Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

I pin Mia to the cabinet and squeeze her ass with both hands until she whimpers. "Does that hurt my little kitten? You want me to stop?" She feels so damn good.

"No," she manages to whisper as she runs her hands over my chest.

The last twenty-four hours have been hell in one manner or another and I am on the edge. I need release, and goddamn it, she's my wife. I grab the front of her blouse and rip it open as I lower my head to her neck. I pull the shirt off her and drop it to the floor and then I reach behind her back and undo her bra, tossing it aside. Lowering my head to her nipples I go back to squeezing her ass and grinding her against me. She doesn't utter a word but her breathing is harsh. She's excited. I can feel it. She likes being dominated. It's scary how well-suited we are. I can't wait to have my pretty little wife.

I suck and then tug on her nipple with my teeth. "Are you wet for me, baby girl? You want me to touch your pussy?"

She moans. I want her so fucking badly. I haven't hungered for a woman like this in decades. I hoist up her skirt until it's around her waist and then push her thong down over her hips. I run my fingers between her folds, and they're slick with wetness for me.

"You like that, don't you? You're already so wet for me, my gattina." I growl, my breath hot against her neck, my words rasping across her skin.

Mia nods weakly, eyes closed tight, face flushed in arousal. My hands are everywhere, squeezing her ass cheeks hard, gripping her hips as I lift her up and slam her back down against my cock with a groan. It's rough, but Mia doesn't make a sound. Her fingers curl into my hair as I suck her neck hard enough to leave a bruise. I want to bite her. I want to thrust my cock into her so hard it hurts while I bite her neck and leave her marked. Mine. Now and always.

I kiss her hard, forcing my tongue deep into her mouth as my fingers part her folds, slipping inside her wetness. She gasps, arching her back to press herself deeper against me. I growl in approval and plunge my fingers deeper, curling them up to massage her g-spot. Mia's hips buck against me, seeking more friction, as I create another bruise on her neck with a hard, possessive kiss. My little whore.

Her breath quickens, as I continue my assault on her senses. With one hand gripping her ass cheek hard enough to leave a handprint, I thrust my fingers in and out of her, finding that sweet spot over and over again. "Yes, baby. Tell me how much you want it. How much you want my cock inside you."

"Now, Renzo. I want you to fuck me now." Mia's fingers dig into the fabric of my shirt, her nails leaving tiny stings on my skin in her eagerness. She moans, the sound muffled by the noise of our rough breathing.

I thrust my fingers in deep, deeper than before and I hit a barrier. The scent hits me. Blood. I can smell it. The sweet smell of hunger, of lust. I feel my fangs grow and I open my mouth to taste her, my Mia. I will have her; I will make her mine. She will never ever go against my wishes again. I bite down and she lets out a whimper as my teeth pierce her flesh. That small sound brings me back to reality. I go cold. I haven't lost control like this in decades, centuries even.

I lurch back and let her go and pull my lips in to hide my fangs. She stumbles and stares at me, her eyes big and her mouth open. I forgot she was a virgin. That there would be blood. I curse and then head out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time. Mia calls my name, but I don't stop. I can't stop until I am far away from her. The scent of her blood fills my nose, and I know that if I don't get away now then I will give in, and Mia will suffer the consequences of my hunger. I might not want to, but I will kill my wife.

My eyes open against the setting sun and I sigh.

"You're awake," Nico says as he shifts in the chair. He is sitting behind my father's desk, looking out at the canal below.

I sit up on the sofa. "Yeah." I stretch and rub my face.

"You want to talk about it?"

"About what?"

Nico scoffs, "Whatever has you hiding in Venezia for the last week."

"I'm not hiding out. I had business with Father."

Nico snorts. "Sure. You are also hiding out though, which is not something I've ever seen you do. So tell me what's this"—he waves his hands gesturing to the surroundings— "all about?"

Anger burns in my gut. I want to throttle my brother for calling me a coward, but mostly, I'm angry at myself because he's right. "How about being arrested for the one crime I didn't commit? About having worked so hard to get to the top and damn near losing it within hours of my wedding? Or about how I almost killed my wife?" And that bothers me the most.

Nico's cocks an eyebrow. "I'll take door number three. How did you almost kill Mia? She doesn't strike me as the shrinking violet type, so unless you mistakenly shot or stabbed her, I'm not sure how you could've almost killed her."

I meet my brother's gaze. "I got home and didn't feed. I met with Angelo and then went downstairs and found Mia."

"So?" Nico frowned. "You weren't starving to death or anything. You'd fed the day before. I mean, you were obviously hungry but…"

I shake my head. "I was hungry but that wasn't the problem. I was angry with Mia and that led to being turned on…and then one thing led to another."

Nico drew his brows downward. "I'm still not following you."

"Forget it. It's not important." I stand.

"Obviously it is important. So important you flew across the sky and ended up here just after dark last week and you haven't left. That's a hell of a risk you took so something must have happened."

"I got…carried away, and Mia…" For some reason, I didn't want to talk about Mia being a virgin with my brother. I thought I had long ago given up caring about what people thought but Mia seems to have changed that. "Mia started to bleed."

Nico blinked and then nodded. "And you wanted to feed on her."

I nod. Although younger, Nico has always been even-tempered and wise beyond his several hundred years. He is often the voice of reason in my head. "I wanted to do more than feed. I wanted to fuck her and drain the life out of her at the same time. I haven't been that far gone since I was a young vampire. I pride myself on my control. Mia will never know how close she came to dying that night. This is why marrying a human is a bad idea. Being around humans, in general, is challenging enough. I miss the days when we just killed the ones that annoyed us."

Nico grins. "It's the stress."

I frown. "What? I'm a vampire. We don't do stress."

He ignores my outburst. "This whole dead capo business on top of the marriage, on top of the situation with the turned vampires in Berlin. It's not just you. We're all on edge. There's something…" my brother's voice fades out as he stares at the canal.

"I feel it too. Something is coming. A shift of some kind. Something I have never felt before. I keep having strange dreams. It's as if the magick world is trying to tell me something, send me a warning and I just can't understand the message."

Nico nods his agreement. "I feel the same way. Luca, as well."

"We all feel it," my father says as he enters the room. "I am going to the magick realm later to see if I can discover more. For now… be careful, stay on guard." He stood next to his desk. "Renzo, I am sorry to add to your stress, but you have to go back tonight. Now. You have a meeting with the other families. Mia had called it when you were in prison, and I think it's smart to keep it."

"I will go right after I feed." I stand. "I've asked all my human and magickal informants here in Venezia if anyone has heard anything about either Russo's murder or the Albanian vampires. So far, no one has anything to report." I clench my fists to quell the frustration creeping through me.

My father takes a seat in one of the visitor chairs across the desk from Nico. "I am getting silence as well." He studies me. "Your wife moved swiftly to maintain control."

I growl.

"It was a smart move and not just for her. It was the best move for us, as well. Do not be too quick to judge her as being too ambitious. She made the right call and if you had been stuck in jail, it would be better for all of us if she was in charge. Your brothers will help her if… it comes to that."

"What do you mean if it comes to that?" I demand. "I didn't kill Russo. It's probably the only thing I haven't done recently but I didn't do it."

Father agrees. "You didn't kill him, but someone wants you to go down for his murder. I don't have to tell you that there is nothing worse for us than going to prison. We cannot risk the exposure of our true natures. Humans are not ready for that..."

Yeah, he didn't need to tell me that. My hand bones creak from the intensity of my clench. "So what are you saying?" I ask.

"I'm saying that if it comes down to it and it looks like you are going to prison, you will have to go reinvent yourself somewhere."

I stare at my father incredulous. It was one thing to think it, but it was another thing all together to have Father suggest it. "Are you banishing me?"

He looks up at me, startled. "I would never banish you. I am merely stating that if we cannot figure out this Russo problem, you are going to have to start again somewhere else. We all do it every so many years. "

"But we all do it together. You are talking about sending me away all on my own." I can't believe my father is even suggesting such a thing.

"It will be safer for all of us if you disappear for a while. Only if we can't figure out what happened to Russo. You can go live in the magick realm if you want. I don't care but I want you to be prepared just in case."

I grind my teeth. I'm prepared all right. I'm not giving up my life because some fucker has framed me. I will fight, and I will exhaust all my energies to hunt down whoever did this to me. Retribution will be sweet and satisfying.

"So we keep digging," I say.

Nico stands. "I have a few contacts to check. I'll keep my ear to the ground." He came around the desk and stood beside me. He lays his hand on my shoulder and squeezes gently. "Don't worry, brother, you're not going anywhere. We'll get this shit sorted out and then you can go back to ruling the underworld and screwing your new wife."

I say nothing but I appreciate the support. It was more than I was getting from my father. "I've got to go. I'll keep you informed on how the meeting goes." I leave the room on the way to the kitchen where we store the blood.

Renzo, don't think I am not behind you one-hundred-percent. These are strange times, and we need to be prepared for anything. All of us. I cannot let you go to prison for murder. It will mean we are unmasked. I can't let that happen. As king of this seethe, it's my job to keep us all safe.

My father's voice fades from my mind. I hear what he is saying but I also hear what he isn't saying, at least not to me. He will sacrifice me if it means keeping our existence a secret. That knowledge stings, but I understand his thinking. He doesn't have a choice, but I do. And if it comes to it, he will have a damn hard time killing me because I do not plan on going down without a fight.