Page 21 of Marcello
I smiled. I wanted to like Mazzi. He’d kidnapped me though. I looked at my mate and sighed. I wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t even know that he existed, if Mazzi hadn’t done that. “I’m torn,” I said. Marcello looked back at me with confusion on his face. “I want to like Mazzi, but he kidnapped me.”
Marcello chuckled at that. “I can understand that.” He held out his hand. “Come. I will help you in before I get some cloths and towels.”
I closed the short distance between us and took Marcello’s hand. His other went to my waist to help steady me as I stepped into the tub. The water was warm on my feet and legs, and when I sat down, I hissed as it stung in other places.
“Is it bad?” Marcello was suddenly concerned.
“Not terrible. I know that once I shift, it will all go away. But if I don’t, it will only take a few hours before I’m better.”
A cloud of darkness washed over Marcello’s face, and I wondered what caused that. He nodded curtly before he walked away. He disappeared into the walk-in linen closet that I’d found that first day. I’d looked in all the doors and drawers, hoping to find a way out of the room, despite knowing from scent that it belonged to my mate.
Marcello returned with two fluffy towels and a smaller cloth. He set them on the corner edge and then walked into the shower and returned with a pair of bottles.
I tried to reach out to him through our bond to gauge what he was feeling, but he was closed off. That, or I just didn’t know how to access our bond. I was certain I had done so when we’d first claimed one another. In fact, he’d talked to me through it, and I’d responded. He’d been able to read my thoughts. But now? Nothing. I pulled my legs up, wrapping my arms around them and hugging my knees to my chest. Marcello scowled before he stepped into the tub.
“What is this?” he asked. He didn’t give me a chance to respond though. He simply bent down, tugged on my feet, and pulled me into the center of the tub before he stepped over—yes, over the top of me—and sat down behind me. “I don’t know why you’re being shy or distant, but there will be none of that between us.” He pulled me back into him and slid his arms around my chest, forcing his hands between my chest and legs. “You are my beloved, and I will care for you, no matter what. You do not have to like me; that will not change the fact that we have claimed one another, and you are mine to care for.”
I relaxed a little, letting him pull me closer to him. “That’s not it,” I said quietly. “You are the one who is closed off to me.”
Marcello sighed before he kissed the side of my head. “It is not because I am upset with you. I fear that if you knew mytrue thoughts and where they had gone when you told me you would be fine in just a few hours, you would most certainly be frightened. That is not what I wish for so early in our relationship.”
“Why would I be scared?”
“Because despite how I am with you, I am not a nice man. I do bad things to people. My world is full of greed, drugs, sex, unethical business deals, betrayal, death, and so much more. I’m in the middle of it, and there is no way out but death.”
I thought back to what he’d said before. “You said we could leave. That you would go anywhere with me.”
Marcello’s hands roamed up and down my arms in a comforting gesture. “I did. And I will if that is what you wish. But know that it will not be a comfortable life. We will always have to be on guard. I have enemies, we all do, and they will know that you are my weakness. When you let me claim you, without knowing, you became a target for all of them.”
I gasped as I turned a bit and looked at my mate. “What? Why? Why would you let something like that happen?”
Marcello sighed and shook his head. “I tried to warn you. I stayed away for over a year. Believe me when I tell you that I want you more than anything or anyone. But away from the coven, our life will be uncertain. We can try to go to where we are near the council, but we’ve already had that conversation.”
Master Ambrosius did not like Marcello. I’d seen it with my own eyes, and he’d tried to kill my mate. “I don’t want anything to happen to you,” I said quietly.” I leaned closer, resting my head on Marcello’s chest and turning to the side so I could be held by him. Marcello leaned forward, turned off the water that was now up to our chests, and then sat back, pulling me tightly to him.
“And I feel the same about you.”
We were quiet for a bit before I spoke, breaking the silence. “Will you tell me where your thoughts went? I get it, you’re not a nice guy, and you don’t want to scare me.” I lay there, listening to the beating of Marcello’s heart. It was soothing when I seemed to need that.
“What can I do to make you feel more comfortable?” Marcello asked.
I wanted to sit up and look at my mate, but the desire to stay where I was was far greater. “What do you mean? I’m not uncomfortable.”
“I didn’t mean here in the tub. I was referring to in general.”
I sighed again. “I want to know about you. We’re mated, and I know you have seen what I’ve been through. It’s not as if my life has been rainbows and happiness. I’ve seen ugly before. I’ve lived it.”
Marcello was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “When you mentioned that in a few hours your aches would be gone, my mind immediately went to finding the men that raped you and making them suffer very painful deaths.”
I smiled. “Why would that scare me? I think that’s sweet.” I did sit up so I could look at Marcello now after he reluctantly loosened his hold on me. “They’re already dead though. When I was rescued, the council captured those that were there, and after they were questioned, they were all put to death.”
Marcello’s eyebrows rose. “You’re telling me that the council kills people?”
I snorted. “Only those that are bad guys. But I don’t really know a whole lot about all of that. I only know about the ones who held and raped me because they told me. I imagine it’s different than your situation.”
Marcello nodded before he pulled me closer. “What about your family? Will you miss them if we stay here?”
I pushed out of his arms and glared. “Really?” Marcello tried to look innocent but failed. “You know exactly how I feel about my family and why I won’t miss any of them. Why do you do that?”
