I could hear Giovanni moving around in the bathroom. I climbed in bed and waited for him to come out. I was suddenly very aware of how tired I was. It'd been a long night and it had finally caught up with me. I remember hearing the bathroom door open and feeling Giovanni slide into bed next to me and that was it. Sleep overwhelmed me.

Chapter Nine.

I turned around in the all white room and looked for signs to tell me where I was. The soft scent of vanilla filled the area. Pallo stepped out of the white mist and up to me. He was wearing white from head to toe and he took my breath away. I looked down to find myself dressed in a white gown, as well.

"Where are we?"

He put his hand up and looked around me. "It is just a dream." I knew better, nothing was ever as it seemed with him. "I need you to listen to me, Gwyneth. Malita has told me about the attack on you. I think you should leave and come home with me."

"I'll bet she isn't too big on helping me now. She has a clearer path to your pants if I'm not in the way .... No, I'm safe here. Giovanni has taken precautions to prevent it from happening again," I said. The mention of Giovanni's name made Pallo's jaw tighten.

"Gwyneth, you do not understand how dangerous he can be. I would not put it past him to be behind the attack on you."

I took a step back from him. "Pallo, don't do this. Don't call me to you or invade my dreams to try and plant seeds of distrust in my mind. I wouldn't even be here if you had opened your mouth and objected to my engagement to Caleb. I only ever wanted to be with you."

He came to me and touched my hands. "Gwyneth, your father will never allow you to pick a vampire over a faerie for your life-mate. Especially, one that could produce an heir. There is no way to know what kind of child we would have and he would not tolerate anything less than perfection. If I had voiced my objection publicly then he would have been forced to acknowledge me as a possible suitor in front of his entire kingdom. Even he cannot ignore the fact that I, too, am a candidate to be your mate. Kerrigan is many things, but forgiving is not one of them. He would have seen me on the pointy end of a stake before the night was out."

It was on the tip of my tongue to say my father would never do such a thing, but the reality of it was that Pallo knew my father a h.e.l.l of a lot better than I did.

"Come home with me, Gwyneth. Wedding plans are underway and you need to be present for them. Giovanni is not someone you should be seeking safe haven with. If your father finds out that you are with him there will be no stopping his vengeance."

I pulled my hand out of his. "My father won't find out, will he, Pallo?"

"Come home with me, Gwyneth."

"Why in the h.e.l.l do you want to marry me off to Caleb so badly?"

"If I cannot be the one to spend forever with you then I want it to be someone who will love you as I would and who would never hurt you. Giovanni is not that person, Gwyneth. He is a monster."

"And, you're the expert on those, right?" He jerked back from me. I gave him a wicked smile. "And, by the way, while we're on the subject of being with someone, I heard you and Malita were quite the item. What was it ...? Oh, yeah, you were her first."

He grabbed a hold of my arms and turned me to him. "That was long ago, Gwyneth. It was a darker time for me. She and I shared a common goal-evil. Yes, I took her to my bed many times, but every moment I wished it was you there with me."

I turned my head away from him. His attempt at clearing that up had only succeeded in pouring salt on the wound. "It's over Pallo, let me go."

His grip tightened on my arms. He shook me slightly. "Gwyneth, he is poisoning your mind with lies. That is what he does. He is using you. You are nothing more than a f.u.c.k and a showpiece to him. He wants to be the one with the most toys, Gwyneth. He could not handle that you were leaving him long ago. He snapped, not out of love, but out of the disgrace of you picking a mortal over him. Do not listen to him and do not trust him. Please, Gwyneth ...."

I cut Pallo off. "No, don't turn this into a rally around hating Giovanni. He made mistakes, Pallo. We all did. He's sorry for them and if you must know, I haven't had s.e.x with him, so what's his reasoning for that? Don't think I haven't tried. I've begged the man and he has resisted. I want him to touch me as badly as I want you to. How can you stand there and tell me that he's using me?"

Pallo yanked me to him. "Gwyneth, he is luring you to him. He is making you trust him. He wants you to fall in love with him. Once he has you he'll never let you go. You left him long ago for a reason, Gwyneth. Trust your first instincts and leave him now." He tightened his grip on me, and I cried out in pain.

"Bella?" I opened my eye and looked up at Giovanni. His black hair hung around his face and fell down onto my shoulder. "You were having a bad dream. Are you all right?"

I shivered. Giovanni moved down closer to me and kissed my cheek. I turned my face into him and felt his lips find mine. I closed my eyes and let my body surrender to him. His tongue dove in and found mine and his hand moved up to my hip. I moved my hand down his side and found that he was naked. My eyes flickered open and he was smiling at me. I moved my hand across his low stomach and let my fingers brush through his trimmed nest of hair. I found the object of my desire and ran my cupped hand up and down his shaft. His kisses came faster and my stroke matched his pace. He grew in my hand and drew in a deep breath.

Giovanni's hand moved down and found mine. He put his hand over mine and stroked himself with me a few times before pulling my hand up and pinning my arms out. I arched my back up towards him. His mouth found my left nipple and his tongue ran around the growing edges of it. He pulled it into his mouth and moved it around with his tongue. I cried out and my legs tightened with the antic.i.p.ation of having him in me. He moved his body over mine. He pushed his knee between my legs and pried them open gently.

"Giovanni?"

He positioned himself between my legs, moved his mouth lower and kissed my stomach. He planted a continuous row of kisses all the way down until his face was nestled between my legs. He spread my slit and then flicked his tongue across my swollen c.l.i.t. I slammed my head back onto the bed and pulled at the covers. I bit down on a pillow and cried out into it, afraid if I was too loud that I'd bring everyone running to us.

The second Giovanni's finger entered me I knew I was moist and ready for him. He varied between sucking and licking my engorged nub and my legs twitched. I screamed into the pillow as a spasm coincided with my o.r.g.a.s.m. His fingers kept moving in and out of me, sending more and more shivers down my legs. I grabbed a hold of his hair and pulled his head up.

He smiled and moved his body up and over me like a snake. His face was above mine and I could smell my s.e.x on him. He leaned in and kissed me slowly. He pulled back and looked into my eyes.

"Giovanni." I wanted him to take me.

He pushed his c.o.c.k into me. I moaned as I took him in. Somehow, my body managed to accept all of him. He held himself pressed deep within me and looked at me. "Am I hurting you?"

I nodded and he began to pull out. "No, no it's a good pain. Don't stop." He smiled down at me and eased himself back in. I grabbed hold of his shoulders and squeezed to help alleviate the mix of pain and pleasure he was causing between my legs. He went to pull back out of me again.

"No," I said and tugged on his shoulders.

"Bella, I cannot enjoy being with you if I am hurting you."

I pulled harder on his back. "Giovanni, please it's okay."

"I told you I would never hurt you again, Gwyneth and I meant it. I love you too much to ...."

I grabbed his long black hair and pulled his head back. "What did you just say?"

He locked gazes with me and smiled. "Ti amo-I love you."

Another memory came back to me. I didn't get any vision of things that happened in the past, but I did get the knowledge of little pieces of our relationship. "That's the first time you've ever said that to me-ever."

His body tightened in me. "I have changed, Bella, for the better." Pallo's words of wisdom from my dream haunted me. Could I trust Giovanni? Was he lying to me and confessing his love for me to trick me? It was too late now. I was pinned under him and had him deep within me.

I pulled his mouth to mine and forced my tongue in. I moved my hips under him and felt him give in and push back. His body moved into mine so gently, all the while he flooded my face and neck with kisses. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my body completely relaxed for him. I cried his name out as he thrust himself into me. His hands found mine and our fingers locked together. He pushed my hands into the bed and moved his hips in a circular motion, I screamed as my toes curled downwards and the tingling sensation that proved he'd done well swept upwards. His body pushed into mine and I dug my nails into his hands. He pushed harder and in my climatic state, I wanted nothing more than for him to finish in me. His body tightened and his rhythm changed, causing me to remember what it was I wanted to tell him.

"I'm not taking any birth control."

He slammed into me and his head arched back. We cried out together as he finished in me. His body collapsed down onto mine and he kissed my neck repeatedly.

"Giovanni, did you hear me? We didn't use any protection." His c.o.c.k twitched deep within me. The already damp area now seemed to be oozing s.e.xual aftermath.

"Earth to Giovanni..."

He pulled his head up from my neck and smiled down at me. "We spent close to a hundred years together and never once conceived a child."

His hips moved a little and I could feel him flexing himself within me again. "But, I'm not the same, we could possibly ...."

He touched my lips with his cool finger. "Gwyneth, I better than you, understand how very much you've changed. I never had to be this gentle with you before. I am not complaining. I rather enjoyed the surprise."

He moved back in and kissed me. I found myself getting lost in him as he rotated his hips again. He picked up exactly where he had left off. Still being inside me saved him a few steps, but by the feel of it, he was ready for round two.

Giovanni pushed into me and I tapped him on the shoulders. "You're not taking this seriously."

He touched my eyes lightly. "You're not responding to me." I couldn't say I one hundred percent agreed with that. My body was tightening with each movement he made, but I knew that wasn't what he meant. My eyes did not warm and start to glow. If that happened I knew that my body was responding to someone I could mate with, produce a child with. So far, the only two potential mates I knew of were Caleb and Pallo. Giovanni could make my body respond to him, but he could never produce a child with me.

"Ti amo, Bella," he whispered as he pushed into me. I gave in to him and pulled him to me.

He pumped in and out of me. The sounds of our joining s.e.xes filled the air. I clung to him, lifting one leg higher, giving him deeper access to my body. He took it, thrusting into me with precision and finesse.

Skimming my hands up the backs of his arms, I bit my lower lip in an effort to control my grunts and moans. It didn't work. I closed my eyes, savoring the divine bliss he brought over me as he continued to ease in and out of me.

Giovanni kneaded my a.s.s cheek as he lifted my leg even higher, driving himself deeper into me. I cried out, thrashing beneath him, my eyes still closed. They burned lightly at first and I ignored the sensation, sure my mind was playing tricks on me. The burning increased as did Giovanni's pace. He thrust into me, my slit grasped at his c.o.c.k, desperate to hold it in.

Giovanni nipped at my neck tenderly. I grabbed the back of his hair and pulled, forcing his head up as I locked gazes with him. For a moment, he looked confused as he stared down at me. My o.r.g.a.s.m struck and the walls of my channel gripped him tightly, causing him to come almost instantly. He held tight in me, his eyes wide and locked on me.

"Bella?"

Reaching up, I touched just beneath my eyes, wondering if they had indeed shifted fully to another color and if so, what did that mean for Giovanni and me?

He withdrew slowly from me and wetness oozed from my body. "It would appear," he bent, sucking gently on my nipple, "you have even more tricks up your sleeve this lifetime, Bella."

I ran my hands through his long, silky hair. "Does that mean you liked it, too? Because I know I did. You should be warned that if you tell me you've had better, you won't be leaving this bed with all your body parts."

A warm smile washed over his handsome face, causing his dimples to show. "Ah, Bella, as far as bed partners who are unforgettable, you had only yourself to compete with and you have held your own." His c.o.c.k flexed against my inner thigh. "If you do not wish to take my word for it," he reached down and held himself, "take his. He is most pleased and desires even more of you."

"More?" I asked, disbelief evident. "You just managed to pull off a back to back session. Don't you need a break or something?" He thrust into me, spearing me sweetly. I guess not.

Chapter Ten.

I shoved past Brandy, or was it Candy? I couldn't tell the two of them apart and I didn't want to bother to get to know them. I reached for the coffee pot and poured myself a cup.

"Isn't it kind of late in the day for that?"

I finished adding sugar and cream, trying to decide if responding to Mikhail's remark was worth my time or not.

Mikhail stood in the kitchen doorway with no shirt on and wearing only a faded old pair of jeans. He reminded me of Caleb in so many ways. I tried to remember how I'd let things get so out of hand with Caleb. I did care greatly for him. And, at one point I did want to be his wife, but now he hated me and even I couldn't blame him.

"You're going to be up all night," Mikhail said. "You never were good with stimulants."

And he knew this how?

"That's the plan. I've noticed my days and nights are completely twisted. I need all the help I can get now." I raised my mug to him and smiled. I thought about his a.s.sessment of me and stimulants. It was true. I loved coffee, yet it made me restless. I glanced at him and thought about asking how he knew so much about me.

"Oh, what smells so good?" Malita asked, appearing behind Mikhail in the doorway. She saw me and grew quiet. I glanced at Ester, who was piling stacks of pancakes onto plates for everyone.

"Will Giovanni be joining us?" Mikhail asked.

I glanced at the clock. It was pushing eleven o'clock. No, Giovanni would sleep until at least three or four p.m.

"No, I doubt it."

"What about James?" the twins asked in unison.

Malita looked over at me. "No, Pallo took his vampires and left late last night."

I spilled some coffee down the front of me. I'd thought that Pallo had stayed through the night. I had no idea he'd left already. I put my cup on the counter and excused myself.

I made it as far as the end of the hallway and fell back against the wall. What was my problem? I was the one who had told him to go. I was the one who had pushed him away, and I was the one who had slept with Giovanni. Why did I suddenly feel empty inside?

"You know, I almost believed you when you said you wanted him to go last night. I really thought you'd finally had enough of the game playing."

I turned around and found Mikhail standing behind me. He leaned against the wall and matched my posture. He put his hands into his pockets and pushed down on his pant line. I would have had to be dead to not notice how low his pants were. I turned away slightly and grabbed his belt loop instead, pulling his pants down even further.

"Well, okay," he said.

I ignored him and moved his silk blue underwear out of the way. Yep, I was right I had caught sight of something. I let my finger trace the edges of the crescent moon tattoo. It was identical to Giovanni's in every way. Mikhail grabbed my wrist. I stared up into his light brown eyes and gave him a stern look.

"Later," he said and walked past me towards the front door. I put my back against the wall and listened to the women in the kitchen. They were discussing Pallo's early departure. The twins were adamant I was the devil for chasing off their precious boy-toy, James. Malita scolded them and told them Pallo and I had a long history and that he respected my wishes and left. I was surprised to hear her rising to my defense. I had liked her right up until I found her half-naked on Pallo. Maybe, she wasn't so bad after all.

Yeah and maybe I'd win the Miss Monogamy award.

I felt like a heel eavesdropping on them. I turned and headed up the stairs to change my blouse. I pushed my bedroom door open and slipped quietly in. Giovanni was still sleeping. I pulled my shirt off and walked over towards the bed. I touched his long leg that was hanging out of the covers and he rolled over onto his back. The sheet pulled almost all the way off him. His tattoo was left uncovered. I crawled up and over him and took great pains not to wake him.

My hair kept falling forward and I knew it would tickle his leg if it hit it, so I pulled it back with one hand. I reached down and ran my fingers over the tattoo. It was as cool as he was. My hand slipped and dropped onto his leg. He shifted a little and I found myself staring right at the bulk of his being. His c.o.c.k was large even not erect. As much as I wanted to let him sleep, I wanted to touch him more. I gave in and lowered my lips to him. I planted tiny kisses all along him, until I reached the tip. I drew him into my mouth and brought my hands up to help arouse him. He hardened as my mouth moved over him. His hand touched my shoulder and I looked up to see him watching me. I kept my eyes on his and continued to take him into my mouth.

Having my gaze locked on his seemed to do it for him. His eyes rolled back and his hips pushed upwards. I was thankful that I was using both hands to help bring him or he could have choked me to death. I felt him tightening and he lost control of himself, coming into my mouth. I stared into his dark black eyes and swallowed.

He pulled me up towards him in the bed. His arms opened wide and he held me close to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, I ...."

He kissed my head and pulled me to him tighter. "Don't be sorry. You have nothing to apologize for. It has been a long time since I woke to find you there."

I lifted my face to his and he kissed my lips softly. The dream I'd had with Pallo in it had been bothering me all morning. If Giovanni had been like he is now with me and snapped, what would prevent him from doing the same thing again? I didn't like second guessing him, but history spoke for itself. I just wished I could remember more of our past. Giovanni held the key and I decided it was time to see if he'd unlock that door for me.

"Giovanni ...."

"Yes?"

"Tell me about what happened to us. Tell me why I had an affair with Pallo and tell me why I left you. I can't think of one reason why I'd give you up."

He stiffened and pulled the blankets up to cover us both. He was quiet for a minute and I thought he was going to ignore the question. Instead, he caressed my arm. "Bella, I do not want to push you away. We have found something wonderful again and I do not wish to lose it so soon."