Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
Alessia slept in late on Friday morning and woke up alone in her Daddy’s enormous bed.
Stretching as she looked around, Alessia listened closely to see if Titus was in the bathroom.
When she didn’t detect any noise, she pushed the covers away and sat up on the edge of the bed.
She headed for the bathroom. After flushing the toilet and running the water to wash her face, Titus still hadn’t appeared.
Puzzled, Alessia grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped the soft fabric around her.
Her Daddy was always nearby and came to find her as soon as she or the bedding made a whisper of a sound.
His hearing was unbelievably good. She’d made the equivalent of a herd of stampeding elephants in his world, and Titus hadn’t reacted. Something was going on.
The hallway was quiet. Shivers of concern ran down her spine.
Usually by this time, his staff bustled around, cleaning and taking care of routine tasks.
Alessia crept down the stairs, straining her ears to hear anything from the quiet house.
Downstairs, she noticed a pool of light spilling out of Titus’s office.
She peeked inside the door and spotted him, leaning back in his office chair.
Instantly, he focused on her. Titus held out a hand, and Alessia ran toward him. Without saying a word, he lifted her onto his lap and hugged her. Without saying a word, she studied his face, trying to figure out what was going on.
Titus’s eyes didn’t quite connect with hers.
His vague expression made her freeze. Alessia sat quietly.
She’d learned to spot when he communicated with his clan.
His look was subtle but recognizable. This time, the corners of his mouth pulled down slightly.
Bad news. Her earlier eerie sense that evil was coming returned. She shivered against him.
His gaze centered on her. Alessia swallowed hard. The conversation going on in his mind was about her.
“What’s up, Daddy? Do I need to leave?” she whispered, scared he would answer yes but feeling like she should offer. His eyes narrowed, and Titus shook his head like that was a ridiculous question. She breathed easier.
Her brother had already caused problems for Nightfall.
Carina had shared what had happened to her.
Alessia couldn’t believe the sweet woman would even talk to her, much less befriend her, after Enzo’s men had tried to abduct her.
When Alessia had asked how Carina could be so nice to her, Carina had indignantly told Alessia that a sister wasn’t responsible for her sibling’s mess.
A few minutes later, Titus leaned forward to kiss her softly.
“All done.” He assured her that the messaging had ended.
“I can’t sugarcoat this to make the news better.
But first, you are my mate. No one will separate us.
My clan would never consider that either.
If they did, that would be my last day in that group. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Daddy.” She swallowed hard. This had to be bad. She forced herself to be brave and sat up straighter. “Just tell me,” Alessia said. Better to rip off the bandage than to try to ease the adhesive off slowly.
“Bram reports Enzo has declared you a traitor to the Costa family and put out a bonus for someone who locates you,” Titus said.
“A bonus? Like he’s going to pay someone to bring me back?”
“Alessia, you must stay with someone who can protect you. On the weekends, you and Carina will be safer on the observation deck instead of at the bar with me. I can send you a drink whenever you’d like one.”
Titus wasn’t addressing her question. He’d designed that answer to distract her, which told Alessia everything she needed to know. Enzo wouldn’t allow her to be free. “He’s not planning on keeping me at his home, is he?”
Titus shook his head slowly. “He’s going to marry you off to the highest bidder.”
Her brother’s complete disregard for her importance was normal for her.
This decision to use her as a way of consolidating power was sick.
Alessia wanted to shrug off his intention to treat her as if she’d never meant anything to him but couldn’t.
What was wrong with him? Tears cascaded down her cheeks.
Titus didn’t try to make her stop. He held her tight and let her release the years of pain her brother had caused her. Rocking her gently, he supported her in her grief and anger.
When her tears finally stopped, Alessia rested her head on his shoulder. Her tears had soaked through the shirt under her cheek. Titus didn’t scroll on his phone. He wasn’t communicating with anyone mentally. She had his entire attention.
“Hey, Little mate. Do you feel better?”
“Mentally exhausted,” she confessed.
Titus stood with her cradled against his chest. “Then we take nap.”
“You’re going back to bed with me?” Alessia asked. While part of her wanted to curl up under the covers and escape, she wasn’t that kind of tired. If he lay down with her, she could convince him to distract her another way.
“I will stay with you while you doze in your nursery.”
“I just woke up. I won’t be able to sleep.”
Titus studied her face for a minute before shaking his head. “Of course not.” He set her feet on the carpet as he thought for a few seconds.
Soon, he suggested, “I haven’t shown you the finger paints in your nursery. Would you like to create a picture for me to display?”
“Like for your bedroom?” she asked.
“For our bedroom? Yes. I’ve thought the room needed a splash of color on the east wall for years.”
She sat up straight, picturing the wall going into the bathroom. Was that east? “Maybe you could make one as well. Surely the west one needs art.”
“If adding a personal touch makes you happy, Little mate, we can redecorate every single inch of space in this mansion.”
“That would take a while,” she teased.
“We’ve got all the time in the world, Little mate,” he said, taking her hand. “Let’s go.”
Titus set off at an eager pace. Alessia skipped to keep up with him, giggling happily as they walked through the vast interior spaces of the home. Along the way, Titus pointed at different pieces of art, suggesting she replace those ones as well.
“And that bronze thing! Who needs a sculpture of a long-dead girl in their foyer?”
“Daddy! That’s one of Degas’s ballet dancers. You can’t put that in the basement to collect dust,” Alessia protested.
“I was thinking doorstop, but we could simply conceal the bodies in the basement,” Titus suggested. “Degas didn’t cast the mold. His family had the statue created from his wax and plasticine sculpture.”
“You are so bad. Hide the bodies in the basement,” she repeated. Alessia stopped in her tracks. She shivered slightly. How well did she know Titus?
Alessia forced herself to be brave and asked, “You don’t really have dead people hidden below us, do you?”
“No, Little mate,” he said, smiling at her fondly. He tugged her back into motion, and they passed the freshly polished staircase. Almost there.
“I’d love to learn more about you and the other….”
“Bartenders?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
“No, Daddy.” Alessia rolled her eyes so hard she thought she heard them. “Vampires.”
“You can ask me anything, Alessia. If I can tell you, I will.”
“There are secrets you can’t tell me?”
“Of course. Vampires have existed for a long time without elimination. Why do you think we’ve made up so many myths about ourselves? Some total lies have hung around for years—shifting into a bat, being unable to survive in the sun, the disco ball effect of sparkling in the sunlight….”
“All those horror movies! Vampires made those on purpose?” she asked.
“Turn one director into a vampire and see how well the misinformation campaign works….”
“No way! There’s a vampire moviemaker?”
“Along with practically every other profession. Where do you think blood banks came from?” he asked as he opened the nursery door.
“You’re lying!” she accused, giving him side-eye as she entered.
“Completely.”
“Daddy!”
“Sorry, Little mate. That was too much fun. I’m serious. Ask me anything you want. I’ll try to answer for you.”
“Do vampires need blood to survive?”
“They do. Drinking from someone’s vein is also an erotic delight with the right person.”
“Like when we make love?” she asked.
“Exactly like that. Now would you like to finger paint, or shall we rock and talk?” Titus asked with a smile.
Alessia considered her choices. She could ask questions at any time. Being active would help her forget the bad news about Enzo’s plans. “Let’s get artsy!”
He winked at her and turned to the closet. “Good choice. We need to have some fun. Want to help me spread out this tarp so we don’t finger paint the carpet?”
Alessia jumped in to help with the preparations. In a few short minutes, they both wore aprons to protect their clothing and had large sheets of paper ready for their creations. As she picked her first color, Alessia thanked her luck for getting sent to Nightfall. Titus was so much fun.
A couple of hours later, Alessia had paint in her hair and all over her apron.
Polka dots in a variety of colors decorated her forearms. She had finished three fingerpainted masterpieces that hung drying on the rack Titus had found somewhere.
His two were interspersed between hers. She looked at the latest one he’d finished.
“I like your frog. He’s super cute,” Alessia complimented.
“What frog?” Titus asked, and frown lines gathered between her eyebrows.
“Oh. Sorry. I thought that green animal was a frog.” Alessia pointed to the picture.
“That’s not a frog. That’s Hopper. He is super sneaky and blended into the grass,” Titus corrected her.
“Hopper isn’t green. He’s a blue bunny.”
“Not in my picture. He’s wearing a coat,” Titus told her.
“Do bunnies need coats?” Alessia asked, tilting her head in confusion.