The Medici Queen

by Emily Bex

  Standing, she nodded to Shade and then looked at her ladyship. “Thank you, master, my lady.”

  She teleported out. Shade was impressed with the new recruit. He knew she’d do well. He turned his attention to bel. "Talk to me. I know you felt uncomfortable having another female in the house. But I sense some fear and it has nothing to do with Aislynn."

  Kate laid her head on his shoulder, fighting the urge to cry for no fucking reason. Her hormones were in overdrive. "Not fear, lover. Concern, maybe. You’re home more now, and there’s been no conflict in D.C. for some time. We live here in our own little world, and I’m able to block out the reality of some of the ugliness. I know the warriors are here to train, to learn to fight more efficiently and to kill, but I manage to block that out somehow. And our son." She squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip, refusing to let the tears fall. "In my eyes, he’s small and vulnerable. But I can see him as a man too, a warrior like his father. And the reality that I’ll have both of you out there fighting just hit me."

  Shade ran his hand through her hair, sighing deeply. She’s so fearful for them both. He could feel her inner turmoil.

  "I’ve hidden so much of my world from you, bel. In the beginning, I was fearful you would leave, have nothing to do with me. I couldn’t have lived with that. I still can’t live with that. I hoped once immortal you would perhaps understand this world better, but I see that being born a mortal, you can never really prepare for this, the death and the dangers are a constant. I’m a warrior, as was my padre. I have known nothing else and I apologize for being so insensitive to it. I’ve dealt with it since my birth. And as you can see, I am still here. Our son will be born into this world of warriors. He too will survive. He will have a purpose and reason to fight and return home. It’s the same reason I return to you. I’ll always come home to you. I may be broken, beaten and bleeding, but I will fight to my last breath to be in your arms. So will Lorenzo. Love gives you strength beyond anything I can teach or train. It’s the most powerful weapon there is, mi amore.”

  She knew his words were true. She knew she’d fight through anything to get to him. Face any obstacle. Overcome any fear.

  "I do know that, lover. I feel it in every cell of my being. Your warrior's blood runs in my veins as well. If anything were to threaten you, or our children, my attack would make Aegis look tame. I'm sorry. I'm afraid my emotions are on a rollercoaster right now."

  He hugged her tighter as he kissed her. "More like a freight train out of control going full speed downhill and straight into the bowels of hell!"

  As they both laughed she punched him lightly, he couldn’t help but try to make her smile. “You know I’m teasing you, mi amore."

  His hand slid along her cheek, gently taking her chin into his fingers and lifting her face to his as he stared at her. "You are so damn beautiful like this, pregnant with our son. Your skin glows, my lily-white, filled with a gift, a child born from our love. Even when you are tired, you still beam with happiness. You know I think you are fucking dead sexy, si?"

  Kate laughed. "Seriously? Because sexy is the last thing I feel. I love this baby already with every fiber of my being, but I’ll be happy when he’s born!"

  "Si, so will I. We will get through this together. We have not very long to wait, now. So, tell me, what can I do to help you? Love, feeding, presents, shoes?"

  She sighed. "You already give me all those things. Patience, I just need your patience. And if you have any tricks that will encourage your son to get here a little quicker, now would be a good time to use them."

  He chuckled. "You say that like I’ve done this padre thing before. I haven’t. I have no tricks, the only trick I know is to love you for all eternity, and my figlio as well."

  Kate smiled at him and those impossibly blue eyes. "And that is the best trick of all, lover."

  90

  Raven had prepared himself well, he’d be meeting Mica tonight and that was heavy on his mind. He was intrigued. He’d not been this excited to hang with another male, and he liked the fact Mica wasn’t a warrior. Raven spent enough time around warriors. Most of them didn’t understand him but accepted him.

  But business was first and foremost, and he needed to check out the California property and decide exactly what he thought would be needed to provide adequate security there. He teleported around the property, saw the vast size of it, even larger than Bel Rosso. Boss-man was spending a lot of money here, and it looked like a goldmine in the making. The climate was a little milder here. It wasn’t as humid as Virginia, and they weren’t too far from the ocean, or from San Francisco. This was nothing like Virginia, and he knew instantly, this was the place for him.

  Teleporting outside the front doors, he wasn’t there but a few moments when Reynaldo opened the door and Raven grinned at him. "Feels like home, Reynaldo!"

  Reynaldo grabbed him into an embrace and beat him on the back. Raven was always a favorite of his, always laughing and joking. He could tell Raven had done some growing up since he’d last seen him at Bel Rosso. He was moving up in the ranks of Medici and that pleased Reynaldo immensely.

  "It was good to hear you were coming out here, Raven. How is my lady?"

  Raven bobbed his head up and down. "She’s huge with the baby. She walks a little like a penguin, but man is she awesome. I love her!"

  Reynaldo laughed, some things never changed. "Well come inside. Mica is expecting you. I’ll let him give you a tour and fill you in on the things that need to be taken care of. I’ll feel more secure knowing we have Medici warriors here with us."

  Raven followed Reynaldo in, and picked up Mica’s scent. He closed his eyes and let the scent wash over him. Yeah, he belonged in California.

  Mica sat in the expansive living room that would now function as living room and lobby area for receiving the new guests. Reynaldo had informed him Raven was arriving to assess their security needs and Mica was anxious to see the young warrior again. He wasn’t usually drawn to the warriors. They were much too muscular for his taste, not to mention cocky. But Raven was tall and lanky. He seemed a little young, and the long hair threw him a little, but there was something about him that Mica was drawn to. He was curious to see if the sparks extended beyond their initial meeting. Mica needed to keep it professional, though. This job could be huge for him, and he didn’t want to irritate the Medici.

  He heard Reynaldo at the front door and their voices carried as the two of them entered. Mica wore light grey dress slacks and a blue cashmere V-neck sweater. Raven entered in jeans that emphasized his long, lean legs, a black turtleneck, heavy boots and rings on every finger. His long black hair swung behind him as he walked in, talking in an animated fashion with Reynaldo. Mica stood to greet him and their eyes instantly connected.

  Raven took him in. He was dressed casually, conservatively, and that wasn’t what he was usually drawn to. But Mica could be dressed like a clown and he’d still want this vampire's full attention. Raven approached him and his mind spun out of control, he had the worst time getting his mind to focus when Mica was around.

  "We meet again Frenchman. Boss-man sure has a big place here. I checked out the boundaries when I teleported in."

  Raven felt like he was rambling, and that wasn’t like him. He flipped his hair back over his shoulder and smiled at Mica.

  Mica could sense Raven’s nervousness and he was amused. This warrior, used to killing at the drop of a hat, skilled in the use of every weapon known to mankind, stood before him somewhat tongue-tied. Mica smiled at him, their eyes never leaving each other.

  Reynaldo looked from one to the other and chuckled. "I have plenty to do in the kitchen. I don't think you two need me for anything." Reynaldo took his leave as the two men barely noticed his absence.

  Mica smiled. "Good to see you again, Raven. Can I get you a Midnight before we begin? I've been here a week now, and I have a few ideas already about what we may need."

  "I’ll pass...on second thought, hell yes, it’s one long
teleport out here. Midnight will be good." Raven walked around the room checking out the furniture and the layout of things. "So, the queen did all of this? She has good taste. Do you like her?"

  Mica walked to the bar and poured them each a glass of Midnight. Returning to Raven he handed him a glass, making sure their hands touched. "I do like her, very much. It’s clear to me the idea of turning this house into an inn was hers. I felt like your master was just indulging her." Mica chuckled. "I have a feeling he’d give her pretty much anything she wants. But I think your master will be surprised. We’re already fully booked and have reservations through the Christmas holidays. This place is going to be a gold mine."

  As their hands connected, Raven felt the same electricity he felt the first time and he wanted more of this vampire, a lot more. But he was here on important business for the boss. Taking a long drink of his Midnight, he looked sideways at Mica through his long hair.

  "Master has a lot on his shoulders. He’s been deep in the development of the new camp, plus they have the baby coming. He lets her do as she likes. Bel Rosso was nothing before she came along.”

  Raven looked around the room again. “And this gold mine means I have a purpose and a future. Give me your ideas. I don’t really know anything about this type of business, so I’ll need some idea about what you’ll need."

  Raven flopped down on the chaise and smiled up at Mica. Cazzo, he’s beautiful.

  Mica sat down on the foot of the chaise, as Raven shifted his long legs over to make a space for him.

  "Well, it looks as if your queen decorated the place originally with the expectation they’d live here themselves, at least part of the time. There’s a master suite upstairs that’s locked and I understand it’s theirs. Reynaldo had all the electronic blinds removed throughout the house except for their master suite. With an inn like this, the guest must have some freedom to come and go as they please, but at the same time, we’re responsible for their safety while they’re our guest. I think we need a way to secure the windows throughout the house. No bars, though. That sends the wrong impression. Maybe laser motion detectors? Or install some type of alarm that is triggered if the seal on the window or the glass is broken?"

  Raven watched as Mica gave him a small smile. He wasn’t sure how in hell he was going to get through this meeting. He wanted to grab him and kiss those lips, but he knew he couldn’t make a move. He focused on the job at hand and got back to the security needs. Raven took a sip of the wine before answering. "Electronic sensors are easy to install on the windows. It’s very high tech now. We can computerize everything, so if there’s any type of breach, we’re alerted. Once we have warriors on the grounds, they’ll need to stay out of sight of the mortals. They’ll need living quarters. We have our own barracks at Bel Rosso and all the other properties master owns. I’ve only seen Florence and Bel Rosso, and now, here. But they all have fully functional security systems and I can get Luca to help me get everything I need. That’s not an issue. We can set up the system inside here, so it will be easy to monitor. I can teach you how it works once we set it up, if you think you can handle me teaching you."

  Mica chuckled and ran his hand along Raven's leg. "The question, young warrior, is can you handle me teaching you?"

  Raven never saw it coming, but he sure as hell felt it. The heat from Mica’s hand traveled through his jeans and straight to his cock. His beast sat up, taking notice of the other male. Raven’s breathing became ragged as he looked at those eyes for a second and knew he’d lose complete control if he responded. He quickly looked away. He wanted this man more than anything, but things were moving at a pace even Raven couldn’t handle. The lump in his throat was huge. Mica’s scent washed over him in waves and his closeness was going to kill him dead. He gulped the Midnight down.

  "I might be young, but I’ve seen enough to know teaching goes both ways. Where do the workers in the vineyards stay? Do they have their own quarters?"

  Mica smiled at his nervousness and found it endearing. "Currently, Luciano only uses mortal migrant farm workers. They come in when needed in the vineyards and leave at the end of the day. They’re not housed here. Reynaldo lives inside the house, in the suite your queen designed for Luca, and I have an apartment over the garage where your master keeps all his expensive cars that never get driven. The housemaids are already staying in some apartments above the winery, which is not ideal. If we add security staff, your master will need to consider staff quarters that will accommodate everyone. Perhaps, you can connect the staff quarters to the main house by a tunnel, so the staff can move about unnoticed."

  Raven nodded. "We have a tunnel system at Bel Rosso. I don’t see why the same couldn’t be done here."

  Moving his booted foot slightly, he let it rub against Mica's side and they both made eye contact. Raven’s breath caught in his throat. This was like fucking torture. "Once you show me around I can decide how many warriors we’ll need here, and I can give master a recommendation on what he’ll need for accommodations."

  Mica felt him shift his foot until he made contact, as Mica gazed at him over the top of his glass of Midnight. "Your master can decide if he wants to build another building, or maybe sell those cars and convert the entire garage. It’s big enough. In the meantime, the locks on all the doors need to be changed. The guest should only have a key to the front entrance, and the pool entrance, as well as to their individual room. Reynaldo had a company come out and install keyed locks on each of the bedroom suites, but right now, the guest can come and go through any of the exterior doors. We need everything locked down except the front door and the pool door. The only ones with access to the other doors should be staff."

  Raven nodded. "I can manage that before I leave. A few phone calls and I can have services done. I’m assuming since my lady whipped all this up, everyone employed inside this mansion is immortal?"

  Mica leaned in close enough for Raven to feel his breath on his face. "Are you going to protect me, young warrior?" He licked his lips before sitting up straight again. "And yes, all the work has been done by immortals. Your queen has quite a list of contacts for getting things done. So, while you're at it, we're going to need camera surveillance, something that monitors the parking lot, and the front door, as well as all the other entrances. We’ll need a camera out back that covers the pool and pool house. Do you have a pool at Bel Rosso warrior?"

  Raven watched his tongue glide over those plump lips and he almost swooned. Cazzo! This vamp knew temptation, and he was definitely interested in him, and vice versa. Raven locked into his gaze. "I can protect you and that fine ass. Don’t let my size deceive you. We don’t have a pool at Bel Rosso, but there are other things there to entertain us.”

  Mica smiled at the warrior’s attempts to seduce him.

  Raven stood up from the chaise lounge and strolled around the room. "The security cameras can be hooked up with everything else and all of it will be computerized. You just need to find a place to set it up where you can view the monitors. Can you manage that?"

  Mica followed him with his eyes. "Oh, I can manage it just fine. We have an office on the main floor which I suggest we use to install the security system computer and screens. The library, the dining room, and this living room are open for the guest to use, so we’ll keep the security out of sight. Now tell me, are you going back right away? Or will you be staying over?"

  Raven locked eyes with Mica. "That depends."

  Mica held his gaze. "On what would that depend, my young warrior? Do you think I might be in need of a little protection?"

  Raven shook his head, his black hair swinging. "Not from me. I do need to look around, see the space, inside and out. How the rooms are laid out. I’ll also need to see the exterior, the entire landscape. So, do I get a room for free or do I have to pay?"

  Mica stood. “Well, first things first. I’ll gladly give you a full tour. The guests are out right now touring the vineyards and tasting wine in the winery. So, while they're out l
et’s tour the interior first and you can see everything. All the rooms are booked. However, if you wish to stay for the night, my place is always open to you. The fee? Well, I think we can decide on something, don't you?"

  Raven met his gaze. "Si, we can decide. So, lead the way." Please, lead the way, before I can no longer breathe standing this close.

  Mica led him up the stairs, grabbing the master key so he could give Raven a quick tour of the bedroom/bathroom suites on the second floor. He walked him through each suite, showing him the number of windows in each room.

  "Your queen has quite the imagination. The red bedroom and the black bedroom have been most popular. We have pictures of the rooms up on our website, and those rooms get booked first, especially among the newlyweds." Mica stood in the middle of the black bedroom, "Sexy huh?"

  Raven took in the black bedroom. "Looks more like boss-man's taste. He was pretty wild in his day. I could see getting kinky in here. If you are going to do it, go balls to the wall!"

  Mica laughed. "Is that your style, young warrior? You have no interest in the art of seduction? In taking it slow? Making it last?" Mica walked past him out the door, grazing his shoulder as he passed him.

  Raven was offended. Who in hell did he think he was talking to him like that? Grabbing his arm, he spun Mica around. "You don’t know anything about me. I’m more than what you see. There’s more to me than this, a lot more. I’m a warrior first and foremost. But I know seduction, I just never found anyone worthy of the effort. So, before you judge me, get to know me."

  Mica was startled by the flair of anger, but saw pain behind those eyes as well. He brushed Raven's hair back from his face. "I don’t judge you, my young warrior. And I have every intention of getting to know you. As I hope you’re interested in getting to know me. Let's see if we can alter history, shall we? And find you someone worth seducing."

  The softness of his touch was kind, not given for any other reason than to soften the blow of the harsh words Raven threw at him. His eyes never left Mica, and there was so much sincerity in his face that Raven believed him. "I do want to get to know you. I’m sorry I blew up at you. Lead on."