Elizabeth Hunter - This Same Earth

“It seems like a lot of people want to find my father.” She raised her eyebrow at her ancestor.

“Such a bright man. One does hear things…” Ernesto smirked. “I think he would be an asset to any family. As would his daughter.”

Beatrice chuckled and shook her head at his scheming. “Ernesto, you are an original.”

“But of course,” he said as he winked.

She felt no threat from the barrel-chested man with her grandmother’s eyes. He seemed to enjoy their verbal dance as much as she did, though she had to admit his mental stamina outshone hers. Beatrice was beginning to droop by the time Giovanni found her an hour later.

The party was still going on, but she had retired to a bench near the edge of the deck, enjoying the quiet as she watched the human families on the pier.

Giovanni strode toward her on the open veranda and swept her into his arms, clutching her as he looked around the room. He glared at the party with heated eyes before he looked down at her.

His face held an inscrutable expression as he ran a hand down her arm, lifting her wrist before he opened his mouth and his fangs descended. Beatrice gasped as his tongue traced the blue vein that ran down the middle of her wrist, and she could feel the slight buzz under her skin where she anticipated his bite.

“Gio-” She could only utter his name before his fangs pierced her wrist. They didn’t pierce deeply, it was more of a prick, but a few drops of blood leaked out and Giovanni caught them with his tongue, sucking them into his mouth as he looked around the room. She was lightheaded as his amnis flooded over her skin and she forced herself to hold back a moan.

Beatrice was more shocked than angry and confused by the uncharacteristic behavior. He bent down to kiss her, and she tasted the metallic hint of her blood as it lingered on his tongue. His mouth trailed to her ear and he whispered. “I’m sorry. Trust me, I’ll explain in the car.”

“Yes, you will,” she murmured against his cheek.

He clutched her to his chest and raised his voice. “Beatrice is exhausted, Ernesto. We will visit more another time.”

Ernesto frowned, glancing between Giovanni and Baojia, who stood in the corner of the veranda near the stairs. Beatrice watched him over her shoulder and saw the mysterious vampire give her a respectful nod. Ernesto caught it as well and cocked his head.

“Of course,” Ernesto said with a cheerful smile. “You are both welcome anytime. Tend to my granddaughter, Giovanni.”

In no time, he had lifted her and carried her down the stairs at vampire speed. Beatrice hardly registered anything until they were on the small boat racing back to the dock.

“Gio, what’s-”

He pulled her into another breathtaking kiss as he smothered her question. She finally sighed into his mouth and relaxed, assuming he didn’t want to tell her anything with an audience.

At least she could enjoy kissing an expert.

And kissing Giovanni was better than any memory she’d allowed herself. His tongue stroked hers, and he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth allowing his teeth to scrape it. She reached out with the tip of her tongue to stroke the fangs sharp in his mouth, and she could hear him quietly groan as he kissed her more deeply.

The boat sped toward shore, and within minutes they were back on the dock. Giovanni picked her up again and rushed toward the car, only to set her on the hood of the Mustang so he could stand between her legs and continue devouring her.

“ Tesoro ,” he murmured against her neck. Then his lips travelled along her collarbone. “Beatrice…” he breathed out. Giovanni pressed closer, but she was too conscious of their place and the questions swirling in her mind, so she held back.

“Gio,” she whispered as she placed her hands firmly on his shoulders and pushed him back. She heard him growl quietly as he tried to pull her back, but she grabbed his chin and forced him to look into her face. “Giovanni, what was that on the boat?”

He blinked, shaking his head to clear it. His eyes continued to fall toward her neck so she pinched his chin.

“I’m serious. I’m exhausted, and I just had a verbal fencing match for the last two and a half hours. So calm your fangs, and tell me what the heck is going on.”

“Sorry,” he muttered as he stepped back and cleared his throat. “My apologies, Beatrice. Let’s get in the car and I’ll fill you in on the interrogation and the…biting.”

Beatrice nodded, sliding down the side of the car, taking care not to scratch it. She paused before she got in when she noticed the side of his head.

“You singed some hair off again,” she said. “What happened?”

He frowned and felt the bare spot behind his ear. “In the car. Let’s get on the road and I’ll tell you.”

Giovanni drove back to the house since she was exhausted. If there hadn’t have been news to hear, she probably would have fallen asleep.

“One of Ernesto’s people is working for Lorenzo,” he said. “Baojia discovered it last week, but he wanted to tell me in person because he’s still not sure who it is.”

“One of Ernesto’s children is working for Lorenzo?”

He shook his head. “That’s highly unlikely, since your connection to him is well known. It would be almost unheard of for a child to defy their sire like that.”

She couldn’t help but remember Giovanni had plotted his own sire’s murder, but she didn’t bring that up.

“But only a small portion of the vampires you saw tonight are his children,” he continued. “Many are business associates, employees, or others who have connection to him and claim his protection.”

“So Bao-whatever his name is-doesn’t know who it is?”

“He’ll be able to find out fairly quickly with the information I gleaned from the Greek. He was most talkative after a short time with me,” Giovanni smiled grimly. “I wouldn’t worry about it, tesoro .

“So what was up with the biting thing? Just feeling possessive?” she asked him with a curled lip. “You could have at least warned me.”

“The bite on the veranda was a public display. I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you, but for me to feed from Ernesto’s granddaughter in front of him, and on his own ship, made a very strong statement, and since we don’t know who it is yet-”

“I get it, I get it. You did the caveman dance, and we’ve covered our bases. Everyone knows who I ‘belong’ to.” She rolled her eyes.

“Exactly,” he said with a smile. “And, I’ll confess, my blood was running after the interrogation. If I was human, you could say it was an adrenaline rush.”

“Okay then,” she cleared her throat. “Next time go punch something instead of biting me.”

“I just had,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“Oh.”

“Yes, ‘oh.’”

“So…” she hesitated. “Is the guy who attacked Mano dead?”

He paused before she heard his satisfied voice. “Ashes in the Pacific.”

They exchanged a look Beatrice didn’t want to think about too closely before he changed the subject. “So…how was your conversation with Ernesto?”

Her head fell back against the seat and her eyes drooped. “That was exhausting.”

Giovanni smiled. “You did extremely well for your first small taste of vampire politics, Beatrice.”

“That was a small taste?”

He chuckled and reached for her hand, stroking the back of her palm with his thumb. “A small and rather friendly dip in the shark pool.”

“Okay, well, it was interesting, but I could go on a vamp politics diet for a while, if you know what I mean.”

“Fair enough. There’s no reason I can think of for us to go back in the near future.”