Venice Vampyr (Venice Vampyr #1)

Signora.”
    Shock coursed through Raphael’s body. Isabella had braved the cold waters of the canal to save him? “Signora Tenderini?”
    “Yes, Signore. She was the one who saved your life.”
    ***
    Isabella sighed deeply. She hadn’t been able to go through with it. More than anything, she’d wanted to ask him to conduct an affair with her, a very discrete, very short affair, just so she was reminded of what it was like to sleep with a man’s arms around her body. But the thought that they would be discovered at some point had made her hold back.
    Her late husband’s cousin Massimo was keeping close watch on her, always trying to find a way to take from her what her husband had left her: his merchant business. As a male relative, he’d expected to inherit after his death. Yet, her beloved Giovanni had had other designs. He’d always seen her for what she was: a strong and intelligent woman more than capable of running a business by herself. His will had said as much.
    After being left out in the cold, Massimo had taken it upon himself to pry into her personal life and dig up any dirt there was to find. There was none. She’d been virtuous before her marriage and remained virtuous after Giovanni’s death. If she slipped only once, Massimo would be there to take advantage. He’d spread the gossip amongst Venetian society and make certain not only she but also her business was shunned. She knew it was his plan. Once she was down and cast out of polite society, he would take the business off her hands for a pittance.
    No, she could never let herself slip and give into the desires that had started boiling up in her. Only another marriage would do. However, she’d not met any man since Giovanni’s death who she even remotely wanted as a husband.
    And the scoundrel who’d just left her house? He was not the kind of man who’d make an offer for a decent woman like her. She had seen it in his eyes: the lust, the passion, the heat. All he wanted was to satisfy his carnal urges, to tumble her. And even if she hadn’t seen it in his eyes, his words had made it clear. He’d expected an affair.
    Her own body had almost betrayed her when he’d stood there in front of her. She’d wanted to run into his arms, ask him, beg him to make love to her, to pin her under his beautiful naked body and drive her wild. To feel his hard shaft in her, filling her, satisfying her. It had taken all her strength not to give in. Her life as she knew it would be over if she did.
    Already, by bringing Raphael—oh, what a wonderful name—into her home and tending to him personally, she’d risked too much. She could only hope that Elisabetta would heed her threat. Adolfo she trusted one hundred percent. He was her ally, the only one of her servants who was completely loyal to her. Elisabetta was new in her employ and, Isabella hoped, too intimidated by her to go against her strict orders. She’d researched her background thoroughly before employing her, making sure she had no connections to Massimo. Massimo kept enough spies in her household.
    Now she could only hope that no word of what had transpired in her home tonight would reach the outside world.
     

 

Chapter Five
     
    Isabella waited until Elisabetta had undone her corset and stepped out of it. She was left with her chemise and drawers. Her hair was already relieved of the pins that had held it up and now hung loosely around her shoulders.
    “That’ll be all for tonight.” She met Elisabetta’s gaze in the mirror. “And don’t forget, one word of what happened here tonight and you will never find another position in Venice.”
    She curtsied. “Yes, Signora.”
    When the maid finally left her bedchamber, Isabella let out a quiet sigh. All she could do was dream. At least she’d saved a life tonight. She hoped it had been worth it.
    “Finally, I thought the chit would never leave.” The deep voice came from behind the curtains.
    She swiveled on her chair and saw Raphael di Santori step out from his apparent hiding place. Gasping, she pressed a hand against her chest and frantically reached for her dressing gown. “Signore, this is an outrage! How did you get in here?”
    He motioned to the window. “I climbed in. And don’t worry, nobody saw me. I understand how you value discretion.”
    Isabella pressed her dressing gown to her front to cover up as much as she could. Her heart beat in her throat. Only a rake would enter a woman’s bedchamber without