86

Summer had started to fade, as the days started to transition to fall, but tonight had been unseasonably warm and humid. Shade stepped outside on the patio and lit up a cigarette. He’d received confirmation his package had been delivered to his daughter. He had no doubt they’d seal their blood covenant soon. He hadn’t spoken of his plan to anyone. He’d needed the assurance from both of them that this was something they wanted, and at the same time, understood the need to keep this under wraps. He hadn’t even told Kate. He finished his smoke and walked back inside the house, heading upstairs to Christoph and Aislynn's suite. Kate had been there most of the night, helping them to re-design the space. As he entered their suite on the top floor of the house, she sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor, piles of fabric samples and catalogs surrounding her. Aislynn sat on the sofa behind her, leaning over her shoulder, and Christoph was in a nearby chair, his leg thrown over the arm of the chair.

Shade watched her from the doorway. "I don’t know how you do all that. I’ve never been able to figure out how you can look at a bunch of fabric swatches and paint chips and pull it all together inside your head to make something beautiful.”

She looked up at him from her seat on the floor, as he towered over her, making him look even taller. Kate laughed. "Maybe I was born with it. It just comes naturally to me. Want to help?"

He laughed out loud, his blue eyes twinkling. "That would be like asking a warrior to dance in a ballet." He walked to her and held out his hand as she grasped it and he lifted her from her seated position. Pulling her into his chest, he buried his head into that crimson and inhaled. "I am sorry to interrupt, but can you break away from all this and come with me?"

"Sure. Most of this stuff has to be ordered anyway. I'm sure Chris and Aislynn can find something to entertain themselves. Now, what do you have in mind for me?"

He growled as he leaned his head down and kissed her. "I want to run away from our responsibilities for the night. Besides, there are some things I want to talk to you about." He slid his hands down her back. "I feel like taking a swim, but not in the pool. I think, on a beautiful night like this, we should take a trip to the grotto and swim buck-ass naked in those cool waters, si?"

Christoph laughed as he responded to Aislynn’s blush. “Okay, first of all, to Aislynn, you better get used to it, and secondly, to P-bear, way too much information."

Kate laughed. “We better leave. You're embarrassing your grandson."

Shade stared at Kate and didn’t acknowledge Christoph or Aislynn. "Imagine that…two bad-ass Medici warriors, blushing and acting as though they have no clue what I am talking about." He took her hand, "Now, you have a choice, we can ride the horses, or teleport."

"Teleport, but only if you hold my hand."

Taking her hand, they teleported out over the fields, rising up the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains and it took them only seconds to find the grotto, nestled deep within the trees, a spot only nature could create. They’d come here many times over the years, it was their private paradise. "Ah, now this is what we both need. It seems we both have been busy, running in different directions lately. I have missed you."

He kissed her neck and licked her vein, a soft growl vibrating through him. He left a trail of soft kisses up and down her neck and began to lift the soft cotton shirt over her head. "Have I told you how beautiful you are this night?"

"You have not." She laughed as she unbuttoned his shirt and helped him out of it. "But then I’ve failed to mention how handsome you are tonight, so all is forgiven. I'm glad we came here. The water in the grotto is colder than the water in the pool. It's so hot tonight." She dropped her skirt around her ankles and kicked off her sandals as he stripped from his jeans.

He grinned. "Come on." Grabbing her hand, he helped her to walk out on the rocky cliffs above the grotto. "One, two...." He dived off the cliff, still holding her hand. Just before they hit the water, he let go of her hand and they both plunged into the deep, cooling water. He surfaced, shaking his head, and floating to her. "Damn, that feels good!"

Kate absorbed the shock of the cold water against her skin, relishing in how refreshing it felt as she surfaced, pushing her wet hair back from her face, and laughing. “Whatever happened to three?” Looking up at the night sky, the moon was bright, but the air barely moved the leaves on the trees. She swam closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "So, what’s on your mind? I can tell you’ve been preoccupied with something the last few days, and there’s something you’ve been waiting to tell me."

"Si." He kissed her lips. "I have given a gift to Nattie and Marcello. Something I didn’t discuss with you, and I feel guilty about that, but I had my reasons for not telling you."

She looked at him quizzically. "You gave them a gift? Why would you think you need to discuss with me a decision to give them a gift? What did you give them?"

He swirled them around in the water, letting the water lap against their skin, cooling them off. "I don’t have to tell you that ever since Nattie knew she was going to Council, I have struggled. It was never easy to watch Sophia and Lorenzo find their mates and know she would never have that. Can you understand that?"

She nodded. "I understand, but she has love. She has Marcello. They’ve been discreet, but I do think what they have is real and lasting. I'll admit, I’ve felt better knowing she has Marcello in her life, even though it’s technically forbidden. So, you gave them something? "

"Si, I was in the bunker, packing up weapons and ammunition to send over to Castello. I found my old office safe. I had forgotten it had even been moved inside the ammunition’s safe. It struck me like a bolt of lightning. We have the potion that blocks the vampire scent. I had completely forgotten about it. We never had use for it during a battle, so I had stored it away. I had the idea perhaps Marcello and Nattie could mate, and hide their scent, but I needed to understand how they felt for each other. I talked to Marcello first, to make sure his love was not one of convenience. But ultimately, I knew it had to be Nattie’s choice. I went to see her at Council. She loves Marcello, but she is also aware of the risks. So, I had a new batch made for them, tested it on Skelk to make sure it still works. They are going to mate, mi amore. Our little Nattie." He watched her face, waiting for the gravity of the news to sink in.

Kate was both thrilled and frightened at the same time, struggling to see which emotion won. “Lover, are they safe? Are you sure? I mean, I’m thrilled if they wish to mate, if that’s what they want, but I know our daughter. She’d hate giving up Council. I had no experience with the potion myself. I remember you speaking of it, and how it masked the scent of the rogues. Are you sure, after all this time?"

He grinned at all her concerns. "I am certain the potion will protect them, but we must keep this information to ourselves. I have told no one else, and I think it stays here. I will not even tell our other children. I know Sophia and Lorenzo would do nothing to put Natalia at risk, but I won’t even take the chance of them accidentally speaking of it. It is clear Natalia made a choice, and for her, the reward outweighs the risk, but still, she never wishes to leave Council. However, if push comes to shove, she would choose love." He cupped her face in his hands. "Could you live without me, mi amore?”

She stared back at him, the water dripping from his hair, the moonlight reflected in his eyes "I would give up everything for you, this all means nothing without you. And for what it's worth, I think she made the right choice. If they should be discovered, Natalia will find her own path, or better yet, make her own path. She’s the quiet one, but don't mistake her silence for weakness. She’s probably more determined than Lorenzo, and more stubborn than Sophia. If this is what they’ve decided, then they both have my blessing."

He kissed her then with an overwhelming love he couldn’t deny. She was his world, and with the mating of his youngest daughter, he felt at peace. They would win this battle with the Borgia and come home to Bel Rosso, all the more powerful for it. "I am sorry I did not tell you, mi amore. I wasn’t sure both of them would even agree, and I didn’t want to give you concern. Forgive me?"

She smiled back at him. "When have I ever been able to not forgive you? You still hold me entranced. From the first time I laid eyes on you."

He threw back his head and laughed. "The first time you laid eyes on me, you were entranced all right. You could not string two words together without stammering and you could not get away from me fast enough. Good damn thing I love the chase!"

She laughed with him, remembering how he’d left her tongue-tied before she answered him seriously. "You have no idea how grateful I am you didn't bail on me. There were times I was certain I’d lost you with my reluctance to open up my heart again, and how I silently begged you to not give up on me."

His chuckle held a hint of mischief. "I remember begging, mi amore, but not exactly in that context." He floated them out to the center of the grotto where the water was deeper and cooler. "I knew, deep inside me, there was so much love and passion caged up inside you. And who better to unlock all those treasures than a warrior? And, by the way, you have done something to this ancient royal bloodline... You have tainted it!"

She frowned at him. "Have I? All our children have two gifts, rare gifts at that. Our daughter is the first female born to Council. I would say this mortal enhanced your royal bloodline!"

Holding her tighter, he chuckled. "Calm down, minx! What I meant to say is, apparently, all the Medici females are now born with an irresistible attraction to mate warriors!”

Kate smiled at him. "I'm not sure you can lay that at my feet. I doubt I can claim any credit for how handsome a Medici warrior looks, and how protected he can make a female feel. From my experience, all females are attracted to Medici warriors, especially mine."

Shaking his head, he gave her that cockeyed grin. "I never hid my past, and once you had me, they all thought they could run you over, but my bel rosso showed them a thing or two. You never gave up on me, or us. I would have had a very different life without you. You have always been my greatest strength and my biggest weakness, and I would change nothing.”