Fire Maidens: Venice

by Lowe, Anna

  “Your turn.” She pushed Fiorina toward Rocco. Maybe having him as a sparring partner would help.

  Sure enough, Fiorina looked delighted. But when she daintily stuck out her arm, Cara groaned. “You’re not going for a walk in the park. This is a guy who wants to harm you.”

  Rocco’s eyes blazed. I will never harm you, fair lady.

  Fiorina fluttered her eyelashes. I know you wouldn’t, my knight.

  Cara grimaced. Maybe bringing in Rocco wasn’t such a good idea.

  “Pull,” she reminded Rocco.

  It took about ten tries, but Fiorina gradually improved. Her mood improved, too, going from timid to giggly and rosy-cheeked.

  “Not bad,” Cara admitted.

  “One more time,” Fiorina insisted.

  “Good idea.” Rocco eagerly took her hand.

  They stood breathlessly, gazing into each other’s eyes.

  Cara nearly covered her face with her hands. Flirting and self-defense didn’t mix, but hell. At least Fiorina was practicing.

  “Um, guys…” Cara prompted.

  “Hm? Oh! Sorry.” Fiorina jolted a little, then executed the move, catching Rocco by surprise.

  “Best yet,” he gushed.

  Fiorina’s cheeks went bright pink. “Thank you.”

  “Okay, okay.” Cara stepped in quickly. “Second move. This is if someone grabbed you from behind.”

  Fiorina backed coyly into Rocco’s arms. “Like this?”

  Cara rolled her eyes. “I said grabbed you, not hugged you.” She squared her shoulders and mimicked the motion for Rocco. “Really grab her. Clamp one arm around her waist and the other over her mouth.”

  Just don’t scare her, she nearly added, but that proved unnecessary, judging by Fiorina’s playful smile.

  Fiorina wiggled in Rocco’s arms. “Oh, I’m stuck.”

  You sure are, Rocco’s cheery grin affirmed.

  “The point is not to be stuck.” Cara mimed the moves for Fiorina. “First, you jerk your body forward, gaining a little space. Then you jab your elbow into his ribs and stamp on his foot.”

  “But that might hurt him.”

  That’s the point, Cara wanted to shout. Instead, she took a deep breath. “Remember, it’s not Rocco. It’s a bad guy. So, try again.”

  Fiorina wiggled happily in Rocco’s arms. “Like this?”

  Nothing like that, Cara nearly hollered. “It has to be a sudden jerk to catch him off guard.”

  “How?”

  “I think you need help.” Theo shoved Tony over. “Go on, little Nino. Duty calls.”

  Tony stumbled, caught himself, and shot his friend a look.

  But Theo just motioned. “Do you want Fiorina to be able to defend herself or not?”

  “Of course I do.” Tony’s eyes blazed.

  “Well, then. Help.” Theo settled back to watch, amused.

  Cara took a slow breath as Tony approached. Okay, fine. She’d had lots of men get close to help demonstrate moves. This was no different, right?

  Still, she gulped. She’d never had the slightest interest in any of those men. But Tony…

  Her heart thumped, and her inner lioness hummed. Oh, we can handle him.

  Handle him? Yes. Resist burning temptation? She wasn’t so sure.

  The previous night, they’d been too tired to desire anything more than that wonderfully close cuddle. But now, they were rested and raring to go. Really raring, in her lioness’s case.

  The beast purred and flicked its tail in invitation.

  “Okay.” She forced herself not to look over her shoulder. “Grab me from behind.”

  Slowly, gingerly, Tony smoothed his hands over her shoulders. “Like this?”

  Heat pooled in Cara’s veins, and Theo spoke before she did.

  “You’re supposed to clamp one arm around her waist and the other over her mouth.”

  So good, her lioness hummed as Tony carefully complied. One big, muscled arm wound around her waist, and the other reached over her shoulder until he cupped her cheek with one hand.

  “Is that okay?” he murmured by her ear.

  She forced herself not to fantasize about other situations in which he might get that close and whisper those very words.

  “Perfect.” She puffed a breath upward, trying to cool off. But, damn. No wonder Fiorina looked so damned happy. It was nice, having her man hold her like that.

  My mate, her lion cooed.

  “All right. Slow-motion demonstration. Follow me for every step. Then we’ll put it all together. Ready?”

  “Ready.” Fiorina nodded.

  “Okay. First, you jerk forward…”

  Cara’s demonstration was more of a lean, which nestled her rear against Tony’s groin.

  She gulped and went on. “Next, elbow him in the ribs…”

  Tony chuckled when her light touch tickled his steely obliques.

  “Then stamp on his foot and break away,” she finished.

  Never want to go away, her lioness breathed.

  Cara forced herself to ease away from Tony and focus on Fiorina. “You got it?”

  Fiorina beamed and looked over her shoulder. “Got it. You ready, Rocco?”

  “Ready,” he rumbled.

  Cara motioned. “All right, then. Do it for real.”

  “But what if I hurt him?”

  Rocco laughed. “You won’t hurt me.”

  Cara stirred the air with her hands. “Go on, already.”

  “Okay…” Fiorina collected herself, and…

  Seconds ticked by, yet nothing happened, and Cara sighed. But then, out of the blue, Fiorina did exactly as she’d been told. She jerked forward, jabbed an elbow into Rocco’s ribs, stamped on his foot, and broke away.

  “I did it!”

  Rocco doubled over, trying to hide a pained oof.

  Fiorina’s eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth. “Oddio. Did I hurt you?”

  “Hurt?” Rocco choked on the word, straightening slowly. “Not at all.”

  Theo laughed from his bench in the shade. “Only his pride.”

  Cara cheered Fiorina, who beamed. “Can you show me another move?”

  Rocco looked a little less enthusiastic, but still game.

  Cara normally made sure the beginners mastered one or two moves before moving on, but her lioness didn’t let the opportunity slide. Before she knew it, she was diving into another move — and another, and another, each bringing her into blissful contact with Tony.

  Her lion hummed in glee. Who says flirting and self-defense don’t mix?

  “Again! Again!” Fiorina cried.

  Next, they practiced breaking out of a frontal hold, which brought Cara face-to-face with Tony and those soulful, golden-brown eyes… Those irresistibly full lips… The neatly trimmed beard she longed to scrub with her cheek…

  “Hm?” Cara mumbled, then jerked back to focus. “Oh, right.” Yikes — now she was the one going all goo-goo eyed. Maybe she and Fiorina ought to trade sparring partners.

  No way, her lioness growled.

  All right, then. A different move, she decided.

  The one where the man pins you to the ground? her lioness suggested.

  A definite no-go. Not with her self-control at an all-time low.

  “Let’s review,” she decided, pointing at the men. “You throw out whatever moves you can come up with, and we have to react.”

  Really, only Fiorina needed the practice, but Cara couldn’t resist.

  Wouldn’t want our skills to get rusty, her lioness purred.

  A cheap excuse, but what the heck.

  “Ready? Go,” she called.

  Tony grabbed for her arm. She jumped clear and retaliated with a high kick. His eyes went wide, and then he smiled at the open challenge. A moment later, he lunged forward, setting off a flurry of moves.

  Cara couldn’t help but grin as they sparred. She’d forgotten how fun play-fighting could be. Fiorina seemed to enjoy it too, judging by her gleeful squeaks. Bu
t Cara hardly noticed, and she barely registered Theo and Arturo watching. She was too busy grappling with Tony. They quickly progressed from basic sparring to lightning-fast, no-holds-barred moves, testing each other’s skills. A few minutes later, she and Tony broke apart, grinning at each other and breathing hard.

  “Fire Maiden,” Arturo breathed.

  Cara looked over at Fiorina, who was happily trapped in Rocco’s arms. Fiorina had the heart of a Fire Maiden, but not the ferocity. Still, she was making progress, and that was good.

  Cara wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled. For the past week, she’d been cooped up in the Palazzo Rigoni. Now, she was active and outdoors in a beautiful place.

  She sniffed the air, savoring the familiar lagoon scents — along with Tony’s musky aroma.

  But then the light breeze filtering through the trees shifted, and she frowned, swiveling to identify what had caught her attention. Tony must have sensed it too, because he turned too, crinkling his nose.

  “Do you smell that?” Cara whispered so as not to alarm the others.

  Tony furrowed his brow. “Yes. No. It’s not really a scent. More like a feeling.”

  Cara concentrated, trying to tease out the details. But no sooner had it come, than the sensation faded, until all she could find were the usual scents. Fermenting grapes… Musky piles of leaves… The briny smell of the lagoon…

  Still, all that could be deceiving. Somewhere out there, trouble was brewing. But who was at its source? And when would it strike next?

  “Everything all right?” Fiorina called.

  Tony shot Cara a look, and she shook her head the slightest bit. She would stay on guard, but there was no need to alarm the others when there was no concrete threat.

  Yet.

  Cara forced herself to turn back to the others and utter a white lie.

  “Everything is great.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tony looked up at the nearly full moon. The day had passed quietly — apart from helping Cara teach Fiorina. And what a great hour that had been. Holding Cara. Touching her. Breathing her in from only an inch or two away. The previous night, they’d cuddled up together, and that had been so special, he hadn’t hungered for more. At least, not at the time. But now…

  He was still hard from having Cara pressed up against his body hours before.

  He crossed his legs for the twentieth time and did his best to sip his wine casually.

  “Good stuff.”

  His grandfather snorted. “Good? The best.”

  They sat quietly for a short time, contemplating the sky. Other than crickets chirping around the house, everything was quiet. Theo had been on the phone for a while, but eventually, he’d thrown the device aside, muttering. A short time later, he’d shifted into dragon form and taken off, grumbling about exploring the lagoon from aloft.

  “Just don’t go starting any fires,” Arturo had called, only half in jest. Then he’d turned to Tony with a huff. “Dragons. Always so blustery. Especially at that age.”

  Tony shrugged. Theo had always been a little uptight. But a lot of that was aimed at his father. “Maybe when he finally gets an inheritance, he’ll settle down.”

  His grandfather snorted. “Money only makes things worse. What that man needs is a mate.”

  Tony nearly laughed out loud. Theo settling down and becoming a family man? That, he had to see.

  On the other hand, he’d thought Rocco would be just as unlikely a candidate — until now. His cousin was in the living room with Fiorina, playing cards. Cards! Not carousing bars, not whining about how dull life on the outer islands could be. Just playing cards. Or rather, holding cards up while giggling and flirting wildly. He and Fiorina were so wrapped up in each other, Tony doubted they could tell their spades from their clubs.

  If only he’d had time for such innocent pleasures as a twenty-year-old. Instead, he’d been on the run, followed by boot camp and a decade in the Foreign Legion. Definitely no fun, flirty times there. He’d been determined to make up for that as a civilian, but somehow, he’d gotten embroiled in another intrigue instead.

  Another intrigue…and Cara.

  His heart thumped as he gazed into the underbrush for some sign of her in lion form. Not long after dinner, she’d asked Arturo for permission to explore the island — a sweet gesture — and slipped out for a run in lion form. Tony was dying to join her, but he’d sworn to get in some quality time with his grandfather.

  “Lovely girl,” the old man murmured as if reading his mind.

  Tony’s chest rose and fell in a deep sigh. Yes, she was.

  “Even if she does speak with an accent.” His grandfather sighed.

  Tony hid a laugh. If that was all his grandfather could pick on, Cara truly was special. But why had she hurried off after dinner, alone?

  As close as they’d grown over the past days, something still stood between them. Fear, maybe — of the future? Of settling down? Or did Cara harbor a deep secret she wasn’t ready to share?

  When the candle on the table burned low, Arturo creaked to his feet and shuffled to a cabinet for another. On the way back to his seat, he touched a framed image of Tony’s grandmother and murmured, “A beautiful night.”

  A lump formed in Tony’s throat. He missed his grandmother too, but the ache in his chest could only be a fraction of what his grandfather felt.

  Arturo caught Tony’s expression and shrugged. “Yes, I talk to her. She will always be with me. It’s just that these days, I get more words in than before.”

  Tony flashed a smile at the joke, then took a deep breath, wondering if he dared pose the question on his mind.

  His grandfather poked him with his cane. “What?”

  Tony chuckled. Obviously, Arturo’s sixth sense hadn’t faded with age. He fished for words for a while, then whispered into the darkness.

  “How are you doing?”

  His grandfather looked stumped for a moment, then stuck out his jaw. “Being the grandfather to Venice’s most wanted man brought me a certain level of notoriety. I almost enjoyed it sometimes.”

  Tony stuck out his jaw, wishing he could change everything his family had been put through. He hadn’t committed a crime, yet the damage had been done.

  His grandfather patted his hand. “No need to worry about me. I’m tough. Plus, being shunned has its perks. No need to play society’s games. I’ll take this quiet island and the company of my cats over the Guardians any day.”

  Tony didn’t doubt it, but still. He glanced at the photo of his grandmother.

  His grandfather followed his gaze, then nodded sagely. “Ah, so that’s what you mean.” He shrugged, trying to play it down. “I miss her. All the time.”

  When his voice trailed off, Tony was sure that was all he would say. But to his surprise, Arturo went on a moment later.

  “It’s strange, though. Much as I miss her, it’s not the way I thought I would. Not for all the things she used to do for me, but for the things I did for her. Flowers on the table. Fish on the grill…”

  The lump in Tony’s throat grew, and he looked in the direction Cara had gone.

  His grandfather leaned forward, struck a match, and lit the new candle. “Una casa senza donna è come una lanterna senza lume.” A house without a woman is like a lantern without the light. Then he touched his heart. “But as I said, she’s still here.” His eyes slid to the photo, then to the flowers in the window boxes.

  Tony remembered his grandfather scoffing at those very flowers back when his grandmother fussed over them. Yet his nonno had tended them lovingly ever since she’d passed away.

  “True love,” his grandfather whispered. “It stands the test of time. But it truly is a test sometimes.”

  Tony bit his lip. Test was a fitting word. Cara was his destined mate. He was sure of it. But why did she fight it so much?

  Because she’s proud. Independent, his lion replied. And a little stubborn.

  A smile played over his lips as he pictured
her rowing expertly along Venice’s canals… fighting fiercely that night at the party…

  Don’t forget this, his lion rumbled, summoning an image of her snuggled comfortably in his arms.

  A cat rubbed against his legs, and he petted it absently.

  “Infernal things,” his grandfather grumbled, though he didn’t shoo away the white cat that jumped into his lap. “Still, they keep me company.”

  Tony wondered what his grandfather would think of Cara’s quiet suggestion that they all be spayed. It made sense, but ouch.

  He crossed his legs — for a different reason this time.

  “You like her,” Arturo murmured after several quiet moments had passed.

  Tony snapped his head up. “Pardon?”

  His grandfather motioned toward the vineyard. “You like her.”

  Tony gulped. Was it that obvious?

  His grandfather snorted as if to say, And how.

  “You like her, and she likes you. And yet she is there and you are here, wasting time with an old man.”

  Tony shook his head. “Not wasting anything. Only making a promise come true.”

  “What promise?”

  “The one I made myself in the army — to spend more time with the people I love.”

  His grandfather’s eyes shone, and his lips moved without producing a sound. Then he put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Very noble of you, dear boy. But you risk losing something even more precious. I am merely your past. She is your future.”

  Tony’s chest squeezed. “You’re not merely anything.”

  His grandfather chuckled. “Nice to hear, especially these days.” Then he tightened his grip on Tony’s shoulder. “Still — if you find a woman like that, you go out and get her. Believe me, I know. Days and minutes may seem limitless now, but time slips away. Why squander a single moment of love?”

  Tony’s mouth opened and closed. How could his grandfather be so sure?

  His grandfather chuckled. “I can see it in your eyes — and in hers. What are you waiting for?”

  He gulped. Several answers came to mind. Waiting for Cara to be sure. Waiting until Fiorina was safe. Waiting for—

  Arturo rapped his knuckles on the table, cutting into Tony’s thoughts. “You young people. Stop trying to control every little thing. Just live. Love. Indulge in passion for the gift that it is.”