Unexpectedly, Tasha laughed. “That’s so true. I’m so jealous I could tear out that man’s eyes. I want to be involved in a love affair. In a drama. In something. Someone tries to murder you, Paul even shoots you. You spend an entire day in mourning. It was so perfect, the palazzo silent and all of us caught up in your grief. And then I come up to find a man in your bedroom and you positively glowing. It’s enough to make me throw myself from the battlements in absolute envy. Well,” she hedged, “the lower balcony.”
“He’s so wonderful,” Antonietta said. She found it easy to walk with Celt beside her, his body posture guiding her far better than even Justine had managed.
“I’m sure you think so. He still frightens me, Toni, and I don’t know why. Paul said he saved your life at the risk of his own, yet I’m still afraid of him. There’s something about him that isn’t right.”
“Everything about him is right for me.” Antonietta went down the long, sweeping staircase with total confidence. Sometimes she felt Celt shared his eyes with her. She saw nothing, yet she knew exactly where to step as if he were guiding her through imaging in her mind.
Tasha placed a hand on Antonietta’s arm to stop her before she turned toward Don Giovanni’s rooms. “Why was Paul in the passageway? And why would he have a gun? Did he tell you?”
“He owes money to some dangerous people. He said he purchased the gun for protection. And he was in the passageway to steal the Scarletti treasures and pawn them to pay his debts.”
Tasha shook her head sadly. “I thought he quit gambling. He promised us. He didn’t tell me he needed money. Did he go to you? Or Don Giovanni? Why would he make a decision to steal from the family?” She sank down abruptly on the bottom stairs. “I’m sorry, Toni. I didn’t know. I thought he would come to me if he were in trouble. I’m so ashamed.”
Antonietta heard her weeping softly. She laid a comforting hand on her cousin’s shoulder. “You aren’t responsible for Paul, Tasha. He’s a grown man, and he makes his own decisions. He’ll have to face up to this. He nearly killed both Byron and me. Hopefully, he’ll think about that and get help before it’s too late.”
Tasha lifted her head, swiping at the tears, careful of her makeup. “You have to tell
Nonno
the truth.”
Antonietta sighed. “I suppose so, but I’m not looking forward to it.” Where are you? She needed comfort. A battle with her grandfather over Paul’s fate was more than she wanted to deal with. She had a mad desire to dash back up the stairs and lock herself in her bedroom, keeping Byron a prisoner there.
I am raiding your kitchen, looking for clues. I think my detective skills need work.
Antonietta wrapped his laughter around her like an invisible shield.
I like the idea of being your prisoner, by the way. Especially if the door were locked, and your family stayed away for a very long while. There are traces of the same substance I found in you, your grandfather, and Paul in the remains of the food in the rubbish.
Antonietta’s smile faded. If she believed Byron, someone in her own home was trying to kill all three of them.
There’s no mistake? You’re certain?
Cara mia
, I would never alarm you without cause. He sent her waves of warmth and reassurance. Go to your grandfather. He is distressed and needs to sleep. You can talk to him about Paul later.
“I’m going in to
Nonno
, Tasha. Would you like to come with me?”
“I think I’ll just sit here awhile and feel very sorry for myself, and then we can meet in Margurite’s room. I promised her I’d sleep in her room tonight.”
“You hate that, Tasha. You’ve always hated not being in your own bed at night. Margurite is old enough to sleep in her room alone.”
“I know she is. She just looks so fragile. The house has so many noises, and with the break-in and all the commotion of you being shot, she’s afraid. It won’t hurt me to stay in her room one night.”
“Unless Marita catches you,” Antonietta warned.
Tasha made a rude noise. “The day I can’t handle Marita is the day I deny being a Scarletti.”
“Give me a few minutes with Grandfather, and I’ll meet you.” Antonietta stood beside her cousin while the silence of the palazzo pressed in on them. “While you’re thinking about things, please do decide you’re going to make an effort with Byron. He’s going to stay.”
Tasha sucked in her breath sharply. “Surely you wouldn’t contemplate marriage? Permanency? He’s a toy. A plaything. You know he could never be more to you. There’s too much involved.”
“You mean money.”
“Not just the money.” She waved her hands to encompass the palazzo. “All of it. All of us.”
Antonietta didn’t answer. She sensed Byron’s stillness. The waiting. “I so appreciate your understanding, Cousin.” She wouldn’t give either of them the satisfaction. She went in to comfort her grandfather. It was easy enough when she knew Byron was waiting to share the rest of the long night with her.
Chapter 10
Byron woke deep beneath the ground with the sound of Antonietta’s voice calling to him. With the sound of her music summoning him. He lay there in his bed of rich soil, listening to the rhythm of his heart matching the beat of hers, of her music. The earth around him hummed with life, the sounds of insects and the trickle of water, all adding to the melody she was creating just for him.
Why won’t you answer me?
His heart leapt at the little catch in her voice.
I am here with you. Here is not where you were when I went to sleep. You left me alone. I woke up and you were gone. It did not occur to me you would have sex with me and get up and leave.
He lay in the warm arms of the earth, listening to the nuances of her voice, paying particular attention to the shadows lurking in her mind. Peace swept over him. Antonietta was bound to him. Belonged with him. She had ideas that didn’t quite match his own, but the ties between them were already formed and pulling tighter with each connection. It was fortunate she awakened as he did. By binding them, her discomfort level, if unable to reach him, would have soared.
His teeth gleamed white at the little bite in her voice.
Sex? You may have had sex with me, but I was making love to you with every breath in my body. You are the one who wants no emotion between us. He stretched, knowing she would feel his leisurely, tranquil movement. I told you separation could be difficult. Are you feeling the effects?
There was a small silence.
Difficult? I didn’t use that word. I didn’t even think it. You can choose to sleep anywhere you like.
Antonietta sounded regal, haughty, very much a Scarletti. And humming with anger.
Byron’s smile widened. The soil fell away from him, allowing him to float free, clean his body, and dress in immaculate clothing.
You are very accepting of our differences.
Grazie
, Antonietta, for your understanding.
Again he felt her pull back, a silent withdrawal while she attempted to regroup.
What differences? You didn’t mention differences when we went to bed last night. I’ve slept the day away and thought I’d wake up with you beside me. I hoped I’d wake up with you beside me. Do you grow horns in your sleep? Is that why you left, so I wouldn’t see that you are not human?
It was that tiny spurt of humor that melted his heart.
I have never looked, but the possibilities are endless. You aren’t married, are you? Ouch. What a thing to ask me. I am your lifemate. I cannot be with another woman. I am afraid you are permanently stuck with me. Horns and all.
He reached for her in his mind, holding her to him.