Chapter Sixteen.

I woke to find a warm arm draped over me. I stretched and let out a small yawn. The arm tightened around my waist. A scratchy chin nuzzled my neck and I felt the tiniest of kisses being placed near my jaw.

"Hey, I thought I was dreaming," Caleb said, his voice smoky and heavy from sleep.

I froze. I hadn't remembered falling asleep with him. He had pulled me close to him and held me for a while. I must have dozed off. I turned a little and looked up into his face. It was still strange to see him sporting a goatee. It was a little darker than his light blond hair and in truth it looked nice on him. He'd always been one who seemed comfortable with a rugged appearance-even though he was destined to be baby faced from the get go.

His hand moved across my stomach and slid under my t-shirt. I caught his wrist and smiled up at him.

"How are you feeling? Do you have a headache?"

He'd been so drunk when he got in I was amazed that he was even conscious.

"No, I'm fine. You know how it is for us, we heal fast. Did I do anything stupid, or did we just kiss and make up?"

I didn't know what to say to him. We had hardly spoken let alone sorted out our differences. He tried to slide his hand under my shirt again and I pulled it away.

"Caleb ...."

His mouth came down on mine. I let out a tiny grunt in protest then felt my leg wrap around his. His hand moved up and found my breast. He hardened against my thigh. Stripping him down for bed seemed dumber and dumber as the kiss went on. A naked h.o.r.n.y faerie was not what I needed next to me at the moment.

Caleb let a smidge of his magik up and over me. I carried a piece of his magik within me and he mine. When he'd asked me to marry him we had exchanged a part of our magikal essence. This took the place of rings for fairies and gave us the ability to share magik completely someday. He yanked on that little piece of him that would forever remain in me and I felt my body turn in to meet his.

Making love to Caleb was so very different than Giovanni and Pallo. Giovanni and I had fiery pa.s.sion and love. Pallo and I shared something based on being soul mates. Caleb, now that I'd been brought back, was also my mate, but being a faerie meant that magik could be exchanged between us during s.e.x and there was a lot to be said for magik in the bedroom.

Caleb moved his hand down towards the top of my underwear. I sucked my breath in and my stomach muscles tightened with delight. I pushed on his shoulders and dropped back against the pillow.

"Stop," I said.

"You don't sound so sure about that."

"Caleb."

He gave up and looked at me. "I could raise my power in you again, it answers to me .... you are going to be my wife soon, you know. I'd be within my rights."

I turned and stared blankly at him. He looked the same, except for the beard thing, but he wasn't acting the same. "What's with you? You never tried to pull that wifely duty c.r.a.p on me before, what gives?"

"I was joking, Gwen." His lips drew in.

"I'm sorry, I just ... well, after everything I've been hearing about you lately I'm not sure what to expect from you."

He lay back on the bed and put his arms out. I watched his nude body as the morning sun hit it and wondered again where it was that I'd let it all go so very wrong. He caught me staring at his body and gave me a not so innocent grin.

"Have you talked to your father since you got home?" he asked. I shook my head. "You know, after you left, I tried to get him to change his mind about the wedding. I explained that we were taking a break."

My heart sank. I knew that we were taking a break. I was the one who had decided to call the thing off. Too bad my father hadn't gotten that memo before announcing to his Kingdom that Caleb and I were going to get married. I knew full well that when I left Caleb hated my guts, but hearing him say that he had tried to talk my father into letting us out of the wedding stung. It shouldn't have. But it did. I turned and stared at the door. I had to blink several times to choke back my tears.

Caleb leaned over me and saw the emotion on my face. "Gwen, what's wrong?"

Licking my lips, I tried my best to not burst into hysterics. "So, what did my father say? Did he agree to cancel the ... wedding?"

Caleb let out a tiny laugh. "No, he told me that we had exactly six months to enjoy our little break then we were to meet back in the Dark Realm to wed."

"And, how do you feel about having to marry a woman you hate?"

He moved his body over me. His long straight hair fell all around our faces. He bent his head down slightly. "Gwen, I have never hated you, ever! I was hurt by what you did with Pallo, but I don't hate you for it. I was being an a.s.s, and I'm sorry for that, I am. I've been thinking a lot about us for the last few months and I can understand your attraction to Pallo. I can understand ...."

I sat up and he grabbed hold of my waist. "Gwen, s.h.i.t I'm pouring my heart out to you here and you try and leave."

"No, it's not that, Caleb. I think you should get dressed. Things are different now."

He pulled me down onto the bed and kissed me. I pushed on his shoulders to get him to let me up, but he refused. His hot magik called to mine. I found myself caressing his tongue back with mine. My fingers dug at the back of his arms in an attempt to get closer to him. He let his power fade and pulled away from me.

"See, nothing is different," Caleb said with smug smile.

I rolled out from under him and fell onto the floor. He laughed as I sprang back to my feet. I flipped my hair back out of my face and let out a sigh. "Caleb, you've been running around drinking, starting fights and ..." I couldn't accuse him of sleeping with other women. I'd lost my right to judge him on that.

He climbed out of bed and came towards me. "Let me guess, Pallo sent one of his slackies to fill you in on me?" He didn't wait for me to answer. "James, yeah, I bet it was James. Whatever he told you is right. I'm sure he wouldn't exaggerate. Vampires are real trustworthy." He put his hand out towards me and I backed up into the door. "What the h.e.l.l do you want me to say? I wanted to forget you, Gwen. I wanted to make myself numb. I tried, Lord knows I tried, but nothing's worked."

Caleb was quiet a moment. "I thought I found ...." He closed his eyes and tipped his head.

"Found what?" I thought back to the words he'd whispered before falling asleep. Had I heard him right? Had he found someone else? "Caleb?"

He touched my cheek and I turned my head away. "James told you about all the women, didn't he?" I nodded. "Did he give you any numbers?"

"No."

"Do you want them?"

The last thing I wanted was to know exactly how many women Caleb had been sticking it to. I turned my head and closed my eyes. I didn't want to cry. I couldn't bring myself to. I had Giovanni now, and I couldn't love more than one man with all my heart, could I?

Caleb ran the back of his hand up my stomach. "You look hot. Taking a break from this mess did you good."

I blinked, positive my hearing had gone haywire. "Did you just say that I look hot? Who are you and where the h.e.l.l is my Caleb?"

He smiled. "Your Caleb? Hmm, I like the sound of that."

I pushed him off me. "Forget it. I need to get a hold of my father. This can't happen. I can't marry you. You're a stranger to me now and from what I've seen of you, I don't like you anymore." I stared into his green eyes and wondered what he been doing to himself all these months. "Caleb, I tried to fix things with you and you pushed me away. I tried to make it right and you spit in my face. Now, I come home to find you a mess and a jerk to boot. This isn't you and this certainly isn't something I want to spend the rest of my life with."

He put his nose to mine and locked gazes with me. "I am what you made me, Gwen." His tongue came out and licked my closed lips.

"This is not you. When you decide to start acting like yourself again, let me know. Until then, I can't help you, no one can." I pushed him away from me and walked out of the room. I headed across to my room and opened the door slowly.

I stepped in and closed the door. A wave of black silky hair was spread across the bed. I walked closer and saw that Giovanni's back was to me. I climbed in behind him and wrapped my arm around him. My chin fit nicely onto his shoulder, but my feet only went to just below his knees. I liked how familiar his body felt to me.

He shifted a little and turned his head to me. "Bella."

"I'm sorry I didn't come back in. I fell asleep in Caleb's room. Nothing happened."

Giovanni turned his body to me and wrapped his arms around me. "I know nothing happened and even if it had, I've already told you that I will not be angry with you." He didn't sound fine with the idea and for some reason that made me feel better. It was silly to think Giovanni's jealousy could calm my nerves but it did.

I closed my eyes and was thankful I didn't have another battle to fight. He pulled me to him and kissed my lips. "You taste of your faerie."

Drawing back from him, I covered my mouth. When I had told him that nothing happened I'd meant that Caleb and I didn't have s.e.x. We had kissed. I went to climb out of the bed when Giovanni sat up and wrapped his arms around my waist. He moved his body up my back, leaving us both on our knees with my back to him. He reached around and pulled my chin towards him.

"I did not say that to upset you. I am not even sure why I said it. I am not upset with you, Bella. I know nothing happened ... I could hear the two of you sleeping."

His hands moved around to the front of me. He pulled my shirt up a little and let his fingers slide down my stomach. He moved his hand down the front of my underwear and found what he was looking for. I cried out and grabbed at his legs and b.u.t.t. He was completely nude. He'd only slept nude once since I'd known him and I was shocked to find he did it with so many people around us. I ran my hands over his smooth skin as our bodies swayed slightly. His fingers worked tiny circles on my lower region, sending my legs into spasms.

Giovanni pressed firmly against me. I let go of his leg and leaned forward for him to take me. He pulled my underwear down and ran his fingers up my spine. When he got to my neck, he slid his hands up into my hair and wrapped them in it gently. He pushed himself in me and made me cry out for him. He moved himself in and out of me and held my hair as he went. He was so impossibly large from this angle that for a moment I wondered if he'd rip me in two or leave permanent damage. I felt my body relaxing around him, and I knew he was being gentle with me.

His sac slapped against me as he filled me up. The head of his c.o.c.k hit my cervix. Each time I received him I let out a moan. His size was still very much an issue. Having him in me like this was such a mix of pleasure and pain that my body didn't know how to react.

His hand slipped out of my hair and slid down my back then over my side and down. He moved his body against me and spooned me from behind. He reached down between my legs and found my sweet spot and ran his fingers over it as he continued to pump himself into me. I felt something building up inside me and I wanted to share it with him. I moved my hand down over his and let him trace my own fingers over me.

I turned my head up to his face and licked his neck. "f.u.c.k me, Giovanni, f.u.c.k me."

He sped up and his body tightened as mine exploded. I felt him release himself in me. His breath was short and shallow. "No, Bella, I make love to you. There is a difference, remember."

I stayed with my body pressed against his and kissed his mouth. He bent forward and grabbed the sheet quickly, pulling it up over the front of me.

"Gwen, hey I forgot to tell you about this dream I had last night. I dreamt that you were in bed with ...," the bedroom door burst open and Caleb froze, "Giovanni."

Caleb stared at the two of us and his face paled. He backed out the room and slammed the door shut. Giovanni hugged me tightly to him.

"Do you regret him seeing us?"

"I should have told him about us. He shouldn't have had to find out like this."

"Ah, I agree, but you did not answer my question," he said, pulling himself out of me slowly.

I touched his leg and stayed against him. "No, I don't regret us, not at all. I am concerned about one thing though." He moved back and planted kisses on my shoulders. "What is that, Bella." "Honey, if Pallo is right about you, then I don't think, no ... I know, I won't recover from being hurt by you. I love you so much already and it grows every second I'm with you. And the very fact I'm not running after Caleb right now proves that." Giovanni wrapped his arms around me. "Pallo is wrong about me, vita mia." G.o.d, I hoped Giovanni was right.

Chapter Seventeen.

Having my days and nights mixed up was beginning to take a toll on me. Giovanni and I took a rather eventful shower together and laid back down for a couple of hours. He kept asking me if I wanted to go after Caleb to sort things out. I was torn. Part of me did, but the sensible half of me won out and knew that I'd be adding fuel to the fire. No, I'd give Caleb the time he needed to think things over, then I'd talk with him.

I felt Giovanni get out of bed. He was being very quiet about getting dressed. I don't think I'd have been able to hear him if it wasn't for Pallo's attempt at turning me. I rolled over and watched him slide on his black dress pants. He went over to his suitcase and took out a long sleeved, black, pull-over shirt. It wasn't as dressy as his normal clothes, but I loved it on him. Black suited him, not because it was supposed to, but because his features lent themselves well to the darkness of black.

He pulled his hair out of the back of his shirt and looked out the window. The sun had set already and I knew that he was getting hungry. He could go longer between feedings than Pallo. I think his age had something to do with it. I heard him let out a long sigh, and I shifted slightly under the blankets.

"Mi dispiace-I'm sorry, I did not mean to wake you," he said softy.

His back was still to me and I wanted very much to see the look on his face. Not that it mattered. I could rarely read his emotions. His face was schooled to never reveal anything he didn't want it to. I got a gnawing feeling in my gut and was very concerned that he was having second thoughts about us.

I climbed out of bed. I walked near him, but didn't disturb him. If he wanted to talk to me he could. I opened my closet and pulled the light cord. It took a few minutes for me to verify the closet was indeed still mine. I could make out some of my clothes, but most of what I saw in there were things I hadn't purchased. But I was pretty sure I knew who had bought them-Pallo.

I settled on a pair of wide leg blue jeans, a light tan, taffeta blouse and a long, denim duster. I fished my brown suede boots out and hugged them. For a few seconds I thought Pallo might have thrown them out. They were low on his likeability scale.

Giovanni turned to me. He let his surprise show in his eyes. "Bella, you look like you are about to ride off on your horse and herd the cattle home."

I smiled and turned to walk out of the room.

"Bella, wait. Why do you look so sad?"

I put my hand through my hair. It was a nervous habit that I'd never break. I looked at him and tried to hide my lie. "I'm not sad, really. I'm fine. Let's go down and grab something to eat."

He was on me in an instant. He had me swung around and facing him before I could utter a word. "Don't hide the way you feel from me, Bella. Something troubles you."

"Giovanni, I'm fine." My lip began to quiver. I bit down on it, refusing to give in. The feeling in my gut was coming back. It was telling me that something was not right with Giovanni and I knew I could not handle finding out what it was.

He touched my cheek and brought his face close to mine. "Bella, please don't try and deceive me. I can sense that you are lying to me."

I surrendered. "You're going to leave me aren't you?"

He pulled his hand away quickly. That was all the proof I needed. I let my head drop forward, feeling like someone had kicked me in the chest. "Okay. It's okay I understand," I said more to myself than to him. No part of me understood or was fine with the knowledge he was leaving me.

Giovanni took me in his arms and held me close to him. "Perhaps, it is not I that you should ask about my travel plans."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He grabbed my cheeks and kissed my lips. "No, Bella, mi dispiace. I should not have said that. It means nothing and I have no plans of my own to leave you. I'm not sure you could get rid of me even if you wanted to."

I let out a half-laugh, half-cry and kissed him back. "Promise?"

"I promise."

Chapter Eighteen.

Dinner had been a disaster. I helped James make spaghetti. None of the vampires, except James ate any. They all sipped quietly on their gla.s.ses of blood. Mikhail and Malita joined us. I was shocked to see that the twins and punk-rock boy were no-shows. Malita spent the entire dinner rubbing her foot up Pallo's leg. He spent the entire meal trying to ignore her to talk with Caleb.

Caleb and Pallo were more than acquaintances but not exactly friends. Putting a label on what they were was hard. Watching them look down at Giovanni and me with utter disgust was harder. They didn't team up on me often, but on this they were.