“Come over here and sit on the bed.”
She shook her head. She didn’t dare get that close to him. “I’m fine right here.”
“You want to talk about this, then you come over and sit on the bed right next to me.”
“Why?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “It shouldn’t make any difference where I am, Val. This doesn’t change anything between us. My family is still going to protect your father, Dario and you from Miceli and his army. It’s what we do.”
“You want to know these answers, Princess, you get over here and sit next to me, otherwise we can talk about your friend Elie.”
Valentino was as stubborn as hell. She knew when he made up his mind to do something there was no stopping him. She needed answers. The fact that Dario had looked at Nicoletta and Grace had been in danger of being kidnapped by Miceli worried her. She knew it was rumored that ancestors in the past had married into the Saldi family. If that was so, had the shadow rider genetics been passed on, or at least something similar? Did the Saldi family have something of their own that meshed with Ferraro genetics?
Reluctantly, Emmanuelle crossed the room and slid onto the bed beside Val. She kept as much of a distance as possible. Fortunately, the bed was king-sized, so there was plenty of space, and she stayed right on the edge. She didn’t like getting close to Val for self-preservation’s sake. He probably knew that.
“So, talk, Val.”
“Thanks for coming. I told Dario not to send for you, but he doesn’t listen to me. Your family coming, that’s huge. Knowing Giuseppi’s safe. Thanks for that.”
That voice. Up close, his voice was like an actual caress smoothing over her skin. He brought every nerve ending alive with his voice. She tried not to shiver, tried not to let one single response to him slip where he could see, but already, she knew those nerve endings connecting them like sins would tell him everything he needed to know.
She lifted her chin. She refused to hide away like a child. There was nowhere to run. He had tied them together in a way she didn’t understand. Only he did. In order to get free, she had to know what he had done to her, why and how it worked. Pretending he didn’t affect her was just plain silly. So shivering or getting goose bumps, well, that was just part of what happened when she was close to him.
“No problem, Val. I’m sitting here, close. You recognized something in me when I was a teen and you saw my shadow. I saw it on your face quite a few times. You always managed to distract me with kisses when I was getting worried. I’m asking for answers. What did you see, Val?” She forced herself to look into those brilliant green eyes, even though they made her heart beat too fast and her stomach melt.
“I want you to actually listen to me all the way for a change, Emme. You never let me finish anything. You get hurt and then you rush off and I don’t have a chance at explaining. You’re going to be hurt.”
She nodded. “I’m kind of used to that now. Breathing your name equates with being hurt. I’ve asked for this explanation, and I do want it, so I’ll listen all the way through.” She just didn’t want to look at him while he told her about another betrayal.
The silence was so long she almost lifted her gaze to his again, but she couldn’t make herself do it. She sat with her back to the headboard and took long, deep breaths, contemplating the toes of her boots.
“Giuseppi told me there was a story of a way the Saldis could go from one place to another gathering information and even, if circumstances were dire enough, sending a spy to watch a rival family prepare for war. Of course, no one believed such a myth. This was handed down from father to son, but always, in spite of the feud between the families, the rumors revolved around the Ferraros and the Saldis.”
“I don’t understand. You’ll have to make yourself clearer.” She knew Val. He was hedging. There was a story. He didn’t want to give her the details. He knew she wouldn’t like them.
Valentino sighed. “I don’t suppose you’d consider sliding over here on my good side and letting me put my arm around you. I haven’t touched you in a very long time, Emme.”
“And you aren’t going to, Val. The last time I saw you, I stood in the doorway of your bedroom and you had a very naked blonde in your room. You might not remember, but I do. She was kneeling right in front of you. You told her that your father had ordered you to get together with me, but I didn’t know jack about sex.”