“If you remained in this piazza, you’d be cold when winter comes.”
“Not if I had you to warm me.”
A smile pulled at his mouth. “I’m glad you find me useful, if only as a warming device.”
“You’re also an excellent tour guide.”
“Another way in which I’m useful.”
“And since your Italian is better than mine, you’re an effective translator.”
He brought his mouth to within inches of hers. “Shall I translate my favorite words? Labbra? Lingua? Seno?”
She traced the fullness of his lower lip with her middle finger. “Lips. Tongue. Breast. You’re very provocative this evening.”
“You’ve forgotten the most important way in which I’m useful.”
“And that is?”
His gaze grew heated and he lowered his voice. “As your lover.”
He nipped at her finger slightly, before drawing it into his mouth. He toyed with her for a moment, laving her skin with his tongue, before releasing her.
“I’m afraid that if you persist in staying in this piazza, my capacity as a lover will be sorely diminished.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “Diminished?”
“For example, I couldn’t possibly do this in a piazza.” He brought their lips together.
Julia hummed her appreciation and Gabriel deepened their connection, his tongue stroking hers.
His hands moved to her face as Julia’s slid to his shoulders, pressing him closer.
“And I couldn’t possibly do this.” Gabriel spoke against her mouth as his thumb glided down the side of her breast.
She shivered.
“Or this.” His hand slid over the curve of her waist and around to her lower back. He ran a single finger just above the waistband of her panties, almost as if he were contemplating their removal.
“Or this.” His eyes suddenly alight, he covered her bare knee with his palm before coaxing her legs to part.
Julia’s skin grew warm at his touch.
“Move your hand any higher and we’re going to get arrested,” she whispered.
His eyes appeared to darken. “It will be worth it.”
She placed her hand over his, stopping the slow, teasing ascent.
“I think we’ve been the subject of enough scandals, Professor.”
“Then you’re going to have to leave this piazza before I slip my hand under your dress and show you what comes next.”
“Where would we go?”
“I know a much quieter piazza nearby.”
She stifled a laugh. “Is that the best you can do?”
“There’s always the hotel. I have a view.”
She cocked her head to one side. “A view?”
He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm.
“The only sight worth seeing in this city is you. But the view from my hotel room isn’t entirely unfortunate.”
She lowered her eyes and blushed.
He squeezed her hand. “Florence has exceptional architecture and art. But Brunelleschi’s dome lacks your compassion. And no painting in the Uffizi could ever capture the beauty and warmth of your love.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his.
“Are you flirting with me, Professor?”
Gabriel brought his mouth to her ear. “This isn’t flirtation, Julianne. This is seduction. And I won’t rest until I enjoy the wonder that is your body, lying underneath me again.”
He kissed the shell of her ear, before moving down to the side of her neck. He pressed unhurried kisses against her skin, brushing against her collarbone.
“This is just the beginning,” he whispered, his hand caressing her side. “Think of the delights that await you.”
She hummed softly. “I’d like to hear more about that.”
He stood, holding out his hand.
“I’ll do more than tell you. But I’m afraid you’ll have to leave this piazza.”
Julia glanced over his shoulder at the fountain. She sighed.
“It’s hard for me to leave, knowing what awaits us at home.”
“But we’ll be together.” He tugged her into his arms. “Tonight I’ll help you touch the stars. And when you fall back to earth, I promise to catch you.”
She looked up him, at his tender, intense expression, and lightly cupped his angular jaw.
“What about you, Gabriel? Don’t you want to touch the stars?”
He smiled his slow, sweet smile.
“You’re the only star in my sky.”
She kissed him fiercely, before taking his hand and walking hurriedly toward their hotel.
Fin.
“An Umbrian Swim”
An Outtake from Gabriel’s Redemption
July 2011
At a house in Umbria . . .
“Julianne.”
Gabriel’s voice startled her and she sat bolt upright at her desk.
He was standing in front of her, watching her hungrily. He was clad only in a pair of black swimming trunks, a towel slung over his shoulder.
“Oh, I didn’t hear you come in.” She admired his bare chest over her laptop, her fingers poised over the keyboard.
“It’s time for a swim.” His voice was a throaty whisper.
She gave him a guilty look. “I have so much work to do.”
“Ah, yes. I do recall having to work now and then when I was a graduate student.” His lips twitched, as if he were resisting a smile. “And what is Signora working on this evening?”
“I’m brushing up on my French.”
His blue eyes fixed on hers. “Pourquoi?”
“Because it’s one of the languages I need for my research.”
Gabriel nodded and walked toward her. “This is very good news.”
“It is?” She looked up at him, for he was tall.
“Yes. Not only do I speak French, but I’m proficient in their kissing style as well.” He lifted his hand to sweep her dark hair behind her shoulders, running the backs of his fingers down the column of her throat.
“I seem to remember that. I think I needed to ask you for a translation.”
“No translation necessary. I know you speak the language of love.” He brushed their lips together.
Their mouths met, innocently at first. Then the moment Julianne parted her lips, his tongue teased hers, retreating backward until she followed.
“Come on.” He spoke against her mouth.
“I’m working, Gabriel. I can’t.”
“You can’t kiss me like that and go back to work.” He frowned. “Have mercy on me.”
“I don’t mean to tease you.” Julia glanced down at her French dictionary. “But there’s so much to do.”
“Just a few minutes. A midnight swim will clear your head of all the regular and irregular verbs and you’ll parles français in no time.” He kissed the palm of her hand, his eyes darkening slightly.
When she didn’t move, he continued. “Paris wasn’t built in a day.”
Gabriel leaned forward, bending at the waist. His eyes focused on hers. “And I want my Julianne back for a few minutes.”
They exchanged a long look.
Julia nodded.
He kissed her hand once again and led her to the master bedroom. She changed into a purple bikini while he retrieved another beach towel. Then they walked hand in hand to the outdoor pool.
Julia watched as Gabriel eschewed the outdoor lights and instead lit a series of candles, placing them around the perimeter of the pool. Soon the area was dappled in a warm, flickering glow.
“Bathing suits are optional.” Gabriel smirked, placing their towels over a chair.
“I don’t think so.” Julia lowered herself into the warm water.
“Our nearest neighbor is over a mile away. I think your modesty is safe.”
Julia tilted her head to one side, regarding him in the semidarkness. “My modesty is never safe when you’re around.”
Gabriel joined her, swimming to her si
de in three short strokes. “Oh really? I’d like to hear more about that.”
“You—do things to me.”
“Let’s explore that. What kinds of things?”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, delicately exploring her mouth.
Julia wrapped her arms around his neck just as he pulled away.
“You amaze me.” A look of admiration softened his features.
“By my ability to stand in the shallow end and kiss you? I don’t think I’d qualify for the Olympics.”
He chuckled and kissed the end of her nose. “I was referring to the way you are—the way you kiss with abandon, and laugh easily. The way you accept me.” His expression grew grave.
Julia pushed a lock of his hair back from his forehead. “I love you, Gabriel. Of course I accept you.”
“Not everyone would be as forgiving as you. Not after what I did.” He grimaced, lowering his gaze.
She pressed her hand against his stubbled jaw, forcing him to look at her. “Love is hearing the truth and still choosing to love. You chose to love me despite what I did.”
“I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“Good.” She smiled.
She stretched out in his arms, lying on her back on top of the water. She looked up at the stars as they winked at her from an ink-black sky. The moon was a sliver, its light pale and remote. She moved her hands lightly over the surface of the water.
“I love this time of night—when everyone is asleep and the world is quiet.”
His hands moved to her hips, cradling her.
“I like it, too. It reminds me of my birthday.” His thumbs stroked her hips, just under the band of her bikini bottom.
“What about?”
“Our hotel in Rome. The balcony.” He brought his mouth to the side of her neck.
Julia closed her eyes and hummed. “I remember the balcony. There wasn’t a moon that evening.”
“A good thing, too. We were lucky we weren’t arrested.”
Julia’s eyes popped open. “Arrested? You told me no one could see us.”
Gabriel’s eyes glinted and his attractive mouth widened into a self-satisfied smile.
“No one could see us, Julianne, but they could damn well hear us. You’re . . . loud.”
Julia abruptly moved to stand, the water swirling about her. “Do you think someone heard us?”
“I think the Vatican heard us. And they were miles away.”
“Gabriel!” She reached out to catch his bicep. “That’s embarrassing.”
“Why?” He trailed a finger over her collarbone, back and forth. “You’re a healthy young woman who obviously enjoys sex. I should think the moans would be inspiring. Probably the best sex sounds Rome has heard in a millennium.” He winked, pulling her closer.
She covered her eyes with her hands. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.”
“What should I have said?”
“I don’t know—stop?”
“Never.” He moved to whisper in her ear. “It was hot.”
She was quiet for a moment, and he began to regret telling her. Then her shoulders started shaking.
“Julianne? Don’t cry.” Gabriel’s voice sounded slightly panicked.
She removed her hands so that he could see she was laughing.
A wave of relief washed over him.
“We put on a sex show.” She spoke through her laughter, trying to catch her breath.
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe I did that.”
“You seem to have gotten over your embarrassment rather quickly.” He gave her a puzzled look.
“I wouldn’t say that.” She closed her eyes, tipping her face to the sky above them. She shook her head slowly.
“I’m sorry, Julianne. I should have said something. But I was enjoying myself too much. I love hearing you—knowing that I’m the one pleasing you and causing you to cry out.”
“Don’t be sorry.” She brought her lips to his ear and lowered her voice to a whisper. “It was hot.”
He kissed her firmly and she wrapped her arms around his neck. When he pulled away, he spoke against her mouth.
“I know something that would be hotter.”
She pressed herself more firmly against him. “And what would that be?”
“Skinny-dipping. With me.” He began tugging at the tie around her neck.
“Gabriel!” She protested halfheartedly, resting her hands on his shoulders.
“Our nearest neighbor is far away. I’m going to have to do an extraordinary job of pleasing you this evening, Julianne, otherwise no one will hear you but me.” His lips turned up into a half smile. “Now drop the bikini.”
“Aoibhe and the Virgin”
An Outtake from The Raven
May 2013
Florence, Italy
“I brought you a gift.”
The Prince regarded Aoibhe with cold detachment as they stood in one of the corridors near the Council Chamber. “That isn’t necessary, Aoibhe.”
She smiled, her beautiful face alight. “We had a falling-out, my prince. It’s customary to try to make amends, especially with an ally.”
She winked. “And you’ll like this gift, I assure you. I seem to have a talent for locating the only virgins left in Florence.”
Before the Prince could protest, Aoibhe approached him and touched his sleeve.
“I will be taking my own refreshment nearby. You should join me when you’re finished.”
She kissed him on the cheek once and disappeared into the room across the hall.
The Prince stood for a moment, inhaling the human’s scent. Virgins had a noticeable fragrance and one that was highly prized among his kind. But for reasons having to do with a human memory he had not been able to forget, the Prince tended to avoid virgins.
Still, he found himself hungry and Aoibhe had delivered food.
He opened the wooden door and closed it behind him.
“Who’s there?” a young woman called into the darkness, speaking Italian.
When he didn’t answer, she stood.
“I know someone is there.”
The Prince could see in the dark and so he had an excellent view. She was standing next to a low, armless couch, her arms wrapped around her waist. Her hair was long and fair, and her eyes were wide and very blue.
She looked, he thought, a great deal like Simonetta Vespucci.
“Please answer me,” she whispered.
“How old are you?” he asked, watching her.
At the sound of his voice, her face moved in his direction. She took a step backward and almost toppled onto the couch.
He was beside her in a flash, grasping her elbow to steady her.
Slowly, as if she were worried about his reaction, she pulled away.
“I’m eighteen.”
He could hear her heart beating and smell her scent, which was heavy with innocence.
“Why are you here?”
“I don’t know.” She twisted her hands. “One minute I was in a club with my friends, the next minute I was here.”
He stepped closer and lifted her chin with a single finger. “Never board a ship unless you know its destination.”
She whimpered, her blue eyes lifting sightlessly to his.
“What are you going to do to me?”
He paused, indulging himself by tracing the edge of her jaw.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
At her sharp intake of breath, his finger dropped to her neck, stroking at the speed of a snail.
He sifted his hand through her hair until he was cupping the back of her head. Then he brought their lips together.
Her heart rate increased immediately and he could feel the heat steal over her skin.
“Who are you?” she whispered, her lips moving against his smile.
His smile disappeared.
“I am darkness made visible.”
The woman let out a shaky breath.
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“Are you going to hurt me?”
He studied her breathing, the flow of adrenaline through her body, the tension in her muscles.
“On the contrary, I came to give you a gift.”
“What is it?”
“Pleasure.”
He kissed her again, wrapping his arms around her.
She began to relax a little as he held her, tentatively lifting her hands to his shoulders.
Her mouth was sweet. Almost as sweet as the scent of blood that lifted from beneath her skin.
In the old days, when he’d been young, he would have fed from her by now, most likely killing her in the process. But those days were long past.
He was an old one. He fed when necessary but rarely did he feel the overwhelming hunger and desire of his youth.
The young one in his arms aroused his appetite and his senses but she did not threaten his control.
He explored her mouth languorously, his tongue playing with hers.
She responded in kind, but clumsily.
He kissed her until she pressed her breasts against his chest, molding their bodies together. He slid his hands to her bottom, gripping and kneading the firm flesh.
Her lips parted and she breathed heavily against his neck.
“Lie down,” he commanded.
“What about the lights?”
“Don’t you know the myth of Cupid and Psyche? Some lovers prefer the dark.”
He backed her into the couch and brought his body atop hers when she reclined.
She opened her mouth to protest but he silenced her with his own, kissing her again at an unhurried speed.
He cupped her breast through her blouse and squeezed, before lightly running his fingers back and forth.
She murmured her pleasure, wrapping her arms more tightly around his shoulders.
He slid his hand down her side and lifted her thigh, angling it against his hip.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“I’m going to touch you.”
He drew up her skirt while he kissed her intently, exposing her skin.
He teased her inner thigh, dropping his lips to her throat.
He tasted her skin, nipping and kissing at an increased pace. And all the while his fingers ascended her thigh to between her legs.