Those werenot props, but living, breathing, lethal animals.
As afraid as I was, I was almost tempted to set them loose and try my luck. But as appealing as that seemed, something in the darkness upset them. It surely wasn’t me.
The only other light, apart from the ones on the wild cats, came from above, and fell directly on me in a pool. Diamond and emerald flecks snowed from above, glittering in the light. Three silver poles were lined along the stage for my use. (Avoid those.) Mirrors lined the ceilings and every wall. (Work with those.)
The musky scent of sex and the sweet smell of candy laced the air, a floral undertone drifting, along with strong alcoholic perfumes and expensive colognes—perhaps a line or two of purling cigar smoke. Something else, something that smelled almost medicinal.
I stood in the cage, my hands still gripping the bars like a lifeline, eyes cast down, face to the side, until the choir drifted off into a deep, drumming beat, and a heaven-sent voice took over the chorus. The artist sang about a man who had fallen in love with an angel, though he was a sinner, but he wanted her despite it all.
I knew the music could be heard outside of the door, and the connection began to pull so ferociously that if my legs didn’t start to move, I was going to make a run for my husband. Closing my eyes, I pushed the yearning back, only concentrating on the room. I could feel them, their excitement, their intrigue, and their rapt attention.
A shimmer of light lit up the second row, and I found a line of men that almost made my heart stop beating.
Those are the men I came here to dance for. Brando has his eyes. His mouth. There is something about the posture of that one. Oh, and the way that one is looking at me, scalding hot. Luca Fausti fought them all to be the leader, and I realized that, just like his father, he wasn’t only having a family, he was building an effing army.Then I connected with the man who had given Rocco the color of his eyes. His hair was salt and pepper, cut short in a military style, and though the lines on his face told the story of his years, his body defied time.
How many men did those hands kill? How many orders of battle had that mouth commanded? How many women did he entice into full submission with his eyes alone?
Refusing to move my stare from his, I tucked things I wanted to remember for later in the vault of safety, because the drink I had taken started to take hold—I felt myself drifting further and further from the core of what made me…me. I was powerless against it, and after however long, I couldn’t remember who I was, or who those men were, and why I stared at the one with eyes stolen from a sea monster.
All I could manage was the dance.It became me.
A dark shadow charged from the crowd. A man shaped like an angel came to stand in its way. I heard the crunch of impact, and a warm spray came over my face, neck, arms, and legs. The smell of it, rich with iron, made me turn away, but whatever I had done, the shadows in the room went wilder with want.
Those cats—those penned-up cats—started to make a fine ruckus, and a minute or two later, an emerald-colored snake with yellow and black eyes slithered out, scenting the air with its forked tongue. The serpent was at least twelve feet in length, its width thicker than my waist. Its malleable form glided up one of the tree branches, sniffing close to my face.
WhereisPETA? Who the effisPETA?
I danced away from the snake, coming to the edge of the stage.
Another shadow stood not too far away, his hand below the belt, eyes on me, face set in pleasurable determination. Over the heartbeat of the music, I could hear his grunts.
Three more shadows started to approach, coming closer. The angel that had caused the crunch stood between them and me. A fight broke out. He won.
Oh, he had become a monster for me. I was safe.
I continued to dance.
I danced until the song ended on a trembling note. I collapsed then, beneath the snowy drifts of diamonds and emeralds from above. The male chant ofmore, more, moreseemed to take up the empty space that the music had just occupied.
The sea monster, I needed to find his eyes. I did. Right away. He was already looking for me. I beckoned him to me with eyes lowered almost to slits. I knew how to call to him in a language he undoubtedly understood—the unspoken language of the female species.
He rose from his seat, making a hand gesture to the men around him—stay put.
More shadows were coming for me. I could feel them hovering.Waiting.
The man with sea eyes took a knee next to me, gazing down into my eyes.
“Are you going to allow those monsters to hurt me?” I said to him.
He looked up into the faces of the shadowed monsters. “No,dolce gatinno.”Sweet kitten. “I will not allow it.”
“Oh, thank you. That’s kind.”
“You summoned me with your eyes. Speak to me now.”
“That one.” I pointed right at the Frenchman. (I couldn’t remember his name, only that he was the enemy.) “He lied. After giving his word.”
The man with sea eyes looked over his shoulder, glancing at the enemy. “Did he now,dolce gatinno. Tell me, what did he say to you?” The snake slithered toward me, its forked tongue flicking out, tasting the air. The man kicked at it and it hissed, taking a different route.
