Read Cortigiana (A Vamp Life Prequel) Online
Authors: Jez Strider
Tags: #romance, #vampires, #paranormal romance, #free, #venice, #courtesan, #romance 1500s, #jez strider, #vamp life
Cortigiana (A Vamp Life Prequel) (5 page)
“
Beautiful. I can tell by
that smile you’ve decided to follow your heart.” She beamed proudly
at me.
had no intention of telling her my plot. “Living, Mother. I’m going
to live my life to the fullest.”
“
Well. Have at it. Your
escort is waiting outside.” Her arms wrapped around me briefly as
my eyes widened.
“
He is here? Dante came
himself?” I ran to the window and peered outside. Antonio was
there, standing where the gondolier normally would be. Looking upon
him sucked the breath out of me. There was a knock on the door and
I jumped back. My mother went to answer and welcomed the guest into
our home.
“
Your place is lovely. It
pained me to hear of your loss. If I had only known about the
arrest, I could have helped. Ah, but then I may not have had the
privilege of getting acquainted with your daughter.” Dante Sanuto
stepped further into my house. My mother moved aside when he
extended his hand toward me. “Breathtaking.”
“
Master Dante… I had no idea
you would be arriving in person tonight. The event is your welcome
home party after all.” I said, forcing myself not to look out the
window at Antonio again. Slowly, I walked up to the noble and
placed my hand in his.
of placing a kiss on it as I expected, he lowered his mouth to my
lips. The kiss was not short and did not lack intensity. “How could
I make a grand entrance without you on my arm?” He said when he
broke the contact. “Allow me to see your hair in its full glory.”
Without asking and now revealing one of the first hints of his
controlling nature, he pulled out a few pins that were holding my
hair partially up and adjusted the flowing locks around my
shoulders in a way he preferred.
“
As you wish. Thank you for
the fine gifts.” I gave him the sincerest smile I could manage even
if my emotions were a jumbled mess.
“
Only the best for you.” He
touched my cheek before turning his attention to my mother. “I
shall take good care of her.”
disapproving gaze. She knew which man I loved and I think she knew
what I was up to. “I am sure you will. Enjoy your party.”
We exited my home and Dante helped me
carefully seat myself so that I wouldn’t fall into the canal from
tripping over the elaborate gown. Antonio’s eyes were on me. I only
glanced at him once before avoiding looking at him further.
“
You know my most trusted
man.” Dante gestured to Antonio. “I hope he has treated you well
when I have had to be absent. I apologize for the hasty end to our
previous encounter.” His hand ran over my thigh near the spot he
was nibbling the last time we were together.
leading us toward the mansion. “He’s been great. I saw him earlier
with his date.”
Dante started laughing. “Livia?” He shook
his head. “She is a wild one that I doubt even Antonio could tame.
He sure has a good time trying. His appetite for women is
insatiable.”
“
I see. I have never seen
anyone look quite like her. Where is she from?”
“
Her secrecy about her
origin is part of her allure.” He said.
“
Can you not make her tell
you?”
like the mystery. You, on the other hand, are even more difficult
to figure out.”
This surprised me. “What? Me?”
“
Yes. It is strange how you
can be so young and seemingly normal and yet have such a profound
effect on the people you come in contact with. I have heard tales
from your other lovers about how quickly they fall in
love.”
“
I think they know that I
genuinely care about their happiness and their
satisfaction.”
the lobe a bite. “Could you deny them to focus only on me? My
wants… my… needs.” He whispered.
Antonio shuffled his feet a little behind
us. I hoped he was uncomfortable. “We have arrived, Dante.” He
said, interrupting before I could respond.
“
I have all the time in the
world, Evelina.” He grinned at me and I thought for a moment I saw
fangs. I blinked and they were gone. Had my mind be playing tricks
on me? How different life would have been if it were only a
hallucination.
arm. I accepted and we headed into the mansion together, leaving
Antonio behind to follow without a word. I didn’t dare anything
more.
There were whispers when Dante and I entered
the mansion arm in arm. I exuded confidence and loved the
attention. It was like I was nobility myself instead of a normal
girl turned courtesan. I recognized many of the men from their
visits to my chambers.
“
Cortigiana!” I heard a
voice call out and a man brought a bouquet of red roses that
matched the scent of my perfume.
when I looked up to him questioningly. I accepted the flowers,
realizing they were from him. A thorn had been missed and I sliced
my finger on it. I tried to hide it, but the cut had not escaped
Dante’s attention. We paused near the regal chair he had been
sitting in the first night we had met. Another, slightly smaller
chair pushed up against it. He lifted my hand and popped my
bleeding finger into his mouth in front of everyone. I was shocked,
but also found it oddly enticing.
On the small platform beside us was an easel
with a black cloth draped over what I could only assume was a
painting. I was becoming very aware that the night was more
significant than a welcome home party.
We were brought drinks. Mine was red wine.
His darker and thick in appearance. I finally made eye contact with
Antonio. He was at the back of the room staring at me as he took a
sip from his own beverage.
“
Attention, my subjects!”
Dante called out. “We all know we are here because I like a great
party.”
Subjects?
Sanuto had influence and power, but he was not a
king. How could he have subjects? As I looked around, I noted that
the people did project a sort of reverence for the man. Normal
guests tended to be far less blatantly admiring than these men and
women, these perfect, beautiful people.
From the drunken exuberance in the room, I decided the party must
have started long before we arrived.
“
Some of you know, Evelina
Angelis.” He gestured toward me. “Those of you who do not soon
will. The time has been long since I have had a constant companion.
Evelina is a woman that could rival any royalty. She is a
queen
to me. I wanted to
announce, to you—my most faithful children, my intent to wed
her.”
heard Dante’s words. At the announcement, Antonio clenched the
glass in his hand and it shattered. His hand was instantly coated
with the crimson drink. He didn’t even seem to notice what he had
done as he looked from me to Dante with an expression of pure
rage.
Dante. Marriage. Queen. I had trouble
processing the information.
“
What do you have to say,
Evelina?” He asked.
throat. “I… I have no idea what to say.” He squeezed my hand
tightly as if threatening me not to embarrass him. I dared not
protest so I added with a huge smile. “I am so happy that I cannot
find words to express the feeling.”
It was a lie. I had no problems pretending
to love the man, but marriage was sacred. There was only one person
that I could see myself marrying. Now it was hopeless. In front of
a crowded room, I had devoted myself to Dante. He was a man with
untold power and influence. To be the bride of someone so handsome
and rich should have been a dream come true. But all I could think
of was the lost opportunity to have a life with Antonio.
Dante released my hand and walked over to
the easel with the dark cloth. In a gesture faster than my eyes
could process, he whipped back the cover like a matador taunting a
bull, and revealed a painting. I was staring at myself. Was it
really me? The features seemed too perfect and precise, as if the
woman in the painting was more than human. Her left breast was
exposed. That depiction, I thought, fit my lifestyle well
enough.
An urge to flee hit me. Out of the corner of
my eye, I noticed a man with a woman pinned to the wall. His mouth
was on her throat as Dante’s was so often on mine. Something was
wrong with these people… and with Master Sanuto. It was too late
now. From the moment of our first encounter, it had already been
far too late to escape.
After a night of strange passion, I awoke
feeling weak in Dante’s bed. The party had been a whirl of
unfamiliar faces, congratulations, and indulgences in wine, food,
and body. Antonio had disappeared after the announcement and I had
not seen him again for the rest of the night.
“
I suppose I should set
forth your rules.” Dante said from a nearby chair.
me. I rubbed my neck. “Rules?” I asked.
“
Claiming you as my own is a
major step for me. I do not love. It is too… painful.” He broke eye
contact with me briefly as if he were remembering the past. “Follow
my loose guidelines and I will try.”
“
Yes, Master.” I said,
knowing nothing else to say.
deliberately make himself move at the tedious speed. “No more
lovers. At times, I may allow it, but it will be decided by me
only. What better way to boast to friends than give them a taste of
what they cannot keep?” He laughed softly.
I smiled, albeit awkwardly. “How will I make
coin?”
“
You will no longer need to
work. I will supply all that you need even before the wedding. This
leads me to the next rule. I have a room prepared and you will live
here. As long as you behave, you are free to leave to shop and
venture around the city as you please.”
“
What about my mother?” I
asked.
care of anything she may need.”
I nodded. “Thank you, sir.”
“
Lastly,” he crossed his
arms over his chest before continuing. “Do nothing to disrespect me
whether in private or within view of the prying eyes of others.”
The intensity of his voice made me tremble a bit with a fear I
couldn’t place.
“
I will not disappoint
you.”
once more and his mouth was on mine with fiery passion. Despite my
thoughts being jumbled and mind confused, my body responded
eloquently to his touch. Images jumped out at me from the mural
painted on the ceiling. Beasts and fangs, naked bodies and red
pools… so much blood.
After Dante brought me to climax, he gripped
my throat and held me in his gaze as if trying to discern my
loyalty. His lips were pressed tightly together. Then, he turned
his face away from me and from the side I saw his mouth arch open.
What he was struggling with, I didn’t know.
“
I need to get away from you
before I take too much.” He let go, jumped off the bed to grab a
robe, and opened the door. “Forgive my lack of control. It is
unacceptable given my age.” He was gone.
“
Take too much?” I asked out
loud to myself when exited the room. Subconsciously, I had placed
my hand on my tender throat again. In hindsight, my obliviousness
would become apparent. If I had known, it would have changed
little. I was young and being spoiled by one of the most powerful
vampires in the world.
the mansion. I’d stopped in the kitchen where bottles, of what I
thought to be dark red wine, were being taken down into an unlit
room. Promptly, I was turned around and sent on my way by the
guiding hands of a pale, weak looking servant.
“
The kitchen is no place for
the mistress of the house.” The man smiled. When he turned away I
saw fading bruises on his neck like the ones that occasionally
appeared on mine.
“
I am not the mistress of
anything yet.” I mumbled, further exploring the mansion. As I was
heading for the library, a different person stopped me.
looking woman. “There you are, little one. I have been looking for
you. Master Sanuto has assigned me to protect you should you leave
the premises.”
“
I… I do not think I need a
bodyguard.”
“
What you think is of no
consequence. The Master’s word is law.” Her bulging biceps and
short haircut were out of place in my part of the world and in the
time period. In her leggings and tunic, she could hold her own with
any of the men in the household.
immediately admired and respected the bodyguard. I’d never met a
woman like her. “Okay.”
“
My name is Giulia. Come,
let me show you to your room and then you may explore the house
further.”
over me, I did so with little protest. The room was at the end of a
long hallway. Giulia opened the door for me and I stepped inside.
“Are you sure this is my room?”
“
Of course. I will leave you
now. Should you wish to leave the premises you can send a servant
to find me. I will not be far.” The bodyguard turned and left me
quickly.
