EIGHTEEN

The cry of a child startled me and I averted my eyes from the stunning façade of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, the golden mosaic tiles sparkled under the sunlight and I blinked blinded for a second, before realizing that some kids were playing and running through the big square zigzagging among tourists ignoring their parents calling them. I smiled amused and turned around to walk towards the old Procuratie where my girls were waiting patiently under the arches that allowed them to hide from the setting sun. Actually, Venice's streets were very narrow and they could walk across the city without problems wearing the hoods of their sweatshirts but that square was too exposed.

"Here you have, Terra, thank you for letting me borrow your camera..."

"You're welcome... Damned kids..." I heard her growling while shooting a glare at some children who were running around stomping in puddles and almost staining Ruby's spotless sneakers and my coat. I couldn't help smiling hearing her upset tone of voice because I knew that, actually, the vampire loved children. "Only if they have good manners like your nephews..." Terra answered my thought through the bond, she didn't even speak loudly, and her sister snorted before turning around to walk towards the Mercerie, the street that led to Rialto Bridge and where all the luxury brands had a store opened.

"No, wait." Ruby grimaced and pointed at an alley to her right. "There're too many tourists here, we better go to the Frezzeria, the maze of streets between St Mark's square and the Fenice theatre, there're bookshops and very interesting antique shops..."

I shrugged and followed her not caring about where we were heading, to be honest, Venice was fascinating and every corned deserved a picture despite the most touristic areas looked like theatre set. Hordes of Japanese people carrying cameras and bags of souvenirs walked around, Americans coming from a massive cruise ship stared at the buildings with their mouths wide open and they were led by their guides like sheep going to a slaughterhouse while French and Spanish tourists took a break looking for a restaurant where they could have a good dinner without paying lot of money. The contrast between the old city, with wonderful palaces that remained standing for centuries, and tourists buying small gondolas made in China at souvenir stores was a bit shocking. It felt surreal, like a group of curious aliens exploring a human city... Where were the true inhabitants of Venice?

"Hiding... They'll go out later, when most of those tourists are back on dry land and streets and channels belong to them again." Terra growled behind me and I had to nod, agreeing with her opinion.

We had arrived to Italy the day before after spending some days with my family and I must say I was pleasantly surprised when Ruby picked out a small boutique hotel that had been an old palace in the 16th century, it was fancy and full of charm but not overwhelming like a luxury hotel and was conveniently located in front of the Grand Canal. Later, I found out that the palace had been built in the very same place where she was born, near Rialto Bridge, but even if her father's gothic palace had vanished without leaving any trace, the vampire was doing better than Terra in Spain. In fact, Ruby had visited Venice a handful of times over the past years, she had witnessed changes in the city but remained tied to it and even could introduce me to the descendants of her nephews.

I couldn't help remembering my own nephews... who had fallen in love with Terra. My family had welcomed the vampires with open arms despite my anxiety: my dad cooked meals for them, my mom went shopping with Ruby, my sister introduced them to our friends and my nephews seemed fascinated by the blue-eyed vampire and they followed her everywhere, asking her to read them a story before going to bed. Terra rolled her eyes hard and pretended to be upset but I knew deep inside she loved to be the centre of attention every time she took a book and they smiled excitedly, knowing that she wasn't going to read the story to the letter but embellishing it with some other stories coming from her head, with stupid princes and very smart princesses, brave knights, Vikings sailing the seas and an old wizard who appeared out of the blue from time to time to help the main character. My nephews never knew that she wasn't making the stories up but telling them her some of her own memories.

I said goodbye to my family feeling a lump in my throat not knowing when or under what circumstances I could see them again, since my life had become really complicated, but I noticed that their pupils weren't as blown as I'd seen in other humans and they didn't smile like idiots either. I frowned confused and Terra explained me that they were going to let them keep their memories of our visit. Of course, they didn't know that my bosses were vampires and my lovers too, but they'd remember their faces and the great time we had together. I hugged my girls, grateful, and felt way better, ready to enjoy our vacation in Italy.

"Ruby, are you all right?" I asked while we crossed a small bridge. The vampire looked at me with squinty eyes when the sun hit the façade of a building painted in an orange colour in front of us right before it set definitely... it was almost dinner time.

"Yes, I'm fine." My girl grimaced and shrugged. "I recognize some quiet corners of the city, there aren't many buildings as old as I am, I'm afraid, but the atmosphere is similar: the gondoliers on the Grand Canal feel familiar, the streets full of shops, the smell of delicious food in some alleys and even those hordes of tourists since Venice has always been a densely populated city and full of foreign visitors, people from all over the Mediterranean sea and beyond did business here. But the stink of motor boat engines and dirty water from canals is unpleasant..."

"I'm sorry, babe." My girl shrugged again and kept walking.

"Things change and we must adjust to them, anyway."

"Ehmmm my ladies..." Terra cut us off staring at a very narrow alley with her eyes wide open in shock, books were stacked in neat piles leaned against the walls and an open door on the other side led to a shop were more volumes were waiting along with a postcard display stand showing monuments of the city.

"Welcome to Aqua Alta bookshop, baby, it's bigger than it looks inside, shelves are full of second-hand books, thousands of them in several languages and there's even a gondola in the middle of the room filled with magazines... Come on, go and buy some, we'll wait here for you while discussing what we're going to have for dinner... But hurry up and be careful where you put your feet, there're some cats sleeping in the corners."

Terra didn't think twice and ran into de bookshop while I chuckled and leaned my back on the wall, weighting if I should order a salad or succumb to the temptation and order a delicious dish of pasta with pancetta, spicy tomato sauce and a ton of Pecorino cheese on top. Ruby leaned her back on the wall in front of me too but the street was so narrow that the tip of our sneakers almost touched each other. Minutes ticked by and we both sighed, resigned, we knew our partner would take her time and forget about everything while picking out new books. Ruby would go into the shop eventually to drag her outside, but we were comfortable right there in the meantime, resting after a long day walking around the city dodging tourists.

I looked up and realized that the vampire's green eyes were fixed on my face, although they looked grey while the sun went down on the Adriatic coast and temperature plummeted. I buttoned my coat up, shoving my hands in my pockets, and couldn't help but stare at her too: her plump lips, the curve of her jawline, her flawless skin, her silky hair combed back... Ruby was extraordinarily beautiful even for vampire standards and she must've been famous in the city centuries ago, a beauty like her and daughter of a wealthy merchant... I bet all eligible bachelors in Venice kissed the ground her boots stepped on. And married men too, probably.

"Rosa Rubina..." I whispered and she smiled when hearing her Italian name. I saw her in my mind all of a sudden, a young Ruby dressed with a long grey silk tunic embroidered in silver thread and a cape made of blue velvet, her long hair was braided with pearls down her back. She smiled, confident because she was stunning and powerful and she knew it, walking across St Mark's square while young Venetian boys stepped back respectfully, staring at her with despair knowing that the haughty aristocrat was out of their reach and she broke their hearts with her disdainful attitude.

"The emperor of Byzantium requested my hand in marriage to my father through a messenger, he'd heard about my beauty and decided that he needed an Italian wife suddenly..."

"Wow... you were really famous," I whispered shocked, it was difficult for me to picture her as an empress while wearing Nike sneakers and skinny jeans, but she grimaced amused.

"My dad turned the proposition down, the guy was mediocre and more worried about theological disputes than about keeping strong and powerful the empire his predecessor had given him, he was bankrupt too... which was a sin from a Venetian merchant point of view. The emperor chose the daughter of the Marquis of Montferrato finally, because she was a distant relative, and my dad married me to one of his business partners, the most wealthy and powerful of them... His dad had been Dux of the city, the governor..."

"Did you love him?" I asked with curiosity.

"No," she cut me off abruptly. "A wedding was the best way to seek new allies, to gain power for your family or more money, nobody cared about love. Most men didn't love their wives or mistresses, not even their children... I was raised knowing that my father would choose a husband whose social status could benefit my entire clan and I was lucky, at least I knew him well since he was a friend of my family and not too old... I was 16 and he was 30... My husband was respectful to me and had the courtesy to die three years after our wedding leaving me a widow but rich and independent. But I didn't love him, not the way I love you and Terra, I didn't even know I could love someone like that, in this intense and devastating way... It's overwhelming..."

"I know, the bond scares the hell out of me sometimes..."

"But it has its perks..." Ruby smirked mischievously fixing her eyes on my face again and I swallowed hard, fidgeting awkwardly while an image appeared clearly in my brain: the beautiful vampire putting her tattooed hand around my neck while her lips brushed over mines gently. I held my breath and blinked but my girl was still standing in front of me with her back leaned on the wall of the building and, however, I could feel her hands slipping down my naked skin, cradling my breasts, and her breath fanned my sensitive nipples when she moved her face closer to kiss them.

"What are you doing?" I whispered frantically, looking at the street out of the corner of my eye worried because a group of tourist could see us, but we were alone and my girl kept sending erotic images to my head. Her naughty mouth nibbled at my hard nipples while her hands touched my thighs and a moan escaped from my throat despite I was clenching my jaw. "I can play this game too..." I growled angrily and closed my eyes, focusing on, picturing myself falling down on my knees in front of Ruby and unbuttoning her pants to be able to bury my tongue in her pussy, sweet and wet, while the vampire shuddered and tangled her fingers in my hair.

"Fuck..." I heard her grumbling. My girl took me in her arms inside our minds, squeezing me against the wall while kissing me deeply, tasting herself on my lips before pulling away to stare at my neck with lust... I saw myself tilting my head back, offering myself to her fearlessly, without realizing I was copying the movements in the real world in a street in the middle of Venice.

"What...?" The change of scenery confused me for a second: suddenly, we were in a darker and narrower alley, Ruby's body was stuck to mine and I could feel her breath on my neck, her eyes showed a bright yellowish-golden colour and her fangs were visible, fully extended and very sharp. I held my breath and tilted my head back, my skin got goose bumps when her lips grazed the spot were my pulse was racing, Ruby's hands grabbed my butt and I raised my legs to enclose her waist. The vampire started grinding her pubis against my core excruciatingly slowly, sending a shiver down my spine, I dug my nails into her shoulders and begged for mercy, desperately. "Oh God, please..."

"Deliziosa... ardente... dolce... bellissima... Sono davvero fortunata..." *delicious, hot, sweet, beautiful, I'm so lucky.* I didn't understood what she was saying because my brain was about to melt. Suddenly, she sank her fangs in my neck and my body went limp, they were her arms and the wall behind me what kept me in my place because my muscles had given up meekly while she fed on me and kept grinding her pelvis against my core.

"Excuse me..." someone clearing her throat snapped me back to reality and I blinked like waking up from a deep sleep. "I can't leave you alone, not even for one minute, can you just behave? Are you crazy? You're dry fucking in the middle of Venice..."

"Terra," I whispered in a trance, staring at the beautiful blue-eyed vampire who frowned angrily. My hand went up by its own free will and grabbed the collar of her leather jacket, pulling in order to move her one step forward despite I wasn't strong enough to force her to get closer if she didn't want to. "Bite me... please," I begged tilting my head back again while Ruby kept hugging me against her body.

"Well, since you ask so nicely... At your service." Terra stuttered and let the bag with her books drop on the ground, moving her face closer to mine, her lips brushing over my neck made me shudder but that time I tried to focus on feeling her instead of letting myself get carried away with the odd weakness they caused in all their victims while they fed on them. It was impossible... Her mouth was hot, her tongue grazed my shaky flesh while I closed my eyes feeling dizzy, as if I were high on drugs and happy at the same time, I hardly felt pain because her perfume went directly to my head along with Ruby's and that was the only thing I cared for. I didn't smell blood or heard her swallowing, I only felt a weird mix of peace and euphoria.

"No... Don't leave me... I want more..." I complained pouting but Terra moved away, chuckling before licking her lips. "It's addictive..." I whispered feeling how Ruby was letting my feet touch the ground finally, holding my waist tight when she realized I was staggering.

"I know, amor, and it'll be better after you turn into a vampire... but it's too dangerous right now, we don't want to drink too much or you'll get sick." I clicked my tongue angrily, like a spoiled brat who didn't get her way, and nodded reluctantly.

"I'm hungry and tired, can we go back to the hotel?"

"Of course, babe, but take this first..." Terra mover her face closer to mine and I stared at her confused, I didn't understand what she was giving me till I saw a drop of blood shining on her lower lip where her fang had scratched the delicate skin. I held my breath and smiled before licking it, her mouth tasted sweeter than usual when I kissed her due to her blood and my muscles felt strong again, I felt much better and knew I was going to be able to go back to the hotel walking, have something delicious for dinner and I'd even have enough strength to make out with my girls in the massive bed of our bedroom. Being the girlfriend of two vampires was wonderful. I didn't understand why I used to think it was disgusting months before, letting them feed on me had become something natural and really pleasant.

"Ruby, do you still want to go to St Lio Church tomorrow?" I asked while following her through the labyrinthine streets. "I think shops are already closed, damn it, I wanted to buy some flowers..."

"Iselen, you don't need to..." The vampire stopped on a bridge in the middle of a canal and shook her head. "The church was renovated in the 15th century and again in the 18th, there's nothing left of the original building, they must've moved all the bones to an ossuary under the main altar but I don't know if my little girl was with them... It's been too long..."

"I don't care," I answered feeling a lump in my throat. I knew Ruby always visited the church every time she was back in Venice, despite her very long existence, despite all the things she'd lived through as a human and as a vampire, the loss of her baby had been the hardest and she still felt pain. The bond that bound us forced me to do something to make her feel happy again. "I wanted to buy some white roses for her..." I grumbled looking around but it was dark and only some restaurants were open.

"Take her to the hotel, have a shower and order some dinner, I'll be back in a few minutes before the pasta dishes get cold..." Terra handed her bag of books to Ruby and the vampire nodded while I stared at them perplexed. "I'll find a florist and will force them to open the shop so they can sell me some flowers..."

"What? But you can't..." The vampire's tattooed hands cradling my face cut me off.

"You'll have your white roses, okay? Now be a good human and go with Ruby." Terra winked at me and vanished all of a sudden, leaving me speechless.