| Dark Heart By Mommints and Adriana |
| ~*~ Chapter 3 ~*~ “Tatiana, do you see your sister?” Greta asked, staring at the scene taking place a few feet from them. “Never mind her, who’s the guy talking to her?” Cynthia suggested. “He is drop dead gorgeous.” “What are you guys talking about?” Tatiana finally pulled her attention away from the roulette game and the two young men seated at the far end of the table, with whom she had been casually flirting. “There.” Greta pointed. And Tatiana gasped in shock. Adriana was talking to a man who’s looks could be associated with perfection, from his glossy raven colored hair to his hard, lean body in the impeccable tuxedo. The three girls were speechless with amazement as he extended his hand for hers, and watched as Adriana gracefully rose up from the chair as if in a trance. She took his hand and when her suitor placed a kiss on it, the three girls sighed in unison. “Damn, how come she gets all the cute ones?” Tatiana lamented. “Guess you missed him putting her shoe back on.” Greta pointed out that tasty tidbit. “What?” “No way, you’re kidding right?” Greta shook her head, the highlights in her dark hair catching in the lights overhead. “I saw the whole thing. Pretty neat if you ask me.” “You have to tell us...wait! Where are they going now?” Tatiana asked when she saw the couple start to leave. “Oh my God, they’re coming over here.” Cynthia muttered and started to fluff out the waves in her golden hair. Greta immediately did the same thing, running her fingers through the heavy curls, wishing she could applying fresh lipstick. Only Tatiana was the one who could only stare in mute shock and envy, as the couple finally reached them. “Hi girls, I’d like you to meet a new friend of mine.” Adriana sounded a little breathless as if from excitement as she made the introductions. Luciano graciously greeted each girl, with a slight arrogant nod and a brilliant smile that almost made them speechless but it was obvious the girl next to him captured his attention. He unabashedly stared at Adriana, noting the strong shoulders, lean arms and narrow waist but his dark gaze would always wander back to her face, is if he needed to memorize it and savor the image. While the girls chatted about something to each other, he almost ignored them and moved closer to Adriana, his mind finally realizing what his soul already knew - this was Juliana reincarnated. “Mio cuore (my heart).” He whispered, wanting to lose himself into the warm gaze of her love. Then the beast in him reared its ugly head and his senses honed in on the pulse in her neck, wildly beating from nervousness and excitement. It took a supreme effort on his part not to whisk her away from everyone, to carry her off somewhere secluded and sink his fangs into the life giving blood that ran through that vein, teasing him almost beyond reason. He suddenly lurched forward. “Oh, Luciano are you alright?” She asked and reached out a hand to steady him. “I am fine, thank you.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes but nonetheless, he turned back towards the girls and said a quick apology. “We should be going.” And without further explanation, he offered his hand again to Adriana, who took it without argument. “Ladies, it’s been a pleasure meeting you but I promised Adriana I would show her the rest of the casino. scusarli, prego (excuse us, please?)” “Casper, don’t wait up, I have a spare key.” Adriana called out as they walked away towards another section of the room. “Unbelievable.” Cynthia sighed. “Too damned cute for words.” Greta whispered. “I don’t trust him.” Tatiana muttered, unable to explain her feelings. “He’s too perfect.” “Well I don’t know about you, but I’ll take perfect anytime. Speaking of which, you’re two friends from the table are still staring at you.” Cynthia mentioned. Tatiana stared a moment more at the departing couple, until they were lost in the crowd but she reluctantly turned her attention back to the night’s pursuit. The two men in question both smiled, revealing dimples and bright teeth, and one even did a little wave. “So, are we going to stand here all night or go back to the table?” Greta asked. “Let’s go back.” Tatiana said, and tried to shrug off the feeling that after tonight, nothing would be the same with her sister. ~*~ Like an expert ship’s captain, Luciano navigated Adriana through the second and third floor of the casino, then back down again until they were outside in the cool evening air. The moon was full, casting a silver glow to everything and the soft, gliding noise of passing gondola’s seemed to add a dreamy beauty to the night. Adriana did most of the talking, mainly about how excited she was visiting Venice for the first time and the hopes of visiting Rome in the next few days. This trip had been a graduation present for Tatiana from their parents and they would be visiting for two whole weeks. “I guess I have a passion for Venice, for Italy. You see, it’s always been a dream of mine.” She shyly added, now running out of something to say for conversation. Her companion had been silent most of the time, listening and interjecting a question or two as Adriana had rambled on about herself. “What about you, Luciano? What do you do for a living?” She asked. They were standing in front of one of the piers for a gondola and before Adriana could imagine it happening, she found herself sitting in one, with Luciano right beside her, and so started their ride through the Grand Canal with some of Venice’s more popular sights passing them by. She was unawares he had expertly avoided his question. “Oh! How did you know I’ve always wanted to ride in one!” Adriana exclaimed with pleasure. “I had a feeling you would want to do this....” Luciano purred and captured her one hand in his own, placing a light kiss on it. “Your eyes shining, does this mean you’re happy?” “Oh yes, it’s like a dream come true. I always had thought I’d be riding in one with my love...” Adriana stopped herself, a little embarrassed at her confession. “Ah, per amare (to love) and be loved. It is one of life’s grandest things, is it not?” He asked, and tenderly stroked her cheek. “Tell me Adriana, are you loved? Is there someone special waiting back home for you?” “N-no. I’m single.” “Indeed, I am lucky tonight then, for I have won something at the casino far more valuable than gold.” His large powerful hand followed the delicate line of her jaw, until he had reached behind her head, burying his fingers into her hair. He pulled his fingers through the tresses, murmuring his appreciation. “Like silk, as I knew it would be.” He cupped her face again, and moved towards her, his eyes as dark and as bottomless as the ocean. “Wh-what are you doing, Luciano?” She asked, shaken to the roots of her soul with his tender caresses. “Kissing you, mi amore.” His lips gently tasted hers, tentatively sampling the sweetness she had to offer and when she opened her mouth to taste him, he seized the opportunity and his tongue swept inside. He rubbed it against hers, until both of them were kissing each other with a fever, a desire to be closer than just flesh on flesh. Their mouths slanted over the others and Adriana couldn’t help the sexy little whimpers as Luciano continued his tender assault. He broke the kiss, trailing kisses and his tongue along her jaw, dipping below her ear and finally finding the pulse point in her neck. He pulled back the curtain of her hair and proceeded to worship the slender column of her neck, feeling the beast rise inside of him, his eyes glaring red in the moonlight as he toyed with the idea of making her his own. Luciano lavished all of his attention on her neck, losing more and more control with each passing minute and feeling oddly joyous over it. Adriana would never guess the battle being waged within her new boyfriend as he continued nuzzling her neck, all she knew and felt that for this moment, it felt right. Holding his hard body clasped to her chest felt right, and she didn’t want this moment in time to end. She threw her head back in wanton abandonment and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling it from its queue until she used it as an anchor for her hands. ~*~ Bianca was on the prowl from the Casino, having seen Luciano leave with a young girl on his arm and she followed them out into the night, eager to confirm her suspicions. The girl had looked too familiar and she felt like a lovesick fool hiring another gondola to follow them but she still did so, her eyes able to see better in the dark than any mortals. When her gondola silently glided up to theirs, her eyes widened in alarm as she saw the passionate embrace the couple was in, and instantly knew Luciano was close to making a kill. “Luciano!” She hissed, loudly enough for him to hear and when he raised his dark head, his fangs were gleaming in the moonlight. With a strangled cry of rage, Luciano broke off the embrace and Adriana spun around in her seat to see what he was staring at with such hatred. It never registered in her mind about his appearance, she was more startled to see the same blonde woman she had seen earlier in the casino out in a gondola and right with them. “Lasciarli, Bianca, ora! (Leave us, Bianca, now!)” He snarled. With a warning glance at Adriana, the other vampire ordered her gondola away from theirs, but her whispered reply carried back over the waters, sounding as if she were right next to them. “Ciò non è rifinita (this is not finished), Luciano.” “Who was that woman, is she your girlfriend?” Adriana cried out, still shivering from the look of evil on her face. “Do not worry about her, cara. She is just a...friend, probably looking for me since we left the casino without telling her.” Luciano pulled Adriana back into his embrace but for some reason, it lacked the warmth she was craving and she told him they needed to get back to the casino since it was getting late. They rode back in silence. Luciano brought her back to the first floor and as they walked through the floor again, he was struck anew by the uncanny resemblance this innocent young girl had to his wife. And as she searched for her sister and friends, Luciano found himself envisioning a change in his future, perhaps making this girl into a blood drinker like himself, thus ending his endless days of loneliness. “Tata!” Tatianna called out as soon as she spotted her sister, both surprised and secretly pleased that the end had ended abruptly and before dawn. She was at the far end of the room with Cynthia and Greta and two other men Adriana didn‘t recognize. “Luciano, I have to go, there’s my sister.” Adriana felt torn between staying with him and leaving, a nameless fear making her afraid of something about him, but what? There was something mysterious about him, a side less seen in the light and she almost felt attracted to it, wanting to discover its origins. “May I see you again?” He asked. Adriana was thrilled. “Of course, why don’t you join my sister and I tomorrow for a little site seeing. We were planning on taking a tour of Piazza San Marco and the cafes there.” Luciano declined with a shake of his head. “I have other duties to see to during the day, but I was wondering about tomorrow night.” “You want a date?” Adriana asked breathless with surprise, not believing he would want to see her again after the disaster on the gondola. “Yes, we can call it that, and I promise, no interruptions from well meaning friends.” He smiled brilliantly and Adriana couldn’t help but return one of her own. She retrieved out a piece of paper from her purse and quickly wrote down where she was staying and the room number. “I’ll pick you up around 7pm?” He asked. “That would be fine.” And she mentally checked off what clothes she had brought for such an occasion. Luciano surprised her and instead of kissing her hand goodnight, he reached for her and pulled her into his embrace. “Buono notte (good night), cara.” He whispered and kissed her passionately, then released her a moment later. “Good night, Luciano.” She whispered back, her fingers touching her lips in the memory of his kiss. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Dark Heart - Chapter 4 |