Theresa looked up to see Donatello, and she could feel Kate's anger from here. Moving closer to Marco, she slid her arm around his waist. “Donatella is well-known in Tuscany. Her territory of Umbria borders with Shade's. It’s the reason Shade's father wanted them to mate.”
Donatella had remained bitter at Shade's rejection of mating, and she had tried, for centuries, to lure him in. Theresa knew Shade had a history with her, as she had made herself more than available to him, as did every eligible female. But he’d never commit to her, and his rejection of committing to mating with her had made her a bitter and angry female, scaring off any suitable potential mates to share her bed, and rule her coven, producing heirs. She wasn’t an enemy to the Medici. She’d never take up arms against their coven, but Theresa could see no good coming from this.
"Let's just keep our fingers crossed, Marco, that her visit is a short one."
87
Now that the grand ball to herald Sophia’s entry into the coven had been held, Luca knew he’d have some free time before they all returned to Bel Rosso. After making rounds in the camp, and seeing a lot of new faces, he let Shade and Marco both know he’d be leaving for a few days to take Shannon to Empoli, and his ancestral home.
Returning to their bedroom, he found her packing. “You won’t need to take much, mia belleza. Just a few days, and we’ll probably stay on the grounds.”
Shannon held up a thong, dangling from her forefinger. “Is this too much?”
He laughed and shook his head. “No, I think that will be just right. Are you ready? I’ll have the luggage loaded in the car.”
Shannon closed the suitcase and grabbed her handbag and a light jacket. “I’m ready when you are.”
Luca had chosen a silver Alfa Romeo for their trip, and the car was brought around to the main entrance where the luggage was thrown into the trunk. Shannon slipped into the passenger’s seat and locked her seat belt. She’d ridden with Luca before, and his foot didn’t seem to know the car had a brake pedal.
They peeled out of the driveway and began the short drive to Empoli, across the Tuscan countryside. It was early fall, and the vineyards had been harvested, and the trees were starting to turn. The air was crisp, and the sky was a brilliant blue. Shannon was remembering her first and only visit to his home several years ago. They didn’t often get this much time away from his responsibilities to Shade, but she knew since their last visit, the lemon groves had been expanded, and the Medici’s had added a brand of Limoncello to their expansive wine selection. Luca was a very rich man, but still a man whose life was controlled by his master.
They approached the villa as they crested the hill, and it was as beautiful as Shannon remembered. Luca pulled into the gravel driveway and parked the car. He exited the vehicle and rounded the car to open her door. Taking her hand, she stood and looked around at the house and surrounding grounds. Breathing in the fresh air with a hint of citrus, she looked back at him. “Do you think we’ll ever live here, Luca?”
Luca turned to look at the house, his head flooded with the memories of his childhood. “It’s not a promise I can make at this time, mia belleza. But who knows, si? My only wish is to have you in my life, wherever it leads me.”
She took his hand as they walked to the front door of the villa. “Well then, let’s make sure that happens, shall we?”
He led her into the house and up the stairs to his childhood bedroom. The house had electricity, but didn’t have central heating, so Luca set to work building a fire in the bedroom fireplace, the firewood conveniently stacked by the hearth, no doubt by the staff from Castello. As the flames licked upward, Shannon slipped out of her clothes and into the large bed, pulling the blankets up over her shoulders. “Seriously, how did you sleep here in the winter?”
Luca laughed as he stoked the fire. “My mother would warm bricks in the fire, and then wrap them in towels and place them in my bed. It would warm the mattress and blankets and keep me warm until my own body heat could warm the bed. My father would get up during the night to stoke the fire in their bedroom, and then come to my room to do the same. He made sure the fires never went out. I can still see him in my head. I could see his silhouette against the flames as he laid more wood on the fire. He’d tiptoe in so as not to wake me, and I’d always pretend to be asleep. My father was not a demonstrative man. He didn’t show his feelings. This act, of keeping me warm at night, I knew it was an act of love, a father protecting his child. We live in very different times, do we not?”
Shannon stared back at him from the bed. “I really can’t imagine it, Luca. I mean, I’ve been with you now for years, and I’ve heard you and Shade, and the others, make reference to events I’ve only read about in history books, and I still can’t wrap my head around it, the idea that you lived through those times.”
Luca undressed and joined her under the blankets, pulling her close. “I understand. But once you’re turned, you’ll live with me through eternity.”
He kissed her, and she responded, feeling the warmth of his skin, and inhaling his masculine scent. He ran his tongue along her neck, and nipped at her skin as she lay her head back, offering herself up to him.
“Tonight, I’ll feed from you, and then, mia belleza, for the first time, you’ll feed from me. You’ll be bonded to me then. I won’t yet own you. That will only come with the turning. But you’ll feel me in a way you haven’t felt me in the past. You’ll hear my thoughts as clearly as I hear yours. But this must be your choice. To be mated to me, you must come freely. Tell me now this is what you want.”
Without words, she slid her hand behind his head, and drew him down to her neck to feed. He sank his teeth into her tender flesh and she felt the familiar flash of heat between her legs and gasped.
He rolled over on top of her, his cock already hard as he slid his hand between her legs, pushing them open to make way for him. As he plunged deep inside her, she gave in to the desire she’d fought since the first time he’d made love to her, and she bit hard into his shoulder, his blood hitting her tongue. She drank from him and felt the passion rise, the primal need to have him buried deep inside her, spilling his seed. She drank and wrapped her legs in a vice grip around his hips. As she fed from him, she heard his low growl.
She clung to him, her nails in his back as he rode her. Her lips broke free as her orgasm overtook her, and she cried out, her voice echoing through the house, until his mouth covered her, and she tasted her blood on his lips, mixing with his.
She was his. She was bonded to this man now, and she sighed as he collapsed on top of her.
Rolling off her, he asked, “Still cold?”
Shannon laughed as she rolled on top of him. “I think I still feel a chill in the air.”
88
Kate was enjoying the quiet that followed the ceremony surrounding Sophia's birth, and her presentation to the coven. The castle had been a flurry of activity and excitement, and the staff had been as eager to see and welcome Sophia as they had with Lorenzo. The baby was still being fed exclusively by Kate but would start the process of being weaned to Theresa and Gita shortly.
Sophia fed well, but kicked and squirmed, as if she was already eager to be free of her mother's arms. Theresa took the baby from Kate. "Why don't you take a break, my lady? This one is a handful. I don't think she’s going to be as cooperative as her brother."