Microsoft Word - Blood and Sex from CE.rtf (10 page)

Someone tugged at his shoulder, but he stayed in her face.

“Blane.” Jonas’s voice was stern. He pulled Blane’s shoulder, and the vampire let him pull him back. The furniture around her stopped rattling with his anger. “Back off.” His eyes cut to Christiana, a warning look. “She’s not worth it.”

Something about the cold look from Jonas, who had been hospitable up to this point, and the way that his voice sounded made his comment sting. He really did believe she wasn’t worth it. As if she were so much less than him.

In a strange way, that made sense. To a bunch of Italian mob types, she was nothing more than a spoiled brat and spy for the leader. She’d been foolish to think that they’d see her as one of their own.

* * * *

Christiana stretched, then glanced around the darkened, motionless jet. Jonas and Elena were asleep, leaning against each other. Michael and Tori were still in the bedroom; she could smell the human in there. Blane was nowhere to be seen.

It felt late, but with the time difference, she couldn’t be sure. She inched a blind up that covered a window just past the end of the couch. No light came through. She tugged it up a little further. It was late, probably close to midnight by the way the almost full moon cast shadows from the buildings. Three black limos stretched out in front of the white stairway leading out of the jet. Christiana straightened her shirt, then moved to the door. She opened the door and started

52

down the stairs. She’d have someone pick up her things later. Right now, she needed a bath.

“Where are you going?” Blane’s asked from behind her.

Christiana let out a long sigh, then turned toward him. “I’m going to check into my room.”

“Not without me.”

“You’re not going with me.” She turned and walked quickly down the stairs.

“Yes, I am. Michael ordered me to stay with you until Khalil personally tells me to step down.”

She crossed the pavement to the first limo, where a chauffeur pulled the door wide. She slipped inside, then pulled the door shut behind her to keep him out. He wasn’t coming. End of the conversation.

The door jerked open again. Blane glared at her as he sat down and slammed the door behind him. “You’re starting to piss me off, Princess.”

“Stop calling me that!”

“Stop acting like it.”

She turned her body toward him, trying for a reasonable, calm expression as the limo lurched forward. “Look, Blane. I appreciate what you’re doing, but I can’t handle another minute of this. You don’t want to be around me, either.”

He turned his head away and stared out the window, the muscle in his jaw flexing.

“So, let’s just make this easy on both of us. I’ll stay in my room, and we’ll ride together to the events to keep everyone else happy.”

“Whatever you want.”

“Thank you.” Christiana settled back into the seat. “This doesn’t have to be difficult.

53

You’ll see.”

“Yeah.”

The word was flat, heartless. There was no way he intended to leave her alone, not now.

No, Blane was too good at following Michael’s orders for her to believe he’d do anything less than his
padrone
asked of him. Getting away from him would require a little more discretion.

54

Chapter Six

The limo door opened and Blane stepped onto the sidewalk. If he was careful, Christiana wouldn’t notice the erection straining against the front of his pants.

How could he be turned on by her tirades? He was supposed to be the guy, the dominant one, but every time she threw one of those temper tantrums, it sparked something inside him.

Something that wanted to dominate her. Like when she landed on top of him, sinking her teeth into his neck in the gym. That had almost been his undoing.

Dad had been right. He was a sick little freak.

He’d have to get away from Christiana. Guarding her would push the limits of his self control, and the last thing he needed was a bitchy woman turning him on. The guys would never let him hear the end of it.

“This way,
Signore
.” The chauffer said in his broken English.

He motioned toward a bellhop who was towing their bags toward the entrance of a grand terracotta and white building. On its five stories, most of the windows were narrow with arched, pointed tops. It looked as old as the city itself.

“
Benvenuto al Palazzo Bembo
,” a doorman said.

“
Grazie
,” Christiana said, scooting ahead of Blane.

He hurried to catch her. She wasn’t going to show him up in public, too. “I’m assuming we have reservations.”

“Yes. It was all taken care—”

“
Sig na Christiana
.” A short, scrawny man behind the desk practically gushed as he watched her. “
Benvenuto. Siamo così felice siete qui. Abbiamo vostra stanza normale pronta
.”

55

“
Grazie, Antonio
.” Christiana stopped at the counter that separated them.

It wasn’t the first time Blane had wished his Italian was stronger. Being around Michael, Jonas, and the others had only been enough to give him the basics. So many of their words didn’t even show up on the new translation books, but he could translate enough to know these people recognized her and gave her a warm welcome.

She and the man rattled on for some time before Antonio gave her two keys. Then Blane followed Christiana and the bellhop to a fourth-floor hallway. She handed him a key. “Your room is next to mine. Satisfied?”

“Yeah.”
Was she actually being agreeable?
“Thanks.”

“We have to be at the first meeting tomorrow night. You have time to do whatever you like. I want a bath, personally.”

“If you leave your room, are you going to let me know?”

She shrugged, then followed the boy into her room.

* * * *

Blane pulled on a pair of jeans, then stalked to the balcony. Even the cold shower hadn’t been enough to make his swollen flesh go flaccid again. That scuffle in the limo shouldn’t have happened. Now, every time he thought about fighting with her, it was all he could do not to reach down and—

But he wasn’t going to jerk off at the thought of her. No. He wasn’t going to be pussy whipped, which is exactly what that woman would expect from any man she was with.

He pushed open the French doors, letting in the cool night air, and stepped onto the little balcony. Below the white railing, the Grand Canal sparkled with the lights from building. Water taxies pushed along next to gondolas, taking humans and vampires to their destinations. It was

56

everything he’d remembered of his short stay in Venice, back when he was a true
neonato
, seeking the approval of Michael, Khalil, and his new family.

To his right, a soft female voice sang a slow tune in Italian. He glanced in the direction.

On the balcony next to him, Christiana’s doors were open and the sound was coming from her room. It was her voice filling the air with the beautiful melody.

Who would’ve guessed that such a hard-ass woman could sing so sweetly?

And why had she left the doors open? She needed to keep them shut. Any agent—or vampire who wanted to make a name for himself by killing the leader’s daughter—could get in.

It was almost as if she were daring them to come after her.

Blane grumbled. That woman was going to have to learn her limitations before it got her hurt. It would serve her right if someone sneak—

He smirked. If he scared the shit out of her, she might take her own safety seriously. It might be enough to prove that she was, as always, in real danger. Blane climbed onto the railing, then jumped straight onto her balcony. His bare feet made a light slap against the cement, but she didn’t stop singing.

The sheer curtains were pulled tight, but Blane could see her shadow as she moved in the light of the bathroom. The room was identical to his, an expanse of hardwood floor with cream and navy stripes on the walls. The white vaulted ceiling with exposed wood beams contrasted with the delicate carved wood furniture and expensive looking fabrics.

Christiana’s shirt lay carelessly on the bed as if she’d stripped on her way to the bathroom. His cock twitched at the thought, but Blane pushed the curtain out of his way and moved forward. He crept over to the bed and slid slowly onto it, reclining against the headboard.

All the while, she continued to sing the song, her Italian words becoming clearer.