“Ravenna wants roses and orchids for the floral arrangements and I thought about going to Wolf’s Haven to pick some. I don’t think there are any flowers left in all of Rome to buy. Not in the quantity I need.”
The traffic sounds from the busy roads reached the terrace and Marcus rolled his eyes. “Why didn’t you think of that like yesterday or even the day before?”
“I have three kids. Planning has become a chore my baby brain can’t manage anymore.” Alexander sighed out loud.
“Still. There’s this thing called the internet. I heard you can order all sorts of stuff from it. Days in advance even. But I forget you’re Greek and somewhat adverse to technology. Not your fault really. Just the way your mind is wired. Wrong.”
“Are you done?”
“Just starting.”
A loud sigh escaped from the phone. “In any case, are you coming or not?”
“Of course, I am.” Marcus pressed both boots on the terracotta tiles and stood.
“You are going to gloat at me, aren’t you?”
“You betcha. See ya in a few and I’ll bring the cavalry.” Marcus walked back into the kitchen, took a piece of paper on which he scribbled a note for Diana. Then he attached it to their bedroom door. She wouldn’t wake during the day unless Daniel did and she wouldn’t leave the light-tight room, but he loved to leave those notes, knowing she’d discover them later. This one read, “Can’t wait to kiss your heart again.” He knew she would blush all over her petite body. The heart he referred to was a mole shaped like one Diana had on the inside of her right thigh, where her leg met her more intimate core. Marcus had named all the moles on her skin, but the heart was by far the one that received more attention from him. He was glad her transformation into a vampire had erased her scars—they had attested to her sad past and he had hated the mere sight of them—but not the moles. He could spend hours tracing them and making her shiver.
Marcus engaged the state-of-the-art alarm system he had installed soon after they came back from their honeymoon in Amalfi as Alexander’s guests. The first time he had to leave the house during the day while Diana slept, he was so worried about burglars he had called Alexander and asked for the name of the agency he had used for both his Roman house and Villa Eloisa.
Before Diana, he had often left the entry door unlocked and never checked on the state of the windows. Despite the crime rate always on the rise in Rome and his carelessness, his house had been broken in only once. He had been inside at the time. The three thugs approached him and had to crane their necks to meet his eyes. The moment they saw how big he was and the scar on his face, they were gone, leaving him robbed of a good fight. After Diana and then Daniel came into his life, he couldn’t watch the news anymore without thinking of all the horrible things that could happen to them when he was out.
The vampire Claudius, was an ever-present threat on their perfect slice of heaven because no alarm system could ever stop him. Claudius wanted Marcus to suffer for something that happened two thousand years ago, and he continued attacking all the people around Marcus just to make a point. More than two years had passed since Diana had been abducted by the vampire. So many things had changed in Marcus’s life, and yet the terror to lose his loved ones to Claudius’s hands was always there, seething under the surface, ruining Marcus’s peace of mind.
The previous spring, Marcus was forced to relive Diana’s ordeal when he accompanied Samuel to Claudius’s nest in Castel Gandolfo. The angel was looking for answers regarding an attack on him and his life mate, Martina, only to discover it was all a diversion. Vampires lured Samuel out of his apartment while Claudius was torturing Martina. Diana saved the mortal by changing her, but it had been a close call. When Marcus, Samuel, and Alexander finally made it back to Samuel’s, they found that Ravenna, Ophelia, and Diana had the situation under control. He had been so proud of his levelheaded Diana, who performed the procedure to transform a mortal into a vampling without having done it before. But, at the sight of Diana holding a lifeless Martina in her arms, Marcus had imagined a different scene, one in which he was holding a dying Diana and had no power to save her. With Claudius still on the loose, Diana would never be safe. And now Daniel too.
A year ago, soon after they had adopted Daniel, Diana asked him, “Are you ever going to leave this house again without me?”
She had prepared a vegetarian stew for him and he was eating while she cradled their baby to her chest. Daniel, the small devil who had changed their lives overnight, cooed at his mother.
“I worry too much when I’m not here with you.” He was always honest with her. Although, if things went the way he so desperately wanted, they had an eternity before them, life was still too short not to speak the truth anytime she asked for it.
She raised her feet to the chair and tilted her head as she let her fangs down. “I’m a vampire.”
“I know you are strong and lethal—” He watched her eyes lowering to his throat and shivered, his dinner already forgotten. “And so beautiful I can’t think straight when I look at you—” Daniel let out a few happy bubbles from his perfectly shaped mouth and that was enough to douse Marcus’s ardor and make him laugh. “It’s not going to happen tonight, is it?”
Diana’s fangs snapped back inside with an audible pop and she laughed too, bringing the baby to her mouth for a soft kiss on his crown. “Isn’t he the most beautiful baby in the world?”
“He must be.” Marcus always wondered how a baby so small could be so perfect in every detail. Sometimes, he and Diana stood awake to look at Daniel, counting his little fingers and toes, tracing the round shape of his ears with a little tuft at the apex suggesting their form when he would change. “I still can’t believe he’s here, with us.”
The night they were called by the paranormal adoption agency and asked if they were interested in a were-bat baby, Diana answered the call and screamed, “Yes.” Then, without remembering they had been in the middle of a lovemaking session, she dragged Marcus out of the door. She was wearing only the purple negligée he had bought her for their anniversary. He kissed some sense into her, playfully swatted her bottom and sent her back to their bedroom to change into something appropriate as he zipped his pants and looked for a shirt that hadn’t been torn to pieces by her fangs.
Once at the agency, they spent hours talking with the nocturnal staff, going through all the papers that needed to be signed before they could even lay eyes on the baby. A sour-looking social worker explained how a were-bat had special needs, and he would require constant supervision because he would eventually be able to fly. They were asked, by the social worker first, then by the psychologist, and finally by the pediatrician, if they understood an adoption was forever and not a whim.
Marcus saw the tears shimmering in Diana’s eyes and answered for both of them, “If we’re so lucky to be the parents of that baby, forever isn’t long enough for us to love and cherish him.”
Dawn was looming when the social worker finally escorted them to the nursery where the small bundle lay all alone in a crib too big for him.
“Why is he so small?” Marcus asked when he realized his hand was larger than the baby.
Instead, Diana went still, her eyes transfixed on the crib.
“Were-bats are smaller than other species at birth, but he will grow up, don’t worry.” The social worker paused, then added, “His parents were very tall.”
He hadn’t commented on the baby’s size because he was worried about how tall he would grow. Marcus was terrified to touch him without hurting him. But he didn’t explain that to the social worker. He let her talk about their responsibilities for a while, hoping that if he didn’t interrupt her, she would let Diana hold the baby. The whole time the women blathered about adoptive parents who didn’t understand what it meant to have a child, Marcus looked at the baby and at Diana staring at him. Had only the woman stopped a moment to breathe, she would have noticed Diana’s longing to be a mother. Diana’s desire was evident
in every nuance of her face and the way her body angled toward the crib. But that night, Diana didn’t get to touch Daniel.
Months later, when Daniel was safely tucked between them, they talked about the adoption process, and Diana had commented, “In a way, it’s like we went through a pregnancy. At first, we didn’t know we were expecting, then we wondered if he would’ve been a boy or a girl, then we just had to wait for him to be home with us.”
“And now he’s here and it was all worth it.” Marcus caressed the baby’s head. Diana had helped him overcome his fear of hurting the infant by holding Daniel together at first.
But soon after, Marcus’s worries had shifted to their safety. Again, Diana had set him straight, and by the time they had celebrated the baby’s first birthday, Marcus realized he could relax and leave the house for a few errands on those days he set aside for his mandatory sunbathing.
Still, before he drove to Alexander’s, he double checked the alarm was on, and he even walked around the house to be sure he hadn’t left one of the windows on the ground floor opened.
****
Samuel was awake when Marcus phoned him but didn’t take the call. He was busy worshipping Martina.
“I love you.” He kissed her lips, his tongue brushing the corner of her mouth, then slowly pushing inside to caress her fangs. She was hungry and it showed in the way she shivered under his touch. Her skin was covered in goosebumps he created by circling his fingers over her arms, as if he was using her body like a canvas. She kept trembling as he continued the motion down her back, her sides, and up to the swell of her breasts covered with cream lace.
They had gone out for a romantic date earlier that night—something they did frequently since the moment he had decided to show his true form to her. Soon after they started living together, Samuel had ditched his cover as a cripple. Now, when in the mortal world, he only hid his broken wings.
Martina had teased him the whole time with a see-through top that showed the bra he bought for her at the La Perla boutique. When, before going out, he presented her with the small bag, she blushed and told him he didn’t have to buy her such extravagant gifts. The truth was he loved showering her with them. Martina never asked for anything and she was so humble, he felt compelled to make her happy.
She didn’t model the lingerie for him, though, as he had asked. Instead, she wore a little, ivory dress that complemented her complexion, exalted the color of her hair and liquid dark brown eyes, and let him know how well that bra cupped her small, perky breasts. While, at the same time, the dress made him wonder how the small strip of lace matching the bra would hug her perfectly round bottom.
Taking their time, they walked up and down the Spanish steps, now decorated with pink and red roses for Valentine’s Day. The place was crowded with Romans and tourists alike, looking like an ocean of undulating humanity. But to him, only Martina existed. Her heels ticked on the granite surface as her knee-length skirt showed her shapely calves. Martina had covered her outfit with a trimmed, black jacket she had seen on display in one of the Promenade boutiques that catered to nocturnals. She appeared ravishing in the elegant outfit, but he knew what a sight she was without it and had to restrain himself from dragging her up the stairs and through the entrance of the Hotel Hassler, where he would rent a suite for the rest of the night.
But he didn’t. He knew Martina wouldn’t want extravaganza on top of extravaganza. She had once belonged to the highest levels of the rich and famous Roman society and didn’t have fond memories of that period. She preferred normality, above all else.
“I don’t need jewels and silk sheets. Only you, by my side, on the grass under the night sky,” she told him recently when he had proposed an exotic gateway.
One day, she would accept his need to lay the world at her feet, but for now he contented himself with teasing her mercilessly. He slid one hand around her back and from over the thin fabric of the jacket found the bump of the bra’s closure hoop. Mentally, he thanked modern technology for a winter coat that had the consistency of a slip but kept Martina warm.
Her eyes widened and her step faltered as he unhooked the clasp and caressed her back.
“I was thinking we’d visit the Coliseum on our way home.” He was pleased to hear her small gasp at the mention of the Coliseum—a longtime fantasy of his to take her there and make love to her in the arena. She was familiar with this particular fantasy because he had talked to her about it, in great detail.
“Samuel.”
“Hmm.” He let his hand wander lower to the small of her back where he pressed his fingers, feeling the outline of the lace thong. Finding the heart charm dangling from the small bow decorating the panties was easy. He had chosen that set because he imagined how pleasant it would be to pull at that charm with his teeth. A ragged breath escaped his mouth before he could hide his reaction.
“Samuel?” She looked up at him and giggled.
“I think we’re heading back now.” He swore. One look at the crowd all around them, and he realized now wasn’t going to happen for at least another hour, if they were lucky. Even leaving the congested grounds and walking the entire length of the underground Metro to reach the parking garage and their SUV wouldn’t shorten their ambling.
By the time they reached the Coliseum, his need had reached such a proportion where making it romantic for her would not be possible anyway. She held some of the fault for his lack of control. Once she had entered the car, after running to the garage—he was in a hurry, after all—she complained her heels were killing her and removed the sandals, only to drop her delicate feet on his lap. Yet, he drove, threatening her all the while. “You wait and see. I’ll find a nice column and show you how much I want you.”
Eventually, instead of stopping for some fresh-air delight, he drove her straight home, ran up the five flights of stairs dragging her behind him and barely closed the door behind them before pinning her to the wall. Her clothes found their way to the floor in rapid succession and in several states of shredding and tearing.
“Slow down.” She laughed into his ear as his hand lowered to the string of her panties. “I want you to look at your gift on me.”
He groaned, but gathered her legs around his waist and stomped toward their bedroom. Carefully, he placed her on the gray sheets and took a moment to admire her. “I love you,” he whispered, his voice choked. No matter how many times they made love, it always felt like the first time for him. Soft and slow or hard and fast, every single time he had her, Samuel was reminded of his luck.
“I love you, my angel.” Martina reached up and wound her arm around his neck to lower him down to her for a passionate kiss.
Hard and fast it was.
The cell phone rang again and Samuel propped up on an elbow. Their limbs in a tangle, he slowly freed his legs from hers and lowered his wings to cover her naked body.
She burrowed closer to his chest. “Take the call.” She sounded sleepy and appeared ravished.
Technically, he didn’t need to sleep—which helped with keeping a job—but he liked lying beside Martina for a spell when she did. Every morning, he kissed her good-day before leaving for the office, and she closed her eyes, a smile on her face, usually after hours of kisses and intimate caresses. They were shifting to nocturnal life by baby steps. His beautiful, brave Martina had been a vampling for almost a year and was starting to show the first signs of transformation into a full-fledged vampire.
A week earlier, she had screamed when the afternoon sun reached the skin on her hand and a big welt had formed. Warned by Diana that hypersensitivity to light would happen soon, Samuel had promptly applied a handmade ointment Marcus had prepared for Martina. The family recipe, which Diana swore was a lifesaver for vampires, had arrived with a tale that somehow involved Alexander. Right away, Samuel’s medical ministrations had morphed into caresses. The caresses had become more intimate, and both he and Martina forgot all about the welt on her hand. It had already disappeared anyway.
He looked down at his beloved and couldn’t help but wonder, yet once again, at his good fortune. “Yes, the office is closed today and I have a few hours to spare. What did you have in mind?”
“Alexander wants to go to Wolf’s Haven to pick up flowers for tonight’s party. Ravenna’s orders.”
“And he only remembered this today?” Samuel laughed and his rumble roused Martina. He leaned to kiss her pink mouth and whispered, “I’ll be back by this afternoon.”
She nodded and drifted back to sleep. He stepped out of their bedroom, his former bedroom, where he had secured all the windows with stainless steel panels, custom built in Germany. He gave Martina one last look before closing the reinforced door behind him. Her long, dark tresses fanned over the gray silk of the pillowcase, and she wore the most adorable expression on her face. For a moment, he thought of excusing himself with Marcus to go back to Martina and cradle her in his arms. He would cocoon her under his wings until she woke later in the evening.
“Hey, sleeping beauty. Are you still there?” Marcus asked. “So, we need your big ass SUV to haul the floral bounty the Greek has promised Ravenna.”
Samuel sighed and stepped away from the bedroom door and into the hallway. “You have an uncanny ability to guilt trip people into doing whatever you want them to do.”
“Manipulative and cheerful,” Marcus said, his tone sarcastic.
“What are you talking about?” Samuel grabbed the car keys and exited his apartment.
“Nothing. I’m downstairs. Hurry.”
“You are the worst.” Samuel took the stairs and ran them two and three at a time, only to find the centurion waiting for him at the center of the foyer with a tray full of pizza. Samuel recognized the logo on the waxed paper covering the tray. Marcus had had the good taste to stop by The Eagle bar to buy their breakfast. “I forgive you because you bought from the best.”
An Immortal Valentine's Day Page 2
