Page 9 of Sandro

Oh, wow. I figured he was older than me, but not quite that much older. “Oh,” I said. “I guess it makes sense when you said you were older.” What could I possibly have in common with him? Why was he paired with someone my age?

“I am, yes.”

There was a loud noise in the outer room, and immediately, my first thought was that they’d somehow found me and had broken into the apartment. But then I heard what sounded like a baby crying before there was someone talking.

“That is why I brought you in here. I assumed that Marcello would bring the others back to the apartment early, despite nobody from your pride knowing they were connected with us. Yes, Marcello and Naldo are vampires, but there are several vampire covens here in Italy. I wouldn’t put it past your pride to possibly target any of them.”

“Oh. So they’re supposed to be out there?” I asked. The thought of them being just on the other side of the door was terrifying yet reassuring.

“Yes. I thought we could discuss a few things that I feel are most important before we take anything even a bit further. I want you to know that not even two months ago, I was almost dead. I was held captive by someone who doesn’t exactly get along with my coven family. I was stabbed and shot several times, and truly, I shouldn’t be standing here talking to you today. I am, and although I still feel as if everyone around me would be better off if I wasn’t here any longer, I’m still here.”

Sandro ran his hand down his face again. I could tell he was probably frustrated, but damn. That was a whole lot to drop on someone minutes after meeting them.

“Yeah, so that’s…I’m sorry you went through that,” I said. “What can I do to help? Do you need anything? Are you all better now?”

Sandro chuckled and shook his head. When he looked at me again, his eyes were a little red, and honestly, it was a bit creepy.

“I do not need anything from you, but I appreciate the offer. I am healing still. Some wounds were quite horrific. A lot of magical power was used to help me heal, but there are still pains. Some real, some phantom. It can cause discomfort if I walk too much, but I don’t do a whole lot as the coven’s doctor. Especially now that the coven has Rio to cover for me in my absence.”

Oh. So he was a doctor? Seriously, how did he get paired with me? “It sounds a bit like you’re trying to discourage me. If you don’t want⁠—”

“I never said I didn’t want you,” Sandro said, cutting me off. “A vampire’s beloved…you are quickly going to understand just how precious they are to us. And how possessive we are of them.” Sandro pulled me close, and without even an ounce of hesitation, he lowered his head and sucked on my lower lip. I couldn’t keep in the whimper, even if my life depended on it. That was by far the sexiest thing that anyone had ever done to me, and he’d really not done much at all. My cheeks heated, and when I finally opened my eyes, he grinned, and I saw those really sharp fangs.

“Very possessive. It just might be that the fates knew what they were doing when they sent you colliding into me, little kitten.”

I blinked up at Sandro. It took a moment for his words to register, and when they did, I should have been upset. Only I wasn’t. What was up with that?

Chapter 5

Sandro

Ihad zero doubt that Leo was going to be enjoyable to spend the rest of our lives with. I simply had to figure out how to shift my thoughts on life in order to ensure he wasn’t paired with a somewhat morbid vampire. I did not know what the fates were doing when they decided that I needed to be paired with an almost twenty-four-year-old.

“How many babies are out there?” Leo asked.

I smiled. “Three. Tulio was born in April, and the twins were born a day shy of a month later in May.” I shook my head. “I missed both births. It wasn’t until after the twins were born that I was rescued.”

Leo nodded slowly. “How long were you held? Do you mind that I ask?”

“I don’t mind. You will see the horrific memories once we claim each other. I was held for just over two weeks, from what I remember. They kept me alive, but only because they wished to make me suffer more. They, of course, didn’t realize that I am a vampire, and I’m not sure how they never saw my fangs because I know I was unconscious for more time than I was awake.” My only thought was that they had seen them and either knew about vampires and other paranormals, or simply that we lived in Italy, and vampire lore was strong here.

Leo wrapped his arms around his waist again. I could tell he was nervous. I wasn’t even upset. It was a lot to take in all at once. One moment, you were trying to survive in your pride, and the next, you found yourself running for your life.

“What would⁠—”

Whatever Leo was going to ask was interrupted by a knock on the door. It almost seemed as if he was relieved. I softly wrapped an arm around his waist before I walked over to the door and opened it. I found Marcello standing on the other side and wasn’t surprised by that in the least. His face looked a bit like a thundercloud, which was expected, but it quickly transformed when he saw Leo beside me.

“Marcello, I want you to meet my beloved, Leonardo. He prefers Leo though.” I smiled down at my beloved. “Leo, this is Marcello. He’s the coven’s second. Before he claimed his own beloved and became papa to the twins, I would say he’s your man for getting revenge on your pride. Now I’ll say that Nicolo is your guy.”

Leo grinned at me.

“Hey. I’m still good,” Marcello said.

I nodded at the former head hit man for the family. “I never said you weren’t. Just that you don’t necessarily do that particular line of work any longer. Besides, you have Abel and the twins to think about.”

As if on cue, the adorable little blond poked his head around Marcello and smiled. His gaze quickly moved to Leo. “Oh. Hello. Do you speak English? I really hope so because I’m still trying to learn Italian.”

Leo held out his hand. “I do,” he said. “I am not completely fluent though. But there was a member of my pride who has a mate from England.”