Page 7 of Sandro

“I do apologize. I’m Rio. It’s not short for anything. I happen to be from there, and it is what my mother wished to name me.”

“Oh! Which Rio? The one here? Or in Greece?”

Rio glanced at my mate, who sighed. I looked back at him. “Is he all right? He seems…incredibly upset.”

“I don’t know,” Rio said, offering my mate a confused expression. “Are you going to talk to him, Sandro? Or are you going to leave your beloved wondering?” Rio asked before he looked back at me. “And to answer your earlier question, the one in Brazil. I’m from Rio de Janeiro.”

Sandro. I liked it. I offered Rio another smile before turning to gaze at my mate. Maybe he had simply decided that he no longer wanted anything to do with me. I sighed internally. It wouldn’t be the first time. Nor would it be the last with the way my life was.

Sandro finally spoke. “I just…how old are you?”

I scowled. “Why does it matter?”

“Were you born here? Raised here?” he asked.

“Yeah. And?”

Sandro turned his head toward Rio. “How does he not know who Vincent is?”

Rio shrugged. “I didn’t until the council reached out to my birth coven.”

“You lived on an entirely different continent and hemisphere,” Sandro said as his scowl deepened.

Rio grinned at me quickly before he glanced back at Sandro. “It is true. Just because Leo here is from Italy doesn’t necessarily mean he knows who our coven master is. Perhaps, as your beloved, you would offer him the courtesy to inform him? Or even…properly introduce yourself. I’ll be in my room, contacting Marcello and then the others. I do believe our time in Rome is going to be cut short.”

Rio walked out of the room, leaving me with my mate. When I refocused on him, he patted the cushion beside him. “Will you sit, please? I need to discuss several things with you and will answer any questions you might have.”

He sounded…no longer frustrated, but possibly tired? “Sure,” I said. I sat down, just a bit farther away from him than I think he intended, as I wasn’t quite on the cushion next to him but also wasn’t on the one farthest away either.

“Rio is correct. I’ve been somewhat rude. My name is Alessandro, but everyone calls me Sandro. I certainly wasn’t expecting to meet my beloved on this trip, and I’m afraid that you are only going to end up disappointed with who you have been paired with.”

Alessandro. I really liked that. I held out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Sandro. Is that what you wish for me to call you? Or do you truly prefer your given name?”

He shook his head and actually smiled. “Sandro is fine. My given name is a mouthful, and it has been so long since anyone has used it, I’m not sure I would respond.”

I tilted my head, thinking about what Sandro just said. It didn’t scent as if it was dishonest, but also not as fully the truth either.

“How old are you, Leo? Not that it matters, it seems. Naldo and Mazzi are of a similar age, but Abel is quite a bit younger than Marcello, and I have a feeling that might end up being the case for many in our coven.”

“I’m twenty-three. I’ll be twenty-four soon though,” I told him. “I guess you’re older, huh?”

Sandro nodded slowly. “Quite.” He rubbed his hand down his face again. “I’m not certain what to do with you now that you’ve literally run into me.”

I side-eyed Sandro. Surely the man knew how to have sex. He was… “You’re a vampire, right? That’s the scent?” I lived in Italy. There were lots of vampires here. Probably more than there were shifters, but I might have been wrong. But there seemed to be a lot of vampires here in Rome.

“Yes, I’m a vampire. My coven is in Naples. Rio is a warlock, as is Mazzi. Abel is a little fox shifter, and everyone else in the coven is either a vampire, or they live in the back of the compound and are donors that the coven has for…you know.”

“Sex and blood?” I knew how it worked. I wasn’t a virgin. I’d had sex with a vampire before. Sandro gave me a surprised look. I shrugged. “I know about vampires. I live in Rome, Sandro. Which reminds me, why did you ask if I spoke English?”

Sandro actually smiled, and it looked genuinely sweet. For some reason, that irked me. “Abel,” he said. “He’s from Montana most recently, and it’s a long story, and one I can share at some point, but I probably don’t have time for that now.” He shook his head. “If you know about vampires, how do you not know about Master Vincent?”

“Am I supposed to? Is he popular?” My eyes tracked movement as Rio came back into the room.

“Marcello said he and Naldo were bringing the others back to the apartment,” Rio said. “We’ll head back to the villa for the time being and plan on returning to Rome for Abel’s holiday once Leo’s pride has been dealt with.”

“That wasn’t what I wished for,” Sandro said. “Marcello is going to be upset with me for ruining his beloved’s trip. He’s already irritated I disappointed Abel by not going with them to the fountain.”

I really didn’t understand most of what was being said. I mean, it made sense, but I had no clue who these people were.