Chapter 10

Genevieve

Standing naked in the middle of the bathroom I battled with wanting a shower or food. Deciding that it would take some time for him to cook, I opted for a shower. The shower was massive, with black and red tiles, and could easily fit two people.

Turning on the water, I adjusted it until I found the perfect temperature and then stepped under the stream. Squirting a dollop of his shampoo into my hand I lathered up my hair. The beat of the water onto my face and chest felt divine. For a moment, while under the stream of water, I almost felt like I wasn ' t in the middle of a nightmare that would end with my death.

The smell of food drifted up, making my stomach growl. Grabbing a towel I dried myself off as I exited the bathroom and entered his walk-in closet. The closet was meticulously organized, everything in its spot making it easy to find a pair of gray jogging pants and a t-shirt, but no undergarments that would fit.

Following my nose, I found myself in the kitchen where he was in the process of plating up some spaghetti and meatballs.

He looked up and paused, his eyes looking me up and down. Clearing his throat he went back to the task of plating the food. " I hope you like pasta. "

" Would it matter if I do? I ' ll be dead in a few days." My bare feet walked soundlessly across the cool tile and I took my place at the table where I ' d sat the previous night.

Our eyes locked and he looked away, carrying our plates to the table, serving me, and taking a seat at the opposite end of the table. I set to work greedily eating the spaghetti. The sauce had to be the best sauce I ' d had in my life, although I had no intention of ever telling him that.

We were nearly done eating when he finally spoke. " If it ' s any consolation I do regret that it is you. If this was another time, maybe another life then perhaps things could have been different. "

Looking up from my food, I shot him a dirty look. " It ' s not and it ' s not. It doesn ' t have to be this way. It ' s the way you chose it to be."

He nodded. " I suppose I deserved that. "

Nero

Damn my brother. He royally fucked up my head. Why couldn ' t he have just left her in the past? That life was centuries ago. I hadn ' t been that person for a very long time. One might argue that I hadn ' t even been human for a very long time, and I wouldn ' t disagree.

Looking across the table it occurred to me why I was so drawn to her. The black hair and shade of green in her eyes were identical to Lucia's. The realization struck me so hard that the fork went tumbling from my fingers making a clang on the plate.

Looking up from her plate, she stared at me but didn ' t speak as if sensing my distress.

" It ' s nothing. " No longer hungry, I picked up my plate and took it to the sink.

" How do you do it? " she asked.

" Do what? " God, I couldn ' t even look at her. How had I not seen the resemblance before ?

" Your brother. How do you do it? Did you just know, or did you learn ?"

A change in subject. That ' s good. Anything to get my mind from connecting the dots from the past to the present. Taking my seat at the end of the table, I leaned back in the chair, crossing my arms over my chest.

" It ' s complicated. "

" I ' ve got time." She shoved another forkful of spaghetti in her mouth, slurping up a stray strand.

" A person has to have been gifted the ability of magic. Very few have it ."

" And I have this gift. That ' s why you want me?"

" My brother told you. "

She popped a shoulder, then ate the last of the spaghetti. " He didn ' t have to. I figured that out on my own when I burned you earlier. I assume that ' s magic. The magic you want from me. "

" It is. You ' re gifted. Your power is quite strong. "

" And how do I use this power? How did you learn how to use it? "

I laughed. " You ' re a tricky little one. If I told you then we ' d have problems. Let ' s just say that it ' s a combination of natural affinity to it and learned application."

" Learned from who? "

She was a persistent little one. I should be locking her in the mausoleum, keeping her far away from me. But I couldn ' t. Not when the desire to know more about her was so great. If I didn ' t know any better I ' d have thought that she was the one weaving the love spell on me.

" Now, you don ' t expect me to give up my secrets, do you? "

" Have you ever thought about being with someone? Sharing eternity? "

" Not possible. "

" Why? "

" It just isn ' t. It ' s getting late. How about we head up to bed. "

Fear flashed in her eyes.

" I won ' t hurt you as long as you behave and do as you're told. "

Her expression fell, and if I had a heart, it would have been torn out at that moment. Taking her plate, I placed it in the sink and then took her by the arm and led her upstairs to the bedroom. I didn ' t even attempt to cast a spell on her, she ' d fight it and win. She ' d already learned to push back my enchantment. I ' d hate to see what she ' d learn if she were here for an extended period of time.

When we reached the bedroom she went straight to the bed and gave me her wrist to secure to the bedpost. I didn ' t miss the tears in her eyes when I looked down at her before she looked away, refusing so much as to look in my direction.

Once secured to the bed she pulled the blankets over herself and turned away from me. It was for the best. Nothing good would come of speaking with her. Each word from her mouth only added to the confusion that was forming in my mind.

It was one of the longest nights of my life.

Spending the night with her chained up next to me was torture. The combination of her natural floral aroma mixed with my shampoo and body wash was intoxicating, bringing back memories of the feel of her body pressed against mine. The taste of her sweet nectar on my tongue as she begged me for more.

Why did I insist on playing with fire when it came to her?

She was going to ruin everything if I wasn ' t careful. But there was something about her that made me careless, and it went beyond her looks. Her striking resemblance to Lucia was only going to make what needed to be done all that much harder. Once I claimed her body, that should have been it.

Damn.