Chapter 38
Any chance of Cosimo and Marcella sneaking back into the villa the following morning as easily as they slipped out was dashed when they opened the door to find Apollo sitting on the stairs.
"Busted!" he hollered, loud enough for the whole house to hear.
Cosimo tried to close the front door again, but Marcella pushed her way past him, giggling.
"Is that really necessary, my darling?" she asked Apollo.
"It's just nice to have someone else do the walk of shame for once," he replied, getting to his feet with a wide grin.
Marcella gestured to herself. "Do I look ashamed right now? If you're curious, I can tell you exactly what your father did to me to get my skin glowing this much. He does this thing with his tongue that..."
Apollo's smile vanished, replaced with a look of horror, and he slapped his hands over his ears. "Lalalala, not listening!" he cried and raced towards the kitchen.
"That was easy," she said, turning to Cosimo.
He dropped her bags and kissed her quickly.
"That was masterful. I have never seen Apollo shut up so quickly," he said, letting her go. "If I wasn't already in love with you, that would have done it."
"Boys are so silly. The girls would still be listening," Marcella replied, giving him a big wink.
Cosimo groaned. "Please don't tell my daughters about our sex life."
"Spoil sport," she teased and followed Apollo.
A cry of greetings went up before the kitchen doors swung shut again.
"You told her she is your mate yet?" Taranis asked, appearing silently behind Cosimo. He leaped in fright and swung round to glare at the fae king.
"No, but she loves me. She told me," Cosimo replied smugly.
Taranis cocked a brow. "Everyone loves you. She needs to be told about the bond, little brother. The sex might be good enough to keep your dragon content for the moment, but it will start to eat away at you if you don't claim her."
Cosimo knew it was pointless trying to argue with him. The fae were stubborn on the subject of mates, and the dragons were more so.
"The dragon and I have an agreement on when to tell her."
"And when would that be?" Taranis asked, crossing his arms. "She is magically sensitive and is bound to be feeling it. If she already loves you, what's the hold up?"
"There's a difference between I love you and I want to be bound to you for all eternity, Taran."
"Not for dragons. Which you are."
Cosimo ran a hand through his hair. "She's not a dragon. She's human. She needs to get used to us all first."
There was an explosion of laughter from the kitchen, and Taranis pointed at the door.
"Sounds like she fits in just fine."
"I know she does," Cosimo replied with a small smile. "I'm man enough to admit that a part of me is scared of binding her to me and then losing her. I couldn't survive it a second time."
Taranis sighed and pulled him into a hug. "It's always going to be worth that risk. I think she is perfect for you, and she will be an excellent mate when you cross that bridge."
"Thank you, Taran," Cosimo said, releasing him. "I just need a little bit more time, and I will tell her."
Taranis nodded. "Getting her into your territory is a good idea. It will keep the dragon happy, and if she causes you to shift, the mansion can handle it."
"I don't know if I am ever going to shift. The boys and I tried. I can do partials but not the whole thing."
Taranis only smiled. "That was before you had a mate who could charm your beast to come out. I bet if she asked sweetly with those big eyes of hers, it would happen."
"What about Maria? Can't you bully her into shifting?" Cosimo asked, wanting to stop talking about himself.
"Ha! We aren't going to worry about her being as hesitant as you. I had to convince her not to try to shift until she gets to the safety of the Greatdrakes mansion. She doesn't like that she hasn't done it already. Competitive to a fault, that girl," Taranis replied.
Cosimo sighed. "That sounds like Maria."
After breakfast and a lot of good-natured ribbing directed at Cosimo, everyone gathered their luggage, and Taranis opened a portal into the Greatdrakes mansion. Valentine set off a cleaning spell in the villa to ensure that it was pristine for the next time the owner decided to return from Corfu.
"You miscreants better not have touched any of my shit while I was gone," Maria declared, heading up the staircase and toward her tower.
"Sekhmet hasn't come to get revenge on me," Cosimo called after her.
Maria threw back her head and laughed evilly. "Not yet, she hasn't. I'm going to go study this bracelet I found some more, so if I don't come down for dinner, come and check on me. I don't want to be stuck in a stasis spell for another thirty years."
The family scattered just as quickly. Taranis and Quinn said they needed to check in on Killian and Bron, and then they disappeared out of the front door.
"Alone at last," Marcella said and kissed Cosimo. "Are you going to show me to my room?"
Still a bit dazzled by the kiss, Cosimo nodded. When he went to take their bags, they were already gone.
Marcella frowned. "Should I be worried that all of my things just vanished?"
"I don't think so. It might be the house's way of helping," Cosimo said, taking her hand. "Let's see where they have gotten to."
Cosimo made his way to the tower and almost missed his stairs because they had changed entirely. The runner that used to be blue was red with a rose pattern. The banister was now a dark ebony, and every few steps was a carving of roses and skulls. If Marcella noticed, she didn't say anything.
What the hell was happening? The house hadn't renovated the stairs in decades. They came to a landing that definitely hadn't existed before, with a carved wooden door that had a baroque flair. It wouldn't have looked out of place in a cathedral.
"These must be your rooms," Cosimo said and gestured to the door. He knew Marcella would need her own space, but he had hoped to convince her to share his bed at least. He kept the disappointment from his face.
"My rooms? You mean you don't know?" Marcella asked, not noticing his mood change.
"They are new," he replied, shrugging as if he wasn't unnerved by the house's machinations. "The house likes you. It knows you want your space, so it's accommodating you."
"Magic house," Marcella said in awe.
Cosimo moved aside. "You had best go first. I doubt it will open if I try it."
With a bemused expression, Marcella opened the door and let out a little gasp. "Oh, it's lovely."
Cosimo walked in and looked about at the suite. It had a four-poster bed that he tried not to scowl at. No bed-sharing for him, apparently.
There were pretty Persian rugs on polished wooden floors and Renaissance paintings on the walls that he had never seen before. To the right was a study with a desk already laid out with Marcella's laptop and books.
Marcella opened the door to a wardrobe and laughed. "It's hung my clothes for me." She leaned in further and felt around the back of it.
"What are you doing?" Cosimo asked curiously.
"No Narnia. What a shame."
He cracked up laughing. "Be careful what you wish for. It might just try and give it to you. I have enough worry with Valentine screwing about, opening portals to strange places. I don't need the house to start doing it as well."
Marcella explored the bathroom, and all her makeup and toiletries were neatly arranged.
"That saves me a lot of time setting up," she said and tucked up a curl that had come loose from her low bun. "The lighting and mirror make me look good too."
"That's just you," Cosimo replied, smiling at her because he couldn't stop. She might not be in his bedroom, but she was in his house, and his dragon was all but purring with happiness. "What do you want to do now? There's a new bed here that needs christening."
"Nice try, but if we get on that bed, we won't leave it for the rest of the day." Marcella took his hand and beamed up at him. "Take me to the library, bello. We have grimoires to find, and then we will see about the bed."
Cosimo kissed her nose. "Cruel woman."
"Smart woman," she corrected. "Think of it as motivation to help me find the grimoires faster."
Cosimo couldn't argue with that logic, so he gave the bed a wistful look that made her laugh and guided her to where all their research waited for them.