Giovanni (Blood Brothers Book 6) (6 page)

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It’s okay. It was inevitable.”

That was an odd way of putting it. “Was he sick?”

“You could say that.”

The fact that he didn’t elaborate, indicated to her she shouldn’t push the issue, but he did mention other siblings. “Why aren’t you close to your other brothers?”

“It’s complicated.”

There was pain in his words, and though Sydney wanted to know more, she didn’t dare ask because she didn’t want to end this feeling she had while she was with him. “I’m sorry” Sydney wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for, maybe all of it but she felt that John had suffered through a lot.

“Thank you.”

They continued to walk in silence until a cool breeze caressed her face. She halted. “Mmm, do you feel that?” She lifted her face to the sky.

“The wind?”

“Yes. After this oppressive heat it feels so good.”

John didn’t respond.

Wanting to hear his voice again, she asked, “What’s the favorite place you’ve visited?”

“Honestly?”

“Yeah.”

“Here.”

She raised a brow as she faced him. “Really? You’ve been all over the world and this hole-in-the-wall town is what you pick? Why?”

“Because you’re here.”

Before Sydney could process what he’d said, his lips were on hers. And unlike the kiss she’d experienced earlier, this one was welcome.

Chapter Six

Giovanni couldn’t help himself. Walking next to Sydney with her body practically pressed against his was absolute torture. She smelled of honey and lavender. The softness of her skin beneath his fingertips drove him crazy. The longer he stayed in her presence he could feel a change take place within him. His eyesight seemed to sharpen and everything seemed louder. It was difficult to keep his heart rate under control. It was beating erratically. And when Sydney turned her beautiful face in his direction, he couldn’t help himself. He just needed a taste of those lips that had been tempting him all night. He figured if he could sample her lips just once, she could cease being an obsession to him.

He cupped her face in his hands and moved his mouth over hers, reveling in the softness of her mouth beneath his. He’d been fighting a hard on all night from just being near her, and now his cock was so stiff he could barely contain himself. He pressed his erection against the juncture of her thighs.

Sydney moaned softly against his mouth parting her lips to grant him access, but Giovanni took his time savoring her. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, tasting the spices from their dinner, and something fruity. She tasted of pure heaven.

Sydney threaded her fingers through his hair and pressed her tongue forward to meet his. She swirled her tongue around his, actively participating in the kiss which only served to turn him on even more.

He slid his hands down the length of her body, committing them to memory. Giovanni continued his exploration until he grabbed her plump rear which he used as leverage to pull her even closer. He grinded against her unable to get enough of Sydney.

What he wanted most was to throw her on the ground, explore every inch of her body and fuck her senseless. He broke the kiss long enough to whisper against her lips, “You’re so fucking beautiful. I’ve thought of nothing but this since I laid eyes on you.” Instead of returning to her mouth he pressed his lips against her pulse before licking her skin. He sucked her flesh into his mouth aggressively knowing that there would be a mark later but in that moment he didn’t care. He wanted to claim her, make her his.

“Ouch!” Sydney cried out.

Hearing the pain in her voice he immediately released her.

“Y-you bit me.” Sydney’s hand flew to the spot where he’d nipped her.

“I’m sorry. I got a bit carried away.”

Sydney furrowed her brow. “You sound funny. Are you okay?”

It wasn’t possible. Giovanni touched his teeth. His incisors had lowered. This. Wasn’t. Supposed. To. Happen. He was mortal wasn’t he? He willed them to retract as he’d done thousands of times before but they wouldn’t go away.

He took a step away from her.

“John?” Sydney pressed.

“I’m fine. I think we should head back. I’m sorry for crossing the line. That won’t happen again.”

“The kiss or you biting me?”

“Both. Just give me a minute, okay? I need to catch my breath.” Giovanni took another few steps away from her. Once his got his breathing under control he felt his incisors retreat. Giovanni realized then that somehow Sydney was affecting his body in ways he didn’t expect she would. It brought to mind what had happened on the porch with Dylan. His speed had been unlike anything it had been since he’d undergone the purge and when he’d hit Dylan, Giovanni didn’t think he used enough force to take down such a solid man but Dylan had crumpled like a folding chair. Something was happening to him that he didn’t quite understand, and Sydney was the key.

He needed to get in contact with Steel right away to find out what was going on with him but in the meantime, he had to take the long, torturous walk back to Sydney’s house. He hoped he’d be able to make it back without doing something stupid.

Giovanni moved next to her. “Here, take my arm.”

This time when she gripped him it wasn’t as tightly as she had when they’d began their walk. “Before you say it John, I will. I really enjoyed that kiss more than anything I have in a long time. But it was a mistake.”

That’s exactly what he was going to tell her but hearing it from her lips was like a knife to the heart. Giovanni didn’t reply, not trusting himself to speak.

“I mean, you’re a boarder in my home and I’ve made it a rule not to date one. I’ve already made that mistake with Dylan and as you see, that didn’t turn out too well. You seem like a nice guy, but this was a one-time thing, okay?”

“I agree.” It actually caused him physical pain to get those words out but it was for the best. If he was turning back into a vampire, he wasn’t sure if the purge had actually worked. He feared that all the black magic he used to practice would return tenfold and put Sydney in danger. Until he figured out his next course of action, he’d have to stay clear of her, even if the prospect of that was pure torture.

<><><><><>

Dante Grimaldi paced his living room floor, unable to shake the uneasy feeling he had. He’d felt it for the past couple days and couldn’t figure out why. He’d checked on his brothers to assure himself that everything was okay with them. GianMarco and Maggie were doing well, so well in fact they were expecting another child. Vampires weren’t the most fertile of creatures, so he was surprised that they were expecting so soon after having a child not too long ago, but he was happy for them. Those two had been through so much. They deserved every bit of happiness that came their way.

Niccolo and Sasha were busy helping their son plan his nuptials to his mate Camryn. Romeo and Christine were enjoying their children. For once there was no danger or turmoil in his life and while Dante was happy about that, he couldn’t figure out why this unsettling sensation had taken hold of him.

“If you keep pacing like that, you’re going to wear a hole in the carpet.” Isis walked behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He loved this woman with every breath in his body. He shuddered when he thought about how he nearly destroyed his chances at love and all because of his stubborn pride.

“I’m sorry,
bellissima
.
I have a lot on my mind.”

“Like what?”

Dante gently removed her arms from around him so he could turn to face her. “It’s probably nothing, but I have a premonition that something is wrong and it feels like it has something to do with one of my brothers, but I’ve contacted them all and everything is fine with them. Better than fine actually.”

Isis stroked his face and placed a light kiss on Dante’s lips. “Maybe part of the problem is the fact that you can’t relax. You’ve spent the majority of your life focused on taking down
Il Diavolo
. And now he’s no longer a threat you don’t know what to do with yourself. Sure there will always be rouges and problems and evil that The Underground will have to deal with, but nothing on the magnitude of what we recently faced. Maybe one day there will be another villain of that caliber but for now there isn’t. Stop looking for trouble when there is none.”

A smile tilted his lips. She was probably right except his sixth sense when it came to his family had never let him down before. “I wish I had your confidence, but something just doesn’t sit well with me.”

Isis ran her palm down the center of his body stopping just above his cock. He groaned. “Are you trying to distract me, woman?”

She grinned. “Is it working?”

He pulled her into his arms and buried his face against her neck, inhaling her magnificent scent. Just as he was about to carry her to their bedroom where he could make love to her properly, an image of red eyes flashed in his mind. That feeling he’d experienced hit him harder than ever. He pulled away from his bloodmate.

She furrowed her brows in concern. “What is it?”

“Something is definitely wrong.” Dante raked his fingers through his hair

“But you said yourself that your brothers are fine unless….”

“Unless what?”

“What about Giovanni? He is your brother too.”

“Shit,” he muttered. “That must be it. He’d built such a strong barrier around himself over the years that I never felt the connection to him except when he wanted to let me in. Other than that, I could never feel him. If it is indeed what I feel right now, he’s in trouble of some sort. But I have no way of getting in contact with him.”

“You could always have some of your agents go on a lookout for him.”

“Yes, but he’s my brother, and this is probably something I should do myself. I’ll talk to Marco, Ro and Nico to see what they have to say about it.”

Isis sighed. “Looks like you’re gearing yourself up for another mission.”

“I wouldn’t call it that exactly, it’s more of a family matter. Giovanni took Adonis’s death hard. And while I can’t say I’m sorry Adonis is gone, he was our brother as well. Giovanni knew him before he did all those horrible things, so it’s understandable that he’d mourn that loss more than the rest of us. The last time I spoke to him, his pain was deep, he was hurting and there was no way I could convince him that it wasn’t his fault that Adonis died. It was either us or him.”

“Maybe he needs to realize that Adonis died long before his body actually did. He wasn’t the same person.”

“I thought about that but with the events being so recent, I doubt Giovanni feels the same. But now he’s in some sort of trouble and I’ll be damned if I let him suffer on his own.”

“Then let me help. Wherever you go, I go.”

Dante released a deep breath and pressed his forehead against his bloodmate’s. He didn’t know how he’d gotten by without her for so long. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“For what?”

“For being you. I love you.”

“I love you too, Dante. Whatever Giovanni is going through right now we’ll help him with it. We all will.”

“But first we have to find him.”

<><><><><>

Dylan stood on the porch waiting for Sydney’s return. With each passing second he grew angrier thinking about how that bastard was touching her. If he hadn’t been sucker punched, Dylan would have fucked that guy up. He wasn’t sure if he was more upset at the outsider for interfering in something that didn’t concern him or at Sydney for going off with that motherfucker. Where was her loyalty? According to his grandmother, John Chandler had only been in residence for a few days and most of that time he’d spent sleeping. Sydney needed to learn that she belonged to him. That other guy was only toying with her emotions just to see what it would be like with a blind chick. He on the other hand actually cared about her, after all, who else would want a woman who couldn’t see? She should be grateful that he wanted her and when he got the chance to talk to her again, he’d let her know exactly that. First he would wait for her to get back and then he’d send John Chandler packing.

John Chandler. Something about that guy didn’t seem right. It didn’t slip Dylan’s attention that whenever a question was asked of him at dinner he never gave a direct answer. What was he hiding? Whatever it was, Dylan intended to find out and get that bastard out of here.

“What are you doing out here?” His grandmother stepped onto the porch, her arms crossed.

“Waiting for Sydney. She’s been gone with that guy for a while.”

“Don’t go causing any more trouble, Dylan. You’ve done enough damage tonight.” She shook her head at him. The way his grandmother stared at him spoke of her disappointment, though she’d never come right out and say it.

“I didn’t start it. He shouldn’t have gotten involved in something that wasn’t any of his business. If you’ll remember he was the one who attacked me.”

“As much as I love you Dylan, I also know you’re not completely innocent. You have your mother’s temper. I couldn’t tell her a thing either. When she wanted something she went after it. That’s how she ended up with that no-account father of yours. I told her that man was trouble but she wouldn’t listen. Said he would take her away to the big city and give her the life she deserved.” She sucked her teeth like she did when she was annoyed.