Venice Vampyr - The Beginning (23 page)

Dante pushed his need for her blood back and kissed her neck, inhaling her intoxicating scent. His cock moved in and out of her body with long and eager strokes, driving deeper every time. Her channel was so deliciously tight, he couldn’t remember why he’d ever been against fucking virgins. She was slick and hot, and her responses were so honest and real, he knew no other woman he’d had in his bed had truly ever reacted like this. No woman had ever opened herself up to him like Viola had. Like she was doing now.

He lifted his lips from her neck and looked at her. Her eyes were dilated with passion, her skin flushed. She was the most beautiful sight he’d ever beheld. “Fly with me,” he whispered against her lips and ground his hips against her, driving his cock deeper.

Then he took her lips and poured everything he had into that kiss. Every ounce of passion, lust, and affection he’d come to feel for her. His hand slid in between their bodies and reached down to her triangle of curls, where his fingers pressed against her pearl. A moan from her lips told him he’d found the right spot.

“Yes, come with me. Now.”

He rubbed against her engorged button and drove his shaft deep into her. Her muscles gripped him like never before, clenching, then releasing. He physically felt the ripples that went through her body and let himself go. A second later, he joined her in her orgasm, shooting hot streams of seed deep into her welcoming cunt until she’d milked him of every last drop.

Without leaving her warm body, he rolled to the side, keeping her in his arms, pressed tightly to his chest. “I’ve never felt anything that perfect.” He surprised himself with his words. He’d never been one to tell a woman of his feelings.

Her breath caressed his neck, and he realized he liked the sensation very much, when usually after sex he preferred some distance. “I liked it very much.” Her words warmed his heart. And her next ones made his heart pound even faster. “Can we do this again?”

“Give me ten minutes, and we can do anything you want to.” And everything Dante wanted too. Viola underneath him, Viola on top of him, Viola in front of him. Viola, Viola. Until he was drunk on her scent and her taste.

Chapter Fifteen

Despite the wonderful night she’d had with Dante, Viola awoke with a splitting headache. Not wanting to alert him to her pain, she snuck out of bed and took one of the pills from her bag. The doctor had given them to her but said they wouldn’t help for long. Once the pain became too much, the pills would have no effect anymore.

Knowing it would take a while before the medicine dulled the pain, she went downstairs into the parlor wearing only her dressing gown. The house was quiet. Not even the servants seemed to be awake. It was a strange household, she had to admit. For starters, nobody rose before mid-afternoon, except maybe Isabella on occasion, but neither Raphael nor Dante ever left bed any earlier.

It was also strange that the two men never joined them for any meals. They always seemed to have other plans. It didn’t appear to disturb Isabella, and she’d never noticed her complaining to her husband that he didn’t have supper with her. However, Isabella was always happy to have Viola join her in the dining room. And considering the physical activity she and Dante indulged in most of the night, Viola was always famished.

What either Dante or Raphael did to make a living was unclear. But they both seemed ridiculously wealthy. Which made the fact that they shared a house very curious.

A new wave of pain interrupted her thought process and made her grip the sofa. She managed to sit before the pain brought her to her knees. She closed her eyes, thankful that even during the day the servants keep the shades drawn, allowing only minimal light into the house. While she’d found it odd at the beginning, she was grateful for it now, because light seemed to make her headaches worse.

Viola leaned back against the pillows and inhaled and exhaled slowly. Whether it was her breathing or the effect of the pill she’d swallowed, the pain waned and simmered down to a dull ache, which—while not pleasant—was bearable. It allowed her to let her mind drift back to Dante.

She’d been fortunate to meet him. Despite the initial pain he’d caused her—which she realized any man would have probably caused—she couldn’t have found a better lover to introduce her to the wonderful pleasures men and women could give each other. Initially, she’d been embarrassed by her body’s reaction to him, and by what she’d allowed him to do. But considering her unique situation, she had pushed those thoughts aside.

She had nothing to lose. Nothing that was important to her anyway. Her reputation meant nothing. It wasn’t like she had a long life ahead of her during which to regret the loss of her virginity or the debauched life she found herself living: sharing the home and bed of a stranger who, even if she lived, was never going to offer for her. Not when she’d been a virgin, and certainly not now after all the things she’d done. No man would want a soiled woman like her—not for a wife anyway.

Viola shook her head, trying to push the stupid thoughts away. She shouldn’t think of marriage and all the things that came with it when she knew it was outside her reach. She should be grateful: at least she’d known true bliss in the arms of a man, a man so passionate, it made her knees weak and her heart flutter every time he raked that lusting look over her that told her that he wanted to eat her alive.

For a few more days, she would enjoy what he was giving her so freely. She would soak it up and cocoon herself in the sensations Dante conjured up in her. But she knew it couldn’t last. Already now, she felt the pain in her head increasing. Maybe the end was coming sooner than her physician had expected. Her plan to end her own life before she was unable to take control of her own body was still in place. She would execute it when she knew the inevitable was coming.

***

Dante turned in the sheets, his hands reaching around him to pull Viola into his arms. But the bed was empty. He opened his eyes, a flash of true disappointment hitting him out of nowhere. After having experienced the most amazing sex in his life in Viola’s arms, he wanted those arms around him again. Now. Instantly. His hunger for her was even stronger than his thirst for blood. And considering he hadn’t fed in two nights and was close to being famished, that was quite a revelation for him.

He rolled onto his back and simply stared at the ceiling. What was happening to him? He’d never been the kind of man who spent night after night with the same woman. He liked variety. He loved all kinds of different women.

After last night, he knew his ego was firmly back in place, and the guilt that had plagued him for hurting her the first time had been wiped away by Viola’s enthusiastic declaration that she wanted to do it again. And they’d done it again. And again. And again until he’d lost count. And every time, she’d looked at him with those sparkling eyes and smiled like a kitten that had just discovered an endless bowl of warm milk.

His chest swelled at the thought that he’d been the one who’d put that smile on her beautiful face. Dante grinned. He wanted to do it again, because he couldn’t get enough of seeing her smile. Strangely enough, the thought didn’t send him running for cover as if the sun was about to rise. Maybe spending more than one night with the same woman wasn’t quite as bad as he’d always thought. For one thing, he knew her body so well by now that he could make her come apart whenever he set his mind to it—which was often.

Maybe his brother Raphael had had the right idea by settling down and marrying a good woman. He seemed happy, and by what Dante had briefly seen through the mirror the night before, their sex life certainly wasn’t lacking despite the familiarity they must by now be experiencing. He’d never thought about it before. Well, ideas like these were premature anyway. Maybe his infatuation with Viola would quickly fizzle out now that he’d finally fucked her so thoroughly.

Yes, thoroughly. And maybe that was exactly the reason why he wanted her again now: his body had gotten in the mood for sex and wanted more. He was almost sure that was the reason. Almost.

Dante rose and washed quickly before he dressed and stalked downstairs, his nostrils flaring when he picked up her scent. He found Viola in the parlor, stretched out on the sofa, her eyes closed. The gentle rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was sleeping.

He lowered himself onto the sofa and gathered her in his arms, lifting her onto his lap. She stirred, but he merely settled her against his chest and stroked his hand over her back. She mumbled something in her sleep, but he didn’t have the heart to wake her. She looked so peaceful and content. He closed his eyes and relaxed. With Viola in his arms, everything seemed so much better.

Chapter Sixteen

“You sure you two don’t want to join us?” Isabella asked as Raphael put her black cloak across her shoulders and handed her a pair of long gloves.

His brother had finally realized that Dante only had Viola’s best interest in mind. And if he interpreted Raphael’s occasional smirks correctly, he was pleased with the developments between them. Raphael had said as much the day before.

“If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say you’re totally smitten with her.”

Dante had merely snorted and declined to answer his brother’s implied question.

“We’re sure.” Dante sat in his favorite armchair in front of the fireplace now, and what made the situation even more comfortable was the fact that Viola was snuggling against him, sitting on his lap. Why would he want to go out when he had everything he wanted right here? “Enjoy yourselves. I’ll take Viola dancing some other night.”

When the front door finally shut behind them, he looked at Viola’s rosy cheeks and red lips, dying for a taste. “You didn’t want to go, did you?”

She shook her long hair, which cascaded over her naked shoulders. She wore a low cut dress he’d ordered for her in a hurry. She hadn’t brought many clothes, and the blue dress she’d worn when he’d met her had started to become wrinkled and dirty. Besides, he liked seeing her in garments that revealed more skin than her own dress had.

They’d fallen into a comfortable routine over the last week and, to Dante’s surprise, he was still not bored with her. On the contrary, the more time he spent with her, the more he craved her company.

“I’d rather be here with you.” She paused. “Alone.”

At her suggestive tone, his cock twitched eagerly. He knew that husky tone and what it entailed. And he was more than ready for whatever she had in mind. “I’m your slave.”

She chuckled. “You don’t mean that.”

Dante touched his finger to her nose. “I do mean it. You’re the mistress of my body and my h—” Heart, he’d nearly blurted. Even if in jest, he couldn’t allow himself to say something like that.

Sweet as Viola was, she didn’t call him on it, didn’t demand he declare himself. Instead, she placed a soft kiss on his lips and slid off his lap.

“Don’t go,” he begged.

Her smile was back on her face, mischief twinkling in her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere.” She dropped down to the floor between his legs, shoving his knees further apart so she could scoot closer.

When her gaze dropped to his crotch, he almost choked. She’d never sucked him. He’d never demanded it, never asked despite all the things they’d done in and out of bed. Somehow, he’d always felt she wasn’t ready for it. Yet, she seemed ready now.

“You want to do this?”

She nodded.

“Here?”

Another nod.

“Now?”

His cock surged and pressed against his breeches, desperate to be let out of its confines. He ripped the first button open. Then her hand stopped him.

“Let me do it.”

Dante let his head fall against the backrest of his armchair and exhaled. “Why now?” He felt as if he’d died and gone to heaven.

“I want to give you something you never asked for.”

He stroked his palm over her face and slid his thumb across her lips. “You know you don’t have to do that.” But he wanted it. By God, how he wanted to feel her lips around his cock.

Viola eased the remaining buttons open and freed his hard shaft. “You’re beautiful.”