She looked down as the warmth of a blush kissed her cheeks. “I wasn’t…”
He kept hold of her hand and used his other to lift her chin so they were staring into each other’s eyes. “Yes you were. No games, Sophie. I just told you that cross does nothing to me.” To prove his point he leaned toward her neck and kissed the diamond crusted cross with feather soft lips. Sophie felt her world spin out of control. She didn't cringe away from his lips that close to her neck. If anything she moved closer, involuntarily but still closer. His words, eyes, and touch began weaving a spell around her and the world around her started to crumble until the only two that existed were them.
He didn't move from her throat immediately. He took a moment to immerse himself into her honey scent. His tongue slipped out of his lips and licked the middle of her throat, tasting her salted honey essence. "You smell amazing… and taste wonderful." He whispered, his voice deeper, raspier. His hand shook as he tried desperately to keep his wits about him. He moved the shaky hand from her chin to the side of her neck and she leaned into his hand, exposing more of her tender neck. Desire consumed both of them. He could smell it rising from her, and feel it in every fiber of his being. He scraped his teeth against her skin, but forced down the urge to puncture. It took every ounce of his willpower to keep him from sinking his teeth into her flesh and drinking the tiniest bit of her blood. He needed to prove to her and to himself that he could control himself around her. Instead of piercing her flesh he retracted his teeth and kissed her neck softly. The moan that escaped her lips almost made him lose the little control he had, but somehow he managed to contain himself and pull away. "See, I'm not a monster."
Sophie's eyes flew open, "I never said you were a monster." She felt horrible that he had such hurtful thoughts. A man that can ignite passion in her from the simplest touch could never be a monster. She placed both hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her. "From the moment I met you I've felt nothing but interest and desire toward you. I would never call you a monster."
"So you feel it too?" He asked earnestly. He didn't know why it was important to him to know she was just as captivated with him as he was with her, but he hung on her words waiting to hear it.
“What are you doing to me?” she asked barely above a whisper.
“I have a feeling what is happening here is two sided, no?”
She took both his large hands in her small ones and pulled them into her lap. “Yes, and I don't understand it. I've never felt this way for someone before. I keep thinking you've compelled me or something.”
He shook his head, "I tried that in the club, but you never looked my way. I don't know if you're immune to my powers or not, but I'll never try it again. What I'm feeling... I want it to be real for you too."
It was Sophie's turn to giggle, "I'm far from being immune to your powers." His power of seduction was having a strong effect on her at the moment.
Her eyes were so sincere, and her admission so honest, it touched a long forgotten part deep inside him. Unlocking a secret box he hid from himself and the world decades ago. “I don’t really understand it myself.” Without another word, only a frustrated growl, he gently caressed her lips with his own. It was meant to be a quick peck, a taste of something he desired, but something exploded inside of him, inside both of them, and the kiss deepened.
His world shattered around them. His safe, efficiently designed life that he worked so hard to create was suddenly falling apart around him with a simple kiss from a spunky, sexy, slip of a witch doctor. His fingers sunk into her silky black hair and a moan escaped her lips which drove him over the edge. She opened her mouth and granted him entry. It was all the invitation he needed as his tongue plunged forward to explore the wonders of her mouth.
One minute she was on the step beside him and the next moment she was pulled into his lap, her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, connecting the most intimate parts of their bodies and creating an enormous amount of heat between them. She surrendered to the alpha male, and it felt good. She liked giving him control, something she didn’t like losing to anyone else. She answered his power with her own as her tiny hands pushed his soft leather jacket from his muscled shoulders. He slipped his arms out of his jacket with lightning speed and his hands were back on her, unzipping the hoodie and pulling it from her body with a hard jerk. He broke from her lips long enough to smell the hoodie before throwing it behind him. His eyes went back to her body. She wore a dark t-shirt, same as him. His fingers ached to touch her larger than average breasts, but instead, he wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her hard against him. Grinding their bodies together, making it painfully obvious how much he desired her in that moment. "I've never found a green hoodie so attractive on a woman until I met you."
One hand sunk into her dark hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her lips back to his. He was demanding and powerful, but she felt like the power was completely hers. This time her lips opened and she licked his asking for entry. He opened to her and allowed her to explore his own mouth. A moan escaped between them, he wasn't sure if it was hers or his, but he didn't care. It only drove him further down the rabbit hole in his obsession to possess her.
She felt the coolness of his hand moving down her neck and onto her shoulder. Cold, then electric and heat. It was exhilarating and arousing all at once. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she should slow things down. She wasn’t the kind of girl to kiss a man the first time she met him, but there was some unexplainable magnetic hold he had on her and she wanted to see where it could go.
Her hand moved under his t-shirt and she explored his chiseled abs and rock-hard chest. His jacket hid his body from her view when she first met him, just as hers did. But they were free from restraints and she was impressed with his physique as she melted against him.
Giovanni's hand moved under her t-shirt as well, only he kept his cold fingers at her waist, not daring to explore anything more than the silkiness of her skin. His lips moved from her mouth to her neck. "By all that is holy, Sophie, I want to taste you." He could hear her heart speed up and her pulse race as his tongue slid across her salty neck. His body shook with the need to take her while his mind attempted to regain control. The sweetness of her scent was overwhelming and he felt himself get lost in her, all of her; her scent, her touch, her skin, her taste. The things he wanted to do to her in that moment should have been illegal.
“Excuse me?” Rafe cleared his throat, his words were like a cold pail of water being dumped on both of them. They fell apart faster than was humanly possible. Sophie suddenly felt like she was sixteen years old kissing a boy in front of her father, not a twenty-one year old adult.
“Dad.” Shame ran through her as she reached to grab her cotton jacket.
“Mr. Waters.” Giovanni stood up straightening his t-shirt, black jacket and jeans.
“You can call me Rafe, Gio. We’re friends despite the fact that you’re interested in dating my daughter.” He tilted his head narrowing his eyes on Giovanni. “You are interested in dating my daughter, right? This isn’t a fling, is it?”
“Dad!” Sophie shouted, appalled at his line of questioning, and finally getting back on her feet. “All we did was kiss. We haven’t even addressed what this,” she pointed to Gio and herself, “is.”
Rafe didn’t look at Sophie. “I don’t think I’m comfortable with you kissing my daughter on a whim, Gio.”
“Father!” this was fast becoming the most horrifying moment of her life. “I’m not a kid anymore. Look at me, full grown adult standing right here. Who I kiss and why I kiss him is my business.”
“It’s okay, Sophie. Your father is right. We should take things more seriously on this front. Perhaps we can go out on a date and get to know each other?”
“Wow! Really?” Sophie had never felt so embarrassed and she couldn’t believe that Giovanni was asking her out only because her father was looking at him with a disapproving glare. Giovanni waited expe
ctantly which only infuriated her more. She took a deep breath, “no thank you. I think I’ll pass.” She turned and left the two men on the porch alone.
Gio and Rafe stared after her. When the door slammed, Gio couldn’t hold the chuckle in any longer. Rafe stared at him with fatherly concern. “I’m sorry, Rafe, but your daughter intrigues me.”
“So this is more than just a random thing?”
“Quite possibly, Rafe, but I just met her and there’s a lot to figure out.” He didn't know how to tell him that he felt he'd known Sophie all his life, that she drew him to her like a moth to flame. He didn't know how to even begin the discussion because he couldn't understand how fast he was developing feelings for her. If he didn't understand, how could he explain it to a protective father?
“Like your consort?”
“Yes, Marissa and my father’s approval. He doesn’t support the idea of mixing bloodlines.” Truth was Marissa was a minor concern. She was more of a friend than anything else, but his father was going to be a hard sell. He knew the only way to deal with the issue at hand was to be honest and tell his father he wanted to date Sophie, get his permission. His brother, Nicolai, didn’t ask permission when he tried to date a shape-shifter and that relationship almost created a war. Another brother, Johnny, was put to death for loving an Amazon.
“Well, that may create a problem.” Rafe agreed.
“I deal with fixing problems all day long. I will figure out a way.” Gio looked at Rafe expectantly. “Did you have something you wanted to talk about when you came out here?”
“Oh, yes. Marissa and Nicolai are here.”
Gio nodded and headed toward the door. Rafe stepped in front of him. "Please understand, Giovanni. Even though we're friends, and we have a treaty in place, if you hurt my daughter, I won't hesitate to hurt you."
"Understood." Gio had no intention of hurting Sophie, but he heeded Rafe's warning nonetheless. He didn’t need a pissed off guardian witch on his back with all the other trouble brewing in Mystery.
Chapter Six
Sophie couldn’t believe the audacity! She was absolutely floored over the idea that her father would force Giovanni to ask her out on a date. It was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of her life and she’d had some doozies over the years; the incident at the high school talent show came in a close second, but this one topped the list. She slammed the door and started to march through the house, she didn’t care who saw her at this point. She was so busy fuming she didn’t notice the dark haired man with crystal blue eyes or the pretty perfect blonde girl in the borderline slutty dress standing next to him until she ran right into his chest, literally. He was like a brick wall. The man was so tall that her five foot five inch frame only reached his solid chest. He wasn’t skinny-tall, either. He was bulky-tall with amazing reflexes since he managed to steady her before she fell flat on the ground, further embarrassing herself.
The grin on his face was more like a condescending smirk which marred his good looks. She really detested men who acted like they knew they were all that. They were really quite annoying. “Good evening, I’m sorry for bumping into you. Are you alright?”
His voice was a deep tenor and the lilt matched Giovanni’s. It was in that moment she noticed how cold he was, and his touch didn’t create warmth, it made her shiver with a chill. She pulled back from him, fearful of frostbite.
“No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking.” I was too busy being angry over something ridiculous! She beat herself up mentally. Why was she acting like a foolish child? Why did she insist on letting her emotions get the better of her and cause her to get temperamental? No wonder her father treated her that way, he had no choice. She acted immaturely and he responded like a protective father should.
She shook her head to clear it. She wasn’t thinking straight, and with Giovanni’s ‘no games’ rule she needed to get her head right before she lost any chance she might have with him. If she hadn’t already. She needed to go back and fix what she just did. “If you’ll excuse me.” She turned around to go back outside and accept the date, but when she did she came face to face with her father and Giovanni. They’d followed her back inside. Crap! She wondered how much they saw, but didn’t have time to ask.
“Gio!” the blonde girl ran up to him and curled into his chest. She recognized the girl as the one hanging on Giovanni on the dance floor at the club. Wow, did she feel stupid. Of course a man as handsome as Gio would have a girlfriend. Why didn't she think to ask that question earlier?
He smiled and patted her on the back. “Marissa, I’m sorry I left you at the club. Did Jeremiah take care of you?”
She smiled a dazzling grin that stunned the room and crushed Sophie’s heart.
“He did, but he’s no replacement for your company. Nicky offered to bring me over when he got the call to come here.”
“Nicolai, why? What call?” Giovanni asked, a concerned frown marred his ruggedly handsome face. His hand was still around Marissa’s shoulders and hers around his waist. Sophie swallowed down the green jealousy demon as best she could, but if the blonde continued to cling to him she didn't know what she'd do. They were comfortably intimate in front of the crowd which made Sophie's anger roll over into embarrassment. She wanted to shrink down to nothing and disappear. A few minutes ago she had her tongue down his throat, and her hands all over him. She felt like she was going to be sick as her heart shattered.
Was he dating someone else? Doubt crept into her mind like a thief in the night and threatened to steal her confidence. She wasn’t a home wrecker, she wouldn’t be responsible for breaking them up. She wanted to run upstairs, away from the obviously happy couple, but she had a feeling this was important. So she decided to swallow her pride, and would deal with the emotions later.
“I’m to take the nephilim in for more questioning. It seems his story isn’t adding up. Marianna had admitted to hurting the human, but she said it was only in self-defense. She said she and Marco were attacked on the street. Marco is dead and she simply tried to defend herself.” He looked down at the floor before continuing. “She also said that Marco was the one who infected the human.”
“Which is why she isn’t able to heal normally, why he needed you, Sophie. She needs supernatural healing.” Giovanni spoke his thoughts out loud. She liked the way he mulled over his thoughts out loud. Everything about this man was sexy and set her on fire. She needed to put space between them before she got burned beyond repair.
“Why is that?” Sophie asked, curiosity getting the better of her, keeping her feet planted in the ground, refusing to leave as her mind advised her to do. Her heart wasn’t ready yet.
“Because her sire was killed. All Marco’s children, his entire vampire line will die within the week. The only thing really keeping her alive is that she isn’t a vampire yet.” Giovanni offered the answer before anyone else could speak. Marissa and Nicolai exchanged worried glances. “We need to see if he has any sired children out there in the world and start working on damage control.”
Nicolai, who was uneasy with the information Gio was sharing with the witches offered a tight nod, “Marianna is looking into any possible children. She can only think of three, but he lived a long time. Don’t you think this conversation should be taken someplace quieter?” He suggested.
“Why? Sophie needs this information and we trust Rafe.” Gio turned threatening eyes on Rafe, “we can trust you, right?” Rafe nodded with a smile on his face and Sophie knew he was telling the truth. Giovanni nodded, the intense moment over, and turned back to Nicolai continuing the conversation as though nothing had happened. “And of course any of their children as well.”
Sophie swallowed hard past the lump forming in her throat. Gio was a dangerous man and one that, if his reputation was correct, you shouldn’t cross. The moment between him and her father worried her. But he was right about one thing. She needed this information. “Why do they die?” Sophie plunged herself into gathering intel that could help her
save Tiffany’s life. It was a good distraction from the image of Gio holding the blonde in his arms possessively.
“It’s a built in defense from the beginning of our creation. Legend says Hades was concerned his children would battle just as his naturally born children did. He worried they’d kill each other before the vampire race had a chance to take hold. They had his nature running through their veins after all and Hades is a vengeful God who airs on the side of justice.” Nicolai was the first to speak, he had pride shining in his eerie blue eyes.
“So he built in a fail-safe. He didn’t want fighting in the ranks, but he didn’t consider the enemies vampires would make in the real world.” Giovanni finished the story. “It’s a curse. If our father dies, so will we. Only those saved by the true mating bond would survive the fate.”
“True mating bond?” Sophie repeated his words slower as she tried to process them. It sounded like one of those plot twists she read about in the fictional paranormal urban fantasy tales.