The Roman (The Florentine 3)

William made a hungry noise in the back of his throat and pulled her atop him. His hands caressed her back before sliding down to the fullness of her bottom and gripping it sensuously.

Raven pushed his shirt open and peppered his chest with kisses. She latched onto the side of his neck and drew the flesh into her mouth.

William groaned.

“This will be different,” she whispered, bringing her face within inches of his.

“Yes.” His gray eyes clouded.

“I promise I’ll be gentle.” She winked with a grin.

He kissed her nose.

“Thank you. Do you—” William’s unspoken question hung in the air.

She squeezed his shoulders. “Ask.”

“Will you miss it? The way it was, the way I was before?”

She cocked her head to one side. “Are you William?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love me?”

He squeezed her tightly. “Without question.”

“Then there’s nothing to miss. I was devastated when you died. I wondered if the pain would ever lessen. I’m not going to waste time coming up with silly pseudo-problems to keep us apart.”

She placed her hand against his face, marveling at the stubble that scratched her palm. “For some reason, the universe gave you back to me. I’m not going to question it, and I’m not going to criticize it. They could have brought you back broken or burned, and I would have taken you gladly and thanked God for you.

“This is our chance at happiness, and we shouldn’t waste a moment second-guessing it. Love me, William, as you have always loved me. And it will be everything.”

William switched their positions, carefully tending to her injured leg.

“I always liked this dress.” His hands worked between them, unwrapping her.

Raven pushed his shirt off his shoulders and unfastened his belt.

“Magnificent,” he murmured, gazing appreciatively at her body as he divested himself of the rest of his clothes.

He took his time removing her under things, his hands gliding across her skin.

“You haven’t been eating.” William appeared dismayed as he explored her curves, curves that were uncharacteristically modest.

“It’s difficult to enjoy food when you’re in sorrow.”

“I’m sorry.” He pressed his lips to each rib, kissing them repentantly.

Raven looped an arm around his neck, drawing him to her so their mouths could meet. She slid her hands down his spine, reveling in the warm smoothness of him and the small imperfections she encountered for the first time.

William tasted her breasts, nipping and sucking as his hips aligned with hers.

He was warm, so warm. And the heat between their bodies grew as they made contact.

“I need you.” Raven’s green eyes burned into his.

His thumb found her cheek, and he brushed it tenderly. Then, with his other hand at her hip, he entered her.

Raven shut her eyes. It was a fullness she had never expected to feel again. But he was there, above her, inside her, surrounding her with love and warmth.

William groaned, bracing his arms next to her shoulders.

She opened her eyes just as he thrust against a most delightful place.

“I don’t think I can—” William gritted his teeth, unable to complete his sentence.

“It’s okay. I’m close.” Her hands trailed down to his backside, urging him forward as she lifted her hips in time with his thrusts.

She moaned softly with his movements. And then, she felt it. The beginning of a glorious completion, like a note that hung in the air for several beats. The pleasure coursed through her body, igniting every nerve.

William grunted his frustration and began to thrust erratically.

As her orgasm crested and waned, Raven’s body relaxed.

“Did you?” he whispered roughly, his pace quickening.

“Oh, yes.” She grinned.

“Good.” With a loud cry, William thrust deeply, pouring himself into her.

His arms gave out, and he collapsed, burying his face in her neck.

“Usually you bite me during and not after,” Raven remarked.

William nipped at her skin.

She laughed, and he joined her, the happy sound echoing through the opulent apartment.

“I didn’t think I’d ever laugh again,” she confessed, running her fingers through his mussed hair, paying homage to the gray bits at his temples.

“I didn’t either.” He shifted to his side, his hand on her abdomen. His eyes were grave.

Raven read the question on his face. But she took her time choosing her words.

“I think, perhaps, there were three different Williams.”

“Three?”

“The William you were when you were young, the William you were as a vampyre, and the William you are now. But something has remained constant. Some part of you remained the same. That core, that soul, is who I love.

“Not the money, or the power, or even the beautiful art collection they’re hiding downstairs. I would have traded all those things to have you with me for one more day.” She hugged him close. “Now I have you, I’m never letting go.”

He kissed her forehead. “Skillfully put.”

“I speak the truth, Mr. Malet.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Malet.” He cleared his throat, and his gaze wandered to her breasts. “Let’s try the never letting go part one more time.”

Two hours later, the couple had showered and finished lunch.

“Why didn’t you go to Prague first?” Raven asked, sitting on William’s lap.

“I needed money, and I needed to arrange safe transport for both of us. So I came here.”

“How safe is the bank?”

He traced a pattern on her thigh. “As a fortress, it’s modest. But the relics of my teacher are strong enough to make the bank as safe as our villa against vampyres. If Borek followed you from Prague, and I surmise he did, we are safe from him and his kind—unless the Roman learns I’m here.”

“Could he attack a building that houses relics?”

“No, but he’s powerful enough t

o find a way around it or perhaps even to join forces with the Curia.”

“Borek thinks the Roman is going mad.”

William gave her a long look. “I think Borek is right. I didn’t see it clearly before, but I think madness has seized part of the Roman’s mind. In his twisted thinking, he believes I betrayed him for you. He was always jealous of my affections. Perhaps he took perverse pleasure in handing me over to our enemies.”

Raven muttered a curse. “Do the Curia know you’re alive?”

William scratched his newly shaven chin. “I don’t know. Obviously, they don’t have my body. But I don’t know if reports of my current state have reached them. For both our sakes, I’ve been praying they remain ignorant.”

“If you aren’t a vampyre, why would they want you?”

William grimaced. “They want both of us, Raven. Your priest wants your memories adjusted so you won’t be a security risk. The Curia wants me to inform on the Roman and other powerful vampyres. But they’d interrogate me first, trying to understand what made me different from the others.”

“Do you know the answer?”

“I think so. But I only realized it after I died.” He gave her a half smile. “It’s a strange story, and a bit of a long one.”

“I want to hear it.” Raven adjusted herself into a more comfortable position on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. “I should probably mention that Borek said Father Kavanaugh quit the Curia and returned home.”

“That would be the honorable thing to do.”

“You haven’t forgiven him, have you?”

William studied her. “I don’t believe he intended to kill my human nature. I think they wanted to destroy the vampyre.”

“That’s still killing.”

William tightened his arms around her. “The last thing I remember before everything went dark was the sound of you screaming. I felt my soul leave my body, and I hovered over everyone. I saw you and Father Kavanaugh. I—”

William’s story was interrupted by the ringing of a telephone.

He frowned. “I told them we were not to be disturbed.”

The telephone rang again.

“Excuse me.” He helped Raven to her feet and strode over to the bed, lifting the handset of the telephone. “Yes?”