Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

belongings, including her new gowns, were in his huge wardrobe, along with several pairs of shoes that could only have been made for her. She noticed a number of heavy doors aside from the one leading to the corridor, but she was too nervous to explore. Nicoletta padded on her bare feet to the windows facing the sea. The room was warm with the flames roaring in the hearth, yet she shivered. Outside, the sun had long since given up its fight to light the sky, succumbing to dark clouds and ferocious rain. The thunder and lightning had passed inland but left behind the steady droplets drumming against the palazzo.
    The door behind her closed softly, and Nicoletta whirled around, her hand protectively flying to her throat.
    Giovanni stood watching her through half-closed eyes, leaning one hip lazily against the far wall. "Have you noticed that this room lacks most of the unappealing artwork?" he asked. Straightening slowly, he raked a hand through his wavy black hair, tousling it even more than usual. He pulled off his boots and stockings, then kicked them aside. It seemed more intimate than ever to see him with bare feet in their bedchamber.
    He looked almost weary, as though the facade he presented to the rest of the world did not hold up in the privacy of his inner sanctum. His face looked shadowed, lines etched around his mouth. Nicoletta had a sudden, inexplicable desire to smooth those tiny lines away. Instead, she nodded, thankful he was willing to wait a few moments before pouncing on her. "I did notice that. It's a bit of a relief." Afraid she may have inadvertently hurt his feelings, she smiled at him to take the sting out of her words. "But there is some wonderful artwork in the palazzo." She moved away from the windows and the view of the foaming sea to shrink back into the shadows.
    He came farther into the room, gliding in his silent way to the opposite side of the bedstead. Nicoletta relaxed visibly with the enormous width of the canopied bed between them, so big it almost looked like a separate room.
    Giovanni slid the jacket from his broad shoulders and slung it carelessly onto a chair. His black gaze slid over her again. She thought she saw raw hunger glittering deep in his eyes before he turned his attention to his shirt. Nicoletta swallowed hard and tried to look away from him, but his movements were Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    mesmerizing. She watched as he shrugged out of his outer shirt to let it fall after his jacket onto the chair.
    Her fear tasted oddly like anticipation in her mouth. Her heart was beating hard, and butterflies were rampaging in her stomach. "I must ask you something." She lifted her chin slightly to give herself the necessary courage. "Did you know mia madre?" She held her breath then, pressing both hands to her somersaulting stomach, afraid of any answer he might utter. Afraid he would refuse to answer. Afraid she had destroyed any chance of acceptance between them.
    Giovanni looked across the room at her pale face, his hands stilling on his remaining shirt. "Who could not remember your madre, piccola? She was much like you. A ray of sunshine that brightened every room she entered. She had a voice like an angel, and she filled the palazzo with laughter, much as you do.
    Yes, I knew her."
    "Do you believe she was cleaning the walkway and fell from the ramparts to her death?" The words sounded strangled as they emerged from her throat.
    Giovanni edged around the bed, looking like a stalking wolf. His eyes glittered with such menace, she backed away until the wall brought her up abruptly. He planted his solid frame in front of her, cutting off all hope of escape, his fingers shackling her arm. His other hand settled around her soft, vulnerable throat, and his thumb tipped her chin up to force her gaze to meet his. "You are not thinking of placing yourself in danger by searching for the answer to your madre’s death, because I absolutely forbid such a folly.
    Absolutely forbid it." He repeated the words, enunciating each carefully as if she were a halfwit. "You will obey your husband in this matter, Nicoletta."
    She could feel a fine tremor running through his hard body, as if he shook with the force of his own command. "Then you believe she did not die accidentally." She tried to be calm in the face of his absolute authority. Don Scarletti was most intimidating, and here, alone in the bedchamber with him, half naked, with