She giggled and snuck a hand around to pinch his backside. “I kind of like them. And don’t you like my boots?”
He eyed the curve of her calf, the smooth line of her waist, and her breasts riding high in the stiff bodice. “I like your costume far better than mine, that is no question.”
She only laughed, and he watched her struggle to get the drawstring tight enough. He finally reached over and grabbed her waist, drawing them tight with a smirk.
“I’m going to have to dance.”
“What?” She laughed.
“Dance. Move in a regular pattern to the rhythm of music. Surely you’re familiar with the concept.” He pulled her hand and led her down the stairs, in no rush to rejoin the party.
“We have to dance?”
He chuckled. “You certainly may, if you like, but listen to the music.”
Giovanni paused and cocked his head. He heard the strains of the violin and the guitar. “Unless you are well-acquainted with the galliard, feel free to sit this one out.”
“The gall-what?”
He pulled her down the hall. “The galliard. It’s a dance Livia was particularly fond of, and she’ll want me to dance one with her.”
“I’m biting my tongue here...”
He snorted. “It’s not exactly the tango, Beatrice. It’s all very formal.”
“I’m just trying to imagine you dancing.”
“Me?” He raised his eyebrows in shock. “My wife, I am an excellent dancer.”
“Oh, really?”
“Really. I had a dance instructor from the time I was a boy.”
She snickered. “This, I can’t wait to see.”
“So happy to amuse you.”
“Also, you better teach me the tango.”
He reached down and pinched her as they passed two of the solemn guards. “That, my love, will be my pleasure.”
Giovanni bowed toward Livia, pleased that they had been joined by a group of twenty or so other immortals as they danced. He looked at the edge of the crowd, where Beatrice leaned against a pillar, watching him with an amused smile. He winked at her before he turned his attention to his partner. He saw Livia’s gaze flick toward his wife, then she lifted a hand, and the musicians paused.
“We should dance la volta!” The other dancers smiled with delight, pleased to take part in the vigorous, but more intimate, dance. He smiled stiffly and bowed toward her again as the music resumed.
They began the intricate steps. At the first turn, Livia sprang, and he lifted her, waiting the few beats of the music before he turned and set her down again. They repeated the steps, weaving among the other dancers as they moved in formation.
“Are you enjoying the party?” she asked during one lift.
“Quite. I can’t remember the last time I danced.”
They separated for one turn, then were back next to each other.
“And how is your wife liking Rome?”
“Very well. Thank you.”
“And your guests? You should bring them to the house one evening. We’ll have a quiet dinner in their honor.”
Giovanni suspected that a “quiet dinner” could easily involve forty or more people.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He spotted his opportunity. “Speaking of guests, Beatrice’s friend wanted me to thank you for the cosmetics you sent over. She was quite taken with them. How is your business?”
She smiled and her eyebrow lifted slightly. “Business has been very rewarding lately. Thank you for asking. And how is your search?”
He was about to answer when he saw a flash of gold hair at the edge of the crowd. Giovanni was swept into another turn, and when he spun back, the gold was nowhere to be found. His eyes searched for Beatrice. He could not find her.
“Giovanni?”
He frowned down at Livia. He had lost step in the dance. She laughed.
“It has been some time since you’ve danced.”
Giovanni picked her up into another turn. When he set her down, he spotted Carwyn leaning against the bar, flirting with a redhead in a brilliant blue dress. His friend was grinning, not paying attention to anything but his conversation.
“You seem distracted. Am I boring you?”
“I... no, Livia, of course not.” There it was again! A flash of golden curls under a brocade hood.
“You never answered my question.”
“What question?”
He finally heard the music drawing to an end.
“How goes your search for your son?”
Had he told Livia he was searching for Lorenzo? She knew he was searching for Andros’s books. The music stopped. The crowd clapped. And he looked down into her scheming brown eyes. Giovanni’s heart began to pound.
“I don’t know, Livia. Perhaps you might be able to tell me.”
Just then, he heard Beatrice gasp. He recognized her sharp inhale from across the room, and his hand reached down to grasp the dagger tucked into his boot. The fire flared along his collar. He looked up to see Lorenzo smiling at Beatrice with bared fangs while two of Livia’s guards held his wife back.
Giovanni hissed and flung the dagger across the room, aiming straight for Lorenzo’s neck, only to have it intercepted by the chest of another guard. The vampire grunted and turned to look for the source of the blade.
Within seconds, Giovanni’s fire burst out, lighting his arms, though the thick leather jerkin Livia had sent for him prevented the fire from spreading over his torso. His arms reached out and grabbed the two guards who approached him, immediately engulfing them in flames while the crowd ran screaming and the guards turned to ash. He heard Carwyn shout, and the marble beneath his feet shifted. Another swarm of guards ran for him as he looked for Beatrice.