After a few minutes, I was lost in music. My mind raced. The music beat so fast I began feeling disoriented. I thought of Pallo's body. I wanted it next to mine. I was actually jealous of the pink frizz getting all of his attention. I wanted him to myself--she could find her own vampire. I called to him in my mind.

Cool hands slid onto my waist from behind. He had come out after all. I had secretly hoped that he would. He moved his large hands around me so that the front of his body rubbed the back of mine. We moved together with the music. The rhythm got faster and faster and his hips rocked with mine.

His large hands slid up and under my shirt. I shifted my arms and his hands moved around to my stomach and slid upwards. I reached around and grabbed a handful of leather pants and pulled him tighter against my body. I could feel something long and hard hiding in those pants, rubbing against my lower back. I didn't remember Pallo wearing leather. It didn't matter what he had on, I wanted him. As the music got faster so did we.

My breathing sounded more like panting now, and my face grew hot. He slid hands slid up and around my neck. He pulled my hair aside and started kissing me with his cool lips. I felt the tiniest bit of pressure and his teeth sink into my skin. There was no pain. He was so gentle.

I opened my eyes and tried to focus. Men and women were dancing all around me. They hung on each other. Some were going at each other's mouths with fury. Tongues were caressing tongues. I thought I saw a man sliding himself into the back of a woman, but my head got cloudy. I couldn't be sure.

Lips ran over my neck again. I moaned. I pulled at the back of his pants. I wanted Pallo now. I wanted our bodies to become one. I needed to have him. I'd wanted him all along. He unzipped the back of my skirt. The dance floor was so crowded I was sure that no one would notice the two of us.

"Pallo," I whispered, softly.

He said nothing. He only moved his body with mine. He let his hands continue to feel around and explore my body. My eyes opened and closed as I kept my back pushed tightly against the front of his body. I could hear him groaning in my ear. My thighs tightened with an antic.i.p.ated o.r.g.a.s.m. My G.o.d, the guy was going to bring me by just dancing with me. He was a rare find indeed.

"Pallo," I whispered again, lightheaded. He gripped me tighter, kissing my neck. I let my eyes look sleepily ahead of me. The sea of dancing bodies had parted, and I saw Pallo coming for me.

"Pallo?" I tried to keep my head up. He pulled something behind him. I steadied myself and looked harder. A man clung tight to Pallo as he walked, bear-hugging him, trying to keep him from coming to me.

I turned around quickly. The room spun. I managed to catch a glimpse of a pair of dark, black eyes and straight, long, silky black hair. I staggered in an attempt to be free, but he held me tight to him.

"Grazie, beautiful one." I heard the sweet words as I drifted in and out.

I called for Pallo. I wasn't sure if I yelled aloud or just in my head. My eyes opened to a room full of ravenous vampires crouched around us, fangs flaring, snarling in my direction. I screamed and tried to lift my head to find Pallo, but it was too heavy.

"They are my children, they will not harm you, Bella," the man said, his accent thick--thicker than Pallo's.

"Pallo?" The name slid over my lips.

My eyes closed briefly. When I opened them, some of the circling vampires were being tossed into the air. The dull sensation of a powerful energy came towards me. Pallo's energy hit me with such a force that I felt sick to my stomach. I pushed a thought out to him. I didn't ask for his help, I asked for his forgiveness.

"Be still now," Pallo said softly in my head. I let my body go limp in the man's arms.

"It is pointless. She is mine!" The man holding me shouted out into the room. " Oh, Pallo, you should've known I would sense her presence once she was near you."

A gunshot went off. People screamed and ran in all directions. Pallo stood a few feet from me now. I couldn't get my body to move. I wanted to raise my head and look at him. I wanted to reach out my hand to him, but I couldn't.

"Giovanni!" Pallo's voice boomed. "Give her to me."

"Ah, it has been awhile." The man holding me said. He spoke low and clear, but his Italian accent was heavy. He slid his hand over my throat and let it come to a rest.

"Do not come any closer Pallo. I would hate to have to put a mark on such a beautiful face," he said, caressing my neck and chin slowly. "She is just as beautiful the second time around, wouldn't you agree?"

Pallo took a step towards us and Giovanni squeezed my chin. I raised my face up enough to look at his. He was amazing. He looked like he had just walked off the cover of GQ. His jaw was not too wide and not too narrow. His lips were a pale cherry color. He wore a dark, short sleeved mesh top that showed off his body. He was not as muscular as Pallo, but he was toned.

Giovanni met my gaze. I feared him. I started to sweat. I wanted to get away from him. I knew he was evil, but his eyes, they called to me, pulled me.

He didn't want to hurt me. I sensed the struggle within him. I could feel how much he cared for me, and his desperation not to let me go. He looked down at me. I begged him to stop with my eyes, tears running down my cheeks.

Two more gunshots rang out. The remainder of the crowd opened wide, and I could see Ken pointing his gun at the ceiling. He held his right arm close to his body.

Pallo moved closer to me. Fingers squeezed my throat, and I moaned in pain. Giovanni bent and kissed my lips before letting go. "I shall see you soon, Bella," he said, and threw me high into the air.

My body was limp and I couldn't get it to respond to my commands. I tumbled down, and prepared to crash into the floor. Two strong arms caught me and pulled me close. I smelled vanilla and Hugo Boss and knew it was Pallo. I concentrated on his face and pushed my thoughts into his head. I wanted him to know that I was sorry, that I thought it was him, and that I knew that was no excuse for my behavior. I wanted him to know so much. I pushed it all at him as he carried me past the remaining vampires.

I heard Angela's voice next to me. "Now you are back where you belong."

Pallo growled at her and she backed away, smiling at me. I knew she had something to do with this. I also knew I wanted her dead.

Ken came beside me. He clutched his arm to his body. Blood soaked the front of his shirt.

Pallo and Ken loaded me into the back of the limo. Pallo sat and lifted my head onto his lap. Ken sat on the seat facing us, still holding his arm. I wanted to ask if he was okay, but I couldn't seem to speak.

"She wants to know if you are all right," Pallo said, watching Ken and stroking the hair from my face.

Ken's eyes widened. "She hasn't said a word. Look at her, she's practically catatonic."

I knew Pallo had read my mind, and for once I was okay with it. He said nothing, but continued to pull my hair back from my face, away from my neck. He gasped.

Ken looked up. "s.h.i.t, he bit her. We need to get her to the hospital."

"No!" Pallo interjected. "No, she will not be safe at a hospital."

"I'll get her police protection. She needs to go. Look at her, something's wrong with her."

"The police cannot protect her from Giovanni and his people. He will come for her." Pallo continued to run his fingers through my hair.

"Then we'll take her somewhere far away from here. Somewhere this Giovanni, p.r.i.c.k can't find her." Ken leaned towards me and I thought I saw tears I his big brown eyes.

"He has put his teeth into her skin during pa.s.sion. He can find her anywhere. He will be able to pull her to him. She will not be able to stop herself."

"Bulls.h.i.t! I can't accept that," Ken said.

"It took her many years to break his hold on her. I do not know if she is strong enough to do it twice."

Ken looked at Pallo. "What the h.e.l.l are you talking about? Gwen doesn't know that guy."

"Yes, she does. Her mind may not remember him, but her body does." There was a bitter sound to Pallo's voice.

"In English, please," Ken said.

"Do you love her?" Pallo asked.

Ken sat there and looked at him. The thought of Ken loving anyone was so funny. He looked at Pallo and answered him. "Yes, I love her."

"I will do my best to protect her from him, but you will have to trust my judgment. Do you understand?" Pallo said.

"Do you go out of your way to not make sense?" Ken asked. "When you told me to get Gwen, how did you know something was wrong?"

"When I realized that our drinks contained something a little extra special," Pallo said.

"How'd you know?"

"Angela looked attractive to me," Pallo said. "I have known her for over a hundred years and in that time she has never once appealed to me."

"I don't think they could have sneaked anything into my water." Ken leaned back against the seat, taking this all in.

"Do you normally go about the city shooting yourself in the arm?" Pallo asked, voice barely above a whisper.

I couldn't believe what I'd heard. Ken shot himself in the arm? Impossible. The man went to the shooting range twice a week and was an expert marksman as far I knew. He lived and breathed guns.

"No. No, I don't." Ken sighed. "You're right. When will hers wear off?"

"I do not know," Pallo said.

A cool breeze tickled the tiny hairs on the back of my neck.

"You may rest now. I will come soon." Giovanni's voice filled my head. "Tonight marks a new beginning for us, Bella."

Pallo's arm slipped around me tightly as I pa.s.sed out.

Chapter 18.

"Come, my child," a voice said. I knew this voice. It was the one that came to me in my dreams, the one that always talked about me being the balance between lightness and dark. I made my way towards the light. Hey, after having recurring dreams for about twenty years, curiosity gets the best of you. I pushed my way through the darkness to the light, and pulled at it. It broke open. I stood before the field of flowers from my dreams, only now a river ran through the center of it. I walked towards the water. The flowers moved out of my way on their own to prevent me from trampling them. I approached the edge of the river and looked around. Ripples formed in the water before me.

"Trust them, they will help you." The woman's voice was soft and breathy.

"Help me with what? Trust who?" I was so lost it wasn't even funny.

"Caleb and Pallo," she said.

Caleb? Caleb was gone, he was dead. How could I trust him?

"Their love for you is great." Her voice got further away, and I screamed out to her.

"Wait, wait! Tell me more." I was desperate.

"If you need me, come here." I screamed for her to return but she didn't.

Something pulled me back from the river's edge. It was cool and comforting against my bare arms. I opened my eyes and found myself lying in bed with an arm wrapped around my waist. I stayed very still and tried get a bearing on where I was. I looked down at my waist and saw a well--defined arm with tiny freckles on the shoulder blade. The smell of vanilla filled the air again.

"Pallo!" I licked my lips to try to moisten my dry mouth.

"You're awake," a tender voice whispered in my ear. I turned my head to see him.

"Just rest."

He held me tight. His heart beat against my back. His breath was cool on my neck. He pulled himself up and leaned over me. I still couldn't get used to his vampire speed. I looked into his face. His hair hung carelessly over his face like a curtain, and he pushed it back. Our gazes locked.

"Sleep, my precious one, sleep," Pallo whispered.

I sat up and looked around. We were in the yellow bedroom again and I was naked. My hair was damp. I pulled the covers up to cover my b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"Why are we here?" I asked him. I left out the real question I had, which was, 'Why the h.e.l.l am I naked?'

"It was the safest place to bring you."

"It looks so real," I said to him.

"It is as real as we make it." He eased me towards him. I let myself be lowered back into the safety of the large, soft bed. I looked into his eyes. Sadness was hidden in them. I knew that he had feelings for me, and I knew I had strong feelings for him. I didn't understand how Giovanni had come between us.

"Saying I'm sorry isn't enough, is it?" I said, my voice quivered.

"No, because you have nothing to be sorry for."

I let the tears come. I was hurt, angry, and embarra.s.sed. I couldn't look at his face anymore. I couldn't stand to see the pain in his eyes. I had hurt him twice. I wanted to die.

"Gwyneth," he said, placing his hand over mine. "Please do not think such terrible thoughts."

Pallo's hand slid up my arm. "Giovanni is very powerful. You knew him many years before you met me. He has only grown stronger these past five centuries."

I didn't want Pallo saying his name. I hated this Giovanni, and I hated myself for what had happened. I let a stranger take a bite out of me. I put his hands on my body, I pulled him towards me, I encouraged him. Some part of me saw the signs that it wasn't Pallo, but I didn't care. I was drawn to Giovanni's body. I did this to myself.

"Stop punishing yourself, there was nothing you could have done differently. I should have been with you. I should not have allowed myself to be tempted by Angela." He caressed my shoulder and neck, his fingers dancing over the bite mark Giovanni left on me. "I let this happen to you once. I should not have been so careless to let it happen again. Can you forgive me?"

I laughed. "You want me to forgive you? I was the one who let a stranger touch me. That wasn't your fault."

I caressed his cheek. His hand slid back down my arm. My heart fluttered from his touch.

"Giovanni is not a stranger to you. He caught your interest long ago. You cared for him for many years. You tried to love his demon, but it was too evil for you, and it is because of him that we met."

I had no clue what the h.e.l.l Pallo talked about. If he thought this would jog my memory, he was mistaken. I stayed still and listened to him tell the story of how we met. He talked of seeing me come to his village when he was a young man of twenty-seven. Pallo told me how his father had tried to convince him to take a wife. His father felt that a man his age should already have a family. He told me how he helped his father run their family's vineyard, and of his two younger sisters who had blonde hair, and his same chestnut brown eyes. The joy on his face when he told me about chasing them around the yard and caring for them was overwhelming.

One day he had headed to town to discuss the purchase of more land and saw me walking in the streets. He could still remember the red dress I wore. "I had never seen any such dress before on a woman. I thought you were an angel with your long hair and skin that shimmered in the sunlight. I thought that a G.o.ddess had graced my presence. I was not wrong."

He followed me home, to a large house on the edge of town. He had heard that a rich, powerful man had just recently moved to that house. But no mention had been made of the rich man's mistress. He watched me from afar for many days, thinking I didn't see him. "I had never been so attracted to anyone as I was to you. You were captivating I needed to know more about you."

One day, while he watched me pick flowers in a field, he dozed off in the summer sun. When he awoke, I stood over him, laughing at him. I had apparently known he had been following me all along. We spent every day together after that. He said that I never took him to my home, and I only met with him during daylight hours. We were in love.

When he finally confronted me about Giovanni, I didn't deny it. I merely told him that the Giovanni I cared about no longer existed. He asked me to run away with him. He wanted to make me his wife. He had dreams of me being the mother of his children. I was too afraid of Giovanni to go with him. We stayed and tried to hide our affair. Pallo said I disappeared for several days without notice.