Sal shrugged. “They’re the only ones I’d trust at the moment, kid.”
Rosie shook her head. “Now you want me to impose on even more strangers? Isn’t there somewhere safe we can hide—alone—until the bergoia makes a move?”
Rio rubbed his thumb along her hand, the motion making her hand tingle. “As much as I appreciate the sentiment, hon, I trust my brothers even more than I trust myself to keep you safe. And they’re going to want to meet you.”
Rio had obviously already made up his mind and she trusted his judgment. She was about to give her go-ahead when she remembered something. She sighed. “What about my godmothers? They said they would be back before nightfall. They’ll be worried if I’m not here.”
“I’ll give them an update as soon as they get back,” Sal said. “Let them know where you are. They’ll know it’s the right thing to do.”
Rosie gave that another moment’s thought then sighed again and said, “So when do we leave?”
Rio’s smile was instant and completely comforting. She would have gone anywhere with him. “Just let me call Cam and let him know we’re coming.”
She expected him to reach for a cell phone but instead he got up and lifted the receiver on the antique-looking black phone on the counter next to the refrigerator. He turned the rotary dial a few times and waited.
She’d never seen anyone use a phone like this. She’d noticed it before but had thought it was just for show.
“Hey, Phil,” Rio said, “can you connect me to Cam? Thanks.”
An operator too. It wasn’t the strangest thing she’d experienced today but it was just one more piece of a new world she’d never known existed. She wanted to know who he was talking to and why he had to use that old phone to do it.
When she was a child, her aunts had always said she never let a minute go by without a question. She’d been an inquisitive little girl, which was why they’d introduced her to the library.
As she watched, Rio seemed to be mentally gearing himself up. Then he suddenly straightened. “Hey, Cam. You up for visitors tonight?”
She vaguely heard a deep male voice on the other end of the phone.
“Ah, yeah, I’m bringing someone you’re going to want to meet.” A pause. “Baciami il culo, Cam. We’ll be there in a few minutes… No, Cam, it’s nothing like that.” Another pause. “Just…be presentable.”
Rio hung up the phone and smiled at her. “Let’s go for your first ride, babe.”
Rosie frowned. “Ride?”
* * * * *
Rio had laid out the particulars and now Rosie looked terrified.
“We’re going to do what?”
He took her hand and held her gaze. “Sal’s going to transport us to my brother’s house. He’s going to use a spell to move our bodies from here to there in just a few seconds.”
Her eyes widened even further. “Like a transporter on Star Trek?”
“Kind of like that, yeah,” Rio said. “Babe, it’s going to be fine. My brother does it to me all the time.”
“Yeah,” Sal snorted, “but take my advice and breathe through it. Rio usually holds his breath and passes out by the time he gets there.”
Great, just what he needed, Sal giving out his most embarrassing secrets. Hell, she hadn’t even met his family yet. “You’ll be fine, babe. I’ll hold your hand the entire time and it’ll be over before you know it.”
She took a deep breath, still staring into his eyes. Finally she nodded. “Okay. You’ll be with me?”
Goddess bless her, she was so damn brave, taking everything in stride. And she was his. “The whole time,” he answered.
She swallowed hard. “What if I can’t hold on?”
“You can’t lose me that easily. I’ll be holding on to you too.”
“All right, you two.” Sal waved them into the middle of the living room. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Rosie grabbed both of Rio’s hands, her grip tight. She looked at him with such blind trust he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear. He didn’t want to let her down but Sal was right. He did tend to pass out just after translocation. Mostly because he hated listening to his brothers. A lifetime of “Do this”, “Don’t do that”, combined with being the youngest of four boys, had made him…well, unwilling to take advice from them. There was no way he’d ever tell his brothers he was completely freaked out by this particular spell. No other act of magic bothered him like this one. Sure, it was irrational but hey, some people were afraid of spiders. And others didn’t like having their molecules transported from one place to another by magic.
Cam had tried to help, had given him some tips to make it better. He’d never listened. But now he’d have to be strong. For Rosie. Time to grow up.
“All right, Sal.” Rio gave Rosie a reassuring smile then he took one deep breath. “Let’s go.”
Rosie’s hands tightened on his to the point of pain as Sal snapped his fingers and time and space parted. One second, he and Rosie were standing in Sal’s living room, the next, they stood in Cam’s living room.
Through it all, Rio kept breathing—then found himself staring into his oldest brother’s eyes.
Cam’s normally hard expression softened the tiniest bit as he reached for Rio’s shoulder with one hand and Rosie’s shoulder with the other. “Come on, Rio. Sit down before you fall over.”
“Cam, I’m fine.” Surprisingly he was. He experienced none of the dizziness and blackouts he usually had when he was transported. “Rosie, hon, you okay?”
Cam didn’t release him until Rio moved to put his arms around Rosie. She looked so pale, her eyes wide and pupils dilated. Jesus, no wonder Cam freaked whenever he transported him. He probably looked this bad.
“Rosie, look at me. Come on, sweetheart.”
Slowly her eyes focused on his and then, after drawing in a deep breath, she took a look around. “Oh my God, Rio. How awesome was that?”
His laugh blasted out of his chest at the sheer exhilaration on her face. When she leaped at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist, he hugged her close, shutting out everyone else in the room.
“I’m glad you had a good time.” He kissed her, a loud smack on the lips, and she kissed him back. Rosie opened her mouth over his and slid her tongue inside his mouth. Rio groaned at the lust that pounded through his veins, lust he could do nothing about, because his brother—
Cam cleared his throat and a feminine laugh sounded from behind them.
“So, Rio,” Cam said, “you want to introduce us to your new friend?”<
br />
* * * * *
Rio’s brother Cam and his wife Stella welcomed Rosie with such warmth she couldn’t help but feel at ease.
Immediately after the introductions and Rio’s quick explanation of the situation, Stella invited her to sit on the cushy sofas in the living room while Cam pulled Rio into the kitchen—far enough away that she couldn’t hear a word they were saying.
“So I’ve never heard of a salvanelli before,” Stella said. “And you didn’t know a thing?”
The cool blonde looked like every rich snobby cheerleader she’d ever met but in fact, Stella was the nicest person. Smart, curious and almost as clueless about Etruscan mythology as she was.
“My godmothers never told me anything,” Rosie said. “I didn’t know a thing until last night.”
“Must have been a shock, huh?” Stella’s expression was pure sympathy.
“You could say that. And I’m still not really sure what it means. Rio and Sal have explained some of it but…” She shrugged.
Stella smiled. “I know. I’m still learning too. I’m a strega, a witch. I’ve always had the ability to transport myself, like Cam, but until I met him I just thought I was a freak of nature. My parents never explained why I could do what I could do and then they died.” Stella’s expression hardened. “Actually my son-of-a-bitch uncle killed them… And then I killed him.”
Rosie’s eyes widened at Stella’s flat statement. “Sounds like…he deserved it,” she said carefully. She couldn’t imagine ever harming anyone herself but Stella’s tone brooked no argument.
“He did.” Stella nodded emphatically. “He was evil…” She cast a quick glance to the men who were returning to the sofas then addressed Rosie again. “This thing after you seems pretty bad too.”
“It is,” Rio said, sliding onto the couch beside Rosie. “Which is why you’re going to stay far, far away from it.”
Rosie lifted her brows at him. “And how do you plan to do that?”
“By killing it.”
“And again…how do you plan to do that?”
“By giving it what it wants,” Cam said as he sat next to Stella.
“But…isn’t that me?” Rosie asked.
The fear in Rosie’s voice felt like a punch to the gut. Rio hated putting the woman he loved through this crap. “Rosie, I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear.”
He reached for her and she slid right onto his lap, wiggling her ass into a comfortable position. His cock immediately hardened.
Rio swallowed a groan and settled for a quick kiss on her temple, ignoring Cam’s raised eyebrows. “We want the bergoia to think it’s going to get you but you’ll be nowhere close. Then we’ll kill it.”
“Do you know how to kill a bergoia?” she asked. “I thought it was already dead.”
Sometimes his little mouse was just too smart for her own good. “I guess kill is a bad word. How about we send it back to hell?”
She sighed against his neck, her warm breath raising his blood pressure even more. “So what do I have to do?”
“Nothing.” Cam answered that one. “You’ll be safe here for the night since we don’t think it knows where you are yet. The house has strong wards and a state-of-the-art security system. It won’t be able to get in without tripping all sorts of alarms.
“Tomorrow we’ll let the bergoia know you’re here but the second it’s on the way, we’ll move you to a secure location and get rid of it.”
Rosie looked from Cam to Rio. “Do you know how to do that?”
Cam looked straight into her eyes. “No, but we’ll figure something out.”
She must have seen what she needed to see in Cam’s eyes, because her tensed shoulders visibly relaxed, but she still looked back at Rio before she nodded. “All right.”
Trust. He saw it on her face, in her eyes, and his stomach twisted in on itself. No one had ever looked at him with that level of emotion before. Then Rosie’s face lit up in a smile—and his heart pounded in time with the blood rushing to his cock.
“You know,” Stella said, “it’s getting late. Cam and I are going to bed. You guys take the back bedroom. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“But—” Cam never got a chance to finish whatever he was going to say because Stella grabbed his hand and literally pulled him out of the living room.
Rio saw them take the stairs to their bedroom only out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t look away from his Rosie, blushing so prettily. She mustered a breathless “Good night” but never took her eyes off Rio’s.
He held her stare, listened to her breathing deepen before he let his gaze fall to her chest. Her nipples peaked against her t-shirt but as much as he wanted to bend and take them in his mouth, he waited. For her lips to curve up and her lids to lower in desire. Waited for the moment when she lost her inhibition about being in his brother’s home and gave in to the fact that they were going to be naked and in bed in just a few minutes.
Abruptly, she stood, tossing her hair over her shoulders and holding out her hand.
He smiled before he took it and let her pull him to his feet. Barely an inch of space separated them. The air around their bodies was charged with electricity that practically crackled.
Standing, he stared down into those pale purple eyes, loving the way they warmed for him. He could tell, just by her expression, that she was right there with him.
When he bent to scoop her up in his arms, she didn’t try to hide her laughter. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on one.
He was halfway to the back bedroom when she took his earlobe between her teeth and nipped. It was just a brief flash of pain but it made his cock throb in his jeans and his blood burn.
Arms tightening around her, he stepped up his pace, careful he didn’t accidentally knock her against the doorframe as he stepped into the bedroom. With his foot, he shoved the door closed then aimed straight for the bed.
Rio tossed her on it and before she had time to release the laugh he saw on her curved lips, he fell on her with a hunger that only grew the longer they kissed.
Their tongues dueled as their hands tangled in each other’s clothes, battling buttons and zippers to see who could undress the other the fastest.
Rosie had the lead at the moment with his t-shirt off and his pants down around his ankles, but that was only because he was letting her win. Actually he felt like the winner since she had one hand wrapped around his shaft and was working it up and down with a tight grip.
He groaned, low and deep, then got on with the program of stripping her down to bare skin. When she pushed him onto his back to get more access, he toed off his shoes and worked his jeans off his ankles, using his feet since his hands were still busy trying to get her jeans unzipped. That bastard little button at the top was giving him problems though, refusing to slide through its hole.
His frustration levels were about to blow off the top of his head. Rosie refused to let him break off the kiss and he couldn’t see what he was doing until, finally, her jeans gave up the fight and he shoved them off her hips.
Just as he was about to let his fingers slide into her sweet wet pussy, she pulled away, lifting one finger to his lips to stop any complaint he might have had and shaking her head.
She slid off the end of the bed, making sure he watched her every move. As if he could take his eyes off her! Christ, they were glued to her frame. When she stood before him, he lifted his upper body on his elbows so he could see what she was doing.
The small smile on her face should have clued him in to the fact that she was going to make him suffer—in the best possible way.
With her gaze on his, she let her hands drop to her already gaping jeans and slid her hands between her skin and the fabric, slowly dragging the pants down her legs. She still wore a pair of little white panties that shone softly in the light. He briefly thought about tearing them off with his teeth but decided against destroying a pair of her underwear. Women were funny about that
. Of course he could always buy her more— She’d look incredibly hot in black silk and lace.
Rio lost his train of thought when her hands reached for her dark purple t-shirt and pulled it over her head. His mouth dried when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. How the hell had he missed that?
Now he couldn’t take his eyes off those small perfect mounds. He couldn’t think beyond the fact that he wanted to feel her soft skin and rub his stubble against the nipple until it puckered. He thought about all the other places he wanted to rub and could barely breathe by the time she moved only a second later.
Naked now, Rosie crawled up the bed, one knee on either side of his body. She came right up to his face, laid her lips on his and kissed him with all the heat in her eyes. He opened his mouth to let her take him, resisting the urge to lift his hips and brush his cock between her legs. He knew she was wet and his nostrils filled with her musky, earthy scent. His arms trembled when her tongue darted in and out of his mouth, mimicking the motions of sex.
His knees came up, bumping against her ass, crowding her closer. With her hands on his shoulder, she dropped her hips, her pussy brushing against his cock. As their tongues tangled, she rubbed herself against him, letting her juices coat his shaft.
He didn’t know how long she kissed him, because he was lost in the sensuality of the moment. Her hair fell down around his face, the strands tickling his shoulders and chest. His skin tingled at the feel, his stomach contracting as he arched up into her.
Inside. I need to be inside. With a spell, he materialized a condom and covered himself.
Rosie looked down in astonishment. “Handy trick,” she said wryly before settling her lips back on his and slipping her hand between them to grab his erection and lift it away from his stomach.
His heart hammered and his lungs struggled for air as her hand stroked him from root to tip and back again. Anticipation tightened his muscles, making his entire body ache.
The ache multiplied tenfold when she fit the tip of his cock to her slit and sank down on him in one smooth motion.
Seduced and Enchanted Page 9
