Page 32 of Sandro

“Sandro?” I whispered. “I need to get to the bathroom in a hurry,” I said as I started pushing on his arm that was wrapped around my stomach. Sandro’s arm briefly tightened around me, but then went loose. I took the opportunity to shove it off me and started rolling out of bed. I was halfway to the bathroom when I heard Sandro make a noise behind me. I felt something but didn’t realize that it was him running past me with his vampire speed until I entered the bathroom and saw him standing next to the toilet. I just barely made it before my stomach decided that it was time to turn itself inside out.

I would never enjoy getting sick, and this was two days in a row, and I was already over it. Sandro was immediately there with a cloth, and somehow that made me feel better. I emptied the nothing that was in my stomach and then fell to the side a bit, and into my mate’s arms. He took that moment to wipe my face, and then close and flush the toilet.

“I don’t like getting sick.”

“I would imagine not. It is at least in part my fault. I should have woken you to either drink more tea or have something to eat. Or even better, both.”

I groaned. “The last thing I want at the moment is food.”

“I understand that, but it’s what you need. Even if it’s just some crackers. And having more tea will help calm your stomach.”

Tea was definitely good. I liked it last night. “What time is it?”

“Just after eight. If you want to shower and then go have breakfast with the others, we can. If you would prefer to have breakfast here in the room, that can certainly be arranged.”

“A cool shower sounds lovely, actually.”

With Sandro’s help, I stood up, and he again assisted in getting me over to the sink. I smiled at the sight of my toothbrush being there at the second sink. “Have you always had a double sink?” I asked as I reached for my toothbrush.

“Yes. Every room has an en suite set up for couples, although it wasn’t until very recently that there were any.”

I looked over at Sandro and frowned. “That’s sad.”

“That’s simply life. A lot of us didn’t ever expect to find our beloveds. When you are in the business that we are, it isn’t expected that you would be gifted with a fated mate. The thought is that they are usually reserved for those that are a bit more…honest.”

I smirked. “Are you telling me that you are worse than dishonest alphas?”

Sandro leaned against the counter and crossed his arms in front of his chest, and somehow, that was the sexiest thing. I’d just thrown up again, yet here I was, thinking that the man was sexy and I’d love nothing more than for him to rail me against the counter.

“Not all dishonest alphas kill others for a living. And they certainly don’t belong in organized-crime families. As for the thought of me railing you against the counter, we’ll get there eventually. For now, let’s get your stomach feeling calm and you feeling a bit better before we get up to activities that might upset it even more.”

I wanted to argue but couldn’t. He wasn’t wrong because that made perfect sense. I picked up my toothbrush and got busy cleaning the horrible taste out of my mouth. Sandro walked off, and after I heard the water turn on, I realized that he’d simply gone to turn on the shower. When he returned, he was naked, and I was thankful that I was spitting out my toothpaste. Otherwise, I’d probably choke on it. There was certainly something else I’d love to choke on.

Sandro’s body was gorgeous. He wasn’t big and bulky like some of the alphas I’d grown up around were. His body was lean yet still muscular. He had a defined six-pack, and his thighs were incredibly strong. I’d noticed that several of his scars had faded completely, but there were still a few that most likely never would. I didn’t mind. He was alive and here with me, and that’s all that mattered. A few scars didn’t detract from the man’s appeal.

“Are you ready to shower?”

I nodded but still wasn’t focusing. It took a few blinks for me to realize that he was waiting on me. When I turned, it was the first time I’d paid any sort of attention to the bathroom. It was nice. Like, really nice. But in a completely different way than Alpha Franco liked to have everything in the alpha house.

We were a lot farther south in the country, and maybe the houses here simply looked different. Where the alpha house had lots of white tile and marble and overall felt cold, this one still had tile, but it was warm. The terra-cotta color was perfect with the deep cream accents. “Your bathroom is gorgeous,” I said as I walked into the shower. It, too, was so much nicer than the shower I had at that pride house. My room was a basic room, and I shared the bathroom with many others on the floor. It sucked.

“I had zero say in it. Master Vincent had the place updated before I joined the coven. It’s been renovated since, but only to update and maintain things. He might be the head of a mafia family, but he takes great care of all of us in the coven. He should never be underestimated though. His approachability is genuine, but if you cross him, he’ll kill you without a second thought.”

Uncontrollably, my eyebrows rose. That didn’t exactly surprise me. “I have no reason to cross him. But now I’m not sure I want to meet him.”

Sandro chuckled. “He’s going to like you. Trust me. He has a fondness for omegas. And he’s absolutely wrapped around Luci’s little fingers. He adores that little girl.”

“Who is Luci?”

“Marcello and Abel’s daughter. He loves all of the babies. Well, there are only three. He loves Tulio and Frankie as well, but his love for the little princess is quite noticeable. The poor little girl is never going to have a date in her life, though, because of not only her sire, but all of her uncles.” Sandro chuckled again. “You’ll see soon enough.”

I was certain I would. I held my hand out under the spray of water and smiled. It was cool, but not cold. It wasn’t that I was hot, but I’d just thrown up, and I’d discovered that when you did that, your entire body worked at it, and you were suddenly sweaty. No fun at all. I walked under the spray and sighed. It felt amazing. I closed my eyes and just stood under the water for several minutes with my eyes closed. I knew I needed to share, and when I took a step forward and wiped my hair back away from my face, I found Sandro on the other side of the shower. “Really? You have two showerheads?”

“Yes. You can have yours; I can have mine, and when you are in a sharing mood, we can use the larger one in the middle.” Sandro pointed upward, and my eyes widened again. There in the middle of the shower was a large, rectangular-shaped showerhead.

“Oh. That’s…somehow, without even looking tacky, I’d say that this house is so much nicer than the pride house. Alpha Franco tried entirely too hard.”

“Understated can go a long way,” Sandro said. “But it also fits with the other villas in the area. From the sound of things, yours might have fit in there in Rome, but possibly might have been a bit too much.”