Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

at her, but he didn't laugh. She tried not to notice how handsome he was, how his hair fell in glossy waves down his nape and curled slightly over his ears. How one lock fell persistently onto his forehead, making her want to push it aside with shaky fingers. The very idea was as shocking as was her body's wayward reaction to him.
    They were nearing the palazzo now, the huge castle sprawling out like a massive prison. Scattered throughout the grounds were the giant marble fountains, the great sculptures of winged deities and demons. Gargoyles stared maliciously down at her from the eaves and turrets. She could feel them watching her in gloating silence, eager for her to come within their reach. Horrid claws seemed to extend toward her, rapier sharp through the thick fog. The windows stared blankly, a strange inky color in the gloom of the mists. Like sightless eyes. Cold, sightless eyes watching her.
    Nicoletta's mouth went dry. When she had come to the palazzo before, the feeling of evil and doom had been impersonal. Now the malevolence seemed directed at her. She hunched deeper into the thick folds of the don's coat as if for protection. There was a growing terror in her. Each step took her closer to that waiting evil.
    "I would not leave the choosing of my bride to my men," Don Scarletti informed her softly, picking up the thread of their earlier conversation as if it had not been interrupted. "No other would have recognized you." His hand slipped down her arm to entwine his fingers firmly with hers. "And, Nicoletta, you will obey my orders."
    She pressed her lips together to keep her angry retort firmly locked away. She leaned close to his broad shoulder, oddly grateful for his strength and power as they moved up the marble steps to one of the many entrances of the palazzo. He reached out to push open the heavy, ornate door. Like the other entrances, it was covered with carvings, winged creatures guarding the dark lair. The door swung inward slowly, grating on her already raw nerves with an ominous creaking sound.
    Nicoletta planted her feet outside, but Giovanni tugged at her hand, taking her with him as he entered his home with the same easy confidence with which he did everything else. He walked along the darkened halls, not bothering to light the tapers, rather moving quickly through the wide corridors and up the winding staircase from memory. She recognized the general direction of the nursery.
    "Are you taking me to the tower?" Nicoletta tried to make it a jest, but she was terrified he might really lock her up.
    "I do not intend that you should escape me by leaping to your death." His tone held no amusement, rather a grim authority. "I am not willing for history to repeat itself. I would not allow such a thing."
    She lifted her long lashes to look at him. "I am not the type of woman to throw herself off a tower.
    Should such a fall occur, you can be sure it was murder." She had merely meant to make a point about Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    her character, but the word murder conjured up the recent feel of his fingers around her soft throat and the old rumors of his grandfather strangling his grandmother. Of his great-great grandmother plummeting to her death. Of the other women who had died in the palazzo. Her voice wobbled in spite of her best intentions.
    "You will do exactly as I say, Nicoletta. No one will be allowed to murder you unless I decide to indulge in such a pleasure myself." It was a decree, a threat.
    Nicoletta swallowed her retort, determined not to participate in a direct confrontation with the don in the darkness of his lair. That was how she thought of it—his lair, a fitting place for a hunter such as Don Scarletti. He stopped in front of a door a few paces down from the nursery. Instead of thrusting it open, he knocked lightly, one hand on her shoulder, holding her still, as if he feared she might attempt to flee.
    At once the door was flung open, and Maria Pia stood there. Nicoletta uttered a glad cry and burst into tears, flinging herself into the older woman's outstretched arms. Mortified that Don Scarletti was witness to her breakdown, she clung to Maria Pia and refused to look at him.
    "You asked to be brought to Signorina Sigmora, and I have done so," he pointed out with a grim smile.
    "I will have two guards stationed outside this door at all times. If you wish to explore the house or grounds, they will accompany you.