Read Online Ever After by Kate Serine - Free Book Online Page B

been.
    â€œGideon?”
    I tore my eyes away from the painting and met her questioning gaze for a long moment. My God, I wanted to take her in my arms just then, prove that I could be everything she wanted, everything she needed. I wanted to whisper my love in her ear, hear her call my name in rapture. But I swallowed hard and pushed away such thoughts as she took a step toward me, cradling in her hands a beautifully crafted silver hand mirror.
    â€œHere it is,” she said, her voice thick with barely contained excitement as she held out her hands for me to take the mirror.
    I took hold of the handle and held it up, startled to see my own reflection dissolve into a churning haze of mist and smoke. Then another face began to take form. One I didn’t recognize.
    â€œBella, dolcezza, ” came the heavily accented voice of the dark-haired man now visible in the mirror, “you really have the worst timing. The contessa was just about to do her little dance in front of the mirror again, and— Dio mio! You are not my little Bella.”
    â€œClearly,” I replied, sending a confused glance Arabella’s way, mildly irritated to see her grinning. “I’m Gideon, representative of the fairy king.”
    Arabella came to my side, slipping her arm around my waist and turning her body into mine as she peered into the mirror. I stiffened at her closeness, her honeysuckle scent wafting to me as her hair fell over her shoulder.
    â€œ Buongiorno, Fabrizio,” she greeted. “I was just telling my friend how I found you.”
    The man in the mirror eyed me suspiciously. “A friend, you say? Well then, I will reserve judgment for the moment. But I will tell you truthfully, Bella, his hair is far too red for my liking. You would do better with a brunet, dolcezza. ” He wagged his eyebrows at her with a grin that was more charming than I liked.
    She laughed softly. “And I suppose you know just the brunet for me, do you?”
    Fabrizio drew himself up proudly—well, as much as the confines of the mirror would allow. “I tell you, if I were out of this mirror, I would make love to you every night. You would never want for the ... Come si dice . . . ? Ah, yes—the multiple orgasms. ”
    â€œHey, hey, hey, ” I interrupted, my angry tone making Arabella’s cheeks flush when she cast a furtive glance my way. “That’s not a problem, pal.”
    Fabrizio shrugged as if he sincerely doubted the veracity of my claim. “I have not seen our Bella take a lover since she found me, but I tell you—she deserves a real man—not an ignorant brute who does not know how to please his woman. This I know.”
    I felt my rage building, not sure which pissed me off more—his referring to Arabella as if he had some claim on her, or his implication that I’d be unable to please her. I had half a mind to throw her down on the bed and prove just how much pleasure I could give her. But instead, I jabbed a finger at the mirror. “Now, y’listen t’me, you little—”
    Arabella pried the mirror from my grasp with a grin and held it against her chest. “You have to forgive Fabrizio,” she whispered. “He hasn’t been with a woman since he was trapped in this mirror. It makes him a little ... petulant.”
    â€œPetulant?” I repeated. “He’s a self-important prat.”
    â€œI heard that,” came a muffled voice. “But do keep on talking. I quite enjoy being buried in Bella’s cleavage. . . .”
    Arabella laughed and pulled the mirror away from her chest, wagging a finger at the man in the mirror. “Aren’t you a cheeky one today? Behave yourself, or I’ll have to put you back in the drawer.”
    Fabrizio sighed and rolled his eyes. “You wound me, dolcezza. Truly, your words are like the arrows in my heart.”
    â€œDon’t tempt her,” I warned. “Her aim’s