Page 67 of Venice Vampyr: The Beginning

“Signore, this is my house. I inherited it from my dear father. You’re trespassing. Leave!” Bianca lifted her chin in the same way she’d done to dismiss suitors she’d had no interest in. When she caught Lorenzo’s gaze on her, she was surprised to see a hint of delight in them as well as a little smile playing around his kissable lips.

Chapter Five

Lorenzo’s heart skipped a beat. The beautiful woman in his bed wasn’t a whore. And for some strange reason, this delighted him. However, this newfound knowledge did nothing to bring down his raging hard-on. Having feasted on her sweet cunt and brought her to an earth shattering orgasm had gotten him even hornier than he’d been when he’d first seen her in his bed.

“Signorina Greco?”

She nodded. “Bianca Greco.”

“Lorenzo Conti, at your service.” He bowed his head slightly, but did nothing to cover his naked body. He’d seen the way she’d glanced at his cock, and frankly, he’d liked it. And he wasn’t going to deprive her of the sight, decorum be damned.

“May I assume you haven’t spoken to your father’s solicitor, Signore Mancini, yet?”

“I only arrived today after receiving the terrible news of my dear father’s death.” She sniffed.

“My condolences, Signorina. However, I have to inform you that this is not your house anymore.”

“But—” she interrupted.

Lorenzo held up his hand, suddenly realizing that his other hand was still clutching her thigh. But as long as she wasn’t noticing it, he wasn’t going to remove it. “Signorina Greco, I purchased the home from your father’s estate. In fact, the estate only consisted of debts. Debts that far exceeded the value of this house.”

Her eyes went wide with surprise.

“Let me assure you, Signorina, that I’ve satisfied those debts, but I have taken the house in exchange for those sums of money. It is mine.”

“I don’t believe you!” She huffed and crossed her arms tighter around the pillow covering her naked body. “You broke in here, and now you’re trying to lie your way out of it.”

Lorenzo jumped up, outraged. Nobody called him a liar. Jumping off the bed, he marched toward where he’d left his cloak. “I’ll prove it to you, Signorina.”

He ruffled through his clothes and found the piece of paper he’d received earlier. As he walked back to the bed, he noticed her drop her lids, avoiding looking at him. But he’d already caught her. She’d not only stared at his backside when he’d walked away, but also admired his front for longer than any decent woman would admit. And her eyes were shining with desire.

He handed her the paper. “Here’s the deed.”

Her eyes flew over it before she handed it back to him. Then she met his eyes. Tears brimmed at their rim. “I will not leave. This is my house! The solicitor had no right to sell it.”

Lorenzo stemmed his fists at his hips, fully aware that his erection was pointing at her almost accusingly. And why shouldn’t it? She was the reason why he still had a raging hard-on that hadn’t been satisfied yet. And by the looks of it wouldn’t get any satisfaction tonight.

“The document is legal, and you know it! This is my house, and I say who can stay and who can’t.”

“But Signore, I’m still in mourning. I’ve only just lost my dear father. I’m beside myself with grief.” Her eyes looked pleadingly at him.

Mourning? If Bianca was grieving, she sure hadn’t shown any of it only minutes earlier when she’d writhed underneath him in obvious ecstasy. If all grieving daughters reacted like this to the death of their beloved father, Lorenzo would be stalking every funeral in the city to find his next willing bedmates. Because if that was how grieving daughters mourned, he wanted a piece of it. A very large piece.

But what he didn’t need was a woman in the house. Mourning or not, she had to leave. Not only could he not deal with a woman who seemed to be on the verge of tears, he wouldn’t be able to hide his own nature for long. Already now he had to fight his own body to prevent his fangs from lengthening. Her enticing scent and the taste he still carried on his tongue played havoc with his control.

The longer she stayed in his presence the more she would be at risk of him biting her, sinking his fangs into her graceful, long neck and taking her essence into him. And who knew if he could stop? If her blood tasted anything like her sweet cunt, then his control would snap like a little twig under the weight of an elephant. She would have no way of escaping him.

Of course, he could always use his suggestive powers to make her forget the bite, but would he be able to forget it, or would he want to come back for more? And he wasn’t a long-term kind of man. All he was interested in was a quick fuck and a quick bite, no repeats, no relationships. No emotional commitments. Emotional commitments could get you killed.

They’d almost gotten him killed once already. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. It was better to shove this woman out of his life right now and not look back. By tomorrow night she’d be a distant memory. By tomorrow night he’d be in bed with some other doxy before moving onto the next without even being tempted to have the same woman two nights in a row.

Lorenzo stared at her. She hadn’t moved from her position, still clutching the pillow to her chest as if it was a life raft on a sinking ship. The upward tilt of her chin indicated her determination not to let him win. Her eyes gleamed with defiance. She wanted to stay, and she would do anything to keep her home. But he couldn’t allow it.

There was only one way to make her leave: he had to make her run from him in panic or disgust. While he could certainly achieve that by flashing his fangs, he couldn’t afford the exposure this action resulted in. After the recent attacks by the Guardians, Dante had advised everybody to be more cautious than usual. Lorenzo wouldn’t go against that edict.

But there was one other way of making her run away from him. He would show her what kind of rogue he was. And being the well-bred woman he assumed Bianca to be, she would run to save not her life, but her reputation.

“Signorina, the only way you’re staying in this house is as my mistress.” He looked past her, not keen on seeing the contempt in her face that she must feel for him now. “So, I suggest you get dressed and leave.”