Venice Vampyr - The Beginning

“I won’t hurt you.”


Her eyes flew open. “I know.”

This time when he kissed her, he gentled his lips against her soft mouth and tugged on her upper lip, then ran his tongue over it. Slowly, her lips parted. Dante continued nibbling on her lips until he heard a tiny moan coming from her. Now he understood: she wanted gentle and slow. That’s what she responded to. He could do that.

He stilled his lips. “You should have told me you wanted it gentle. Because a woman walking around dingy clubs trying to find a man for sex generally wants some frantic fucking.”

Viola gasped and seemed to want to protest, but he pressed a soft kiss onto her lips before he continued. “It doesn’t matter to me. You want it soft and gentle, I’ll do it that way. But when you want me to fuck you fast and hard, you’ll let me know, won’t you?”

Her nod was barely noticeable.

Dante explored the warm and moist hollow of her mouth, swept his tongue against hers and savored her taste. She was a delicious morsel, and her gentle and measured response to his searching tongue only fed his excitement. Coaxing a response from her was a challenge, and he liked a challenge more than any other man.

The more and more he kissed her without letting his more demanding self take over, the more Viola awakened in his arms. Her hands on his neck were hot to the touch now, and her entire body seemed to radiate heat. He welcomed it and slid his hand up to the exposed skin of her shoulders. She trembled when he stroked his knuckles against her pulse, and he heard her heartbeat quicken. Her blood charged through the vein underneath his fingertips, a feeling that made his cock harden in an instant.

Yes, bedding this shy young woman would be an unexpected delight. And taking her sweet blood would make it all the more enjoyable.

Dante lowered his hand and cupped one breast, eliciting a gasp from her. He eased his lips from hers. Her chocolate eyes seemed to be even darker than before. And her lips were swollen from his kisses. He rather liked the sight. “May I help undress you?”

***

His words pulled her out of her passion-drugged state. No man had ever kissed her like that. In fact, no man had ever kissed her other than on her hand or her cheek. This was more than she’d ever expected. And she didn’t want to stop. “I want to kiss some more,” she mumbled and averted her gaze.

“We’ll kiss plenty more, I promise you. But first, take off your dress so I can touch you while I kiss you.” His eyes seemed to devour her. And the huskiness in his voice carried the promise he’d spoken.

“Will you undress too?”

He chuckled. “Would you like to help me with it?”

The thought of undressing him excited her. She licked her lips in anticipation. From what she’d felt under her hands when she’d held him close to her, Dante was a big man with strong muscles. They’d felt hard yet comforting.

“I’d say that’s a yes.” His smile was warm, and she smiled back.

He started unlacing her bodice. Since she’d come to Venice without a maid or a companion, she’d chosen a dress that she was able to put on and take off without anybody’s help. However, when she felt his fingers stroke over her torso while he loosened her dress, she didn’t mind his help in the least. She enjoyed the tingles that spread over her skin with every press of his hands. And he was merely touching her through the many layers of her garments. What would it be like once he touched her naked skin?

As Dante peeled away her bodice and let her skirts fall to the floor in a rustle, she stood before him in her chemise and drawers. She’d not worn a corset since she’d known she’d be unable to lace herself into it without help. Now she felt exposed, knowing he could see through the thin white fabric of her chemise. Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her chest.

“No,” he whispered, “let me see you.” He took her arms and uncrossed them. “You’re beautiful. You have no reason to hide.”

His palm cupped one of her breasts, then the other. The touch felt as if a lightning storm went through her. “I love the way they feel in my hands.” He squeezed, and her heart rate spiked.

“Oh, God.”

“It’s Dante,” he corrected. Of course, she knew that. He’d told her his name on the way to the inn. But for some reason her brain wasn’t working when his hands were on her.

“Dante,” she whispered. “I want to undress you too.”

Viola put her hands on his chest, making him let go of her breasts. Slowly, she eased button after button open, revealing a muscled chest with a light sprinkling of dark hair. In the middle of his chest it concentrated and then narrowed toward the top of his breeches. Her eyes followed the dark path.