The Witch's Vampire (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Mystery Springs Series) (20 page)

Sophie felt a sudden brazen urge. She reached her hand in between their bodies and unbuttoned his jeans. “No, but if you’ll let me inspect the evidence I…”

Giovanni growled and punched the wall behind her. Sophie didn’t flinch. His hand shook as he lowered his head and stepped back from her. He needed to feel pain to get his mind off taking her right there. It would be so easy. She was ready for him, he was ready for her, but whatever was between them was different, and he wasn’t going to blow it with impatience. He crossed the room with a few long strides and watched as multiple council members made their way across Sophie’s front yard to their vehicles through the window. It was a sobering reminder of the important matters going on around them.

“You can’t do that, Sof.”

He used an abbreviation of her name that sounded intimate and wonderful to her ears. “What?”

“It’s taking everything I’ve got to walk away from you right now.” He continued to keep his back to her as he watched more cars leaving down the street.

She placed a soft hand on his shoulder, “I know we agreed to slow things down, but I can’t do that when you touch me, kiss me, or look at me with those stormy, sad eyes. I can’t explain it, Gio, but I want you too. So much so that I’m willing to move as fast as you are.” Sophie was surprised at the words that escaped her lips. Was she really this weak? She couldn’t even make it one hour before she crumbled under his touch?

He turned, happiness sang in his eyes. “You mean it? You’ll be my girl?”

Sophie smiled and nodded her head, “Yes.” She couldn’t help herself. He was so happy that it was infectious.
What the hell?
Sometimes you have to take a big risk for big rewards. She knew it wasn’t smart, committing to him in the midst of a highly-stressed situation, but she couldn’t resist the draw between them. She’d just have to enter this relationship with a guarded heart.

Giovanni grinned as his lips captured hers in an explosive kiss. One she reciprocated with ease. He fit her like a glove.

As the kiss deepened Gio was transported back in time, back to a world where he was still human. The centuries melted away and he found himself in the arms of his first love, Beatrice. She’d just agreed to marry him, and he couldn’t be happier. Her usually chaste kisses were gone, and she allowed him access to explore her mouth while his hands roved over her body. She was his sunshine. The one bright spot in his otherwise miserable existence, and she finally agreed to be his.

His lips moved from hers, and caressed her neck causing giggles to escape her and chime through the air around him. He’d stolen her away to the forest behind her father’s mill to ask for her hand. Her father had told him no, but he couldn’t help his desire for her. His fingers tangled into her black curly ringlets as he searched for the pins that held them captive on top her pretty head. She was so fragile and perfect, and his, all his to protect for the rest of their lives.

“Well, lookie here.”

Giovanni noticed the smell of alcohol before he saw his drunken bastard of a father. His biological father eyed him and Beatrice. Giovanni tried to push her behind him protectively. He knew how bad the bastard could get when he’d been on a binge. His tattered clothes, blond hair soaked in dirt and grime, and the evil glee in his blue eyes told him he’d been on a long drinking journey, and was still in the midst of it.

“Ain’t Miss Beatrice LaFonatello a sight for sore eyes.” He grabbed Bea’s arm and ripped her powder blue sleeve off as Giovanni pulled her back and tried once again to push her behind him.

“Thank you, Mr. Brainard. You are looking…unwell yourself.”

She was a firecracker and that was why he loved her so. Even in the thralls of danger she kept her head and came out smelling like lilacs. Lilacs, vanilla and honey. It was an enticing scent that only Bea possessed.

“I’ll forgive you for tearing my dress since we are to be family soon.” She offered a tight smile and Giovanni loved her for it. A kindhearted firecracker who was always willing to see the good in people even when they were bad, very bad.

Gio’s father laughed. It sounded more like a deep roar. “There ain’t no way your father is gonna to let you marry my boy.”

Gio’s hands fisted at his side as he stepped in front of Beatrice again. He knew full well his father’s brutality, and refused to let her see it. She may not have been willing to back down, but she couldn’t stop him from stepping in front of her. He’d deal with the consequences later. “You’re drunk, father. It would be best if you left now.”

His father stopped laughing and focused deadly eyes on his son. “You think so, do ya?”

Giovanni didn’t see the punch coming until it was too late. It hit him straight in the jaw and slammed him backward onto the ground. His head hit a rock. He heard Beatrice scream his name and then the darkness overtook him.

“Gio, are you okay? Answer me.” Sophie spoke urgently in his ear.

He was on the floor being awakened by a rainfall of kisses on his face. His hands went up to her neck and cupped her face. It was his beautiful Sophie with tears in her eyes and worry in her face. “What happened?” He asked in a raspy voice.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. One minute we were kissing, and the next we were transported back in time. You were kissing some girl,” she slapped him playfully on the chest. She knew there was no need to be jealous after watching him propose to Beatrice. From the clothes and their talk she knew it was a time long forgotten, but she couldn’t help feeling a little slighted having to see it. “Then you were fighting with your father, at least you called him your father, and he sucker punched you, and you were knocked out. When you popped out of the memory you were on the floor, cold, and I was trying to wake you. And then you woke, and…” she wasn’t sure what she was saying anymore. She was just so happy he was awake and alive. Well, as alive as a vampire could be.

He pulled her down to him and kissed her lips softly to quiet her babbling. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Sophie.” Passion flared in his body when she kissed him back. It was a tender kiss, not explosive, but it was just as dynamic. When their lips parted he said, “I’ve lived a long time and had a lot of experiences. I think it might be best if we try and keep a barrier up in my mind so you don’t have to see those things.” He sat up and she stared coldly into his eyes.

“Don’t you dare!”

“Don’t I dare what?” Gio was truly surprised at how quickly she went from happy to sad to angry. He seemed to know just how to push her buttons, and he had no clue how he was doing it.

“Don’t you dare hide your past from me! I’ll try not to invade your privacy with these new powers, but you need to understand I can’t always control them.” Gio nodded as she went on. “Anyway, I’ll try not to invade your mind, but don’t you dare try to hide anything from me. I want to know you, all of you, the good and bad you.”

“There’s a lot more bad than good, I’m afraid.” He shook his head sadly. There was no way he’d let her see all the horrible things he was responsible for. “I haven’t always been the man I am today. I was, at one time, long ago, the monster you think all vampires are.”

“I’m sure there is. You’ve lived a long life as a vampire. But I know that, and I accept that.” She looked at him closely. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, but she knew he was vastly older than that. “How long?”

Gio stood up. He was speechless. She was amazing. She was accepting him for all the good and bad, and she had no idea how much bad there was. It made his heart warm. “How long… what?”

“How long have you lived?”

“Close to two hundred years. That day you saw in my memories was the last day I was a human on this earth.” He forced the brutal memories of what happened afterward down as bile rose up in his throat.

“What happened?”

Gio shook his head and pulled her up off the floor into his cold embrace. “I adore you for wanting to know everything about me. But that memory is far too painful for a happy occasion like this one.” He forced a grin and kissed her nose. She tried to speak, but his lips caught hers, and they were pulled into another kiss. “I promise, I’ll tell you when the time is right.” He nibbled her bottom lip and she opened herself to him. He growled low in his chest as he plunged his tongue into her mouth. He loved the way she responded to his touch, his kiss.

Sophie couldn’t believe the feelings he created in her body. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone in her life. She hated and loved the power he had over her. She wanted to know more about him, but he was adept at subterfuge.

“I love the way you open up to me.” He said against her lips and scorched a path with kisses from her mouth to her neck.

She sighed and decided to drop the subject for now, but she wanted to know what happened between Beatrice and him. A part of her needed to know. “Okay, I’ll hold you to that promise. So what should we do now?”

Gio stopped his kissing assault and sighed heavily. “While I’d like nothing more than to remain here and explore your amazing body, you, my little witch doctor, should go save Tiffany while I find a way to rescue my father, Luke, and Christopher.”

Sophie looked concerned. “Are they in danger?”

Giovanni nodded. “If the telepath gets to them first, they are.”

“Okay, just be careful.” She felt a burst of pride in her heart that he was trying to do the right thing. Vampires weren’t as bad as people thought, at least her vampire wasn’t. She was surprised at how fast things were moving between them. Nervous on one hand, and exhilarated on the other. She’d read romance novels, and heard of the concept of ‘attraction at first sight’, but she never believed it was something in her future.

The reality of the situation was that she couldn’t walk away from him now if she tried, and instinct told her he was feeling similar emotions. Whatever was between them was undeniable and remarkably real, which was saying a lot since she just discovered this magical side of reality.

“You, too.” He kissed her again and squeezed her tightly. Amidst the bad things that had happened today something good did also. He got the girl, and he wasn’t going to let this one get hurt. Memories of Beatrice, and what happened to her at his biological father’s hand flooded his mind like a torrential downpour, one he wasn’t about to let muddy the waters between him and Sophie.

Chapter Thirteen

Giovanni’s memory was unnerving, and Sophie needed to get her mind off of the weird things he said after they kissed. If she allowed herself to obsess over who this Beatrice was and what happened to both of them, she’d go insane. When she tried to focus on it she got a strange sense of déjà vu, but nothing tangible she could hold onto. The more she tried to grasp the lost déjà vu moment the farther away it seemed to float out of reach. She didn’t like the fact that she felt jealousy over the other lovers he’d had in the past. It wasn’t like her, especially in a relationship that was so new, and one developed under extreme circumstances. Being a student of medicine and psychology, she knew that relationships developed under highly stressful situations were not built on solid foundations, and had a greater chance of failure. She’d definitely classify the last few days as highly stressful.

Her brain tried to remind her of the logical aspect of the relationship that i
s most likely doomed - he’s a vampire and she’s a witch. He’s immortal and she is mortal. He is royalty and she’s middle class. He is over two centuries old and she’s barely twenty-one. Her brain tried to relay these messages to her heart, but her heart and her emotions weren’t listening. In fact, since her powers were becoming unlocked she was far more emotional. She ventured a guess in assuming it had to do with healing compassion, but she couldn’t be sure of anything at the moment, even her feelings for Giovanni. She needed to stay alert and keep her heart guarded, at least until they’d had time to get to know each other better. She didn’t regret committing to him. She knew it was what they both wanted, but she wasn’t going to be one of those women who got her heart broken for acting on impulse.

One thing she was sure of was that Tiffany needed her help. So she focused on her patient. Sophie tried over and over again to connect with Tiffany’s subconscious, but had no luck. Worse, she could feel the girl’s soul slipping away. There was very little fight left in her. It made Sophie’s attempts to help her even more urgent.