Gwyneth Stevens - Enchantress Part 29

"Dance with me, bella," Giovanni said, making no attempt to hide his accent like so many vampires I know did. No, he lived most of his life in Italy and made no bones about it. He was what he was and that was that.

"Who is this?" I was curious as to what composer we were listening to now.

"Busoni," Giovanni said as if this one name declaration would sum it all up for me. I smiled and gave up trying to figure it all out. I decided to enjoy the moment. "Busoni has a tremendous range of expression, don't you think?"

I nodded, unsure what I was agreeing to and smiled again. I couldn't helpbut smile. Giovanni made me happy. Italy made me happy. I let him put his hand on my waist and take my other in his. He led us across the marble floor in one perfect fluid motion. I let myself be swept up in the moment. Giovanni had a way about him. He was sophisticated, yet full of humor and charm. He was so very different from the men I'd left behind four months earlier, and he was also a great deal more dangerous.

He spun me around and around. He lifted me off my feet and then gently put me back down. When he was finished, I was left dizzy, breathless, and clinging to him. I knew he enjoyed being this close to me. I also knew that part of the reason he liked to dance with me was because he knew it always left us this close. We'd been staying together for the last fourteen weeks and in that time he and I had never had s.e.x or even shared a kiss.

Giovanni was turning out to be someone I enjoyed spending time with. He'd been gracious enough to take me away from the chaos of my father, King Kerrigan, Leader of the Dark Realm's, home. My father had been well meaning in his attempts at throwing an extravagant engagement party but he hadn't been aware that circ.u.mstances had changed. Caleb, the man I had agreed to marry, and I had had a falling out. My father especially liked Caleb, because he, like me, is a faerie. I'll admit being intimate with a faerie is a feeling that cannot be duplicated even with the most loving of partners. As much as Caleb and I seemed perfect for each other, the engagement went sour fast. He'd been running around town with other wom en and I had been sleeping with other men. One man in particular that I had chosen to share myself with had upset him, Pallo.

Pallo, happened to be a master vampire and longtime on and off again boyfriend of mine. Did I forget to mention that Giovanni sired him? You know what they say about the webs we weave.

"What would you like to do today, bella?"

Giovanni had made sure to set it up so that I didn't have to do anything on my own if I didn't want to. It sounded very glamorous in the beginning until two women showed up in my bathroom trying to clean me. I had had t o draw the line and set limits then. After a two hour limit-setting session, he seemed to understand that I didn't mind living my own life.Now, Giovanni asked what I wanted.

"I don't care, you decide."

"My dear bella, everyday it is the same. I ask what you want and you volley it back to me."

"Volley? My, aren't we the hip vamp?"

He smiled again. "Shall we try horseback riding again?"

"The horses are scared to death of you. Why don't you get some sort of demon-breed, maybe they'd be less skittish?" The last time we'd attempted to go for a ride Giovanni had sent the horses into a dither. They were beside themselves with fear. They could sense that he was a vampire and they were not cool with that. Our planned night out ended up being me coaxing an upset horse back to its stable while trying to convince Giovanni that no, I really didn't need his help.

"How about tennis ... would you like to play?"

"I don't know how to play. Maybe, if you did you could teach me."

He laughed and threw his hands up. "Arrendere--I surrender. It is up to you, bella."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"Why is it that you have a pool, a tennis court, horses, and all this other stuff if you can't, or don't want to use them?"

"I told the people who took care of this property that I wanted it kept up to date. They followed my orders."

"That I get. It explains some of the stuff, but not the horses."

Giovanni came close to me and touched my cheek. His soft hands ran over my skin lightly. "Bella, it is you who liked horses. I simply continued to keep them around after you were gone. They reminded me of you. I used to watch you care for them and go for morning rides to watch the sun comeup."

I didn't know what to say to that. He had kept a stable full of horses around for over two hundred years because I'd liked them. It was too much even for me. I shouldn't have been surprised. He'd kept a room of the house stocked full of my old clothes. Over the years he'd picked up things here and there that reminded him of me, even though I'd been long dead. It wasn't very endearing--it was weird.

"Giovanni, you're creeping me out again."

"I do have a tendency to do that."

I looked around the large sitting room. It was beautiful. In fact, it was the most beautiful room I'd ever been in. It wasn't just that he had decorated in antiques that seemed very touchable, it was how much time he'd put into every piece of furniture and artwork that went into his home. My eyes wandered to the fresco of Jesus tending his sheep. The irony of the devil having Jesus was not lost on me. I glanced back at Giovanni with a heavy heart. "I'm going to have to go home soon, you know."

He moved his long black hair over one shoulder and began to take his jacket off. The man wore designer suits almost everyday. I wondered if he wore designer underwear. I was shocked to find myself thinking about him like that again. I couldn't pull my eyes away as his long pale fingers unb.u.t.toned one of the three b.u.t.tons of the single breasted Armani black jacket. I watched him casually toss it onto the sage-colored chair behind him. I blushed because only yesterday I'd been picturing him nude on that very chair. The soft feel of the velvet and the ornate features matched him so well. Having him waiting naked in it for me seemed like the perfect fantasy.

I looked harder at him as he stood there doing the most casual of things.

His matching black b.u.t.ton up dress s.h.i.+rt was open down to his mid-chest.

My toes curled in towards my heels at the thought of touching him. I was shaken. I'd gotten used to looking at men bare their chests to me since I'd known Caleb and Pallo. Caleb was a fan of the no-s.h.i.+rt look, and Pallo liked to show his off through the wonders of designer clothing.

Giovanni was a lot like Pallo in that respect, but he seemed to think that more was better. I had seen him once in a mesh black s.h.i.+rt. It showed off his tanned and toned upper body, but I'd never seen him inanything that revealing again. I moved onto my tiptoes to see if I could sneak a peek into his s.h.i.+rt. He caught me doing it and smiled.

"You have only but to ask me, and...."

I put my hand up to stop him from going any further. I'd been the one to insist that s.e.x stay out of our relations.h.i.+p but being next to an Italian stud twenty-four hours a day could make a nun second guess herself. And I certainly am no nun.

"No, really I'm good. I was just wondering about something."

He walked over to the side table and poured two gla.s.ses of wine. He kept his back to me and I knew it was on purpose. His tall slender frame and long hair made him very androgynous from the backside. Thankfully, his shoulders were wide and his face masculine or people would start to wonder.

Giovanni turned and handed me a gla.s.s. I took it and felt my body react to his touch. I yanked my hand away and gave him a nasty look. "I thought I told you not to use your vamp-mojo on me."

His black eyes softened, and I saw the corner of his mouth drop into a frown. "Bella, I am not using any 'mojo' on you, I promise you that."

If he was telling the truth, then I was in deep s.h.i.+t. Having feelings for him could be deadly. I knew that for a fact. I set my gla.s.s down and walked towards the stairs. "I need some time to myself."

He put his gla.s.s in the air and nodded to me. "Of course."

To read more excerpts from Mandy M. Roth and to be notified of new releases please visit www.mandyroth.com