Summoning Shadows: A Rosso Lussuria Vampire Novel (48 page)

Renata broke the kiss with a triumphant smile. “Mmm.” She touched Iliaria’s glossy hair. “Better?”

Iliaria’s eyes burned with a heat that I’d never seen her direct at Renata. She turned that smoldering look on me and said, “Almost.”

I went to her, discerning what she desired of me and offering my lips as she kissed me as passionately as she had Renata.

“Now it’s better.”

I reclined against her uninjured shoulder and snuggled down, curling my leg over hers. Renata spooned me and rested her face against the side of my neck.

Morina hadn’t moved from her spot just inside the room. She stood-stock still as if she wasn’t certain what to do. Iliaria must’ve noticed the same slight etching of pain and longing in her, for she held out a hand.

After several moments, Morina came to the side of the bed. She took Iliaria’s hand in her own and fell to her knees with a choked sound that made my heart feel as though it was cracking. She pressed her forehead to Iliaria’s hand and breathed, “I’m sorry.”

Iliaria raised her face and wiped the tears from her good eye. “I know, Morina,” she said. “I know.”

Gingerly, she guided Morina into bed with us, trying not to jostle her injured side. Iliaria held her loosely while she cried and I reached out to stroke her arm with Renata’s comforting presence against my backside.

Some people are really bad people, like Damokles and Lucrezia, but the Dracule in our bed was not one of those. Sometimes, the people we think are bad are merely misguided by their pain. They disguise their wounds, but deep down, they can be saved.

The future was unforeseeable, though it was like to be fraught with danger with Damokles still alive and seeking to lay claim to the Draculian throne.

But now, in this moment with these strange, beautiful women, I was as happy as I could possibly be.

And one thing I was certain of, we would fight to protect what was ours.

Winter Pennington is an author, poet, artist, and closeted musician. She is an avid practitioner of nature-based spirituality and enjoys spending her spare time studying mythology from around the world. The Celtic path is very close to her heart. She has an uncanny fascination with swords and daggers, and a fondness for feeding loud and obnoxious corvids. In the shadow of her writing, she has experience working with a plethora of animals as a pet care specialist and veterinary assistant.

Winter currently resides in Oklahoma with her partner and their ever-growing family of furry kids, also known as, “The Felines Extraordinaire.”

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