Page 47 of Be Still My Unbeating Heart

Bastian blinked his gaze to the inspector. De Luca looked away, as if embarrassed by his own curiosity, then looked back at Bastian.

“She’d had a tough time,” Bastian said. “We don’t talk about it much, but I know she thinks about it. Her past. It’s one of the reasons I insisted on this holiday. She deserves to have a good time. To be happy.”

“Do you think she’ll ever cast a spell?”

Bastian adjusted his Wayfarers, making sure they sat properly. “If I know that cat, she won’t stop until she’s succeeded.”

“Sì, I think you’re right.”

Bastian smiled. He watched De Luca pull the oars, the fabric of his polo shirt stretched tight over his chest. His forearms were tanned with a light scattering of dark hair, and his mouth firmed in concentration as he rowed.

Bastian remembered the way his lips had tingled at the thought of De Luca kissing him by the roadside. He was certain it would have happened if Whitby hadn’t interrupted them, and the thought stirred a swell of anticipation in his belly. Did De Luca want to kiss him?

Bastian stroked his inner knee, thinking.

De Luca was shy, but Bastian was certain he hadn’t imaginedthe softening in the inspector’s expression as they talked in the church. The enjoyment in his eyes as they embraced by the road. Bastian had tried to ignore that strong jaw, those pretty eyes, the shiver that traveled up his spine when De Luca’s crotch pressed against his thigh in the apartment hallway…but he was finding it increasingly difficult to look the other way.

Despite everything that was going on, namely the threat of his imminent demise—or perhapsbecauseof it—he had to know if De Luca felt the same. He was surprised by the need. Yes, De Luca was attractive, and yes, Bastian kept wondering what it would feel like if De Luca brushed his fingertips along Bastian’s clavicle. But there was something deeper there. Despite their differences, they had found scraps of common ground. They were both smalltown boys. They knew what it was like to grow up feeling different and isolated. They knew responsibility and suffering.

And yesssss,all right,Bastian thought as he watched De Luca row,the inspector really is indecently hot.

Perhaps all he needed was a little encouragement.

“It’s getting warm out here,” Bastian said, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his torso. Pale—because vampire—but toned. He was glad he’d been turned when he was still in good shape. He tugged a small bottle of sun cream from his pocket and squirted it into his palm, then began to apply it, smoothing it over his pecs, then massaging it into his firm stomach.

“That feels better,” he sighed, running a hand over his navel as he leaned back against the side of the boat. “You should try it, De Luca. The breeze is divine.”

De Luca’s eyes lowered to regard Bastian’s body, then he cleared his throat and looked away.

“The caves aren’t far now.”

Bastian considered him through narrowed eyes. Was De Luca’s hesitance purely because Bastian was a vampire? And a murdersuspect? Or was De Luca like this with all men—too preoccupied with his responsibilities to think about anything else?

He remembered the way De Luca behaved in the gelateria, the sense of a shared history between him and Arianna. The gelato girl had glared at De Luca with a mixture of exasperation and anger, and De Luca had been curt to the point of rudeness, peering out the window rather than engaging with her. Bastian still wasn’t sure what was going on there, especially not if De Luca was gay. Perhaps that was the reason for his reticence. Some kind of confused romantic backstory?

“The gelato girl was pretty,” Bastian said.

De Luca’s rowing slowed. “I suppose so.”

“Were you with her? Before you realized you were gay?”

The oars creaked in De Luca’s grip. “No. Nothing like that.”

Bastian heard Salvador again.He’s hiding the truth from you.

“An old classmate, then?” Bastian pressed.

“I’d rather not talk about it.” De Luca was shutting down again, but Bastian wanted the opposite to happen; he wanted De Luca to open up more. Maybe he needed more encouragement.

Bastian removed his shirt.

He tossed it to the floor of the boat and stretched, subtly flexing his biceps. His shin pressed against De Luca’s. De Luca moved his leg, causing Bastian to slip on his seat. He pulled himself upright, hoping De Luca hadn’t noticed.

“Have you really never had a partner?” Bastian asked.

“I prefer to work alone.”

Bastian blew hair out of his face. “Not a police partner, alifepartner.”