Inferno's Kiss (49 page)

“Don’t hide from me, Cleopatra.” There was a dark intensity to his words that made her throat close up with fear. Her smile of ironic amusement was born from years of practice. She met his dark gaze.

“I’d hardly call this hiding from you.” Cleo gestured at her naked body, and she saw the flash of desire in his eyes before he narrowed his gaze at her.

“You know damn well that’s not what I meant.”

“No, I don’t,” she lied.

“Then let me spell it out for you,” he said fiercely. “I’m not going to let you run away from me.”

“
Deus
, I am
not
running away.” She scrambled off the bed to hunt for her clothes.

“You could’ve fooled me, because I think you’re doing a damn good job of running from the truth.”

“And what truth is that?” she snapped as she turned away to pull her panties on.

“That I love you. That we belong to together.”

She froze. Fuck, the man just wasn’t going to give up. Slowly she turned her head to glare at him over her shoulder.

“As I recall, we’ve already had this argument.”

“No. You were trying to make a case for why I shouldn’t love you.”

“And I thought I did that pretty well,” she said as she plunged her arms into the sleeves of her shirt.

“Did you? To my recollection your reasoning was that I couldn’t love you because you can’t have children and you aren’t a true Sicari,” he said quietly.

“Those are pretty good reasons if you ask me.” Her fingers trembled as she shoved a button into the wrong buttonhole.

“No, they’re not, but why bother pointing them out when all you had to do was say you didn’t love me?”

Panic flashed through her, and she jerked around to stare at him. Something in his expression made her throat begin to close. She swallowed hard as a grim determination hardened his features.

“Then there’s that stunt you pulled the other morning.” The disapproving tone of his voice made her scowl at him.

“Stunt?” she snapped. “I was doing my job.”

“Your job doesn’t call for you to sacrifice yourself in order to save me.” His midnight blue eyes locked with hers, and she could feel the color drain from her face as she saw the certainty in his gaze. She quickly tried to regroup.

“I saved you because you’re the Sicari Lord. The
Absconditus
can’t do without a leader,” she lied as she turned away from him.

Before she could get too far away, he reached out and tugged her backward until he was holding her tight in his arms. Determination made his mouth a firm straight line. It said he intended to do whatever he could to make her admit the truth. One hand pressed into his muscular chest, she tried not to let her mental barrier drop as her body reacted to his.

Deus
, she should have left for Chicago the morning after the battle at Tarpeian Rock. No. She should have found a different way to rescue Marta. She should have left here a long time ago. Before she fell in love with him. Before she gave him a chance to break her heart or destroy his ability to lead the
Absconditus.

“Your reasoning doesn’t hold up. I’m not the Sicari Lord. I’m the Tribune,” he murmured. His penetrating gaze locked with hers, and her heart stopped at the knowledge blazing in his eyes. “You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save me. Tell me why.”

Cleo turned her head away from him. If she confessed, he wouldn’t let her go. But did she really want to leave? Strong fingers caught her chin and forced her to look at him again. His head descended until his mouth teasingly brushed across hers.

“I want the truth, Cleopatra.” His lips trailed fire across her cheek. “Tell me why you were willing to sacrifice yourself to save me.”

A tremor lashed through her at the tender way he was kissing her face. First her cheek, then her brow, then her other cheek.
Christus
, the man had no idea how defenseless his kisses made her feel. Or maybe he did. He raised his head.

“Tell me, Cleopatra.” It was a quiet command, but a command nonetheless. “Tell me why you were willing to risk your life to save me.”

“Because I love you,” she rasped, unable to lie anymore. Beneath her palm, she could feel the tension in his body recede as he stared down at her.

“Say it again.”

“I love . . . you.”

“Was that so difficult?”

The warmth in his voice made her heart skip a beat, and she shook her head. Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes. After Michael, she’d made the conscious decision never to let another man into her heart again. But where Dante was concerned, she’d ignored all the warning signs. Now she was adrift in uncharted waters with only him to cling to. It terrified her. There wasn’t a place for her in his life. His mind lightly touched hers before retreating.

“What are you afraid of,
dolce cuore
?” His fingers gently stroked the side of her face in a manner that made her quiver with a longing she didn’t know was possible to feel.

“I’m not afr—” He frowned, and she sighed. “It’s just that this isn’t going to work.”

“What won’t?”

“Us.”

“Because of some ridiculous notion that without special skills you’re not Sicari? The fact that you can read my thoughts proves to me you’re a Sicari.”

His observation caught her by surprise. Why hadn’t that occurred to her before? Because she was too busy trying not to fall in love with the guy. She dismissed it with a slight shake of her head.

“All right, we have a connection, but it doesn’t mean I have any skills.” It was a weak argument, and she knew it. The sardonic gleam in his dark eyes said he knew it, too.

“I love you for who you are, Cleopatra, not what you are.”

“
Fine
. But I’m a liability you can’t afford.”

She met his gaze steadily, opening her thoughts up to the memory of Dante finding her with Ignacio holding a knife to her neck. He blanched slightly, and she knew he’d seen the images in her mind. Determination swept across his face as he shook his head.

“I’m not going to let you use that argument to keep us apart. We’ll work it out.”

“How? By me not taking on any more assignments?” She winced as he quickly averted his gaze. “That’s what I thought.”

“I can adapt,” he said through clenched teeth as he met her gaze again. “Just because I don’t like the thought of you taking on new assignments doesn’t mean I’d ever order you not to.”

“But it wouldn’t stop you from trying to convince me
not
to take them on, would it?” she asked in a fierce voice.

“No more than it would stop you.” His words were a dark rumble in his chest as frustration thinned his beautiful mouth. “Finish getting dressed.”

His thumb brushed over her lips, and the gentleness in his touch made his command softer than it sounded. Without any other warning, he quickly got out of bed. She stared after him in amazement. That was it? He wasn’t going to say anything else to convince her they belonged together? For a brief second she chided herself for being annoyed he’d stopped trying to change her mind. Still, it was impossible not to stare at him in surprise as he reached for his jeans. His gaze caught her, and he nodded at her clothes.

“I suggest you hurry up. Your parents are going to be knocking on your door any minute now.”

“How the fuck do you know that?” She stared at him in horror.

“Because I can sense Marcus’s presence. Your mother is arguing with him, and he’s not happy about whatever she’s insisting on,” he said dryly as he arched an eyebrow at her. “You’re a lot like your mother. The two of you like to get your own way.”

Cleo glared at him as she fumbled with her jeans. She wasn’t anything like her mother. Okay, maybe she was a little. She winced. Dante was right. She was a lot more like her mother than she cared to admit.

What would her mother think when she found Dante in her apartment? She’d be grilled about it the first chance Atia had. She froze.
Christus
, if her parents realized she and Dante—she refused to finish the thought. He’d broken his vow because of her, and she had no idea how it was going to affect Dante or how her father would react.

It was bad enough Dante was determined to make their relationship more permanent. What he was conveniently forgetting was how it would affect the
Absconditus
and the Order. Worrying about a family made a Sicari Lord vulnerable. And she was certain her mother and father would agree. Her mind stumbled over the fact that she was easily referring to Marcus as her father now.

Although the two of them were a long way from knowing each other well, it was a big step for her to even think of him as her father. Ignacio had always been the father figure in her life. Her throat closed up at the memory of Ignacio’s betrayal and then his sacrifice at the Tarpeian Rock.

His actions showed he really had loved her and her mother. It was impossible to forgive him completely, but his willingness to give his life for her mother’s made her think less harshly of him. The low chime of the apartment doorbell made her jerk upright. Dante was putting his shoes on and shot her an odd look.

“You’d better go let them in,” he said with a quiet determination that put her senses on alert as he tied his shoe. He was up to something.

“But you’re not even dressed yet.” She eyed him with panic. The thought of him strolling out of her bedroom with her parents in the living room shot her blood pressure up. That sure as hell wouldn’t be easy to explain.

“Go.”

Again, that steely note of purpose in his voice. It unnerved her. The doorbell rang again, and she blew out a harsh breath then strode from the bedroom. The moment she opened the door, Atia stepped forward and enveloped Cleo in her arms. Over her mother’s shoulder, she saw Marcus’s stern expression and a flicker of concern in his eyes. Dante was right. The Sicari Lord wasn’t all that happy about being here.

“
Carissima
.” Her mother kissed her cheek then, with her hands still grasping Cleo’s shoulders, stepped back to eye her carefully. “Are you feeling better? We’ve been worried about you.”

Cleo forced a smile at her mother then stepped aside and gestured for the couple to enter the suite. After she closed the door behind them, she turned, expecting to see Dante greeting her parents, but he was nowhere in sight. A chill crept over her skin. Fuck, what was the man up to?

“Cleo, did you hear me?” Atia’s voice was tense with emotion, and Cleo blinked her eyes in confusion.

“I’m sorry, Mother. What?”

“I asked you if you’re going to forgive me and come home.”

For a moment, Cleo stared at her mother in bewilderment. Forgive her for what? The tight expression of fear on Atia’s face made Cleo wince. After everything that had happened, her mother’s revelation a few weeks ago seemed a minor transgression in the overall scheme of things.

That her mother had lied to her still stung, but she’d offered up her own life to Nicostratus in exchange for Cleo’s. The action only reinforced her mother’s claim that everything she’d ever done was to keep Cleo safe. Her mother might have made a bad choice by not telling Cleo that her father was still alive, but she understood her reasons.

Gabriel’s kidnapping had shaped her mother’s choices, and Cleo couldn’t fault her for that. If she’d been in her mother’s shoes, she probably would have done the same thing for her child. Her heart clenched at the thought. As her eyes locked with Atia’s, she swallowed hard then moved forward and embraced her. Atia went rigid for an instant before she hugged Cleo close.

“Oh,
bambina
,” Atia sobbed quietly. “If I’d lost you . . .”

“I’m sorry, Mother,” she murmured with regret. “I was angry
and
stubborn.”

“I wouldn’t have you any other way.” Atia’s cheeks were damp as she stepped back and grasped Cleo’s hands tightly. “It’s all behind us now. I’m just grateful you’re safe.”

“As am I,” Marcus said quietly. Cleo turned her head to meet his brilliant blue gaze. The relief she saw flashing in his eyes warmed her heart. There was something else in his gaze that said he would be there for her whenever she needed a friend—or a father.

“Will you come home with us to White Cloud?” Atia asked with quiet excitement. “I know your father . . . Marcus would like to get to know you better.”

“I’d like that, too,” she said.

A familiar tingle swept across her neck, and she jerked around to see Dante emerging from the bedroom. Painfully aware of her parents’ astonishment, she glared at him. Her anger didn’t seem to bother him in the least as he moved toward them.

“Eminence. Madame Consul.”

Dante bowed slightly in their direction as he came to a halt at Cleo’s side. The long, drawn-out silence was awkward as her parents looked at Dante and then her. Extremely uncomfortable, she shot Dante a fierce look before meeting the curiosity in her parents’ eyes.

“I suppose you’re wondering—”

“I’m sure they’ve already figured out our secret,
carissima
.” Dante’s arm slid around her waist and pulled her into his side.

“Secret?” Cleo looked up at him with angry confusion. He didn’t look at her. Instead, he bowed his head in Marcus’s direction.

“Eminence.” Dante drew in a deep breath then exhaled. “I wish to ask your permission to blood bond with your daughter.”

Floored, her mouth fell open as she stared up at him. His request had obviously astounded her parents as well. The older couple stood speechless as they stared at the two of them in amazement. Ignoring her parents’ surprise, Cleo broke free of Dante’s grasp and eyed him with outrage.

“
Christus
, but you’ve got a pair, don’t you?” she snapped.

“I think I answered that question earlier in the bedroom.”

Dante’s calm reply made Cleo stare at him in wide-eyed horror. Had he really just announced to her parents that they were sleeping together? Obviously that was the conclusion her parents had drawn, considering her mother’s loud gasp and the way Marcus was clearing his throat. Not about to argue in front of her parents, she reached out with her thoughts.

“What in Juno’s name do you think you’re doing? You just told my parents we were making love a little while ago.”