“I would never dream of doing such a thing to anyone, especially you. You are far too important,” he said, cupping my face in his hand.
I almost believed him.
“I have a guess, but am not yet certain. Perhaps we should go someplace a little more private to discuss this. Would you return to my home with me?”
“No offense, but that sounds a little too private.” I tried to sink further away and into the couch. Maybe I could simply disappear.
“You have my word; I will not take advantage of you. I will not even touch you if you wish.”
“That’s the problem. I want you to touch me, yet I’m afraid.”
“Do you want me to kiss you?” Sweat shone on his forehead.
“Yes,” I breathed.
“Then you have my word; I shall do no more than kiss you tonight.”
“Even that might be more than I can handle.” Why did I admit that to him? I must have been more tired that I realized.
“I promise to take care of you Elena. We have just met, but already you mean the world to me.”
“Why? You don’t even know me.” He sounded sincere, and I felt guilty for not being honest with him about my profession.
“Please come home with me. I will try to explain everything there.” His eyes bored into mine, as if he could see right through to my soul.
I didn’t like any of this, but I had to know what was going on. I had to get over this strange attraction to him so I could focus on the investigation. I sighed. “All right. But first I want you to tell me why you were so determined to buy me this dress. Why was it so damned important?”
“I wanted you to arrive with me to make a sort of statement that I’m no longer available.”
“Why would me coming with you say that?”
“I always come on my own. I may leave with someone else, but I do not bring dates here. The people who matter understood what that meant. I meant it when I said I wish to have no other woman in my life.”
Vittorio’s was a world very different from mine. I still didn’t quite understand, but he seemed to be telling the truth. And I really wanted to leave, so I accepted his answer and let him help me out to the Ferrari.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
When we got back to Vittorio’s house, Sarah helped me into the guest suite. “Are there some sweats or something I could change into?”
“Of course, miss.” She turned to leave the room.
“Please, call me Elena.”
“Of course, Elena. I’ll be right back.” She returned with the softest sweat suit I had ever felt.
“I’m sorry it’s so big, but it’s Vittorio’s and is all I could find. He doesn’t make a habit of hosting women here.” She held up the deep maroon outfit and handed it to me.
“Did he pay you to say that?”
“Of course not.” Her hand went to her chest in offense.
“I’m sorry, Sarah. I was trying to make a joke. I believe you, and god only knows, why, I believe him.”
“Vittorio is a man of honor. He doesn’t seem to fit in our time period.”
“That’s for sure.” When she left, I put on the sweats, pulling the drawstring to the pants as tight as it would go. I rolled up the legs, and pushed the sleeves up my arms, but I still swam in them.
A few minutes later, Vittorio knocked on the door. I let him in, and he sat in an armchair next to the bed. I sat on the bed, as far from him as possible. I wanted to wrap myself around him, so thought more distance was better.
“What the hell is happening to me?”
“Right to the point,” he said softly.
“Don’t mess with me, Vittorio. I don’t like feeling so out of control. I want to understand what’s going on.” I hugged my knees to my chest.
“Forgive me. I will explain the best I can, not fully understanding it myself, but you must keep an open mind.” He paused. “Do you believe in magic?”
I snorted. “You’re kidding, right?”
His serious face told me he was not.
“I guess I believe it’s possible, but I’ve never experienced it.”
“What if I told you magic was real?”
“If you told me you were using vampire powers on me, I’d probably believe you.”
That elicited a chuckle. “I am no vampire. Perhaps I should demonstrate.” He stood, walked across the room, and turned off the light.
I felt him stand next to the bed. Then I saw a faint glow near him. I hadn’t seen him carrying a flashlight. The glow grew brighter, and as my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw an orb in his hand.
“Nice trick. But it’s just a fancy flashlight, right?”
“Do you think so? Try to take it from me.”
I knelt on the bed and carefully moved closer to him, then reached out to take the flashlight. His hand was empty. “What the hell?” I tried again, but there was nothing for me to take. I sank back onto the bed. “Holy shit.”
Vittorio went to turn the nice, safe, electric light on, and the glowing orb disappeared. “Simply put, my power is responding to yours.”
“I don’t have any power, whatever you mean by that.” My mind raced as I tried to absorb this revelation.
“That is where you are wrong. I have never met anyone with power like yours, which I believe is why you react to me as you do. And the fact that you do not even know you have it magnifies the effect because you do not know how to control it, or even that you should control it.”
“Then why aren’t you affected by me as I am by you?”
“Elena, you have no idea how strongly I am affected by you, but I am familiar with my power. I have had nearly thirty years to learn to control it. Even so, you present the greatest challenge to my control I have encountered in a long time.”
I thought back to the night of our first meeting, and recalled a bead of sweat trail his neck as he oh-so-properly kissed the back of my hand. At the time I dismissed it as an effect of the heat from the overhead lights, but now thought different. What about when we were bird-watching? It was a pleasant day, but not too warm. Had he been sweating then, too? And tonight at the club. “If all this is true, I don’t think it’s safe for me to be with you. I can hardly control myself. Even now I want to pull you into this bed with me.” Panic rose in my chest. Magic? I couldn’t deny what I saw. It was as good an explanation as any for my reaction to Vittorio. “Please, can Sarah take me home? I don’t think I should see you anymore.” I was surprised by the disappointment I heard in my voice. I was going to have to let Ms. Carmen down. This was way more than I could handle.
“There is another option.” Vittorio’s face was carefully neutral, but his eyes showed hope.
“What’s that?” My mind screamed at me to get out, to run as far away as I could, but my legs wouldn’t listen.
“I can teach you to control your power. I can help you become familiar with it. I will not lie and say that if you learn that you will no longer be affected by me, but you will be able to control your power’s reaction to mine.”
“What is this power?”
“I told you. Magic.” He leaned forward just a little in the chair.
“But what does it do? If all it does is make people lust after each other, what’s the point?”
Vittorio chuckled warmly. “Elena, it is so much more than that. That is simply the way our powers have chosen to acknowledge one another. For example, my power responds to Samuel’s combatively.”
“What would you have done to him had he not apologized to me tonight? I’ve never seen such fear in someone’s eyes.”
“I honestly do not know. I am not fond of violence, but you cannot begin to understand what you mean to me. I will protect you at any cost.”
“That’s what I don’t understand. How can I be so important to you? You don’t even know me.”
“I will explain it to you in time, Elena, but please be patient. There is much I must tell you, and I do not want to overwhelm you.” Vittorio leaned forward, a
s if he wanted to reach for me, then stopped.
“Being so damned mysterious is not likely to win my trust. It’s bad enough I’m affected so strongly by you, and now you tell me it’s because of magic? If that really is true, how am I supposed to believe you’re not using these magical powers to make me lust after you? How can I trust you?”
I forgot all about the case. Only my emotions were present. Anger, fear, confusion, and lust threatened to overwhelm me. My father had betrayed me, and he betrayed my mother when she was still alive. I did not trust men easily, and Vittorio was making it even more difficult. This night opened more emotional wounds than I cared to face.
“Elena, please tell me what you want of me. What will make me believe you?” He stood, and took a few steps toward the bed.
I wanted to shrink further away from him, but held my ground. “You can start by explaining some of this crap.”
“Where do you want me to begin?”
“Tell me why I’m so damned important to you?”
“I did not fully understand it myself until tonight, but I felt drawn to you, as if there was a purpose for us meeting.”
There was a purpose, alright, I thought. And it sure as hell didn’t involve magic. I couldn’t tell him that, though. I may have let myself get emotionally involved, but I wasn’t stupid enough to tell him about the case. Not yet.
He continued. “I know now that it is our powers calling to each other, and I sense there is a deeper purpose than a romantic relationship to us being together. Also, in the interest of honesty, and at the risk of scaring you away for good, I am a hopeless romantic. I believe in love at first sight.”
So much for my theory that only giggly girls fell for that. I was not a hopeless romantic, and simply didn’t understand what Vittorio claimed to be feeling. I was also too tired to pursue it any further that night. “I don’t get it. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but for now, I’ll take you at your word. Tell me more about this magic.”
“It is simply that. Magic.” He spread his arms, palms up, as if to illustrate how simple the concept was.
“Like in movies?”
“Kind of, yes. It is easier to explain in teaching than in words. If you become familiar with it, learn to control it, befriend it, you will be amazed at what you can do.”
“Like make balls of light in my hand?”
“That is one minor thing, yes. Will you let me teach you?” He took another step toward the bed, and me.
I took a moment to consider. Magic, power, lust; could I handle it?
“Please, Elena. I do not want to lose you. But if you say no, I will respect your wishes. Sarah will take you home, and I will never bother you again.” Vittorio’s voice cracked with emotion.
I thought Vittorio’s heart would break if I said no. Perhaps mine would, too. I walked to him, standing just inches away. “Yes.” I reached up and touched his face with one hand. “Please teach me.” I stood on tiptoe, rested my hands on his shoulders to steady myself, and kissed him. I nearly fell, but he caught me and held me in his arms, holding my body firmly against his while we kissed. I felt boneless. It might have been seconds or years before I stopped. “I want this.”
Vittorio gently laid me down on the bed. “I gave you my word I would do no more than kiss you tonight. I am not sure I can fight this. I must leave you here to sleep, Elena.”
I wanted to beg him to stay, but only nodded. He turned to walk away, and I felt a wild beast tearing its way through my body.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“No!” I cried out.
Vittorio turned. “What is it?”
My whole body ached. Some amorphous thing tried to tear its way out of my body. “Please, don’t go,” I whispered in a weak voice, clinging to the bed.
“I am sorry, Elena, I must.” He turned again.
As he took a step, that thing tore out of me and rushed for him. It hurt so badly, I was surprised it had no form.
He stopped, then collapsed to the floor. “Sarah!” he shouted.
She appeared in the doorway a moment later.
“Call Samuel. Tell him to get over here now.”
The whites of Sarah’s eyes showed as she wrung her hands.
“Now!” he bellowed.
She ran off, presumably to call Samuel. He was the last person I wanted to see just then. Whatever it was that was reaching for Vittorio agreed, and subsided just a little.
“I apologize, Elena, but he is the only one who can help us right now.” Sweat poured down his face. He gripped the door frame in what I assumed was an attempt to keep himself from coming closer to me.
“What’s going on?” Tears streamed down my face. My whole body shook.
“Your power seems to be reacting a little more strongly than I expected. It does not want me to leave. Do you feel as if something is tearing out of you?”
I nodded.
“That is your power. It is trying to bring us together.”
My power flared again, reaching for him, an invisible hand pulling him toward me. I realized I was physically reaching for him. My body ached for him.
Vittorio walked to the bed, moaned wordlessly, and fell to the ground. “I do not want to hurt you. My power is responding too strongly to you. I cannot control it. I want you too badly, Elena, and while you may feel as if you want me as well, I am almost certain you will regret it once your power has subsided. Samuel must help us. I only hope I can hold out until he gets here.”
“How long will that take?”
“He lives twenty minutes away. I hope he is home.”
I sobbed wordlessly.
“Go into the bathroom. Lock the door.”
I stood, but found myself walking toward Vittorio, not the bathroom. I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around him. His body burned beneath my hands, hotter than any human should be. I pulled his face down to mine, kissing him passionately.
He held my face in his hands and returned the kiss. My hands explored his body, the hard muscle beneath his clothes. I pressed myself against him even more firmly, gasped when I felt how much he wanted me. I wanted him naked with me in that bed.
“Vittorio?” Sarah had returned.
Vittorio forced his face from mine and turned to look at Sarah. “Pull Elena into the bathroom. Quickly, please.”
I grasped him more tightly, against my will.
He pried my hands off him and Sarah pulled me toward the bathroom. “It hurts!” she cried out.
My power tried to push her away, violently fighting the person keeping it from what it wanted - Vittorio.
“Please Sarah, we need your help. I promise you will not be harmed, even if it hurts now. It is all in your mind; it is not real,” Vittorio said.
She continued to drag me to the bathroom. I fought her the entire way. She pushed me in, hard, and slammed the door.
I huddled in the farthest corner on the cold tile floor, hugging my knees to my chest, crying and trying to fight the invisible thing although I didn’t know how. Desperate need for Vittorio threatened my sanity. I hoped Samuel would get there soon.
Ages later, the bathroom door burst open. I thought it was Vittorio and flung myself at him, wrapping my arms and legs around his body. I was chagrined to find it was Samuel to whom I clung. My power immediately receded, disappointed.
He carried me to the bed, where I collapsed, exhausted.
I was relieved and disappointed not to see Vittorio in the room.
I resented the fact that Samuel seemed to be all I had for help. He already thought poorly of me; I didn’t want him to see me so weak, so out of control. I didn’t want anyone to see me like that. “What’s happening to me?” He held me and stroked my hair like a child.
“Didn’t Vittorio explain it to you?”
“He did, but I’ve never experienced magic, never knew it was real. I don’t really understand what’s going on. I mean, I’ve seen movies and stuff, but this is real. Samuel, it’s real. It’s happe
ning to me. I don’t understand.” I hated the fact that he held me while I cried and pulled away.
“I’m sorry I’m the one here.”
Was he sorry for me, or sorry for himself that he had to help Vittorio’s “latest arm candy?”
“I did not understand what you were, but now I understand what Vittorio sees in you.”
Was that his way of apologizing again for the way he treated me earlier? It didn’t matter. “Just help me, please.”
“I will do everything I can. You have my word.”
I didn’t believe his word was as good as Vittorio’s, but I had little choice other than to accept it.
“You can sleep here tonight. Vittorio is going to stay at my house,” Samuel said.
“Is that necessary?” I wanted comfort. I was in no state to be alone with my newfound power, and the next best thing to my own bed was Vittorio lying next to me.
“We’re not sure, but don’t want to take any chances. I will stay here tonight. In the morning, I will begin training you. If you want to be with Vittorio, we can’t waste any time.”
“Thank you, Samuel.”
He stood.
“Will you sit with me until I fall asleep?”
He sat back down on the edge of the bed as I pulled the blanket up to my chin.
“I feel so silly. I feel like a child hiding from the monster under the bed.”
“Don’t feel silly, Elena. This is a dangerous thing you’re dealing with. I was scared too when I discovered my power. Vittorio won’t let anything happen to you though.”
How the hell could I work this case when I had some crazy, magical ability I knew nothing about? How could I be objective enough when my whole body ached for this man I barely knew? I needed to get this situation - and my life - back under control as soon as I possibly could.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It was after noon when I woke the next day. Feeling hung-over, I stumbled to the bathroom, and checked my body for cuts and bruises. I knew nothing had physically harmed me last night, but I hurt so badly I had to check. I was injury free, except for bruises on my arms from Sarah dragging me into the bathroom.
Divided (Elena Ronen, Private Investigator) Page 5
