GianMarco (10 page)

Chapter Eight

When Maggie came to, it took her a moment to gather her senses. Something happened
last night. Something bad. Slowly, the events came reeling back. GianMarco had broke
into her apartment and tried to force himself on her! Worse yet, he was a vampire!
No, it had to be some kind of trick on his part. She remembered questioning his mental
health, but then there was the unexplainable way he had been able to anticipate her
every move, his lightning-like speed, and his ability to read her mind. She couldn’t
bring herself to accept he was a vampire but there had to be a reasonable explanation.
Before she had passed out, Maggie was sure that she was going to die. Why hadn’t he
finished her off?

Maggie noticed her surroundings for the first time as her eyes adjusted to the dimly
lit room. She lay in a king-sized bed that wasn’t hers. Had GianMarco brought her
here to finish the job? Would he use her and then kill her?

There was no way she planned on sticking around waiting to find out her fate. Maggie
slid from under the covers and out of the bed. When her feet hit the cool hard wood
floor she wobbled a bit, still a bit woozy from getting out of bed too quickly. Dammit.
She was still naked, which would make her escape tricky. She didn’t have the luxury
of searching for clothing but she preferred her life over her modesty.

“Although I see you’re in a rush to leave, I’m afraid that’s not happening.” She shrieked
in surprised at the sound of the smooth voice that spoke softly. Maggie grabbed the
thick comforter off the bed to wrap around herself. Now what?

A switch clicked and light flooded the room, making her wince at the sudden brightness.
Before her stood a tall, dark-haired man. Had she not seen GianMarco first, he could
have easily been the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His black hair and dark
blue eyes created a startling contrast. No matter how gorgeous he was, this man was
keeping her here against her will. She licked her dry lips and took a step backward
to put some distance between the two of them. “Who ... who are you?”

He stepped closer, and took her nerveless hand in his before lifting it to his full,
sensual mouth. She shivered as his lips grazed her knuckles. “Dante Vincenzo Grimaldi
at your service, my lady.” He flirted with a shamelessness that might have worked
on her if she weren’t terrified out of her mind.

At the mention of his last name, Maggie snatched her hand away. “You’re related to
GianMarco? But he’s a ...” Her voice trailed off.

“A vampire? Yes, I noticed.”

“I was going to say a mental case. There is no such thing as vampires.”

“You’ve seen the evidence yet you still remain in denial. It’s understandable. Most
people were raised to believe we’re only the boogeymen hiding beneath the bed. But
we shall remedy your disbelief by the time the night is over. Have a seat, Maggie.
We need to have a little talk.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No! The only thing I need is to get the hell out of
here. Let me go home and I promise I won’t call the police. I’ll pretend this never
happened.”

His lips tilted into what was a cross between a grin and a smirk. “And as I’ve already
stated, you are not going anywhere. I am not in the habit of repeating myself, so
I won’t do so again. Have a seat.” Something in his tone had Maggie scrambling back
to the bed. She sat down.

“Good girl.”

Just then she heard a yell of pure agony; it was almost a howl.

Maggie jumped. “What was that?”

“That is the reason you’re not going anywhere.” Dante answered so casually he could
have been discussing any number of mundane topics.

“What? Is there some kind of animal in this house Is that what you plan? To feed me
to an exotic pet for your sick amusement.” She began to shake with fear, realizing
her attempts to escape would be futile if he was anything like his brother and she
suspected he was. Already Dante had gauged her thoughts.

“My brother is in pain, and he needs you.”

She clutched her blanket against her, not bothering to pretend she didn’t understand
his meaning. “Where am I?”

“You’re in GianMarco’s house in Georgetown. I feel your alarm but hopefully once I’ve
explained things to you, you’ll understand our little dilemma.”

“What’s to understand? Your brother tried to rape me. Yet you stand there and act
like I owe you two something. Screw you and screw your brother.”

“Maggie, while I admire your spirit, I’m not above tying you to the bed and gagging
you.. I’d rather not go that route but just know the option is on the table. Do you
understand?”

She bit the inside of her lip until it bled to prevent herself from screaming. Maggie
began to shake and was unable to stop.

“Do you understand, Maggie,” he repeated.

She nodded, too scared to speak.

He sat down next to her. She scooted away as far as she could manage. Dante grimaced.
“It causes me great distress to know you’re probably terrified out of your mind. If
there was another option I’d take it, but there isn’t. Allow me to explain why you’re
here. It would be easier if you hold off your questions until I’m finished. First,
I would like to assure you that no harm will come to you as long as I remain by your
side. Do you trust me when I say this, Maggie?” His intense blue eyes seemed to hypnotize
her.

Maggie had no reason to trust this man, but she wasn’t interested in the consequences
if she gave an answer he didn’t like. “Yes,” she whispered.

He gave her a slight smile. “You don’t, but you will eventually.”

There it was again; his strange ability to read her thoughts.

“Whether you’d like to admit it or not, GianMarco is a vampire, as are the rest of
my brothers and I. I’m sure you think we need to be committed but it’s true. That
being said, we’re not the monsters you think we are, although there are some very
dangerous vampires out there. We’re like humans in many respects. We eat, we sleep,
and we fuck. Vampires feel pain and have emotions. Unlike humans, however, we need
to feed on the life essence of others to stay strong. We get this by either blood
or sexual secretions. We can be an insatiable lot. The older a vampire gets, however,
the less life essence we require, but we still need it, nonetheless. I’m pretty old
and so are my brothers, so we don’t need to feed as often as a young vamp would. I
can tell you’re still thinking about last night’s incident.”

She nodded, still not daring to speak. As much as she wanted to call him a liar, Dante
spoke with enough sincerity that made her realize either vampires were indeed real,
or at the very least he believed they did. Deep down she was slowly coming around
to the idea that they may indeed exist, but it was hard to reconcile a lifetime of
belief with one crazy night.

“I’d like to apologize for Marco’s behavior last night. Believe me when I say he never
meant to hurt you. And though his actions seem to the contrary, you are very special
to him. I’m floundering over this explanation. You’re quite lovely. I can see why
he lost his head over you, Maggie.” He slid closer to her until their hips touched.
Maggie steeled herself not to flinch away when Dante lightly touched her throat with
a tender caress. “You have such beautiful brown skin. Is it a wonder why I can’t keep
my hands to myself?”

Maggie felt a sliver of sensation run up her spine in response to his gentle touch.
She couldn’t understand why she’d respond to her captor this way. She would have scooted
away if she could but she was already squashed against the headboard.

Dante sighed. “Forgive my lapse. As I was saying, we have feelings like humans. However,
vampires feel things on a higher level. Every emotion we have is extremely intense.
When we’re angry it’s best not to be around us, when we’re sad, the depression can
immobilize us, when we love, we love with all our hearts. Most us learn to handle
our emotions so they won’t get out of control. That usually comes with age and time,
but sometimes those feelings can become overwhelming and that’s when we’re at our
most dangerous.”

“I don’t understand.” Maggie remembered she wasn’t allowed to speak and covered her
hand mouth with her hand.

“It’s okay, Maggie. I’m sorry if I came off too harsh. Am I really that scary to you?”

“A little.”

“How’s this?” He grinned wide enough for her to glimpse his very white teeth. She
was reminded of his striking countenance.

Maggie found herself smiling back. She probably should have her head examined but
the more time that elapsed in Dante’s presence she found herself relaxing a bit more.
“Better.”

His smile widened a bit before his serious expression returned. “I probably wasn’t
doing a good job at explaining myself before so I will try the direct approach. Vampires
are powerful creatures who are used to getting what they want, and if we don’t get
it we become frustrated. And that can be a dangerous thing for the object of our frustration.
Marco wants you, and he will have you.”

Maggie stiffened.

“Ah, I see that you’re beginning to understand. Marco’s attraction to you was instant
but he’s been fighting it for as long as you two have known each other.” Dante paused,
as if trying to figure out the best way to explain what he would say to her next.

“Yes?” She prompted.

“My brother isn’t used to being denied anything. Most things have come easily for
Marco, even by vampire standards. I guess it’s partially my fault for spoiling him
the way I did when he was younger, but our parents were killed when he was only an
infant. He and my other two brothers were all I had left, so in a way I guess I am
more like their papa. Marco was a bit of a brat, flitting through life, taking his
pleasure wherever he pleased, not caring about the consequences. There were many times
when I had to bail him out of scrapes. That’s the kind of life Marco led before he
met Bianca Castinelli. He fell hard for her and her for him, and they were married
shortly after they met. She changed his character for the better. He buckled down
to his passion, which was art. They were married for about three years when Bianca
finally gave birth to a child they both desperately wanted. They were his life. Shortly
after his son was born, I would say maybe a few weeks, he came home to find them both
brutally murdered.”

Maggie’s gasped in horror. “Oh, no! Someone killed his baby?”

“Yes. Bianca was a lovely woman, and baby Gio ... he was a joy for the short time
that he lived. Their deaths destroyed Marco. He changed again, but this time for the
worse. He took his pleasure where he liked, just as he did before he met Bianca, but
he was very cold and methodical about it. He has distanced himself from anyone and
anything that reminds him of what he shared with Bianca. He used to paint the most
wonderful masterpieces, and he was on track to become one of the greatest artists
ever, but he hasn’t picked up a brush since his family’s death. That was several hundred
years ago, so you see what I mean when I say we feel things very deeply. After all
this time, he still carries that pain.”

The more Dante explained, Maggie realized every word he spoke was true. Vampires not
only existed but the man who’d started in her dreams for the past several months
was one. She couldn’t speak at first as she processed it all, and Maggie appreciated
Dante giving her the time to do so. Finally, she found her voice again. “He must have
loved her very much,” Maggie said softly. To know GianMarco carried this pain in his
heart hurt her too. His tragic loss at least explained some of his surly behavior.

Dante shrugged. “I guess you can call it love. I’m not really crazy about that word,”
he answered without elaborating “There was a very dark period in his life after Bianca
and Gio died. Marco went on a wild rampage, killing anyone he thought was remotely
responsible for the deaths of his family. It didn’t matter whether they were innocent
or not. If he had the mere belief of their guilt he exterminated them without prejudice.
He eventually had his revenge when he met up with the culprit, a rouge vampire. That
was only a couple hundred years ago, but at one time, GianMarco was feared all across
the vampire network.

“So you see, that is why I say frustration in a vampire can make him very dangerous.
Never having suffered that way before, his emotions have overtaken him. But his revenge
quest wasn’t enough, even after he’d killed the one responsible. He’s been going through
life like a ghost, not really living. This is where you come in. When he saw you,
it triggered within him a response that he had not felt since he met Bianca. Perhaps
his feelings for you are even more intense because of his age.”

She gulped. “Are you saying that he is in love with me?” Maggie was not sure if she
believed in love at first sight. Lust, maybe.

“For lack of a better word I suppose you could call it that, although what GianMarco
feels is far beyond what you humans refer to as love. The syrupy, softhearted thing
poets spout off about does not exist for vampires, at least in my opinion. What does
exist is a feeling so deep and intense that it keeps you up at night, it makes us
break out in chills, and it hurts. It literally hurts us to be away from the one our
heart calls out to. This feeling can be dark, and at times a violent raging within
the very depths of our soul. It can also be tender and sweet, but there is a very
fine line. At the moment Marco is experiencing what is called
la morte dolci
.”