He was deliberately evading her. She didn’t press the issue, even as her intuition told her that his immortality, whatever had made him that way, was the key to everything. “I’m sure you have survived dozens.”
“True.”
“And you must have many enemies.”
“Also true.”
Some are hiding in plain sight, Ravenna thought.Right under your nose.
“Tell me, should I be paying special attention to one of your maids?” he asked, as if she’d spoken aloud.
She stared at him. “Are you sure reading minds isn’t one of your immortal charms?”
He shook his head slowly, grinning. “You are very easy to read, Ravenna.”
She glared at him. “IfI am, it would be impolite of you to point it out.”
His grin dimmed to a small smile. “But you are, tesoro mio.” He drew forward, now they were an arm’s length apart, and she stiffened as he laid a light hand on her chest, right above her heart. It thudded against his palm, and he raised his brow. “It gives you away every time.”
“You can hear my heartbeat,” she said flatly.
“I know when it’s racing. Your eyes widen, your breath comes out faster. Lies don’t come easy to you, and it costs you something whenever you have to tell one.” He slid his hand to the back of her neck, and her pulse jumped. Saturnino laughed softly. “You wear everything on your face.”
Ravenna licked her lips, his nearness making her head spin. Saturnino came closer, her chemise rising higher at the movement, brushing against his flat stomach.
The only barrier between them.
His dark eyes heated, and Ravenna wondered at it. Maybe he was just as affected as she was, maybe he wanted—
“Which one threatened you,” he whispered. “Tell me who it is.”
Disappointment rained over her, dashing her ludicrous thoughts. Saturnino was toying with her. He placed his free hand on the craggy ledge, next to her head. The other was still gently cupping her neck.
Ravenna blinked at him, curious.
Again, Saturnino’s eyes flicked down to her bruises. Thunder swept across his brow, and his jaw clenched. “I can make it look like an accident.”
Horror gripped her. She didn’t want him to murderanyone. It was a cardinal sin, it was wrong, it would chip away at her soul to be a part of it. But there was also another reason. Theonlyone that should matter. If she told him about Imelda and Pietro, Saturnino would act against them. More dead bodies. The courier would find out, and inevitably His Holiness.
It was unthinkable.
“It would look suspicious. I can’t risk it.”
“Listen to me,” he said through gritted teeth.
Ravenna clenched her jaw. She said the words through her teeth. “No, you listen tome.There’snothingyou can say that will get me to risk my family.”
“I couldmakeyou tell me,” he said silkily.
Ravenna scoffed, even as a sudden tremor swept through her, raising the fine hairs on her arm. He’d switched to speaking in his bedroom voice, with the rich depth she felt in every corner of her body. “No, you can’t—”
Saturnino swept forward and kissed her.
Ravenna gasped against his mouth. Her first kiss. For a long moment she kept herself perfectly still. But his lips moved softly against hers, asking her a question. She gave in to the perplexing rise of emotion rushing over her. It felt likeyearning.Complicated, potent, all-consumingyearning.She wanted more of him, to touch and taste, and to explore, like all the roads she’d never traveled and the places she’d never been.
Saturnino was a map unfurling beneath her hands.
His lips slanted over hers, gently coaxing her to part them. Hiscool tongue tangled with hers, and for a second, she let herself sink into his touch, disappearing into his arms as they wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer to the long line of his body. She felt his desire for her, and she shivered. He dragged his mouth to her jaw, down the delicate line of her throat, his lips light against her raw skin.
