Authors: Monica Burns
“Exactly.”
“What?”
“Making love.”
His mouth tilted slightly with amusement.
“It’s what people do when they love each other. When they want to share their lives together.”
“I’ve already told you I won’t blood bond with you.”
“And I said your reasons weren’t good enough.”
“You need an heir.”
“We’ll adopt. There are plenty of orphans here in the
Absconditus
who need loving parents.”
“
Deus
, you’re a stubborn
bastardo
.”
“Not anywhere near as obstinate as you are,
mea amor
.”
“You’re wasting your time. You have responsibilities, and you can’t afford to make me one of them, no matter how much you love me.”
Dante stared at her in silence for a long moment, not communicating with her at all. Suddenly, his face hardened with a grim resolution that frightened her. He nodded at her then turned to her parents.
“Cleopatra thinks it’s impossible for us to be together as long as I’m to be Sicari Lord.” Dante’s profile resembled a chiseled stone bust as he bowed toward Marcus. “Therefore, I must renounce my role as Tribune and heir to the Sicari Lord title.”
Cleo didn’t even have to look at her parents to know that they were just as stunned as she was. She stood frozen, unable to believe she’d heard him correctly. The man had lost his fucking mind. He’d just abdicated as the next Sicari Lord. Jupiter’s Stone. Who was going to replace him? Did he expect Marcus to continue as leader of the
Absconditus
? She grabbed Dante’s arm, her fingers digging into hard muscle.
“Are you insane? You can’t do this.”
“Yes.” He nodded grimly as he peeled her hand off his arm. “I can.”
“If you’re trying to blackmail me, it’s not going to work.”
“Not blackmail,
mea amor
. I just don’t know of any other way to convince you that you’re more important to me than anything or anyone else in the world.”
With another slight bow in Marcus’s direction, Dante wheeled about on his heel, leaving Cleo and her parents staring after him in shock. The sound of the apartment door closing quietly behind him rang out with a finality that horrified her. He’d given up everything for her. His vow to the
Absconditus
and now his responsibilities as the next Sicari Lord.
It was a sacrifice she couldn’t let him make. She bolted after him, the door slamming back against the wall as she ran out of her suite. Dante’s long stride had already carried him to the end of the hall, and she raced after him. She caught up with him just as he turned the corner, and in three more quick steps, she planted herself in front of him.
“I won’t let you do this,” she said fiercely.
“It’s already done,
mea amor
.” His fingers left a warm trail across her cheek as he studied her with a resigned look.
“Then undo it,” she bit out. “Go back in there and tell Marcus you made a mistake.”
“The only mistake I could make is letting you go,
dolce cuore
. Since the only obstacle standing in the way of you bonding with me was my title and responsibilities, I eliminated it.”
“But I never said I’d blood bond with you if you weren’t my father’s heir.”
She raked her fingers through her hair with frustration. The only other person she’d ever known who was so inflexible and determined was herself. He was going to be impossible to live with if they bonded. Trepidation flooded her veins. She was crazy to even consider the possibility. But she already was considering it.
“What are you really afraid of, Cleopatra?”
The moment he asked the question, the answer fluttered through her head with the screeching of a flock of birds. She was afraid she wasn’t worthy of him. Cleo stared up at him. The love gleaming in the depths of his midnight blue eyes frightened her, too. He’d given up everything for her, simply to prove
he
believed her worthy.
Cleo had no idea whether there was anyone else capable of being the Sicari Lord, but she was certain there would be no one as good at it as Dante. He was born to lead the
Absconditus
. Tension clutched at her muscles as she prepared to speak what she hoped would be a convincing lie.
“The only thing I’m afraid of is what will happen to the
Absconditus
and the Order if I let you go through with this.” The lie made her wince. His stormy blue gaze caught her grimace.
“That’s not what you’re really afraid of.”
“
Fuck.
What more do you want from me?” she snapped. The determination in his eyes ratcheted up the tension locking her muscles into stone.
“The truth.” He wasn’t going to give up. Her mouth dry, Cleo drew in a deep breath then expelled it harshly as she turned her head away from him.
“I’m afraid of not being worthy of you.”
In a split second, Dante crushed her against him. Cleo buried her face in his neck as he held her close. A shudder ripped through him, and she gently stroked the edges of his mind. The depth of love she sensed in him was humbling. She didn’t deserve him, but she’d do everything she could to be worthy of him.
“I can’t think of any woman more worthy of me.”
“Oh, I’m sure there are plenty,” she muttered as she pulled away from him slightly to look up at him. “But as Sicari Lord, you’re just going to have to put up with me.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, I just walked away from that title.” His wry tone made her narrow her gaze at him.
“Well you’re going to go right back in there and retract your resignation if you want me to blood bond with you. The Sicari need you. And I
refuse
to be the reason the
Absconditus
and the Order fall—”
She didn’t get the opportunity to finish, as his mouth slanted roughly over hers. It was a kiss of possession, but it held a promise of commitment that no one had ever made to her before. The kiss deepened as her mouth parted beneath his, and his tongue mated with hers in a fiery dance that sent a white-hot heat crashing its way into every cell in her body. Desire exploded in her belly, and she moaned as an erotic image took shape in her head. An image she knew wasn’t hers. It accelerated her heart to an unbelievable pace.
Deus
, she wanted him. Needed to show him with her body how much she loved him. Adored him. Bedroom. Her bedroom. The sooner the better. Dante’s body suddenly shook with laughter as his mouth left hers to brush across her cheek.
“What?” she asked as she threw back her head to look up at him.
“Your parents,” he groaned softly. “They’re still in your suite.”
“Fuck,” she muttered with frustration.
“An appropriate commentary on
both
situations.” His dark chuckle of amusement made her cup his face in her hands. As much as she wanted him at this very instant, she knew they had a lifetime of lovemaking ahead of them. His mind stroked hers in silent agreement. She smiled at him, her fingers rubbing against his mouth.
“I love you, Dante.”
“And I you,
carissima
,” he murmured as he flooded her head with more images of exactly how he intended to prove his love over and over again.
Chapter 27
“MY life for your life.”
Cleo trembled slightly as the sound of her voice rang out in unison with Dante’s. She’d witnessed numerous blood bonding rituals, but the words had never resonated so strongly with her as they did now. Her gaze met that of the
Absconditus
’s newest Sicari Lord as they held hands in front of the roughly hewn stone altar in the guild’s ceremonial hall. Concern flickered in Dante’s dark blue eyes the moment she shivered. Cleo willingly opened her mind to him.
“I’m fine. Just nerves.”
“You’ll fearlessly storm into a Praetorian snake pit, but you’re afraid of a small cut on your palm?”
Cleo rolled her eyes at his gentle teasing.
“Smart ass.”
Her affectionate exasperation earned her an invisible swat on her rear. Startled, she drew in a sharp breath to keep from crying out in surprise. The wicked smile curving his lips made her heart skip a beat, but when the mischief in his eyes quickly faded to reveal his love, it left her breathless. Dante’s hands tightened on hers as an overwhelming sensation of joy and happiness pulsed between them.
Turning her head back toward the altar, Cleo watched her mother reverently unwrap the Dagger of Cassiopeia from its velvet scarf. The
Prima Consul
’s careful movements emphasized the underlying solemnity of the happy occasion. Marcus stood beside her mother as an official witness to the ceremony at Dante’s request. Her parents officiating at her blood bonding ceremony. It was a moment Cleo would never have dreamed possible until a matter of days ago.
Marcus met her gaze and smiled. It was easy to smile back. She’d spent time over the past two weeks getting to know her father, and she liked him. Her gaze shifted back to her mother. There was still tension between her parents, and for the first time since discovering her father was alive, Cleo found herself hoping Atia and Marcus would find the happiness denied to them for years.
With the Dagger of Cassiopeia resting on her fingers, Atia lifted the blade and held it up high. Eyes closed, Atia’s lips moved in a silent prayer before she offered the blade to Cleo. Without hesitation, Cleo accepted the dagger then locked her gaze with Dante’s.
“My heart for your heart,” she said in a strong voice.
Withdrawing her hand from Dante’s, she clenched her jaw and dragged the dagger’s finely honed edge across her palm in a swift, deep stroke. Nerve endings cried out in vicious protest, but the pain faded quickly to a minor throb. His touch gentle, Dante took the blade from her.
“My blood for your blood,” Dante said quietly as he cut his palm then silently added an endearment to the traditional vow. “Mea amor.”
He clasped her bleeding hand in his, the blood from their lacerations mixing together in a physical manner that represented their commitment to each other. Atia beamed at them as she handed a strip of linen to Dante. His movements deft, he wrapped one end of the cloth around Cleo’s wrist then over their clasped hands, binding her to him before he released the material. Using the remaining strip of cloth, Cleo repeated the movement and bound Dante to her in the same fashion. Her heart pounding, she looked up at him with a smile.
“Our blood and hearts are one.”
Atia made a quiet sound, and Cleo turned her head to see her mother’s eyes glistening with tears before she cleared her throat.
“Two Sicari hearts that once beat alone now beat as one.” Atia smiled at them as she grasped their joined hands. “Let all who stand with you today know that Jupiter and Juno have smiled on you. May the love you share be as strong and deep as the love of Maximus and Cassiopeia.”
As Atia finished speaking, applause echoed in the ceremonial hall. Cleo and Dante turned their heads at the noise, laughing at the enthusiastic reception to their bonding. With a gentle tug on their bound hands, Dante forced Cleo to look at him.
“There’s never been a woman more beautiful or more
worthy
of being the Sicari Lord’s wife,
carissima
,” he said softly.
Cleo’s throat closed up with emotion, and she wondered if it were possible to die from sheer happiness. His free arm wrapping around her, Dante pulled her tight and captured her mouth in a hard kiss. The moment he lifted his head, well-wishers surged forward. Her parents were the first to congratulate them as they circled the stone altar. Cleo smiled at her mother before Atia pulled her close in a tight hug.
“I couldn’t be happier for you,
carissima
,” her mother whispered in Cleo’s ear. “He’s a good man, and it’s obvious he loves you very much.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Atia stepped back and touched her cheek as Marcus stepped forward to hug Cleo and press a gentle kiss to her brow. “I expect you to keep my successor on his toes,
cara
.”
“I don’t think there’s any question she’ll do just that,” Dante said with a grin as he released Atia from a warm hug. Cleo didn’t respond. She simply arched her eyebrows and smiled sweetly at her new husband.
“Something tells me she’s already plotting your surrender.” Marcus chuckled.
“I surrendered to her a long time ago.” Dante leaned into her and brushed his mouth across her cheek. The tenderness in his voice was a warm breeze on her skin.
“As I knew you would,” a gravelly voice echoed over her shoulder. Cleo immediately turned her head to see Placido smiling at them with delight. With her free hand, she warmly hugged the elderly Sicari.
“If I were younger,
bella
, I would have made our newest Sicari Lord work much harder to earn your affection.” Placido playfully smacked Dante on the cheek in a gesture of fondness. A broad grin on his face, Dante squeezed the shoulder of the old warrior with his hand.
“You might have made me work harder, but I
still
would have won her heart.” Dante’s words made Placido wag a finger at him.
“Confidence can be a dangerous thing, my boy,” Placido warned with a chuckle before he turned back to Cleopatra. “If I were—”
Angry shouts outside the ceremonial hall interrupted Placido’s admonishment, followed by the harsh ring of swords crashing together. A woman screamed, and less than a second later a man stumbled into the hall. Blood darkened his fingers from where he pressed his hands against a wound in his side. His sword dragging on the ground behind him, the man staggered forward until he sank to his knees.
“
Christus
, it’s the Praetorian from the Tarpeian Rock,” Cleo gasped as she looked at Dante’s grim features.
Another scream echoed in the hall, and Cleo jerked her gaze back toward the Praetorian to see Marta racing forward to shield the man with her body from two Sicari fighters. Dante didn’t answer but strode toward the wounded Praetorian, pulling Cleo along with him. One of the fighters dragged Marta away from the man she was protecting, while the other prepared to deliver a lethal blow.