Cortigiana (A Vamp Life Prequel) (7 page)
Read Cortigiana (A Vamp Life Prequel) Online
Authors: Jez Strider
Tags: #romance, #vampires, #paranormal romance, #free, #venice, #courtesan, #romance 1500s, #jez strider, #vamp life
“
Should I be worried?” I
asked, with genuine concern. Though I was not in love with Dante, I
cared strongly for the man. After enough time, my hope was to
actually fall for him. If Antonio hadn’t been around, it would have
been easier.
flowing softly. “Of course not. I can take care of myself. We’ve
been invited to dinner at a friend’s tonight and then I have a
quick bit of business to attend to before I leave tomorrow.”
“
Tomorrow? That is so
soon.”
“
Worry not. You have Giulia
and Antonio to watch over you. They will keep you entertained.” He
lifted my chin and kissed me again.
“
Why would you leave your
bodyguard behind?” The thought of being alone in the house with
Antonio sent my heart racing.
“
These are issues that are
none of your concern, Evelina.” Dante said firmly.
speaking out of my worry for your safety.”
He studied me for a moment before his
expression softened. “I will miss you. Your concern touches my cold
heart. Antonio is staying behind because he caused trouble with my
associate on a previous occasion and I am not looking for a repeat
of the situation.”
“
Oh. I
understand.”
“
Good. I shall send a
servant up to help you get ready to go out.” He stood and stroked
his hand through my hair, affectionately, treating me more like a
pet than a mate. “When I return from my trip, we will finish the
preparations for the marriage.”
“
It will be the best day of
my life.” What was one more lie to add to the others? I didn’t move
from my seat near the window when Dante left me.
The dinner with Dante’s
friends would have been a welcome change from the extravagant
parties if Antonio had not been invited. Every second that passed,
I struggled to keep my eyes off the object of not only my desire,
but unrequited love.
Who invites a
bodyguard to sit down and eat with the rest of the guests?
I wondered.
dinner quite skillfully. I laughed and smiled at the right moments.
Even complimented the lady of the house and the décor several
times.
Goodbyes were said and we were on our way
once more. I’d forgotten about Dante mentioning he had a short
detour to make. With Antonio acting as gondolier, we swiftly
arrived at our destination.
“
Stay here, Evelina. Antonio
will remain by your side. I will not be long. This is another of
those meetings not suited for ladies.” Dante kissed my cheek and
exited the boat. He disappeared into the dark doorway without
looking back at me.
was there, but failed to see the movement that had brought him to
my side. I had been trying to avoid looking at him.
“
You did not speak or look
at me throughout most of the evening.” He said.
“
Did you not tell me to
leave you alone?” I asked, staring out over the water of the canal.
The man infuriated me to no end.
beautiful when you are mad.” It felt like less of a compliment and
more of a frustrated statement.
When I didn’t answer or turn my head to look
at him, he spoke again. “You still love me.” Another blunt
statement, not a question.
“
Why are we speaking?
Perhaps you are the one in love with
me
.” This time, I faced
him.
only a few cool drops occasionally landing on my angry, hot face.
Water did little to lessen my rage. The shower changed in a flash
to a heavy downpour. Antonio and I sat there, getting soaked, but
eyes on each other in a knowing way. I hadn’t denied his accusation
of love and he hadn’t said he didn’t love me either.
“
Let us get out of the rain.
Master Sanuto would not approve of me letting you get ill from the
weather.”
into the small cabin, a felze, on the gondola. I laughed to keep
from screaming because of the torment Antonio was putting me
through. My mood bordered on psychotic. Side by side, we seated
ourselves once more. My heart beat so loudly that I was sure he
could hear it. The pulse of my blood was no doubt causing the
vampire to struggle with his control. I had no idea at the
time.
“
I do love you.” He said
suddenly. “I have been with the greatest beauties you can imagine.
Seen the most romantic spots in the world. None of them compare to
you, and I can no longer lie to myself. Every day I watch and every
time I see you, you are lovelier than when I last looked upon your
face.”
imagined in my many dreams. In the fantasies, I had the ability to
respond with the skill of a poet. Not so in reality. With mouth
slightly agape, I simple shook my head and looked down at my hands.
Antonio lifted my chin and caressed my lips with his. He tasted of
the fine wine we’d had at dinner.
“
Tell me the words I begged
you to forget.” He whispered between brushes of his mouth against
mine.
“
No.” I said without
conviction. “You will break my heart because you are afraid of
Dante. I refuse to let you hurt me again.”
precision as he worked to lift my dress. “I promise to love you in
secret like you proposed before. He will never know.” His arm went
around me and his palm rested against my back as he pulled me
against him.
“
Can we run away?” I asked.
A secret love affair I would take, but I wanted out of my life with
Dante if possible.
“
We do this my way or not at
all. It is your choice.” He waited, surveying my face, anxious for
an answer.
do anything he wished, so I nodded. “I love you,” was my answer and
he accepted my response by slipping his length into my heat and
filling me over and over with the perfect movements of his hips.
The gondola rocked side to side as he made love to me. To this day,
when I’m on the water or it’s raining, Antonio crosses my
mind.
His large body sweetly smothered me in the
tiny shelter. Maybe I should have resisted, but once I told him
that I still loved him, he had little intent on asking permission
to take me. Luckily, torturous months spent wanting him had left me
in the same state of mind.
Whenever my voice grew too heated, too loud,
he’d hold his hand over my mouth or seal in my delightful noises
with his lips and thrust that much harder. He was a man possessed,
released, growling. Once his resistance had broken, any semblance
of restraint vanished. Dante may have been called “Master,” but
Antonio and I both knew who owned me by the time we had
finished.
Antonio nuzzled into my hair, panting
heavily, wanting to take me again. He kissed my bottom lip, once…
twice, and then reluctantly put a little space between us as he
lowered my skirt and smooth the silk to cover my legs. With one
palm on each of my knees, he pushed them together.
“
I,” he cleared his throat
and rubbed his brow with the back of his hand, “I am not sure what
came over me. When you said those words, I lost
control.”
taking me. “You should lose control more often.” I panted, putting
my fingers in my hair and shaking out the locks. The rain had left
it a mess even before the sex.
“
I am too dangerous when
that happens.” He took both my hands in his and fell to one knee,
kissing the tops of my fingers on each. “I swear to never hurt you
physically.”
“
I know.” I eyed him,
confused why he would worry about harming me and why he would make
such vows.
Antonio with reckless abandon that night would seal my fate. Dante
had been able to hear our hushed voices, our professions and
promises, and our moans of ecstasy from a balcony window. Sanuto
was not a vampire to be crossed and I would learn the hard way how
ruthless he could be.
When Dante returned from his meeting, I
almost vomited because I was that scared of being caught. Antonio
and I had tried to take care of any evidence of our illicit
encounter. I had remained in the shelter, while Antonio had stepped
outside into the rain.
“
I hope you took good care
of Evelina.” I heard Dante say almost too calmly.
“
The rain came on quickly.
She is a bit wet, but fine.” Antonio answered.
“
Take us home, then. I must
leave early in the morning.” He poked his head into the cabin to
check on me.
What if he can smell the
scent of sex in the air?
I drew in several
slow, deep breaths. I could.
greeted Dante. “Such unpredictable weather.”
“
Yes.” He said simply,
looked me over and then turned away.
parted ways with Antonio when we arrived at the mansion on the
Grand Canal. I had started to relax a little. Dante didn’t appear
to have any idea of what had transpired. He’d led me to my room
which surprised me. I had expected to spend the night with him
since he was leaving on business.
“
Is something wrong?” I
asked. The words were barely audible.
“
Nothing. I… hate to leave
you alone. Before I leave I will speak to Giulia so you will never
be out of her sight.” Dante was agitated, but there was something
else as well. Sadness? I could see it. Whether he knew something
about my sin or was worried about leaving I couldn’t tell. “Do you
love me?” He asked suddenly.
wanted me to say those loaded words. Maybe I should have told the
truth. I wonder if it would have changed the way things happened.
“Yes, Dante. How could a girl not love you?” I smiled sweetly.
He flashed a devilish grin that chilled me
to the core. “On second thought, let me make sure you don’t forget
me for a few days.” In an instant, he was behind me, pushing me
toward his quarters. It was one of the most difficult nights of my
life. I spent it face down while Dante gave me a gut-wrenching
goodbye.
He was gone when I awoke the next day. I
could barely walk and had bruises all over my body. Dante wasn’t
known for being gentle, but I’d never taken a pounding like that
before.
Shame found me. I was in my room, looking
myself over in the mirror and it unexpectedly gripped me. Hard. A
good, honest person would have told Dante the truth no matter what
the consequences. That person was not me. I was weak, scared, and
concerned only with what I wanted. Integrity had not fit into that
equation.
A knock on the door drew me away from the
mirror. I tugged on the sleeves of my dress and wore my hair
loosely around my neck to hide the numerous marks of evidence from
my rough night. Another knock caused me to curse under my
breath.
“
Yes?” I called
out.
“
It is Giulia. Antonio has
brought up your meal. If you are dressed, I will send him
in.”
“
I am not hungry, thank
you.” I said.
I placed my ear against the door to hear what they were discussing.
Giulia answered a question.
“
No, sir. She must be
lovesick. Earlier she would not eat or let a servant attend to
her.”
“Evelina, open this door right now. You need to eat.” Antonio
yelled.
“
Go away. You are in no
position to give me orders. I am the mistress of this house.” I
placed my palms against the wood separating us and bowed my head.
There was no way I could face the man I loved, looking the way I
did, and after what I’d had to do with Dante.
“
She does not know you are
more than a bodyguard, does she?” Giulia asked.
“
No. Let us keep it that
way.” His voice grew hard. “That is an order.”
stalked off down the hall away from my room. Guilt and shame were
such terrible friends to keep. After walking to the balcony, my
favorite place of solace, I wiped the tears from my eyes for them
to instantly be replaced by fresh ones. I sat down and idly picked
one of the flowers growing in front of me. One by one, I plucked
away the petals and let them float lightly down to the water
outside. For what must have been hours, I did this as I tried to
figure out a way to reach a happy ending. The same thought kept
coming to me and it made me hate myself even more. Dante Sanuto
needed to die for me to be free.
“
Open this door right now.”
Antonio said with impatience when I didn’t answer for the third
time. His tone frightened me almost as much as Dante did. I mean,
what did I really know about the man? From day to day, he changed.
What he
wanted
changed.
“
Please leave me alone.” I
called out.
“
You have been in this room
for two days and have barely eaten. Grant me entry or I will break
this door down.” His voice sounded strained and I envisioned him
clenching his teeth.
inside. He pushed by me, slammed the door, and grabbed me firmly by
the shoulders. I turned my head so I would not have to meet his
gaze. This caused my hair to fall to the side, revealing the hectic
pattern of fading bruises along my neck. They had never taken so
long to disappear before.