She felt a little badly for taking advantage of their kindness, but she knew they’d never simply agree to give her access. It had been made clear that unless she was a fully-fledged member, she would not get access, online or otherwise. Knowing that having information on the Hematilly Periapt was a matter of life or death justified the hacking, in Samantha’s mind. She would ask Ilsbeth in person tonight again for access, and if granted, she’d remove the software. But until that happened, she’d wait for the passwords to pop up on her hack.
Samantha shut the laptop and decided to go upstairs to look around Luca’s mini-museum. It was almost five in the afternoon, and they needed to leave soon. She peeked into Luca’s office and told him she was going upstairs to look around. He was on the phone, clearly listening, but yet he gave her the okay sign when she told him where she’d be.
Her breath caught as she entered the great room on the main floor. The tan walls were offset by the cream wainscoting; the entire first floor was richly decorated with both paintings and sculptures. Samantha resisted the temptation to run her fingers across the floral upholstery of a lovely French empire settee. Its mahogany arms were rolled and adorned with acanthus leaf carvings. She’d never seen anything so beautiful or intricately designed.
Samantha’s eye caught a spectacular oil painting which had been set in a sophisticated gold leaf frame. She studied the landscape, admiring the way the artist appeared to capture the sun’s rays.
“You like?” Luca came up behind her. Samantha jumped, but calmed under the touch of his fingers on her shoulders. “Paysage vers Canes-sur-Mer by Renoir. Lovely, isn’t it?”
“Stunning. I can’t believe you have all this stuff. No wonder you have such a serious security system. It’s like the Smithsonian in here.”
Luca chuckled. “All memories. Keepsakes. But I see nothing here as beautiful as you.” He released her shoulders to move over to the baby grand piano. He’d been accumulating all the art pieces for well over a century. Kade had suggested he needed a hobby, so he’d started collecting, piece by piece. “Some pieces are souvenirs. Others I just wanted for my collection. Kade said I needed to find something constructive to do with my time, immortal as I am, so I started antiquing. I live in New Orleans after all,” he joked.
“That you do,” Samantha said in amazement as she walked over to look at a marbled bust of a woman that sat on the hearth of the old fireplace. “She’s beautiful.” She touched the cheek of the marble and then quickly withdrew her hand, fearing she’d break something. “She must be a very important lady to command the attention of the room.”
Luca frowned. “She was…she was my fiancée, Eliza.”
Samantha’s stomach dropped. He’d been engaged. She had never thought that Luca might have been married. She silently admonished herself for being jealous of a dead woman. “Your fiancée? I’m sorry. I assume she’s passed.”
“Yes, it was a very long time ago. She was killed before I had the chance to marry her…before I was vampire. I had an Italian artist create this in her memory. Such a long time ago but the memories remain.” Looking out the windows to the gardens, he didn’t want to say any more about Eliza to Samantha. It didn’t seem the right time to tell her all the sordid details of how she met her demise. He felt he’d told Samantha enough of the truth for now. If and when they grew closer, he’d share the story with her.
Samantha resisted pressing him for details, realizing Luca didn’t want to talk about it. She knew what it was like to experience loss, and understood that there were times in life when you just needed to let things go. When he was ready to talk about it, he would tell her. She was about to tell him not to worry about telling her the details, when a tall gorgeous woman burst into the great room, looking pissed as hell. It took all of two seconds before Samantha realized the angry female was a vampire.
Glaring at Samantha, the woman bared her fangs and hissed. “You little bitch! I knew you survived Asgear, but I heard you’d left. What the fuck is she doing here, Luca?” she demanded to know. “No, don’t even tell me because I don’t care. I told you I’d get her back for what she did to me and now it’s game on.”
The livid female vampire raced across the room with preternatural speed, knocking the wind out of Samantha as she grabbed her around the throat and held her against the wall. Samantha’s eyes bulged as she watched Luca snatch the other vampire with one hand and throw her across the room. He growled as Samantha held up a hand to him indicating she was okay.
“Dominique!” he yelled. He strode across the room, where the woman shot daggers at him, looking like she was ready for round two. “Enough! It’s over. You will apologize now. And if you ever touch her again, I’ll stake you myself.”
The woman vampire acquiesced and quickly stood up, holding both her hands up in surrender. “Me? Apologize? Luca, how can you take her side? You know what she did! How could you?” she pleaded.
“She is mine,” Luca declared. “And you will not touch her. You will treat her with respect. She doesn’t even remember what happened to her. Samantha,” he glanced over to her and back. “This is Dominique. Unfortunately, when you were bespelled, you silvered her. And while she did suffer that night, she is no worse for wear as you can see. She most definitely does hold grudges but she will be respectful in your presence. Isn’t that correct, Dominique?”
“Goddamn you Luca. I can smell you all over her. Yes, I will try not to kill your plaything,” Dominique spat through her teeth with a sickening sweet smile that promised retribution. She hated having to follow Luca’s order but would do it for him. He was her superior.
“Now that we’re done with introductions, I believe you’d best get back to Kade’s to continue working. Dominique is the Director of Public Relations for Issacson Industries. We have a downtown office, but she spends a lot of time here if Kade is working from home. She also helps me with security when needed.” Luca came to stand next to Samantha and put his arm around her shoulder; he wanted it to be clear to Dominique that Samantha was his. “We’re going over to see Ilsbeth. I’ll contact you later if I need your assistance. Goodbye, Dominique.”
Dominique shot Samantha an icy scowl and nodded at Luca. “Goodbye, Luca. I hope you know what you’re getting into with this one,” she huffed. As Dominique walked out the door, she slammed it in defiance.
“Are you okay?” he asked, checking Samantha’s neck for injuries.
“I’m fine, just a bit shaken up is all.”
“Dominique can be a bit of a handful, but she’s very loyal. I promise that she won’t hurt you now that I’ve talked with her.”
“I sure as hell hope so. That was one pissed off vampire bitch.” Samantha rubbed her neck. “I don’t even remember her, but I certainly will now.”
“I’m really sorry about her. She’ll get over it, though. I meant what I said to her, and she knows it,” he assured Samantha.
“Thanks, Luca. I appreciate you saving me. She’s kinda scary,” she admitted.
Luca couldn’t resist pulling Samantha against his hard chest. He caressed her back and neck. Her shiny red hair now smelled of peaches, and he smiled, remembering how responsive she’d been the night before. She’d nearly killed him when she took him into her mouth. Growing aroused, he knew it wasn’t the time to start something he couldn’t finish. They needed to go soon and get some answers. He reluctantly released Samantha, putting some needed distance between them.
“Darlin’, as much as I’d like to play museum curator and show you all my fun toys, we’d better get going over to the coven. I’m barely holding onto control. If we don’t leave within the next five minutes, I might be tempted to have my way with you yet again,” he teased.