Protector (30 page)

“I’m really not sure.  I suppose the same as you.  All we can really do is watch and wait
,” Jesse says with a shrug

“Okay, thank you
, Jesse.  I will report back to my father and let him know your findings.”

“Sounds good.”  He turns his attention away from Alessandro and back to
Anna-Marie, “Once again, Anna-Marie, it was my pleasure to meet you.”

“Same to you
, Jesse.”

Once back in the hall Alessandro turns to
Anna-Marie.  “Are you okay?”

“I really don’t know how to answer that.  A few weeks ago I never would have imagined any of this was real.  I think it will take a little while to set in.”

“I’m sure it will, and you know if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Well
, I do have a few questions, but not for you.”

Alessandro looks at her
, confused.

“I have to go h
ome,” she said solemnly.

“Yeah, I figured you’d want to go back and pick up some stuff.”

“No, Alessandro, home as in to Pamlico.  I need to talk to my mom.”

“Why?”

“Because I have a feeling she may know something about my birth parents.  I remember when I found out about the adoption, I was such a stubborn twelve year old.  I had no desire to talk about it whatsoever.  I knew who my parents were, so there was no point in talking about it.  That other woman would never be my mother, but my mom kept trying to push it for a little while.  I think she knew my birth mother. Now I just want to know what happened.”

“I can understand that.  When do you want to leave?”

“I think I want to relax for a couple of days and get my strength back.  So maybe this weekend I can go.”

“Okay, that’ll be a good time.  I will double check with my father, but I’m sure he will understand.”

“No, Alessandro, I need to do this alone.”

“But I can’t protect you if I’m not there.”

“Don’t you see? I don’t need it now.  Not there especially.”

Alessandro frowns and looks down. 

Anna-Marie notices his sadness.  “Will you still train me?” she asks.

“Of course
, I will.”

“You know
, Alessandro, just because I don’t need the extra protection now doesn’t mean I don’t still want you.  I think wanting rather than needing means more.”

Alessandro looks back up at her and smiles.

She looks down at herself.  “I would still like to go to my apartment for some stuff though, if you don’t mind accompanying me.  I only packed enough clothes for a couple of days.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

She throws her arms high around his neck and smiles.  “By the way, I love you, too.”

21

As soon as Anna-Marie’s body sinks into Alessandro’s make shift cloud, or what he calls his bed, she is unable to force her eyes to stay open.  She is lying on her side facing Alessandro, trying hard to keep her focus on his face, fearing if her eyes close for good she may awake to find herself back in the warehouse and this has all been just a dream.  He is lying on his back beside her, staring up at the ceiling.  With every blink her eyes get heavier and heavier.  Her body has been sore all night from all it has been through, but now she no longer feels the aches.  As her breathing gets heavier, she falls fast asleep.  She is completely drained.  They both are, emotionally, as well as physically.  It has been a long day for them both. 

They sleep
well into the late afternoon. The next day neither of them wants to get up, but they know they have to.  Today is the day they have decided to go to Anna-Marie’s apartment for some of her things.  The idea of going back there is both comforting and nerve wracking.  That is her home, but remembering what happened only a few blocks from it makes her skin crawl.  The fear will always be there.  She has been a target on more than one occasion.  Today though her fierce protector will be by her side and if that isn’t enough to ward off the evil creatures, the sun light will. 

Alessandro is the first one to wake up.  He rolls onto his side and pushes a strand of messy chocolate hair out of
Anna-Marie’s face.  Sensing his stare, her eyes open.

“Good morning
, Bella.”

She yawns and stretches
.  “Good morning,” she says smiling.

“What are you so smiley about this morning?”

“Because, despite my utter tiredness, I was so afraid to close my eyes fearing this has all been a dream and for the first time in a long time, I woke up feeling good.  Not just good, but really good.  I can’t make up my mind why, though.”

He looks at her confused
.  “What do you mean?”

“Well
, it’s either you,” she pauses for effect, “or this bed.”

He laughs and wraps his arms around her and pulls her close to him
.  “I’ll take that.”

After a few minutes they are interrupted by
Anna-Marie’s stomach as it growls loudly on queue. 

“We better feed that thing before it eats you alive.”

She laughs and playfully pushes his arm.

Their lunch isn’t as grand as the feast they had for dinner the night before, although they did do choose a few leftovers from it.  Anna-Marie has found a whole new appreciation for food these days.  Being fed nothing but soup and one sandwich for four straight days, although she still swears it felt more like weeks, would do that to anyone.

The ride to her apartment is done in silence.  It’s not a strange or awkward silence, but rather a comfortable one.  Anna-Marie looks out the side window in quiet anticipation while she watches familiar settings pass.  She has been worried about this moment all day, but it is something that has to be done.

Once they arrive at her apartment,
Anna-Marie doesn’t make a move to get out of the car.  She only stares up at the three story brick building, as if seeing it for the first time.  For the first time in seven years, the outside of her building looks foreign to her.  It seems like another lifetime ago since she has been here, a lifetime that gave her so many great memories as well as many painful ones.  Now, both are in the past.  She is no longer the same person she was almost a week ago.  It’s odd how so much can change in such a short time.

“Are you okay?”
  Alessandro asks her.

She turns from the window to look at Alessandro, he always looks so concerned.

She puts on a forced smile for him.  “Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just thinking.”

“About what?”

She turns away from Alessandro to look back out the window again.

“It seems weird how your whole world can change in an instant once you find out the truth about yourself and the world around you.  The veil has been lifted
, Alessandro,” she says turning to him.  “There’s no going back.  Turns out the world I once thought was normal and safe, really isn’t.  Instead it is full of creatures I’ve only seen in movies and to top it all off, I’m a part of that world as well, whether I like it or not.”  She frowns and looks back out her window.

“I’m sure it does feel like that.  That’s definitely not something I can relate with.  I knew who I was from the very start.  If you ask me, I think you got a raw deal.”

She looks back at him and frowns again.  “Yeah, I guess.”

“One thing I do know is you can’t dwell on it.  It is what it is and there’s nothing you can do to change it.  Might as well learn to accept it or it’ll drive you crazy.”

He grabs her hand and gives it a squeeze for reassurance.  “Come on.  Let’s go get your things so we can get back to the manor before nightfall.”

They get out of the car and go inside.

Once inside she notices the building feels even more eerie than it did from the car. 
It’s so quiet,
she thinks to herself.

She doesn’t seem to breathe until she crosses the threshold of her apartment.
  She stops abruptly as soon as she walks into the living room.

“Something is different
,” she says as goose bumps flare up on her skin.

Alessandro stops walking as well and turns to look at her
.  “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what it is exactly.  It’s like the air in here has changed, it feels colder maybe.”

“Maybe it is what you were saying about perceiving everything differently now.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

She walks around her cozy apartment that she has called home for so long now.  It will be a sad day when she leaves this place for good.  She goes from room to room seeing if anything is out of place to cause this paranoia. After a few minutes she is satisfied and goes back out to the living room where Alessandro is waiting.

“Well
, everything seems to be in place.  I’d like to take a shower here.  I kind of miss the comfortableness of it.  That is, if you don’t mind.”

“You know you can always come back here.”

“Yeah I know, but I’m sure it’s going to be a while.”

“Okay, I’ll sit out here and keep an eye on things
,” he says as he throws himself down on the couch in an odd position.

She laughs and grabs his hand to pull him back up. 

“I’m not done with you yet.  I’m curious.  I’ve heard you call me Bella a couple of times.  Why is that?”

He strokes the side of her cheek with the palm of his hand, “It means
beautiful
in Italian.”

She smiles wide
.  “Oh.”

“And w
hen I say
amore mio
, I’m calling you my love.  And when I say
ti amo
, I’m telling you I love you and I do.”

She wraps her arms around his neck
.  “Have I thanked you yet for everything you have done for me?”

“Hmm
. . . let me think,” Alessandro says and he squints up his face seriously as if he is thinking hard.  “Nope, I don’t think you have.”

She smiles big at him and pulls his face down at her level for a kiss
.  “Well, thank you then,” she whispers into his lips.

She kisses him softly and sensually with just her lips, but the more she tastes his soft moist lips
against hers the hungrier she gets for more.  He pulls her to him even more, needing to be even closer.  She parts her lips to allow him permission to go further.  Once she feels his warm tongue touch hers she begins to caress it with her own.  Fire stirs within them both.  The whole room is ablaze like the night at the club.

Alessandro reluctantly pulls away from her lips to gaze into this amazing creature’s emerald eyes.  If the eyes truly are the window to one’s soul, he could stare into her soul forever.  He caresses both sides of her cheeks with the back of his hand.  They are warm to the touch, flushed by her excitement.  He can tell she wants him as much as he wants her.  Her eyes say it all.

She looks away, feeling insecure.  He pulls her face back to his and kisses her roughly as the desire pounds in his groins.  He slows down and moves from her lips to her neck, licking and sucking every inch of flesh in between.  She moans deeply for more.  This drives him insane, so he goes back to her lips to stifle her moans.

With one quick swoop he picks her up and carries her to the bedroom, all the while their lips never parting.

Gently he puts her down on the bed and climbs on top of her.  He reaches down and pulls her shirt up to expose her soft round breasts.

“Oh
, Alessandro, I can’t take it,” she says out loud, her body trembling with desire underneath his weight.

He brings his mouth back up to hers and crushes his lips to hers again, needing to taste her.

After a long grueling minute, he sits up and slides down a little further as he tries to unbutton her pants.

He fumbles with the
tricky button. “Dammit!” he says, unable to get the button undone.  With a hard yank the button comes flying off.

Without hesitation he gets off of the bed and slides her pants down to the floor.  He stares at her lying on the bed, now with just her t-shirt on, looking more beautiful than she ever has.  He is unable to tear his eyes from her perfect body.

In a flash he is taking off his shirt and ripping off his own jeans, exposing the most beautiful body Anna-Marie has ever seen.

Anna
-Marie leans on her elbows and stares up at this gorgeous man in awe.  He is incredibly sexy with muscles rippling all through his body.  His dark olive skin looks even more perfect without clothes on.

“Alessandro
, you are so beautiful.”

He smiles back at her
.  “No, mi’ amore, you are the beautiful one.”

Looking at him now she swallows hard as fear sets in.