She kept expecting the orgasm to wane, but it didn’t, like a long, sustained note played in concert by an orchestra.
“I can’t,” she rasped. “It’s too much.” She slumped forward, mindless with pleasure.
William emptied himself into her before swallowing her blood. He licked the imprint of his teeth and kissed it.
“Je t’aim.” He buried his face in her mane of hair. “You are part of me, now and forever.”
Raven crashed against his chest.
Chapter Seventeen
“IT TOOK ME FOREVER to finger-comb my hair.” Cara swept from the bathroom into the living area. “You’re lucky you showered first.
“Whoa.” She stopped short, catching sight of William, who held her sister in his arms. He stood next to the couch; Raven cuddled against his chest with a blissful expression on her face.
Raven lifted her head and smiled. “This is William. William, this is my sister, Cara.”
Cara took a step closer. “He doesn’t look like a vampyre.”
A deep growl sounded from William’s chest.
Cara took a very large step back. “Do vampyres growl?”
“That’s enough.” Raven extricated herself from William’s arms and sat on the couch.
His eyes fixed on Cara. “If we are to reach Rome before sunrise, we must leave now.”
“Rome?” Raven caught his hand. “Why Rome? We need to go back to Florence. Cara’s fiancé was hurt.”
A muscle jumped in William’s jaw. He switched to Italian and dropped his voice. “I’m sorry, Cassita.”
“Sorry?” Raven repeated, also in Italian.
“What is it? What’s he saying?” Cara approached the couch.
William pursed his lips. “His injuries were severe.”
Raven’s hand went slack. “How severe?”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Raven’s eyes widened. As the realization slowly sunk in, her gaze shifted to her sister.
Raven blinked back tears.
Cara crossed her arms. “Seriously. You’re both being rude.”
“Cara, please,” Raven stammered. “Give us a minute.”
William squeezed Raven’s hand. “I shall tell her gently, I promise.”
“No.” Raven swallowed hard. “I need to do it. Just—just give me time to figure out how.”
William winced. “I failed to protect you both. I am sorry.
“But we don’t have much time. The Curia will have heard about the attempted coup. I need to prevent them from marching on my city.”
“How?”
“By asking for the support of the one person the Curia won’t wage war against.”
“Who’s that?” Raven asked.
“The Roman.”
Raven passed a hand over her eyes. “What about Cara?”
“The sooner she returns to America, the better.” William turned to Cara and switched to English. “We are going to Rome.”
Cara rushed forward. “I need to go back to Florence to find my fiancé. I don’t have time to go to Rome.”
“We are leaving now.” William’s tone brooked no argument.
Cara gave her sister a challenging look.
“We can’t travel back to Florence by ourselves; William needs to go to Rome.” Raven stood unsteadily.
The Prince wrapped his arm around Raven’s waist, since she was without her cane, and helped her to the door. Cara followed them into the hall.
As they moved down one of the darkened passages, he spoke to Raven again in Italian. “I don’t think the boy suffered.”
Raven peered back at her sister, who eyed the two of them curiously. Her heart sank.
“He was good to her. She loved him.”
William gazed down at her in distress. “You mourn him.”
“I do. He was her world. She’ll be devastated.”
“What are you saying to each other? What’s going on?” Cara crowded them.
William ignored her, still speaking Italian to Raven. “If your priest is as good as you say, he could help your sister return to America.”
Raven tripped over her feet, stumbling in the darkness.
William lifted her into his arms.
“I can walk,” she protested in English.
“We are in haste, and you’re without your cane.” William increased his pace down the dark corridor.
“She’s not an invalid.” Cara trotted after them. “And I’m still waiting for someone to explain what’s going on.”
“Just a minute, Cara.” Raven turned to William, addressing him in Italian. “You want to hand my sister over to the Curia?”
William stopped, his expression dark. “I was hoping we could make arrangements to take her to your priest. If what you believe about him is correct, he will protect her. While she’s with the Curia, she won’t be prey to vampyres.”
Raven searched his eyes. “But you told me they erase memories.”
William continued walking. “They erase memories having to do with vampyres.”
“But what about—”
“Your priest wants both of you. I’m more than willing to deliver your sister, but he won’t be satisfied with that. I need to ask the Roman to support my decision to keep you.”
Raven drew a shaky breath. “What if the Roman refuses?”
“Then it will be up to you.”