“He’s not.”
He crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter. “I think you had better explain.”
“Arosh was one of Geber’s four. It was Ziri, the Numidian. Saba, the Aethiop, Arosh, the Persian, and… Kato, the Greek.”
Giovanni shrank back when he heard the last name. “Kato?”
“Yes, Kato.”
He rushed over and clutched her shoulders. “Kato, the ruler of Minos. King of the ancient sea. Kato is the Greek? You are telling me that the water vampire that Geber used… is my own father’s sire?”
“Yes.”
“He is not dead as I was told?”
“No. Ziri will explain it to you. There’s still a lot I don’t understand.”
He let out a harsh breath. “And you want me to go find two of the most ancient and deadly vampires to ever walk the earth? Two unopposed rulers of the ancient world, thought to be dead for centuries?”
“They’re not dead,” she whispered. “And we’re pretty sure we know where you and Carwyn need to look. Ziri will be here in two days to explain it all.”
The harsh expression fell from his face. “Two days?”
She nodded, and he pulled her to his chest.
“Two days, Tesoro?”
“It’s all we can afford.”
“I just got you back. You cannot ask me to—”
“Tenzin and I need to be back in court in that time. Livia won’t be able to prove anything, and Ziri will vouch that I spent the last few days at his estate examining some books, but any longer than that…” He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest. “I don’t want to leave you,” she whispered. “I don’t ever want—“
“Shh.” He stroked her face and rocked her as the tears slipped down her face. “We cannot do this.” He framed her face and brushed back the hair that had fallen in her face. “You must come with me. If we are going to find these immortals, then at least we should be together.”
“Someone has to stay back in Rome, Gio. We think she may already have the elixir. Rumors are starting to circulate, and I—”
“But two days?”
His lips began a frantic race as he held her tighter. Her eyes. Her cheeks. His hands tilted her face toward him before he attacked her mouth. He inhaled her gasp and lifted her in his arms, walking them to the counter where he set her on the edge. He paused and wove his fingers into her hair as he looked at her with a haunted stare. “How can I leave you again?”
“Gio—”
“How can I leave my heart?” He ducked down and pressed a kiss to her neck. “My love?” His hands drifted over her shoulders. “My life? Beatrice, how?” He buried his face in her neck and pulled her closer so she wrapped her legs around his waist.
“I don’t want this either.”
Their desire was a desperate, frantic call. He lifted her and walked to the bedroom where he slowly slipped off her clothes, letting his fingers memorize the texture of her skin. His mouth followed every dip and curve, and she held back tears when he lay down next to her and let his head rest on her abdomen, wrapping his arms around her hips as he whispered her name over and over.
She pulled him up and rolled them over, so she rested on his chest. “Some day,” she whispered. “We will come here when things are peaceful. And we will swim in the lake every night.”
“Yes?”
She sat up and spread her hands along his chest, tracing the line of his arms until her hands met his. She nodded and knit their fingers together.
“Yes. And we will buy a boat and you will teach me how to sail it.” Her fingers were enveloped by his warm hands, and she felt his thumb stroke the back of her palm.
He whispered, “How do you know I can sail a boat?”
“You can do everything.”
A sad smile crossed his lips for a second. “And you will show me the strange contraption you have created to use the computer.”
“And you’ll finally be able to check your own e-mail.”
He twisted their arms around, so that Beatrice was curled on her side facing away from him and his arms encircled her. “And I will make love to you every night in our boat.” He kissed along her shoulders, and his hand drifted over her hip.
“And you will read me Giuliana’s sonnets and sing me beautiful songs,” she whispered. The tears slipped down her face as he lifted her thigh and slid into her. He pressed her back to his chest and kissed the side of her neck. She leaned back into his embrace and turned her face to his, kissing his lips as he made love to her.
“And you will make me laugh.” He smiled against her mouth and his hands stroked her breasts, her belly, the soft skin at the juncture of her thighs. “And tease me and remind me not to be so serious. And not to burn the food.”
She laughed, but it turned into a sob as pleasure collided with the heartbreak of losing him, even for a little while. “And in a hundred years, when we get sick of each other—”
“I will never tire of you,” he said frantically as he approached his own release. “Never.”
“We’ll take separate vacations.” She knit their hands together again, wrapping his arms across her breast. “And then—”
“I will find you!” He gasped as the climax rolled through him and his arms banded around her. “I will find you, Beatrice. Wherever we go—”