“Beatrice,” he whispered against her shoulder. Giovanni knew he should let her sleep, but he needed her. He needed the comfort of her touch, and he needed to see himself in her eyes.

“Tesoro,” he murmured, as his lips trailed down her back. His hands brushed along her sides, tracing over her hip under the red silk sheets. She shifted onto her back, and he was able to see her small form. Her pale skin was luminous in the soft lamplight. Her breasts peeked above the sheet, and her hand was thrown over her head in a plaintive gesture. He drew the sheet down and kissed along the ripples of her ribs as her brown eyes flickered open.

“Gio?”

“Hmm,” he hummed when she tangled her hands in his hair. He had cut it again, so she wasn’t able to grab the length of it as she liked, but her fingers played along his neck as he tasted the skin on her belly.

“I missed you,” she said, her heart already racing. “Come here.”

She tried to pull him up, but he slipped under the sheet, determined to continue his leisurely exploration. Her soft cries filled the silent room as he slowly brought her to climax, piercing her thigh with his fangs as she arched her back and whispered his name. He drank her sweet blood before he slid up her body and into her, finally meeting her mouth as they moved together. Beatrice’s hands gripped his shoulders, and she met his gaze, staring at him as he moved over her.

She was worth it. Worth every worry, every pain. Her safety and security was everything to him. After five hundred years of existence, she had become the singular desire that animated his immortal life.

He drove her harder when he felt her peaking again, and he chased her pleasure, burying his face in the crook of her neck as she stroked his back and he shuddered. They lay together in silent communion, his body and mind refreshed from her love.

Giovanni finally rolled onto his side and pulled her under his arm, cradling her head on his chest as he played with the ends of her hair and ran gentle fingers up and down her back. He smiled to see the way the small hairs on her body reached for him.

“I’d say I was sorry to wake you up, but I’m not.”

He felt her shoulders shake. “You can wake me up that way anytime.”

Giovanni laughed quietly and hummed a tune he knew she liked.

“I love it when you hum.”

“I know.”

They lay in peace for a few more minutes.

“Have you called Matt? Did you let him know? How’s Ben?”

“Yes, I called Matt. Benjamin is fine. It sounds like school is going well. Caspar and your grandmother still love the house.”

“Carwyn?”

“Still in Ireland.”

“How’s Deirdre?”

Giovanni shrugged. “He didn’t say much.” He paused. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be with you in the hall.”

“Shh,” she whispered, reaching a hand up to stroke along his cheek. “It’s fine. I was fine. After the initial surprise, I was fine.”

“I should have expected it. Matt said he would make an appearance.”

“But we had no way of knowing. Just like we had no way of knowing…”

She trailed off, and he knew she was thinking of her father and Tenzin.

“Beatrice? Do you want to talk about it?”

“Did you have any idea?”

“No. I sensed there was something we weren’t seeing, but with Tenzin, you never know.”

“Why? Why would she—”

“Your guess is as good as mine. It’s possible they simply have a connection. I’m not going to lie and say it’s not odd to me, but she certainly doesn’t have to ask my permission to have a relationship.”

“With my dad.”

“Is it that strange?”

She screwed her face into an adorable frown. “You have to understand, he never dated when I was young. Not that I ever knew of. So to see him again, after so many years. And he looks exactly the same as when I was thirteen. We look like we’re almost the same age. And then Tenzin, who I know is way older than you or even Carwyn, but she looks like she’s a teenager…”

“It’s strange to you.”

“Yes!” She shook her head. “And I know it’s my own problem. But she’s my friend, and he’s my dad. And it just feels…”

“What?”

“Weird.” He began shaking in quiet laughter, and she hit his shoulder. “Shut up. I know I’m being ridiculous, but it’s weird. There’s no other word for it.”

“What if they have found love together? As we have? Would you begrudge them that?”

“No.” She propped herself up and lay a gentle kiss on his mouth. “No, everyone should be as lucky as we are.”

“Lucky?” he smirked. “Kidnapped. Blackmailed. Chased around the globe. Targeted because of who we are and what we know. We’re lucky?”

She smiled and laid her head on his chest, looking at him and trailing a finger along his lips. He opened his mouth and let a fang peek out. She flicked it with her fingertip, and he growled in pleasure.

“Born five hundred years apart? Finding our way to each other through pain and loss. All that so we can have hundreds, maybe thousands, of years together? Lucky.”

This time, it was Beatrice that moved, stroking his face and kissing his lips as they lost themselves in each other again. After another hour, he had exhausted her, and she was sleeping again. He dressed and slipped from the room to walk through the gardens, calling one of Tenzin’s guards to watch Beatrice’s room. Baojia showed up anyway.