Venice Vampyr - The Beginning (37 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Lorenzo took the sleeping Bianca into his arms and carried her to the bathing chamber where he’d prepared a hot bath for them. He lowered himself into the large tub and arranged Bianca on his lap so she straddled him as he cradled her head against his chest.

Physically, he’d never felt better in his long life. Fucking Bianca while she was tied up had been an amazing experience, fucking her while she had the metal cock inside her sweet ass had almost killed him. Every time he’d thrust into her, he’d felt the other cock grating against him, adding to the intoxicating sensation of her muscles gripping him. His orgasm had been more intense than ever before.

But while he felt fully satisfied physically, his emotional state was another matter. He didn’t know what to make of Bianca. Despite the things he’d thrown at her, she’d played along. Was she really that desperate to attain part of his wealth that she was prepared to engage in any debauched act he could think of?  Yet she hadn’t simply endured the act. He’d seen the desire in her eyes, the lust, and the pleasure he’d given her despite the apprehension he’d noticed in her at first.

Was Bianca what he needed? Did it really matter that her motives weren’t pure? That she wanted him for his money? Didn’t any woman hunting for a husband have the same motives? Few people in Venice married for love. It was either for status or money or both. Little else mattered. And frankly, he couldn’t even blame women. They had no means of earning their living and depended on a husband to provide for them. So why shouldn’t they try and sell themselves to the highest bidder?

Maybe he should even feel honored that Bianca had chosen him. After all, she wasn’t stingy with her affections or offering her body to him more completely than any whores had. Could a man really ask for more? He could do worse than have this hot-blooded vixen in his bed. And so far, she hadn’t demanded marriage despite the fact that he’d continued to leave his seed inside her. Maybe all she wanted was a comfortable roof over her head.

Lorenzo reached for the soap and lathered his hands, then started washing the beautiful woman in his arms. He’d never felt so tender toward anybody, except Elle. At the thought of her, he paused. Everything had gone well until he’d told her what he was. He wouldn’t make the same mistake with Bianca. If he decided to keep her, he would make sure that she never found out.

So far, he’d managed. He’d had food delivered to the house so she could eat, but he’d never partaken himself, always finding an excuse to briefly leave on an
errant
while she ate. He’d fed plenty on the nearest street person he could find so his hunger wouldn’t overwhelm him while he was with Bianca. As much as he wanted to bite her and taste her blood, he knew he could never allow himself that pleasure. Once she knew that he was a vampire, she would become a danger to him, attempting to kill him like Elle had. And wiping her memory every time he bit her was not an option. The memory of Elle in an insane asylum served as a strong enough deterrent.

He would just have to suppress the overwhelming desire to taste her blood. It was the only way he could at least slake his lust with her.

Lorenzo eased Bianca away from his chest, holding her firmly with one arm while he let his soapy hand sweep over her breasts, washing her. As he scooped water over her generous globes, she stirred.

“You’ve pleased me very much tonight,” he whispered and palmed one globe, enjoying the weight in his hand.

“My love.” Her whispered endearment was both encouragement and approval.

Lorenzo pulled her back against his chest, tilting her sideways so he could continue to caress her luscious tit. “Sleep, I’ll take care of you now.”

Bianca’s breath ghosted against his wet skin as she relaxed back into sleep. And for as long as the water stayed warm, he kept her cradled in his arms. Safe, for now.

***

Lorenzo had told her that he had business to take care of and would be out most of the evening. Bianca gave him one of her sweetest smiles and sent him on his way, assuring him that she was perfectly fine spending an evening on her own.

As soon as the door closed behind him, she breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she had a few uninterrupted hours during which to continue her search. This would be her first real occasion to search her father’s old bedchamber, which she and Lorenzo had been occupying. Even though officially she stayed in her mother’s bedchamber, the bed there had remained unused except for that first night.

Lorenzo didn’t seem to mind her sleeping in his arms. Her former lovers had preferred to sleep alone once they’d rutted on her, and frankly, she’d preferred it too. But strangely enough, she enjoyed being with Lorenzo. Even in his sleep, he seemed to be aware of her and sought an intimate connection. A day earlier, she’d woken only to find that he was sleeping soundly, her back tucked into his front, his hard cock deep inside her channel. None of her lovers had ever done that. Besides, she didn’t know any man who’d held an erection for as long as he did.

Only when she’d started to move had Lorenzo awoken and grinned sheepishly, saying that he’d wanted to be connected to her when he slept. It was the sweetest thing anybody had ever said to her.

But Lorenzo had many sides, and she never knew which side she would be confronted with from one minute to the next. Not that it mattered much: she enjoyed each one in its own right. His tender and sweet side made her relax, and his passionate side made her feel wanted. But his dominance unleashed something in her that she never knew she harbored: the need to lose control, the need to surrender and submit. It scared her, yet at the same time, she craved it.

As she swept her gaze around the bedchamber, her eyes caught on the box that still lay on the nightstand, its content back in its velvet cushion. A shiver raced through her body at the memories of what he’d done with the metal toy. She’d never thought she’d take to such debauched acts, but whenever he opened the box to use the implement in every way possible, her heartbeat accelerated and her center of pleasure throbbed uncontrollably. Then his knowing look rolled over her trembling body, and his cock jerked, oozing with moisture.

Even now with the lid closed, she felt her body prepare itself for the pleasure it was expecting. She should be ashamed of her depraved thoughts, but her heart couldn’t fault her for what her body needed. In Lorenzo’s arms she felt free even when he bound her and made her submit to his will. And with this freedom came ultimate bliss and a glimpse of what happiness tasted like.

Bianca shook her head, trying to banish the feelings from her mind. Whatever she and Lorenzo had was temporary. It would only last until she found the treasure or until he tired of her, whichever came first. And she hoped to God that she’d find the treasure in time.

As she set about her task to search her father’s old room, she worked methodically starting in one corner, moving along the walls, peaking behind paintings, crawling under furniture, and opening every drawer. Many of her father’s things were still there: his grooming implements, a drawer full of ties, another of stockings and garters. With difficulty, she lifted the heavy mattress of the bed and examined the space underneath, but there was no hidden compartment to be found.

She let the mattress slip back into place, the quick movement creating a dust cloud which settled onto the intricately carved headboard. Bianca took a piece of cloth and wiped it over the carved letters in the center of the wooden piece, removing the dust before she focused her attention on the next area.

The dressing room only held some of Lorenzo’s garments. The servant who’d briefly visited a few days ago, had brought his trunk and moved her father’s clothes to another unused chamber to make space for his master’s garments.

Bianca stared at the trunk. Drawn to it like she was drawn to its owner, she sunk to her knees and opened the lid. An assortment of scarves, ties, and smalls greeted her. She should have blushed at the sight of a man’s undergarments, but she felt no such sentiment. The intimacies they’d shared had eradicated all embarrassment she could ever feel.

She let her hand run over the soft fabric, caressing it as if she was touching him instead. Her eyes closed, making her remember his touch more intensely when her fingers encountered a hard object. Bianca opened her eyes and looked at the item: a box, smaller than the one that held Lorenzo’s favorite toy. She lifted it out of the trunk and opened the lid, curious to see whether it held any other toys. To her surprise, the box contained French letters.

Stunned, she closed the box. Why hadn’t Lorenzo used them? After his valet had delivered the trunk, there’d been no reason to continue their carnal pleasures without protection against conception. Did it not bother him that she could soon be with child? And for that matter, why didn’t it bother her that she could soon find herself in an untenable situation having to support not only herself but an illegitimate child?

Bianca shook her head and rose. Was she playing with fire, secretly hoping that there could be more between her and Lorenzo than just a fleeting affair? Was that why she was taking unnecessary risks? She pushed the thoughts aside, not wanting to examine the emotions that drove them.

The search of her father’s bedchamber proved fruitless. She’d found nothing. Frustrated, she trudged down the stairs and made her way to the kitchen, where a plate of food was waiting for her. Another one of Lorenzo’s elusive servants had delivered it earlier. She wondered briefly why his servants weren’t staying at the house with him. Was it because she was with him? Or did he simply like to be on his own?

As she devoured the food, her thoughts drifted back to her father. Had he sold the treasure before his death and that was the reason why she couldn’t find it? Bianca didn’t believe it. He’d always claimed that the treasure was worth more than the house itself, yet her father had left a mountain of debt behind. Had he sold the treasure, there shouldn’t have been any debt. No, the treasure still had to be in the house.

The slamming of the front door jolted her out of her reverie. She jumped up, eager to be back in Lorenzo’s arms. At the kitchen door she halted, alarmed by a second slamming of the same door.

“We’re not done!” a stranger’s voice echoed through the hallway.

“I didn’t invite you to my home, Raphael!” Lorenzo bellowed.

“I’m not leaving until we’ve discussed this.”

Her heart beating in her throat, Bianca strained to hear more, but the two men had moved into the parlor and shut the door behind them.

She knew it wasn’t polite to eavesdrop, but something in Lorenzo’s voice had alarmed her, and she needed to know what was going on between them. And she knew just the place from where to see everything that went on in the parlor without being seen herself.

As a child, she’d loved to play hide and seek and had found a small storage room located on the upper floor right above the parlor. The room provided access to where the parlor’s crystal chandelier was suspended from the ceiling. While the candles could be lit without lowering the chandelier, in order to properly clean the crystals, the area had been made accessible so the heavy item could be lowered without effort. Holes in the ceiling allowed for a view into the room below to coordinate the lowering of the chandelier with servants in the parlor.

Her stocking-clad feet made no sound as Bianca stooped not to hit her head on the beams that carried the weight of the chandelier. She crouched down and slid back the leather patch that covered the hole, allowing her to peek into the parlor.

Chapter Fifteen

Lorenzo felt his anger boil over and turned to the fireplace where the embers still glowed. “Nico had no right to tell you!”

“Well, I’m glad he did!”

Lorenzo bent down and placed a handful of kindling on the fire, watching as flames licked up and engulfed it, eager to ignore Raphael’s reprimand. His private life was his own. Nobody had a right to interfere in it.

“You have to send her away. She could be a danger to you.”

Lorenzo threw another piece of wood onto the fire and rose, turning on his heels to face Raphael. “Bianca is no danger to me, she’s—”

“She’s human!” Raphael interrupted.

“And how is that any different from what you’re doing? Explain it to me, Raphael! Go ahead. Your wife is human. She lets you drink her blood, and don’t tell me it doesn’t drive you both to ecstasy every time you do it. And you have the gall to deny
me
a chance at the same happiness?” Yet he knew he could never bite Bianca, because he had to hide from her what he was.

“Don’t bring Isabella into this. This is very different. You don’t know anything about this woman.”

“I know enough!”

“That’s your cock talking!”

Lorenzo’s gums itched as his fangs extended, threatening to push to the surface. “I won’t have you insult me in my own home!”

“I’m not insulting you. I’m warning you. Or have you forgotten what happened with Elle?”

At the mention of Elle’s name, Lorenzo’s fangs pushed past his lips. He snarled and glared at his friend. “How dare you?”