by Tina Folsom
Bianca forced herself to think of the first few days in Florence, the time when she’d had to live on the streets, the fear and the humiliation. It made the tears come easily—tears she needed now to fool Lorenzo into thinking she was mourning her father.
When she lifted her face back to him, the first tear rolled down her cheek. And with delight, she saw Lorenzo’s expression change from suspicion to compassion. Ah, yes, she could still play any man like a fiddle. They had manipulated her for long enough, now it was her turn to manipulate them.
Feeling his fingers stroke over her cheek was more than she had expected. His show of compassion took her off kilter, making her feel something she hadn’t felt in a long time: that somebody cared about her.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” he whispered, his hand still stroking her cheek, his body suddenly so much closer, close enough to touch.
She inhaled his scent, the comforting smell of a strong man, a protector, somebody who would take away the pain. When his other hand came up and pulled her closer, she buried her face in his shirt, feeling his hot skin underneath. His arms came around her, pulling her in for an embrace too close to merely comfort. He pressed her against his chest and stroked his hands over her back, caressing her.
“Shh, my darling. Everything will be alright.”
She felt his lips on the top of her head, kissing her hair at the same time as his hand loosened the bun at her nape to allow her hair to cascade over her back. His fingers brushing against her neck made her shiver.
It felt so good to be in his arms, to feel protected and safe, even if it was only for a few minutes. Bianca sighed as her tears stopped flowing and raised her face to him. His eyes had an orange glow to them, the candle light reflecting in his irises more intensely than she’d ever seen in anyone’s eyes.
Without thinking, she rose on her toes and stretched toward him. His eyes widened in surprise, and a moment later his lips met hers.
Lorenzo’s spicy scent seeped into her mouth as she parted her lips for him. At first, he only teased gently, licking against her lips, briefly sweeping his tongue against her teeth, then withdrawing. Was he going to stop again? She couldn’t let that happen. She wanted to be kissed by him, to feel him devour her.
Her hands gripped the lapels of his shirt, drawing him closer. Her action elicited a deep groan from him. A second later, his hand slipped to her buttocks, and he pressed her against his loins.
Bianca gasped when she felt the hard outline of his erection pressing into her stomach and rejoiced at the same time: Lorenzo wanted her. His arousal was evidence of his desire for her. Boldly, she snaked out her tongue and slipped it between his lips, searching for her counterpart. Determined not to let him get away, she stroked against him, the texture and taste of him sending tantalizing tingles rippling along her skin and brushing over her sensitive nipples.
A shiver went through her when he responded to her by angling his head and urging her mouth to open wider. His exploration was gentle at first. Licking and stroking, he found his way, dancing with her tongue and teasing white hot sensations from her body. She was on fire.
As an experienced courtesan, she knew how to please men, and she knew how to fake her reactions to them, but with Lorenzo she didn’t need to fake any of her reactions. On the contrary, she would have had difficulty hiding them from him. Her body wasn’t her own anymore. Under the ministrations of his talented lips, every part of her body became alive with desires she’d never voiced. Desires which were only intensified with the press of his cock against her. For the first time in her life, she wanted to let herself go and respond to a man without pretense, without lies, and without holding back.
Chapter Nine
Bianca was even more pliable in his arms than the night before. It did nothing to assuage Lorenzo’s need to have her underneath him. It only fueled his desire for her. His brain had long switched off. In fact, the moment her tears had fallen and he’d taken her into his arms and felt her warmth, he’d been unable to think through his next actions. Now it was too late.
Her kiss was pure abandon, her hands in his hair an unexpected delight. And those voluptuous breasts that were crushed against his chest? They were too tempting not to touch. Without interrupting his kiss, Lorenzo drew back slightly to slide one hand over her torso and cup one breast.
She moaned into his mouth, and he soaked up her excitement, allowing her to get comfortable with his touch before he slid his thumb over the center of her breast. The nipple he encountered through the fabric was hard and stood at attention. Just how he liked it.
Eager for more, he tugged on her dress. A ripping sound alerted him to the fact that he’d been too rough and torn her bodice. But the reward was too sweet to regret the action. Lorenzo freed one breast from its confines and settled it in his palm, cradling the soft flesh as his thumb slid over the hard nipple once more.
A strangled gasp from her lips made him interrupt his kiss to take in a breath. Bianca arched her head back, thrusting her breasts closer to him. Her eyes were closed, and her lips looked swollen from his kiss. Red, moist, and sinful. His gaze dropped to her neck which she so obligingly offered to him. As if she knew what he wanted.
Lorenzo’s fangs itched for a bite, for a taste of her sweet blood. But not yet.
He lowered his head to her exposed breast and planted open-mouthed kisses along her skin, nibbling his way to the center, where her rosy nipple waited for him as he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, making sure it remained as hard as he liked it.
Lorenzo pressed her against the bookcase at her back, rattling a few volumes, as his lips closed around the tasty little bud and sucked. He opened his mouth wider to take more of her flesh between his lips. How a woman like Bianca wasn’t flat on her back being devoured by countless men twenty-four hours a day was beyond his comprehension. If she were his, she’d never leave his bed. She’d never get dressed.
As his left hand went for her other breast, he was unable to control his vampire strength. The fabric ripped, making her bodice gape open in the middle. His lips went for her second breast before she could even voice a protest if she’d wanted to. As he sucked the tit into his mouth and licked its responsive peak, his hands ripped her dress further.
He needed to feel her, to touch her silken skin, to kiss her naked body.
Bianca’s hands stroked his chest and tugged on his shirt, sliding it off his shoulders. Lorenzo rid himself of it without thought. All he did was moan his pleasure at the feeling of those soft hands on his naked skin, touching him, exploring him.
When her palm suddenly cupped his erection through his trousers, he ripped his mouth from her willing tit. Using all his strength, he forced his vampire side back below the surface, his control weaker than it had ever been. Never had sex made him struggle with controlling his vampire powers like this. If he didn’t get himself under control quickly, she would realize what he was.
There was only one way for him to regain his control: by taking control of her and slaking the lust that currently careened through his body like a carriage whose horses were charging toward a ravine. Lorenzo’s heart raced in concert with those beasts as if wanting to outrun them.
Perspiration had already built on his face and neck, and now rivulets of sweat cascaded down his ripped chest despite the coolness of the room and the lack of a fire in the study. Bianca’s body had more fire than he’d ever need to warm himself. Her heat was contagious. Her wanton behavior and her willingness to let him rip her dress to shreds without any protest spilling over her lips, was something that would have appalled decent society.
But decent wasn’t what Lorenzo wanted. The more indecent, the more likely he could take what he needed from her. His body ached physically from trying to hold back the monster inside him. The pain his cock experienced wasn’t any less severe. Straining heavy against his breeches, the buttons of his flap dug into his flesh. The pain of it was the only thing holding back his orgasm. And he wasn’t even ins
ide her yet.
Lorenzo gulped down air when he suddenly felt both her hands on his breeches, releasing the top button. His cock rejoiced at the prospect of feeling her hot hands on him. “Yes,” he mumbled. “Take me out.”
Moments later, Bianca freed his shaft and wrapped her hands around his hard flesh. For a few seconds, all he could do was breathe, trying not to think of what she was doing for fear it would snap his control entirely. His hand shot to hers, stilling her movements before she could complete her stroking motion.
As he lifted his head from her breasts and looked at her flushed face, he realized she was as mesmerized as he was. Her lids were at half-mast, her lower lip pulled in between her lips, held there by her beautiful white teeth. A shimmer of sweat glistened on her skin, more than any lady would ever want to be seen with. Yet Bianca made no attempt at hiding her excitement.
Unable to resist the woman who so firmly held his cock in her hands, he captured her lips again and held nothing back. Like an ancient Roman, he conquered, cutting down walls that never existed, flatting the territory he claimed. She welcomed him with more enthusiasm and skill than any well-bred young woman should have.
Releasing her hands, Lorenzo lifted her into his arms, ignoring the way she stroked his eager cock. Clutching her to him, he swept the desk clean with one hand, paper and writing implements scattering to the floor, before he laid her on her back, spreading her legs apart as he stepped back.
One last rip and the dress was now in two pieces. His hungry eyes devoured the sumptuous feast before him. Creamy flesh, lush curves, deep valleys. Yet, one valley was still covered by her drawers. He snagged the thin white fabric between his fingers and tore. The sound of ripping fabric echoed in the study. Only Bianca’s breathing was louder.
As he pulled the fabric away from her skin and exposed her beautiful cunt, memories of the night before flooded his mind. Her taste, the smell, the way she’d twisted and flexed underneath him. Only this time, he’d explore her body in a different way—much deeper.
Lorenzo leaned over her, pushing back the hair from her neck and sunk his lips onto her pulse. It fluttered in an excited tattoo, tap-tap-tap, faster, and ever faster. As he kissed her neck, his cock settled at her core. His hips moved back and forth, letting his erection slide over her center. With every slide against her flesh, his control moved one iota closer to snapping.
He had no patience for a long, drawn-out loving making session. Next time, he’d fuck her slowly, but this time, he had to take her fast. Next time? He wasn’t planning a next time. He shouldn’t, yet his body didn’t seem to agree with his mind in this case. One time wasn’t enough.
Good, twice then, he conceded as he fought with himself. He’d fuck her twice, right here, right now. Drawing his hips back, he brought his cock in line with her cunt and pushed forward. With one powerful thrust he seated himself in her tight channel as her muscles gripped him and her juices drenched him.
“Fuck!” he ground out, clenching his jaw. There’d been no barrier, a fact he’d guessed from the way she’d opened her legs for him: not like a shy virgin, but like a woman who knew what was coming. He welcomed the knowledge that she wasn’t a virgin. At least that meant he could fuck her hard, because that was what he needed.
His shaft slammed into her, and Bianca let out a moan which was drowned out by an ever more powerful groan coming from him. In a frantic rhythm his cock set for him, he withdrew, then thrust into her again, her legs around his hips aiding the movements when she twined her feet behind his back, locking him in.
Her breasts bounced with each thrust, up and down, side to side. Lorenzo sank his lips onto them, alternately sucking her nipples and licking her flesh. But if he’d thought by fucking her, he’d gain back control over his vampire side, he was mistaken.
His fangs lengthened, making it impossible to keep the sharp tips hidden in his mouth. They pushed past his lips and nudged against her plump tits. Lorenzo worked his hips frantically, driving his aching cock in and out of her in the hope his release would help him gain control, but the more he fucked her, the more her warm sheath cradled him, the less he was able to exercise control.
Her fingernails raked over his back, holding him firmly to her, and her heels dug into his backside, pushing him deeper inside her with every thrust. Her hips gyrated against his, and the sounds of pleasure that left her lips could not be drowned out by anything but the sound of blood rushing from his fangs down into his throat.
He needed her blood. Now. Only then would he find true release with her. The realization hit him like a ship slamming into a pier.
His fangs scraped against the pink flesh of her tits, grazing her. A drop of blood appeared on her skin. It was miniscule, yet its potency was undeniable.
“Lorenzo, now, please,” she mumbled, slamming her hips into him, grabbing his ass with her hands to force him to plunge deeper.
With a roar, he jerked back. No! If he continued, he’d suck her dry, his control all but vanished. Despite Bianca’s hands and legs gripping him tightly, he pulled out of her and averted his eyes, tilting his head away from her.
Her protest was instant. “Please, don’t stop. Not now.”
“I can’t,” he pressed out and headed for the door faster than if the rising sun were on his heels. The scent of her blood chased him all the way to his bedchamber. And the scent of her cunt was still on his cock, a painful reminder that he hadn’t found release, nor had he granted her the climax she’d been so close to.
Bianca was no good for him. She was too much of a temptation. He didn’t understand why he lost control with her when he’d never had any problems keeping himself in check when he’d fucked the whores he usually frequented. Instead of sex easing the strain on controlling his vampire powers, it had made it harder to control. He’d always been able to let his vampire side emerge at will—not with Bianca. When he was near her, his entire body screamed for him to claim her.
He couldn’t let a woman have such power over him. He’d allowed it once. It had nearly cost him his life. No matter how much he wanted to slake his lust with her, he couldn’t risk it.
Bianca had to leave.
Chapter Ten
Almost dizzy, Bianca slipped off her father’s old writing desk. With shaking hands, she pulled on the shredded fabric of her dress to cover her torso. The place between her legs throbbed uncontrollably. Frustration made way for surprise, then embarrassment, then anger. How dare Lorenzo fuck her with such raw passion and then leave her before finishing?
Her chest heaved, her body still trying to come down from the peak it had nearly reached. She’d been so close to a most monumental climax only to come crashing down like a wave crashed onto the sandy shore without ever having reached its highest crest.
Bianca wanted to howl in frustration. But what she wanted even more was for Lorenzo to continue. Holding her dress together in the front, she ran out of the study and headed for the stairs. If Lorenzo had lost his erection and hadn’t been able to achieve release with her, then she’d do anything to get him back into the right mood so he could finish what they’d started.
She had enough experience to know how to rouse a wilting cock. Lorenzo’s words that he couldn’t do this could only mean one thing: his manhood had a little problem performing. Even though this seemed somewhat strange given that his cock had been harder than anything she’d ever felt, just because he was hard didn’t mean he could find release. Maybe he needed more stimulation.
Without knocking, Bianca opened the door to her father’s bedchamber and entered.
Lorenzo stood next to the bed, closing the top button on his breeches. His head spun to her instantly, his eyes glaring at her in fury. “Leave! Now!”
His voice was a thunder that would have frightened a lesser woman, but not Bianca. Most dogs that barked didn’t bite. Men were just the same. The louder they yelled, the softer they were on the inside.
“No! I refuse to let you treat me like this. And I won’t leave!�
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The rumble coming from his throat sounded more like the growl of an animal than that of a man. “I apologize for what happened in the study,” he ground out through clenched teeth, the cords on his neck straining, ready to snap in an instant. “It won’t happen again.”
“Well, at least that we agree on.”
He nodded stiffly then turned his back. “Then please remove yourself from my presence.”
“I will do nothing of the sort.”
His shoulders tensed visibly as his hands balled into fists, the knuckles turning white. “What do you want from me? A new dress? I’ll buy you ten new dresses for the one I ruined.”
Bianca took a few steps toward him.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Shocked by his harsh tone, she stopped. “I’m not interested in a new dress. But I can help you.”
“Help me?” The incredulous tone in his voice was something she had expected. Most men couldn’t deal with issues related to their manhood. And if a woman pointed them out, they turned defensive.
“Yes. There could be very simple reasons why you couldn’t find release. I can—”
Lorenzo spun to face her so fast, she instinctively took a step back.
“You think I couldn’t perform?” His question was turned into an accusation by the way he bit it out. His eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched. “I assure you, Signorina, if I wanted to find release in your body, I could have done so several times.”
Bianca snorted. Arrogant rake!
All she was doing was try to help him over his problem, and what did he do? Deny he had a problem. Well, if he was going to play it that way, she’d play along. “I don’t believe you.”
“Signorina! Are you calling me a liar?”
She shrugged, letting her hands fall away to the sides, allowing her dress to gape open over her naked breasts. Lowering her lids slightly she glanced at his breeches. The bulge underneath it was still visible. He was just as hard as before.