Amy relaxed her body in the sunken black marble bath, but her mind was on other matters. With her head resting on the edge of the marble, her eyes took in her surroundings. The bathing chamber was all black marble swirled with white; it made the chamber look immaculate with its gilded accents and strange illuminated light. The splashes of water from her bath echoed, but not in a cavernous, cold way, which made it all the more surreal for her.
Two female servants worked close by, setting out what was to be her new gown. Dressed in gowns that were more like bolts of cloth draped over the body, they moved busily with their eyes down.
"Where's the exit to this place?" Amy asked.
The two women ignored her, again. For the past twenty minutes they worked in silence, only heeding Amy's words if it concerned her bath. She breathed in deeply, trying hard to suppress her irritation with the women.
"Does anyone else live here? It's so empty."
Nothing.
"Where's Cosimo?"
"Attending to business." One answered.
"Killing someone." Amy muttered to herself.
She sunk deeper until she was chin up in the warm steamy water. It all seemed like a bad dream, yet the feel of the water and the marble seat she sat on were tangible enough to remind her it wasn't. The night had started out so well, being able to hang out with her best friend at one of their favorite places, then meeting a charming foreigner...
She had no idea then exactly how foreign he was. What made things worse was that her first taste of sex with Cosimo left her longing for him. Her body seemed to sing in his presence, and she knew this deep down in her heart, even if they are complete strangers to each other.
"Enjoying your bath, my love?" Cosimo strode into the chamber without sparing a glance at the servants.
"Get out of here!" Under the water, Amy covered herself, pushing against the side of the pool to put distance between them.
Cosimo grinned, crossing his arms over his wide chest and leaning a shoulder on the column, one of four that surrounded the sunken bath.
"I have already seen you naked, Amy. There is no need to be shy."
"What are you doing here? They said you were attending business."
"I can walk in on my own wife any time I want."
"I am not your wife. I exchanged no vows."
He shrugged. "Demons need no vows."
She nearly threw her hands up in the air, but that would leave her exposed.
"Will you stop saying that word?" She asked curtly.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "I cannot help what I am. What do you have against me anyway? I already promised not to hurt you."
She looked away. He was delivering the right lines, yet she couldn't just fall into his arms so trustingly. "Please, can you leave? I want to get dressed."
"I will help you."
"No!" She shook her head. "No, you will not. I'll do it myself, and without their help."
Cosimo turned and gestured for the two women to leave. They bowed low, leaving without a sound.
"They're terribly rude, you know. They won't answer me."
He chuckled. "They speak only when necessary. Don't expect them to offer gossip or tell you how to escape. Their souls are bound to my palace, therefore they cannot leave."
"How convenient for you." She replied. She watched him lift up a towel and hold it out.
"Are you done bathing?"
"Will you look away?"
Cosimo sighed. "Fine, I will look away."
Hurriedly, she stood up from the water and felt the warm, thick towel wrap around her, along with his arms. She groaned inwardly. She should have known he would do that.
He nuzzled her neck, inhaling her clean fragrance. "Next time, I will join you in the bath."
"No, thanks. I like to bathe alone."
He turned her around slowly. "That wasn't a question." He stood so close to her, his bare chest brushing her shoulder. She could feel the hard muscle of his body, the strength to be found there in his arms.
"You're so beautiful." His voice was soft. He lowered his head until their lips met.
Once again, it was hard to break away. His arousal was magnetic and it entered into her body like bolts of lightening. The heat from the bath that clung to her skin didn't seep away, but ignited into a fire that burned so brilliantly, all thoughts began to meld into nothingness.
His arms tightened around her, pressing her closer to his thickening sex. His hands ran over her smooth shoulders, down to pull her towel off so she was naked. Then he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed. Shedding his robe, he came over her.
His lips coaxed hers apart again. "Don't deny me, Amy," came his tortured whisper. The pain in his voice made her pause. When she opened her eyes, she saw an intensity there that she'd never seen before. Emotions played in his eyes, many she couldn't recognize.
Cosimo entered her swiftly, eliciting a low moan from her. His eyes never left hers as he moved over her, in her. With his hands spread on either side of her neck, he pushed into her again and again, each thrust harder than the next.
Amy gasped as she clung to him, her body beginning to tremble, until everything went tense and still. Then she was floating over the heat and ecstasy.
Cosimo's release was powerful. His entire body tightened with each rope of seed that shot into her and he finally fell to her side, bringing her close to him.
As his body reveled in this completely sated state, his heart filled with incredible sadness and longing. He felt Amy bury herself closer to him, release allowing her vulnerability and acceptance of him to show – even if it was just for a few moments. He could have shouted his triumph. But the thought quickly died away. Under heavy lidded eyes, he looked down at her cloud of dark hair, her face still hinting at the passion she experienced.
Amy. She was his mate, his other half, his love.
If only he had more time with her.
***
Melissa checked her phone. Odd. Amy called twice, but left no message. It was unlike her to do so. Maybe she went home with that man after all.
Melissa was just leaving Sully's when she left a message on her friend's phone. A definite metallic click made her jump.
"Okay, lady. Hand over the phone. And your purse."
She froze. "What?"
Deep in the shadows of the alley, she could see the outline of a rather tall, lanky man, but the gleam of the steel in his hand was detailed enough under the lamplight.
"The purse, lady. And no screaming or I'll pull the trigger."
Her back went up. Her mind registered the dire situation she was in. But something in her made her rebel. No way was someone taking her purse. She worked hard to afford this designer label.
"I'm not giving you anything."
"Eh?" The thief hesitated a moment. He'd never had a victim resist at gunpoint before. "I'm not kidding, lady. I'll shoot ya."
"Then someone's bound to hear. I'm less than a block away from Sully's and three other restaurants. You'll be thrown in jail for murder."
"Like hell I will. You'll be dead and I'll be long gone."
She held her hand up. "How about letting me go and I won't turn you in?"
The guy tilted his head, getting a better grip on his gun. "How about you hand over your purse, bitch and I won't blow your fucking brains out?"
"How dare you –?"
A shot rang out and Melissa was thrown aside. She expected the bullet to hit her, but instead, she felt the impact of the brick wall. Through strands of hair that fell over her face, she saw another figure lunge toward the thief.
It happened so fast. One moment the thief was protesting, the next he was lying on the ground, limp and silent.
Melissa gasped. "Oh, my god. You killed him." It was a statement made in horror rather than gratitude. The stranger caught that in her voice and narrowed his piercing gray eyes.
"Better him than you." He yanked her up, urging her out onto the street.
"What! You can't just leave him there – we need to call someone." She struggled out of his firm grip and then felt something warm and wet on her arm. She gasped again. "You're bleeding."
His white shirt was soaking in that awful dark color. What made her panic was that he took the bullet in his chest.
"We need to get you to the hospital. We need an ambulance."
He pulled her forward again. "No time."
"No time?" Was he kidding? "You're going to bleed to death! You could be internally wounded."
"I'll be fine." He winced when she bumped into him as she still resisted.
"You aren't fine at all. Listen, I know this is a shock to your system – "
"Where do you live?"
"What? No – you can't go there. You need a doctor."
He shook his head. "Trust me, all I need is a place to...recuperate." He stopped to look at her. The strange lightness of his gray eyes was unraveling.
"Fine," she answered cautiously. "Okay. But I only know so much about first aid."
Despite the pain, his mouth curved. "I'll consider that fair warning."
She didn't live far, but she felt bad that they had to walk up five floors to get to her apartment, due to no elevator.
With the lights quickly switched on, she pushed him down on the couch and hurried to get the first aid kit.
Benedict glanced around the small, but neatly put together apartment. He could hear her nervously move around in the next room. He assessed the room, seeing photographs framed and sitting on a mantle, a vase of daisies at the windowsill and that the furniture was mismatched, but as a whole, it worked.
Wincing, he felt the bullet lodged close to his heart. His chest burned and his stomach churned from the pain. But he focused his energy on the location of the bullet. Slowly, his flesh began to push it out. In seconds, he caught the bullet in his hand, looked at it with amusement. What was left now of the otherwise fatal injury was a dull ache in his chest. Hearing her footsteps, he stuck the bullet into his jeans pocket.
"I'm no good at sewing, but I passed Home Ec well enough...in middle school." She said, trying at some humor to lighten the mood. He could see she was too pale and her hands shook as she set everything down, before taking a seat on the coffee table.
"Hey," he said gently. She looked up. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."
After hesitating, she nodded. "You'll need to take your shirt off."
