A Fall of Water (3 page)

“Do you still feel it?” Tenzin cut her eyes toward Beatrice before she punched out in a swift uppercut.

“Sorry,” Beatrice muttered through her fractured jaw. “Stupid question.”

“Have you talked to Giovanni about it?”

“Why?”

Tenzin smacked the back of her head. “Are you stupid, girl? Do you forget that he lost his father, too?”

“Oh, well...” Beatrice had no idea how much Tenzin knew about Andros’s death, but she wasn’t going to say. Giovanni had told her that no one could ever know that he had a hand in the death of his sire. She would not reveal his secrets, not even to Tenzin.

“And however that came about—” Tenzin looked down at the ground. “And I have always had my suspicions—your husband understands the loss you feel. He has felt it himself. If you need to talk to someone, he’s the one vampire here that would understand. If you haven’t talked to him about it, you’re stupid.”

Beatrice held a hand up and paused. “Are you coming back with us to L.A.?”

Tenzin frowned. “I suppose I am. Why?”

“Because apparently, I need you to tell me when I’m being stupid.”

December

She was glowing. Her face may not have blushed anymore, but his wife had been glowing as she sat next to Ben and opened presents earlier that evening. They had gathered at Isabel and Gustavo’s house, Beatrice and Giovanni, Tenzin, Carwyn, and Ben. All together, and she had not struggled to control her bloodlust once.

Giovanni imagined that he was glowing, too.

She lay on the couch, stretched out and listening to him play bits and pieces from the Nutcracker Suite as dawn approached. She hummed along, horribly out of tune, as always, but he didn’t care. He heard her stand and walk toward him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and he leaned into her arm, rubbing his cheek against her flesh and enjoying the crackling, excited energy that filled the house.

They would go back to Los Angeles soon.

“Gio?”

“Hmm?”

She sat next to him for a moment before she ducked under his arms and straddled his lap. He pulled his hands away to grab her waist, but she winked and placed them back on the keyboard. “Keep playing.”

Giovanni chuckled. “What game are you playing, woman?”

She put her arms around his neck, nipping at his ear and nuzzling into his neck. “I think...”

“Yes?” Despite his preternatural concentration, he was having trouble focusing on the Tchaikovsky.

“I think that maybe I do want to learn to play.”

His eyes rolled back as she let her fangs scrape along his neck. “Oh, I think you’re quite adept at playing already, Tesoro.”

“No.” She giggled. “An instrument.”

“I’m allowing that joke to pass. To obvious.”

She laughed and cuddled into him, wiggling on his lap as he struggled to concentrate on the keyboard. “Not piano though.”

“No?”

“No, maybe... guitar. I could be a rock and roll chick. Not electric, obviously... well, maybe I could figure something out. I mean, if I really tried, I could probably figure out a way to make it work. Maybe an insulated case of some kind, but I’d have to make sure it didn’t damage the guitar... What?”

He grinned and ceased playing, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his mouth to hers in a long kiss. His hands reached up, running through her hair and teasing the pins out that she had used to put it up earlier.

“I love you madly, Beatrice De Novo.”

She smiled and nipped at his chin. “I love you, too.”

“Welcome back.”

Chapter One

Los Angeles, California

March 2012

Giovanni woke with a start, and Beatrice looked up from across the room. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of their large bed to stare at the photograph of the Ponte Vecchio, which hung on the wall of their bedroom.

“Hey.”

He blinked before he looked over at her. Beatrice smiled. Her husband looked as if he was still halfway dreaming.

“Good evening. Did you rest at all today?” He rose and walked to her, bending down to kiss her bare shoulder. He still refused to wear any sort of clothing to bed. Since their room was blocked by a sturdy, reinforced door, multiple locks, and an electronic monitoring system that she’d had custom made for them, Beatrice just decided to enjoy the view. No one would be breaking in.

“I rested a few hours. You looked like you were dreaming. What was it about?”

He shrugged and walked to the small kitchen area, heating a bag of blood and leaning over to sniff the coffee pot she’d added in the corner of their room.

“Was it about your father again?”

He was silent for a few minutes, but she didn’t try to fill the space. Giovanni finally turned with a frown on his face. “I don’t know why I’m having so many dreams about him.”

She cocked her head. “Because of me? Because I lost my dad? Because we’ve been talking about that?”

“Perhaps.”

She had finally taken Tenzin’s advice and confided in Giovanni about the gaping wound that Stephen’s loss had left. As predicted, he understood completely. Just sharing the hurt had done more to lessen the grief than any of her own efforts.

“Gio... there’s no chance that Andros could be alive, is there? I mean, you didn’t actually see him die. He was just ash when you woke up. Lorenzo was the one who saw—”

“Beatrice, how did you feel when your father was killed?”

Tears sprang immediately to her eyes. “Like... something was ripped from my chest. Empty. Physical pain would have been a relief.”

He only looked at her and nodded. “I felt the same. Despite how much I hated Andros, I loved him, too. And the pain of my father’s death woke me from my day rest, even though it was practically impossible to wake me when I was that young. I know he is dead.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I just—”

“It’s a valid question. Don’t apologize.”

He turned and picked up the bag of blood he had heated in warm water, drinking it quickly before he walked across the room. He picked her up and brought her back to the bed. Though she didn’t need to sleep, his presence—the silent meditation of his touch—allowed Beatrice to rest her mind.

The sun still peeked through the edges of the windows, so they lay silently, curled together as her amnis wrapped around its mate. Though he didn’t move, she could feel Giovanni’s invisible energy stroking along her back and neck, fluttering over her skin and soothing her.

“What are you doing tonight?” she asked in a drowsy whisper.

“I’m introducing one of Gustavo’s sons to Ernesto. Diego has some business in Los Angeles and he asked for an introduction.”

“Oh, you get to play politics. Lucky you.”

He pinched her side when she snickered. “Your grandfather asked for you to come, as well, but I made an excuse for you. I’m not going to next time.”

She leaned over and kissed him. “Thank you. You’re the best husband in the whole room.” Beatrice squealed when he dug his fingers into her sides. Immortality had not lessened how ticklish she was. If anything, it had made it worse.

“Why? Why did I sign up for this abuse for eternity? What have I done to deserve this woman?” He chuckled as he continued to tickle her. Soon, she was gasping under him.

“Stop!” she panted. “Stop. I’ll...”

An evil grin spread across his face. “You’ll what?”

She brought an arm around and trailed her fingers down his back, teasing his spine as he shivered. Giovanni may not have been ticklish, but she knew exactly how to torment him.

“I’ll... save some hot water for you!”

Beatrice darted out from under him and into the luxurious bathroom, locking the door behind her. She laughed and started the shower, only to hear the door splinter behind her. Giovanni tossed the broken wood to the side and strode into the room.

“We didn’t need that door.”

She drove the grey Mustang through the busy streets, pulling up to the old warehouse where Tenzin had set up a practice studio. The ancient wind vampire was already there, and Beatrice could hear her pounding on one of training dummies.

“You’re coming later, right?” Ben grabbed his gym bag and opened the door.

“Yeah, I’m just meeting Dez for dinner, and then I’ll come back and practice with you guys for a while.”

“No rush. I think she’s meaner to me when you’re there.”

Beatrice laughed and reached across to ruffle his hair as he tried to squirm away.

At fifteen, Ben Vecchio had all the marks of a boy on the verge of manhood. He had shot up the year they had been in Chile and was far taller than she was. Beatrice guessed he would rival Giovanni’s height when he was full-grown. His chest was starting to fill out and lose its scrawny appearance, helped along by the intense physical training that Beatrice and Giovanni insisted on for his safety. His curling hair, deep brown eyes, and quick smile already attracted enough female attention to keep a grown man happy, much less a teenage boy.

Ben was well on the way to breaking a few hearts, and Beatrice absolutely adored him.

“Tell Dez I said ‘Hi’ and let her know I’m here when she gets tired of the old fart.”

“She told the old fart she’d marry him, so I have a feeling you’re out of luck.”

He leaned down and winked. “Engaged is not married, B. There’s hope until there’s a ring on her finger.”

She shook her head. “You’re shameless.”

“Yep. But I’m cute, too. See ya!” He slapped the top of the car and walked into the warehouse, whistling.

“Shameless,” she said as she pulled away.

She turned at El Molina Avenue and parked on the street, glad to have found a parking spot so near the cafe where she and Dez met on Thursday nights. She could already hear a new band warming up inside, and no one was sitting on the patio, so she grabbed a table, glad for the clear night sky. Dez arrived a few minutes later, and Beatrice shoved down the instinctive hunger that tickled the back of her throat.

Though she was used to the scents of her family, close contact with other humans still awakened her instincts. She could easily control it, but that did require some concentration. Her best friend, for whatever reason, smelled particularly appealing that night.

“How are you, hon?” Dez chattered as they both settled into their seats. A waiter came out and they both ordered a coffee and dessert. “How was your week? Matt and Gio are both at that thing at your grandfather’s tonight, right? What’s Ben up to?”

“Other than still plotting how to steal you from Matt?”

She giggled. “Of course.”

“He and Tenzin are practicing tonight.”

“How’s school going?”

Beatrice nodded. “Good, he seems to have swung right back into his classes since we’ve been back. Of course, Gio’s way more demanding than his high school teachers, so that’s not really a surprise.”

“Of course.”

“The boy could probably pass most college level classes at this point.”

“Has he thought about early admission anywhere?”

Beatrice shrugged. “It’s not a priority for him. He likes his friends the most now. He still does most of his learning at home with Gio. He only goes to school for girls, basketball, and to have something to do during the day.”

They paused to let a group enter the cafe. The lively music spilled out as the door opened, quiet to Dez, but almost distractingly loud to Beatrice’s immortal ears.

They chatted as they sipped their coffee, Dez happily filling Beatrice in on her wedding plans. She and Matt had been engaged the previous summer, but had waited until Giovanni and Beatrice had returned from Chile to get married. The wedding was only a few weeks away.

“—so the guests will have the option to eat either chicken or beef. I liked the idea. Of course, the cake looks amazing, but then, it’s chocolate, so how it looks isn’t all that important. B?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been staring at my neck for the past couple minutes, hon.”

She blinked. “Oh, sorry.”

“No problem. Did you forget to eat before you came? You haven’t touched your coffee.”

Beatrice wrinkled her nose. “It’s really strong. Are you wearing a new perfume or something?”

“No, nothing different.”

“Are you...” Beatrice struggled, trying to determine what it was that was triggering her awareness. Scent had taken on an entirely new dimension for her since becoming a vampire. Everything smelled. She had quickly learned to block out as much as possible, so as not to become overwhelmed, but there was something about Dez that night...

“You’re pregnant.”

Her best friend’s mouth gaped, just a little. “Uh... what?”

“I think that’s it. You smell... more. I don’t know what else it could be. You don’t smell sick, and I know you went off birth control a while back, so—”

“How did you know that?” Dez almost looked offended.

Beatrice just shrugged. “Your scent changed. Matt liked it; I could tell.”

Dez rolled her eyes. “And I thought being your friend was weird before... and I’m not pregnant. It’s only been a couple months, and I haven’t even missed my period.”

“Well, you will. I’m pretty sure that’s it.”

Dez just shook her head. “How... I mean, what—”

“I told you, you smell different.” Beatrice shrugged again and sipped at her coffee. It really did smell better than it tasted now. Unless she was at home and she could make it watered down, it was overwhelming. “You don’t smell
bad
. You smell more... female, if that makes sense. I’m sure it’s the hormones. Matt’s probably been going nuts around you lately, huh? Humans react to that stuff even if they don’t know what it is.”

Dez cocked an eyebrow. “Humans, huh?”

“Yup.” Beatrice smiled. “So you believe me?”

She shrugged. “Well, since you’re a big, bad vampire with a super-strong nose, I guess I have to, though I think I’ll still wait for the pathetic human doctor to confirm before I tell my fiancé.”

She grinned. “Congratulations! So were you trying?”

Dez flushed. “We weren’t
not
trying, if you know what I mean. Matt’s older than me; he didn’t want to wait. I was game for whatever. I knew I wanted kids and I’ll be thirty next month. We’re getting married in a couple weeks. No one will care we started a tiny bit backwards.”