Niccolo (Blood Brothers) (4 page)

He wasn’t sure what she had to say to him but if Maggie told him to never come back, it was no more than he deserved. He looked to his brother who shrugged.

Dante bowed his head in acquiescence. “Okay.”

He only had to wait a few moments before Maggie joined him in the living room, fully dressed. There was a caution in her step that had never been there before. At least not with him.

She offered him a tentative smile. “Dante.”

The awkwardness of the moment broke his heart. The ease in which they used to communicate was absent. “Marco isn’t joining us?”

“He’s taking a quick shower. It’s okay because I wanted to speak with you in private.”

“Look, I’m sorry—”

She held up her hand to cut him off. “There’s no need to apologize. I just wanted you to know I’m not angry with you, I was just caught off guard is all. I’m still new to the ways of vampire protocol, but what happened in there was more than just a feeding to you, wasn’t it? I mean, I understand that the act itself is supposed to be pleasurable but I felt that a line was somehow crossed.”

Dante bowed his head in shame. “I understand if I’m no longer welcome here.”

Maggie surprised him again by stepping closer and gently taking his face in her palms. “Promise me you won’t beat yourself up over this. You mean a lot to GianMarco and it would disappoint him if you kept yourself in exile.”

“And you? How do you feel?” He had to be a glutton for punishment to ask her a question he already knew the answer to.

“I care about you too. We’re family. I-I love you. My feelings for you are probably stronger than the ones I feel for Niccolo and Romeo but I suspect it’s because of how strongly you’re connected to GianMarco. I’m
in
love with him. He’s my bloodmate. Do you understand?”

Dante nodded, not trusting himself to speak. It was the old “I love you but I’m not in love with you” speech. He’d chuckled when he’d seen it played over and over again between the humans he sometimes observed. He never thought he’d be on the receiving end of this speech, or that it would hurt so goddamn much.

“And I don’t believe you’re in love with me either, Dante. You might think you are but after a little introspection I’m sure you’ll come to that realization as well.” She stood on the tips of her toes to plant a light peck on his lips. That little kiss, though it meant nothing more than a gesture of comfort to her, it meant the world to him.

She pulled away from him then and dropped her arms to her sides. “In the meantime, don’t stay away too long. GianMarco needs you. We both do. And don’t even think about depriving your niece of her uncle.”

For the first time, Dante smiled. “Niece? You seem so sure.”

Maggie touched her stomach protectively. “Of course I am. A mother knows these things.”

“You couldn’t keep me away if you tried.”

“Glad to hear it.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a quick embrace. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“I always do.” Unable to help himself he grazed her cheek with his knuckles. “Goodbye, Maggie.”

“Bye,” she whispered.

As Dante walked out of the house, he didn’t dare turn back because he didn’t think he could bare the sight of Maggie right now. The worst part wasn’t that she didn’t return his feelings, he’d known all along she never would. It was her pity.

Chapter Three

Sasha walked up to the door of the imposing manor with a sense of impending doom. Even though she was ninety-nine, the thought of having a conversation with her father gave her a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. The door opened before she knocked. Dmitri Bolshoy, the family butler, stood at the door, his face dour and his demeanor stiff.

“Miss Romanova, your father is expecting you.” He opened the door, allowing her entry. She barely felt the tingle of her father’s protective wards as she walked over the threshold. The old conquered warlock’s lip curled slightly. It was enough to demonstrate his resentfulness without being blatantly disrespectful. All of the servants at the Romanov compound held the same gleam of defiance and anger in their eyes. Sasha suspected that if she had been conquered she, too, would resent being forced into servitude by the one who was responsible for that fate.

Long before Sasha had been born, witches and warlocks would challenge one another to a battle of power in order to become more powerful and to establish supremacy. When a witch or warlock was killed by another of their kind, some of their power was absorbed by the killer. In the case of challenges, the victor agreed to spare the defeated party’s life in order to absorb enough power to render their opponent powerless. However, there was often a gross mismatch—despite the fact that witches and warlocks possessed the same basic skills and all received similar training, each also possessed their own special talents. A warlock whose main power was levitation for instance was no match for another witch or warlock who was a conjurer. The losers became “conquered” and had to serve the victors for three centuries; they were no better than slaves and Sasha felt sorry for them.

The practice was not so common now as it had been, but her father had won so many challenges over the years that he still had many servants. Sasha was glad this barbaric practice was practically nonexistent now.

Being born a witch or a warlock guaranteed immortality to the extent that one never died from natural causes, but there was a price to pay. Not unlike rogue vampires, there were witches and warlocks like her father who craved more power, and stopped at nothing to claim another’s power by fair means or foul. There were even those who were not true immortals and stayed alive solely by practicing black magic. They were called the dark ones.

She gave the butler a sympathetic smile before walking past him, then took another deep breath as she made her way to her father’s study. Sasha would have turned back around if this weren’t so important to her.

Her son was missing.

Her brothers were on a sojourn, unable to be reached, and Niccolo ... well, if she could find Jagger through other means she didn’t want to worry Niccolo before she deemed it necessary.

She entered the study to find her father, his back turned to her, looking out the window. “So you’ve come crawling back, wanting my help. It figures.” Ivan Romanov’s deep voice echoed throughout the room even though he barely spoke above a whisper.

Sasha moistened her parched lips before she answered. As always her father’s words were blunt and cutting. “Papa, can’t you for once put aside your dislike of me? I’m sure you already know that my son, your grandson, is missing. Please tell me where I can find him.”

Ivan turned around; his sky-blue eyes, so unlike her own, glittered with an emotion she couldn’t read. A malevolent smile spread across his face. Her father was nearly six hundred. With his aristocratic features and thick platinum-blond locks that cascaded past his shoulder, he didn’t look a day over forty in a human’s life span. He stood just over six feet and had a stocky build. He would have been quite handsome were it not for the harsh stamp of arrogance he seemed to wear with pride. “So you come here as my daughter now? Were you not the one who left the protection of our coven?”

She balled her fists at her sides. “Only after you made it impossible for me to stay.”

He raised a blond brow. “I?”

“Yes, you. You’ve made it clear from the day I was born how disappointing I am to you. Your constant need to control everyone was suffocating. I dealt with it most of my life but I refused to subject my son to that.”

“You dare stand there and criticize the way I run my family when it is you who turned my sons against me? Your sister is dead because you are a poor excuse for a witch. Despite that, I didn’t force you to leave. That was your choice.”

“Papa, no matter what you think, I’m not stupid. You might not say it in words, but your every look conveys how you feel. When I went to you and Mama to tell you I was carrying a child I needed you love and support, but you turned your backs on me. There was no telling how you would have treated any offspring of mine.”

“Sasha, I would never have treated Nikolai badly. He is my grandson.” Ivan popped in front of her before she could respond and lightly caressed her cheek. Her father had never been a demonstrative man. She wondered if this was his way of trying to cross the chasm between them.

For a moment she wanted to believe him. All her life, all she ever wanted from her father was his love. Her eyes moistened with tears. “You wouldn’t have?” she asked with uncertainty.

“Of course not, child. I would never blame an innocent child just because his mother is a worthless second-rate witch. It’s a shame you weren’t born human. At least you’d be dead by now.”

She cried out, backing away from him. If he had slapped her it wouldn’t have hurt as much. Her father had a way of cutting her to the core without batting an eye. He’d said hurtful things to her in his lifetime but this was by far the worst. Her insides felt as though they’d been ripped by sharp razors.

She wanted nothing more than to turn around, walk out the door and never step foot in this house again. But she swallowed her pride for the sake of her son. She had to find out Jagger’s whereabouts.

Ivan chuckled, seeming amused at the pain he’d caused. “I see you no longer lose that temper of yours so easily. Perhaps you accept my words as the truth.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and silently counted to ten. She wouldn’t let him push her buttons. Not this time. “I don’t care what you think about me, but I am begging you to invoke the search chant and find my son.”

Ivan wasn’t finished taunting her, however. “Why don’t you ask your brothers? Maybe they’ll help you,”

“You know they are away. If you won’t help me, perhaps I can ask Mama. Where is she?” Sasha and her mother were not close either, but there was more compassion in Maria Romanova’s heart than her husband’s.

“Visiting relatives. You give up too easily.”

“What is it that you want from me? Do you want me to beg some more? Fine! I beg you. Please help me find my son. If you won’t invoke the chant, release me, and I’ll do it myself. Please, Papa.” She hastily wiped away an angry tear.

Ivan studied her with a cool expression. He folded his arms. “He is a Romanov. He’ll be fine. Let him be a man for once.”

“What are saying?” she demanded.

“You’ve coddled that boy. It’s about time Jagger develops a set of balls.”

“He’s gone looking for his father. Do you know what will happen once he starts asking around about him?”

“No one would dare touch my grandson. I know —” He broke off.

Sasha narrowed her eyes. “What do you know?”

“I know the most important thing of course; anyone would be a fool to touch a Romanov.”

“I see. So you won’t help me.”

He snorted. “It would be a waste of time.”

“Because he’s my son? Is it because he’s so important to me that you don’t give a damn?”

“You will not take that tone with me in my home, young woman. I am still your father and I demand your respect under my roof!”

“When have you done anything to earn my respect? For years, I wondered what I could do to make you as proud of me as you are of my brothers and to make you love me the way you did Petra.”

“I —”

She shook her head as tears stung her eyes. “I don’t care what you say anymore. I came to you because I thought maybe, just maybe, you have some feeling for your grandson, but as usual, I am wasting my time. Don’t worry,
Ivan
, I will never darken your doorstep again.” She turned to leave, but he teleported in front of her, blocking the door.

“Sasha —”

“I don’t want to hear it. Please move.”

Her father’s face was bright red. “You will not walk away from me.”

“Oh? What are you doing to do to me if I do? I have nothing left for you to take. I won’t stick around to take more of your abuse. Now excuse me, I must go look for my son.
Do svidanya, Ivan.
” She pushed past him.

Now that she knew she couldn’t count on her father, there was only one person she could turn to ... Niccolo.

<><><>

“Open your legs a little wider, darling.” Niccolo buried his face between Linda’s thighs.

She moaned with delight. “Oh, baby, yeah. You eat pussy so well.”

He glided his tongue against her clit and slid his fingers into her damp heat. Linda had been the woman whom he and Romeo had spied on the dance floor a few days earlier. She’d come to the club the next night, and again tonight. Her seductive dance movements were tempting enough for him to offer her an invitation to his office for a private party, which she’d eagerly accepted.

After a quick fuck against a wall in his office, she suggested going back to her place for an all-nighter. It had been a few weeks since he had fed and Linda seemed ready for action. Which lead him to this moment, feasting on her pussy.

Niccolo fastened his lips over her clit, sucking roughly, creating just enough pressure to make her writhe uncontrollably beneath him. She screamed. “Oh, God, you’re going to be the death of me!”

Niccolo lifted his head and gave her a slight small. “But it’s the best kind of death, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah,” she moaned, grinding her pussy against his face, seeming unable to get enough of his mouth and tongue. He licked her from her clit to the crack of her ass. Linda stiffened beneath the ministrations of his tongue as he fed, hungrily slurping the nectar from her cunt.

Her fingers dug into his hair as she moaned and sighed deep in her throat. He licked her labia, making sure he got every drop of her honey. Niccolo lifted his head to see her staring down at him with passion-glazed eyes. He knew he could bring her to another orgasm in minutes if he really wanted to, but, strangely, he didn’t.

Niccolo couldn’t shake an ominous feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He slid up next to the now-still Linda and placed a gentle kiss on her thin but inviting lips. “Thank you, Linda.”

“Are you going to ... I mean, don’t you want to finish?”

“Umm ...” Without hurting her feelings, how could he tell her that he no longer had the inclination to finish fucking her? To be honest, now he wasn’t quite sure why he had approached her in the first place.

Actually he did know but refused to acknowledge it.

Shit! As he glanced at Linda, all he could think of was Sasha. It didn’t help matters that Linda had dark hair and eyes, and skin so pale it was like cream, just like Sasha’s. “I’m sorry, Linda.” He kissed her again.

She pouted. “That quickie back at the club doesn’t count. I wants some more of your big, beautiful cock.

He climbed out of bed and began to dress. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. Forgive me.”

“You’re really leaving?” she asked incredulously, as though it were inconceivable that a man could walk away from her. Niccolo knew her type well— a good time party girl looking to find the next sucker to finance her lifestyle of more partying, boozing, and drugging. He had, in fact, tasted faint traces of cocaine and ecstasy in her secretions. Though she would have willingly given him some more pussy, he knew it would be wiser to leave her alone.

He didn’t need any more complications in his life. Damn, times like these he wished he could be as outspoken as Romeo, who would know how to easily extricate himself from this situation. “I’m sorry,
bellisima
, but I have some pressing matters to take care of.”

“So all you wanted to do was eat my pussy? Well, at least let me reciprocate. I’m not sure all of that big dick will fit in my mouth, but I can try.” She grinned at him and moved off the bed to stand in front of him. She rubbed her small breasts against his arm.

“I’m sorry, but I really do have to leave.” He gently pushed her away and quickly donned the rest of his clothes as Linda watched in obvious disbelief.

She crossed her arms and scowled at him. “What’s wrong with you? Are you a fag or something?” She didn’t look so pretty anymore, and he was no longer interested in sparing her feelings.

“If that was meant to be an insult I’ve been called far worse. To be quite honest, Linda, I’m no longer interested.” He grasped her chin between his thumb and index finger, forcing her to meet his stare. “Get your life together, stay off the drugs and never come to my club again.”

She nodded in a daze at his hypnotic suggestions. He rarely glamoured humans but Linda was the persistent type. Once he was sure she’d taken his suggestions to heart, he released her chin.

“
Ciao, bellisima.
” He left the room before she could respond. He had been a fool to go there in the first place.

With his Linda problem resolved, he wished he could shake off the feeling of impending doom. He couldn’t figure out why something just seemed off.

Niccolo slid into his black Ferrari and started the engine. He debated whether to head back to the club or not and decided against it. His business manager would make sure things were running smoothly, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t use the rest. He tried to empty his mind as he drove through downtown L.A.

He couldn’t help but think about the events of the past couple of months. He had been an agent in the Underground since it had been formed, by his eldest brother, Dante. It had been created to eliminate the rogue vampire threat. Dante’s main goal however, was to find the one called
Il Diavolo,
the rogue Dante believed was responsible for the murder of their parents. Things of late were coming to a head, and yet this was the first week that he was not on an assignment for the Underground.

He pulled up to a gated Beverly Hills condo community and stopped at the security post.

“Good evening, Mr. Grimaldi.”

“Good evening, Thomas.”

The security guard, Thomas, was usually very chatty. Normally, Niccolo would not have minded sparing a few moments to talk to the obviously bored man, but tonight was not one of those times.

“I see you took the Ferrari out tonight. On a nice night like this, I would have thought you’d take out the Porsche so you could drive with the top down.”

“Is it nice out? I didn’t notice. I have several things to attend to, so I’m in a bit of a hurry tonight. Would you open the gate, please?”

Thomas looked a little taken aback by his abruptness but opened the gate. “Sure thing, Mr. Grimaldi. Have a nice night,” he said, sounding a bit put out. Niccolo decided to make it up to him later.

“Oh, wait!”

Niccolo stopped his car and looked back.

“A pretty young lady came by looking for you, but I couldn’t let her in, you know. Security reasons and all.”

Niccolo nodded and thanked the guard. What else was new? There were always women trying to get into his home.

He pulled into his parking spot and got out of the car. As he approached his condo, his sixth sense went crazy. Someone was inside his home; he could hear them pacing in his living room. Rogue? He took a deep whiff of the night air. No, it wasn’t another vampire, but he didn’t think it was a human either.

His fingers shifted to claw-like talons, and his incisors descended. Whoever had gotten inside his home was about to get gutted. He treaded lightly as he made his way to the door, and pressed his ear against the door. The pacing back and forth on his carpeted floor continued. It seemed like someone was waiting for him. Wanting to keep the element of surprise on his side, he burst through the door ready to strike.

When he saw who was on the other side of the door, it was he who was stunned. His wide-eyed visitor was none other than Sasha Romanova.

“Thank God you’re home,” she cried before catapulting herself into his arms.