It was unlike any crush she had ever had before. It wasn't only the desire to see what he was hiding under all those well-tailored clothes. When she was with him, she felt...safe. He said he would protect her, but her bodyfeltit when she was with him. It relaxed.
After a few months of being married to Carlo, her mother had passed away, and she had been inconsolable. He had grown tired of dealing with her grief after a few weeks, and that was when she began to see what he was really like.
Her body didn't feel comfort when he held her. It was alert. Ready for the fight, to be pushed away, to receive some comment about how she was getting too soft around the middle.
Her body hadn't relaxed in another's arms until she had fainted in Maria's tower, and Cosimo had just held her. It was so dangerous, this thing she had twisting her up inside whenever she thought of him.
By the afternoon the following day, Marcella didn't know if she was more nervous about being in a car for two hours with Cosimo or going back to Forli. She had called the one hotel in town she knew she would be safe in and had booked it under a false name. The owner was a friend, but she didn't trust them not to have staff that would get a message back to Renata on who she was with. Her friend Adamo would understand as soon as he saw her.
Marcella didn't know why she had been so worried about being locked in a car with Cosimo, because when they arrived, it was in a sleek black van with heavily tinted windows. They weren't going to risk being separated for anything.
Cosimo was waiting for her outside when she stepped out of her building. He looked her over, and her heart did an erratic skip. She had casually dressed in black jeans and a lacy camisole, with a tight-fitting red cardigan over the top. Cosimo's eyes were burning purple-red as they drank in the sight of her.
"Ready to go and get scrutinized bystreghe?" she asked brightly.
Cosimo took her black overnight bag from her. "There is only onestrega's scrutiny that can make me nervous, and she's not in Forli."
He opened the front passenger door for her and offered her a hand to help her up the step. Marcella took it, the warm brush of his fingertips sending a magical pulse through her. Cosimo only winked and shut her door.
"Buongiorno, my lovelies," Marcella said, turning in her seat to smile at the Greatdrakes behind her. They were coupled up with their mates and were handing around snacks and sweets.
"Are you feeling okay, Marcella?" Apollo asked, leaning forward. He toyed with the red chili peppers on her gold hoops. "These are so cute."
"I'm okay, and the chili peppers are good luck," Marcella replied and quickly whispered. "Is your dad okay? He's looking a bit serious this morning."
"He and his dragon made peace yesterday," Apollo whispered back. "They aren't fighting each other, so he might be a little intense with you because his dragon is also in control more. Have fun with that, gorgeous. Dad's dragon is amood. Oh, shit, he's coming."
Cosimo opened the driver's door and looked at Apollo hanging over the seats. "Why do you two look guilty?"
"You are imagining things, amico. Apollo was just offering some of those Baci, which I definitely need," Marcella said, holding out her hand for the blue and white wrapped chocolates.
"Yeah, Dad, mind your business," Apollo said, parting with the chocolates and leaning back in his chair.
"You might regret not letting us portal into Forli by the end of this drive," Cosimo told Marcella, putting the van into gear.
"Renata'scongregawould know that you are all coming then. I want it to be a surprise when I turn up with a crowd of magicians," she replied.
"The collective name, I believe, is a chaos of magicians," Cosimo said, grinning. "If they get annoying, I can seal their mouths closed for you."
"Keep that trick for when we have to deal with Renata." Marcella really wasn't looking forward to being face-to-face with the old witch.
"Tell us about this place they want to meet," Valentine asked from the very back of the van.
"The Red Carnationis a restaurant and bar that their family has owned for about thirty years. They live on the floors above it. At least, Renata used to. They might have moved out of town to my family's property," Marcella said, hating the thought of Renata anywhere near her things. She thought that feeling had passed, but apparently not.
Marcella didn't realize her hand had turned into a clawed fist on the seat beside her until Cosimo gently put his hand over it. He didn't say anything or take his eyes off the road. Marcella swallowed hard and tried to remember more about the building.
"How many exits?" Lachlan prompted her.
"Three. One at the front and back, and a set of stairs that lead up to the rooftop garden and apartment," Marcella replied. Her fingers unfurled from their fist. When Cosimo didn't move his hand away, she slowly turned hers so they were palm to palm. She didn't dare look at him, just kept her eyes on the twisting roads they followed out of the city.
"Do they have guards or anything? What about people with psychic abilities?" Bas asked.
Marcella chewed her lip. It had been a long time since she had to think about them at all. "I know they have burly staff for the bar, but I don't know who in thecongregawould have psychic powers."
"You should practice your mental defenses. I don't want them having a chance to get in your head in any way," Cosimo said, his fingers tightening around hers.
Marcella frowned. "What do you mean by defenses?"
