This Same Earth

Chapter Eight

Long Beach, California

December 2009

The lights of the three-tiered yacht glowed in the harbor as Giovanni and Beatrice were ferried out in the small white boat. Don Ernesto Alvarez had spent his mortal and immortal life in the accumulation of wealth, power, and influence and had no qualms about enjoying and sharing that wealth with those he favored.

“So, the water vampire lives on a yacht, huh?” she leaned toward Giovanni and whispered.

“No need to be intimidated, tesoro, but do be careful.”

“See, those two statements seem like they contradict each other to me, Gio.”

He chuckled and slipped an arm around her, warming her when she shivered. She relaxed into his side and allowed herself to enjoy the simple comfort of his touch.

He’d been careful with her the past weeks, respecting the fact that she still grieved the loss of her relationship with Mano. No matter his own feelings, he had respected hers and was showing an extraordinary amount of patience.

And that, more than anything, softened the brittle wall she’d put up to protect herself.

It would have been as easy as breathing to fall into his arms. She knew he loved her and wanted her, but Beatrice also knew she was past the point in her life where she would jump head first into a situation she knew little about. She had been cautious six years ago; she was even more wary now.

Giovanni claimed he wanted her. Not just for this life, but for eternity. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the idea; what he was asking wasn’t a decision she could make lightly.

“Señorita De Novo, Señor Vecchio, welcome aboard,” the dark haired steward called down in greeting when they came alongside the anchored cruiser. They climbed up the large angled ladder that dipped toward the water, and she felt Giovanni’s hand on the small of her back as she climbed. She was slightly unsteady on her feet, but she felt him behind her, steadying her legs as she climbed.

“I feel like I’m underdressed,” she muttered, eyeing the formally dressed steward.

He chuckled and pinched her leg. “I told you to wear your boots.”

“Haha. All the same, with this ladder I’m sure glad I didn’t wear a skirt.”

“I’m not,” she heard him grumble.

“Oh really? Want me to share the view with all the boys in the boat below?”

She looked down to see one of the crewmen on the small boat wink at her. Beatrice snickered and Giovanni glanced over his shoulder to see the man quickly busy himself coiling rope.

“Fair point, tesoro. Skirts for my eyes only, if you please.”

Beatrice rolled her eyes and continued climbing. Normally, she would consider his possessive behavior annoying, but in the unknown situation she was putting herself into, it was more comforting than anything else.

“Tesoro mio,” Giovanni called from below, “can we hurry up a bit?”

“Why? You getting grey down there, professor?”

She squeaked when she felt him grab her by the waist and pull her into an embrace as he scooted up next to her. She clung to his neck and he shimmied up the ladder to the teak deck above. He held onto her a bit longer than necessary and bent down to murmur in her ear.

“It was getting hard to resist the temptation to sink my teeth in your thigh when I was staring at it for so long.”

Her breath caught, her temperature shot up, and her heart raced at the rough sound of his voice. She made an effort to calm down so she didn’t meet her great-great-however many great-grandfather completely turned on by her…whatever Giovanni was.

Beatrice saw two scantily clad women strolling along the deck; both of them shot Giovanni a look as they passed. He was dressed in surprisingly casual clothes that evening, though his dark jeans and black button-down shirt did nothing to detract from his good looks. The women swayed their hips as they walked past, but he didn’t even glance at them. Instead, he held his hand out, searching for her own.

Whatever Giovanni was, she was beginning to realize he was most certainly hers.

She flushed when she realized she was more than a little possessive herself. The steward, who had been chatting with Giovanni in soft Italian, escorted them from the boat landing and up the stairs toward the decks above.

“Wow, how big is this thing?” she asked.

“The Esmeralda is over four hundred feet long, Señorita De Novo. It has forty cabins, twenty of which are interior and secured for our immortal guests.”

“Does Don Ernesto live here full time?”

The man smiled enigmatically, and she sensed she wouldn’t be getting a straight answer. “He stays here when it suits him.”

“Okay then,” she murmured as Giovanni slipped an arm around her waist. They left the stairwell and walked across a broad deck leading to what sounded like a party. In the distance, the lights of the Long Beach Pike glistened and she could see the giant Ferris wheel turn as families enjoyed Friday night at the pier.

There was a sudden gust of wind, and she pulled her leather riding jacket close to her body, tucking herself under Giovanni’s shoulder. She felt the heat begin to radiate off him when he sensed her shiver.

“If you’ll continue this way, Don Ernesto and his family will meet you on the veranda.”

“Thank you for your help, Enzo,” Giovanni said.

“Yeah, thanks.” She followed Giovanni, taking tentative steps toward the sound of glasses clinking and quiet murmuring voices that drifted in the breeze. She was ambushed by a sudden memory of the wild parties Lorenzo had thrown on the island, and she tensed when she remembered the drained human guests who had been casually flung into the sea when the vampires were done with them. She froze and her heart began to race. Giovanni pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.

“It’s not what you’re thinking. If you feel uncomfortable, we’ll go, but it’s to your benefit if you meet him, Beatrice.”

“No,” she said, nodding, “no, it’s fine.”

He squeezed her waist and they continued walking. When they turned the corner, she saw what could only be described as a very elegant dinner party. Though she saw more than one glass filled with what she thought might be blood and more than one human sitting among the vampires, no one was being bitten, and everyone talked and laughed together.

“Ah, Giovanni!” A short, barrel-chested man rose from the far end of the table. He was small and stocky, but his pale skin was set off by dark hair, a thick mustache, and a pair of startling emerald eyes that made Beatrice catch her breath. She had only seen the unusual shade in one other person in her life, and she smiled automatically to see her grandmother’s eyes wink at her from the face of her ancestor.

He reached over and took her hand in his. Unlike Giovanni’s hands, which were always warm, Don Ernesto’s were cool as they enveloped hers. They weren’t clammy the way she remembered Lorenzo’s when he had touched her, so she was able to relax.

“You have finally brought my granddaughter to me,” he said with a delighted smile, shaking Giovanni’s hand after he released her own. “And what a beautiful young woman she is, and so very accomplished. You are a credit to our family, Beatriz.”

“Well…” She laughed a little nervously. “Thank you. I’m very…pleased to meet you.”

“Giovanni has been hiding you in my own city, my dear,” he cocked his head playfully toward Giovanni, who maintained a position behind Beatrice’s right shoulder. “His prerogative, of course, and I understand you’ve been very successful in your studies and in your career.”

“I have, thank you.”

“Please call me abuelo, or Ernesto, since you are family, mi nieta. Come, sit beside me so we may acquaint ourselves.” He showed them to the long table where he had been holding court and Giovanni pulled out the chair to the left of Ernesto’s for her while he took the seat on her other side.

As soon as she sat, a server brought her a glass of water with no ice, asking her in a quiet voice what else he might bring. She asked for a glass of red wine and waited for Giovanni to speak to the man before she turned back to her grandfather.

“O positive, if it’s available,” she heard him murmur to the waiter.

“And would you prefer a donor or a glass, Señor?”

“A glass, please.”

She flushed, wondering what the correct reaction would have been if he’d ordered a donor. As she glanced around the table, she realized more than one donor sitting next to a guest was feeding them from their wrist. It had none of the darkly erotic feel of the biting she had seen at Lorenzo’s, nor the passionate connection she had felt the one time she had fed Giovanni.

Thinking about that night in his bed made the flush rise on her cheeks, and she was thankful that no one seemed to be paying attention to her. Except for Giovanni, who had placed a hand on her thigh under the table, holding it palm up. She placed her hand in his and felt the slight hum of energy that always buzzed when their bodies touched.

“Giovanni,” Ernesto finally called. “I know you are acquainted with my son, Baojia, but have you met my daughter, Paula, and her husband, Rory?” Ernesto nodded toward the beautiful female vampire sitting at the far end of the table. She was tall and regal, no doubt towering over Ernesto, but her dark eyes were friendly, as was her smile.

The man sitting next to her looked exactly how Beatrice expected a cowboy from the old west would look. He was tan, even with the natural paleness of his kind, and had the lean, wiry look of a man who had been used to working outside. His grey, handlebar mustache drooped on either side of his thin mouth, but his eyes twinkled with a silver light.

“I know Paula by reputation, of course,” Giovanni nodded toward the end where the two vampires observed them. “And I had the fortune of meeting Rory many years ago.”

From the smirk that touched the cowboy’s face, Beatrice had the feeling that their meeting may have been of the violent kind. Nonetheless, they nodded toward each other like old comrades before Paula began to speak.

“Giovanni, your companion looks like a delightful young woman. It’s so lovely to meet another member of the family. You are from Texas, are you not, Beatrice?”

“I am,” she said. “From Houston. My grandmother, who is an Alvarez, was from Guadalajara, though.”

That statement sent the vampires at the table into raptures about the beauty of Colonial era Guadalajara and the music and art it produced. The tone of the conversation had the same nostalgic bent as the dinners Beatrice remembered attending with her grandmother’s friends, and she chuckled in amusement.

“And what has made you laugh, my dear?”

She turned to Ernesto with a smile. “Oh…I was just reminded of my grandmother. All the talk about Guadalajara.” She felt Giovanni squeeze her hand under the table as he took a sip of his blood.

“Tell me about your grandmother. She is in good health?”

“Yes, very good. She has your eyes.”

His green eyes lit up. “She has Esmeralda’s eyes? How wonderful!”

“Esmeralda?”

“My mother had the same brilliant green eyes that I do, my dear. That is why she was called Esmeralda, for her emerald eyes. I named the boat after her. The green eyes are quite rare in the family now, but perhaps if you have children, you will pass them on.”

Her mouth gaped in shock. “Uh…well-”

“But of course…so clumsy of me,” he said with a sly smile. “You are with Giovanni, so children are, perhaps, not something you wish for.”

“I…I mean-”

“We have much time to think about things like that, Ernesto,” Giovanni said smoothly. “Beatrice is a young woman. Tell me more about the new casino I hear you are opening next month. Is one of your children running it for you?”

Their conversation drifted into business, and Beatrice took the opportunity to sit back in her chair, sip her wine, and observe the humans and vampires who filled the room.

What appeared at first glance to be a dinner party was, upon closer observation, a very well-orchestrated meeting. In each corner and each group, there were quiet words and bent heads as canny eyes darted around the room with measuring glances. The vampires obviously had the upper hand, sending humans to fetch and carry this or that across the decks.

It all seemed to be a quiet and persistent negotiation. She heard murmurs about business deals and quarrels. New children and old relationships. There was the odd mention of acquaintances who were passing through the area. With each quiet conversation, Beatrice played a mental game trying to determine who had the upper hand, and who was trying to attract attention. It was all a kind of dance, and she smiled to herself as she observed them.

“What a mysterious smile,” she heard Ernesto say. She swung her eyes back in his direction to catch him watching her with a grin. “It’s all quite fascinating, isn’t it?”

She glanced at Giovanni, but he only cocked an amused eyebrow at her.

“It’s interesting,” she said to Ernesto. “Very…dynamic.”

Ernest broke into a satisfied chuckle. “A politician already, nieta! What an interesting young woman you are. You have very perceptive eyes, Beatrice.”

“She always has,” she heard Giovanni say as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Tesoro, I believe the man I need to meet is here for me.” She glanced around and saw an Asian vampire of medium build standing in the doorway, staring at Giovanni with a blank expression.

Ernesto turned to the man and nodded in respect. “My son, Baojia, is head of our security. He has helped to capture the stranger who assaulted your friend.”

She looked at the mysterious vampire, who radiated a quiet menace. His eyes were dark when she met his gaze, and she found herself nodding at him out of respect, though she could not smile.

“Tesoro? Would you like to find a peaceful spot inside?” Giovanni asked. “Or would you like to stay with Ernesto? It is up to you if you would prefer the quiet.”

She could tell from the slight narrowing of Ernesto’s eyes that he wasn’t pleased Giovanni had given her the option, but she could also tell from the way he looked at her companion, Ernesto would not cross him.

She lifted a hand and swept it across Giovanni’s cheek, which was dusted with a hint of stubble. “I’m fine, Gio. I’d like to visit a bit more with Ernesto.” And observe the rather intriguing dance of influence that seemed to swirl around the room.

“Very well, I’ll be back when I can.” He bent down and breathed into her ear. “Be careful what you agree to.”

“No hurry,” she said as she studied Ernesto, who was watching their every move.

The two men left the room, quietly chatting in what she assumed was Mandarin as they disappeared down the hall.

“Tell me, my dear.” Ernesto leaned toward her with a glint in his eyes. “What are your plans for the future?”

Beatrice spent the next hour in a complicated conversational game she found both stimulating and exhausting. Ernesto was completely open in his desire to turn her and make her one of his children.

“Just think of the benefits. You would have independence! If you wanted to continue in your relationship with the Italian, you certainly could or you could pursue others that might suit you more. But you would not be obligated to him or his protection any longer.”

“No.” She smiled. “I’d be obligated to you, right?”

He shrugged, smiling impishly. “But we are already family, nieta. I have only your best interests at heart. You could wait to turn and bear children with a human, if you like. Or if not, perhaps one of my own children might be more to your liking for a partner.”

Skipping over the part about ‘bearing children,’ she frowned. “Wouldn’t that be…I don’t know, like dating your brother or something?”

Ernesto chortled at the question. “No! But of course you might think that. The attachment to your sire does not extend to all of his or her children, fortunately. There are bonds of friendship and loyalty between those of the same clan, but it is not like a human sibling relationship.”

“Oh, that makes more sense, I guess.”

“For instance, Paula and her husband are both my children, and I care for them both, but they are married. They have no greater bond than that.”

“Ah,” she nodded. “Got it. That’s kind of a relief, to be honest.”

She had been thinking more about the fact that her father had been turned by Lorenzo, who was technically Giovanni’s son. If you were to extend the logic…well, it took Beatrice to an obviously uncomfortable place, so she was relieved that the connection only seemed to be between sire and child.

Anything more could get quite confusing.

“And if you were to remain in Los Angeles under my aegis,” Ernesto continued, “what opportunities for study there would be. The academic institutions, the museums. Your skills would certainly face a challenge.”

Beatrice looked around the table at the immortal beings surrounding her. Most were young, frozen in the prime of their life. Their eyes scanned the room with the kind of canny intelligence that could only come from years of experience. All carried themselves with a preternatural grace and confidence.

What would it be like to be frozen in time? Giovanni wanted her to join him in his life. She would never grow old or sick, never feel the sting of early death. She would be powerful, she thought, as she remembered the sick, helpless feeling of being held against her will in Lorenzo’s mansion.

That kind of power was more than attractive.

“And perhaps, in time, even your father could come work with you.”

A light shines in the darkness. She had been wondering at the dogged persistence of the water vampire, and suddenly his pursuit made sense. It seemed that Stephen De Novo held the interest of more than just Lorenzo and Giovanni.

“It seems like a lot of people want to find my father.” She raised her eyebrow at her ancestor.

“Such a bright man. One does hear things…” Ernesto smirked. “I think he would be an asset to any family. As would his daughter.”

Beatrice chuckled and shook her head at his scheming. “Ernesto, you are an original.”

“But of course,” he said as he winked.

She felt no threat from the barrel-chested man with her grandmother’s eyes. He seemed to enjoy their verbal dance as much as she did, though she had to admit his mental stamina outshone hers. Beatrice was beginning to droop by the time Giovanni found her an hour later.

The party was still going on, but she had retired to a bench near the edge of the deck, enjoying the quiet as she watched the human families on the pier.

Giovanni strode toward her on the open veranda and swept her into his arms, clutching her as he looked around the room. He glared at the party with heated eyes before he looked down at her.

His face held an inscrutable expression as he ran a hand down her arm, lifting her wrist before he opened his mouth and his fangs descended. Beatrice gasped as his tongue traced the blue vein that ran down the middle of her wrist, and she could feel the slight buzz under her skin where she anticipated his bite.

“Gio-” She could only utter his name before his fangs pierced her wrist. They didn’t pierce deeply, it was more of a prick, but a few drops of blood leaked out and Giovanni caught them with his tongue, sucking them into his mouth as he looked around the room. She was lightheaded as his amnis flooded over her skin and she forced herself to hold back a moan.

Beatrice was more shocked than angry and confused by the uncharacteristic behavior. He bent down to kiss her, and she tasted the metallic hint of her blood as it lingered on his tongue. His mouth trailed to her ear and he whispered. “I’m sorry. Trust me, I’ll explain in the car.”

“Yes, you will,” she murmured against his cheek.

He clutched her to his chest and raised his voice. “Beatrice is exhausted, Ernesto. We will visit more another time.”

Ernesto frowned, glancing between Giovanni and Baojia, who stood in the corner of the veranda near the stairs. Beatrice watched him over her shoulder and saw the mysterious vampire give her a respectful nod. Ernesto caught it as well and cocked his head.

“Of course,” Ernesto said with a cheerful smile. “You are both welcome anytime. Tend to my granddaughter, Giovanni.”

In no time, he had lifted her and carried her down the stairs at vampire speed. Beatrice hardly registered anything until they were on the small boat racing back to the dock.

“Gio, what’s-”

He pulled her into another breathtaking kiss as he smothered her question. She finally sighed into his mouth and relaxed, assuming he didn’t want to tell her anything with an audience.

At least she could enjoy kissing an expert.

And kissing Giovanni was better than any memory she’d allowed herself. His tongue stroked hers, and he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth allowing his teeth to scrape it. She reached out with the tip of her tongue to stroke the fangs sharp in his mouth, and she could hear him quietly groan as he kissed her more deeply.

The boat sped toward shore, and within minutes they were back on the dock. Giovanni picked her up again and rushed toward the car, only to set her on the hood of the Mustang so he could stand between her legs and continue devouring her.

“Tesoro,” he murmured against her neck. Then his lips travelled along her collarbone. “Beatrice…” he breathed out. Giovanni pressed closer, but she was too conscious of their place and the questions swirling in her mind, so she held back.

“Gio,” she whispered as she placed her hands firmly on his shoulders and pushed him back. She heard him growl quietly as he tried to pull her back, but she grabbed his chin and forced him to look into her face. “Giovanni, what was that on the boat?”

He blinked, shaking his head to clear it. His eyes continued to fall toward her neck so she pinched his chin.

“I’m serious. I’m exhausted, and I just had a verbal fencing match for the last two and a half hours. So calm your fangs, and tell me what the heck is going on.”

“Sorry,” he muttered as he stepped back and cleared his throat. “My apologies, Beatrice. Let’s get in the car and I’ll fill you in on the interrogation and the…biting.”

Beatrice nodded, sliding down the side of the car, taking care not to scratch it. She paused before she got in when she noticed the side of his head.

“You singed some hair off again,” she said. “What happened?”

He frowned and felt the bare spot behind his ear. “In the car. Let’s get on the road and I’ll tell you.”

Giovanni drove back to the house since she was exhausted. If there hadn’t have been news to hear, she probably would have fallen asleep.

“One of Ernesto’s people is working for Lorenzo,” he said. “Baojia discovered it last week, but he wanted to tell me in person because he’s still not sure who it is.”

“One of Ernesto’s children is working for Lorenzo?”

He shook his head. “That’s highly unlikely, since your connection to him is well known. It would be almost unheard of for a child to defy their sire like that.”

She couldn’t help but remember Giovanni had plotted his own sire’s murder, but she didn’t bring that up.

“But only a small portion of the vampires you saw tonight are his children,” he continued. “Many are business associates, employees, or others who have connection to him and claim his protection.”

“So Bao-whatever his name is-doesn’t know who it is?”

“He’ll be able to find out fairly quickly with the information I gleaned from the Greek. He was most talkative after a short time with me,” Giovanni smiled grimly. “I wouldn’t worry about it, tesoro.

“So what was up with the biting thing? Just feeling possessive?” she asked him with a curled lip. “You could have at least warned me.”

“The bite on the veranda was a public display. I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you, but for me to feed from Ernesto’s granddaughter in front of him, and on his own ship, made a very strong statement, and since we don’t know who it is yet-”

“I get it, I get it. You did the caveman dance, and we’ve covered our bases. Everyone knows who I ‘belong’ to.” She rolled her eyes.

“Exactly,” he said with a smile. “And, I’ll confess, my blood was running after the interrogation. If I was human, you could say it was an adrenaline rush.”

“Okay then,” she cleared her throat. “Next time go punch something instead of biting me.”

“I just had,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“Oh.”

“Yes, ‘oh.’”

“So…” she hesitated. “Is the guy who attacked Mano dead?”

He paused before she heard his satisfied voice. “Ashes in the Pacific.”

They exchanged a look Beatrice didn’t want to think about too closely before he changed the subject. “So…how was your conversation with Ernesto?”

Her head fell back against the seat and her eyes drooped. “That was exhausting.”

Giovanni smiled. “You did extremely well for your first small taste of vampire politics, Beatrice.”

“That was a small taste?”

He chuckled and reached for her hand, stroking the back of her palm with his thumb. “A small and rather friendly dip in the shark pool.”

“Okay, well, it was interesting, but I could go on a vamp politics diet for a while, if you know what I mean.”

“Fair enough. There’s no reason I can think of for us to go back in the near future.”

Beatrice must have dozed in the car, because when she woke Giovanni was lifting her from the passenger’s seat and carrying her into the kitchen.

“What time is it?” she asked with a yawn.

“Around four in the morning.”

“Good thing I don’t have to work tomorrow.”

He walked through the kitchen, still carrying her in his arms. Beatrice curled into his chest and thought of the first ride she’d made into Cochamó when he’d held her for hours in front of him on the rocking horse.

“Gio?”

“Yes?” He turned down a long hall she knew contained the guest bedrooms.

“If I stayed with you tonight…could we just sleep?”

His steps faltered, and she heard his heart give a quiet thump.

“If that’s what you want.”

“I miss you,” she whispered as her eyes closed again. She burrowed toward the comforting smell of his skin. “I miss how warm your arms always are.”

He paused in the hallway before he turned and walked up the stairs.

Beatrice didn’t remember much except for his hands as they removed her shoes, the low buzz of his skin brushing against hers, and the comfort of being enveloped in his scent as he pulled the sheets around her. She heard him moving around the room before his long arms enfolded her and he nestled behind her in the bed. He whispered in her ear as she faded to dreams.

“I love you, Beatrice.”