Marcella tsked mockingly. "I do so love a bad idea, but just for the record, I don't need any magic at all to charm men into giving me what I want."
Cosimo watched the sway of her hips as she glided back inside. His dragon growled approvingly, and Cosimo wondered what the hell he was doing flirting with astrega. And why couldn't he find the willpower to stop?
9
Cosimo found himself outside of Marcella's apartment building in Santo Spirito the next day, a full fifteen minutes early.
His dragon side was more irritable than ever after a sleepless night wondering what Marcella could be searching for, and what she would demand of him in payment for helping him. The dragon hadn't liked it when she had left the night before either and had kept Cosimo up with its nonsense.
He stopped at a tiny hole-in-the-wall café and ordered two coffees, trying to kill time and get his thoughts in order. He didn't know how Marcella liked her coffee apart from the espresso she had at the café, so he ordered a double and hoped for the best.
You are being ridiculous, he told himself. He was nervous, excited, and sleep-deprived at the same time.
It wasn't that Cosimo didn't get along with women. He did. There was just something about Marcella Sforza that had gotten under his skin long before the clicking of her heels had set his dragon off at the gallery.
Professional curiosity and his competitive nature had Cosimo interested to the point of suspicion. Her magic was a delicious little thrum that charged whatever room she happened to be in, and he wanted to figure out just how powerful she was.
Cosimo had thought of her story about her marriage over and over again. What kind of idiot would abuse such a woman? How frail was her ex-husband's ego? The thought of anyone snuffing out a woman's light out of jealousy and pettiness rankled Cosimo. His dragon had been very creative about the ways it would like to crush Carlo in return.
Cosimo shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He had no right to feel this overprotective of someone he barely knew or trusted.
Yes, you do. We have tucked her under our wing already, and we will make sure no one hurts her,the dragon reminded him. Cosimo had been over this argument with it for hours, and it wasn't about to let it go.
He wasn't sure she was someone who would welcome a strange man coming into her life and claiming he was there to protect her either.
Marcella had drugged her husband and mother-in-law and made her escape from Forli. She was powerful enough that they couldn't influence her to return with magic. She could take care of herself.
Cosimo was about to push the buzzer of Marcella's apartment when the door opened and the lady herself looked up at him. She was dressed in high-waisted black jeans with a red sweater that left one brown shoulder bare. Her hair was in a long, loose braid over the other shoulder, and her bangs were a riot of soft curls. It was effortless and sexy in a way that made Cosimo want to sink into the stone under his feet.
"Buongiorno. You are right on time," she greeted and looked at the coffee tray he was holding. "Are one of those for me?"
"Yes? I mean, yes, I got you a double espresso," Cosimo stammered and offered her the bag he had over his other wrist too. "These are from Bas. He has found Roberto's mother's cookbook and has been baking."
Marcella took her coffee and the bag. "Ohh, Cantucci. He's definitely my favorite Greatdrakes now. Come on up."
She strode up the stairs barefoot, two silver rings on her toes and a delicate ankle bracelet that glittered with every step. Gods have mercy, he was like a crow with every bit of detail and glitter about her.
Cosimo prayed for strength. He hadn't ever reacted to a woman like this. When he had met Lisa, he had been her friend, and then the desire had come later, as well as the knowledge that she was his mate. His dragon instincts hadn't been so strong or wild back then.
"I have been going over my research this morning so I can be more concise with any questions you might have. I sometimes struggle to be able to understand the jumps my mind makes enough to talk about them," Marcella chatted happily and opened a door painted bright red.
"You sound like a magician. My son Reeve has a theory that we are all a blend of neurodivergent," Cosimo said, taking note of the pots of rosemary and lavender by the front door. He could feel the protection around the threshold, not quite a ward, but still an energetic barrier to keep out unwanted guests and bad vibes.
"I can believe that theory. I've never been tested, but I see traits in myself. I suppose if you aren't, then the magic makes you a bit mad anyway," Marcella replied, heading into a small kitchen. "To do magic, you need to be able to live within paradoxes."
Cosimo nodded, his eyes taking in everything around him. He was in a sacred space, and he felt her in every part of it.
The apartment was very clean and orderly, and yet there was a creative flair around it. Her kitchen was painted a sunny yellow, with a small shrine for Saint Lorenzo in one corner, and she had a Saint Joseph icon above her bread box. Herbs were growing in a window pot, and everything smelled of cinnamon and roses.
"Are you okay? You have the strangest expression on your face right now," Marcella said, taking out a pretty glass bowl and tipping Bas's cookies into it.
"Apologies, I'm just... There are little things here that remind me a lot of my mother. She had Saint Joseph over our breadbox too, for example." Cosimo's eyes drifted over the art and antiques she had throughout the apartment. "I love your place. It's soyou."
Marcella's ears went pink. "Thank you. I needed to have a sanctuary after...after everything. I tried to keep this area semi-normal for guests. The rest is really for me."
Cosimo could hear all the things she didn't say too: that she was feeling exposed, and letting someone in this far was a rare thing for her to do.
"Thank you for trusting me to see your home. I know what it's like to be private about space and passion projects. It's why the Greatdrakes mansion has towers so we don't get in each other's way," he said with a smile and sipped his coffee to give his hands something to do.
