Feather soft, tender, comforting.
Heat unfurled in her belly, between her legs. Ravenna gasped, tilting her head back, giving him better access. He licked his way back up to her parted lips. She tasted his triumph in the tug of his teeth on her bottom lip, nipping, playful.
Persuading her to reveal all her secrets.
Persuading her toyield.
But the pope’s seal was stamped in her mind, and the terror it brought over her gave her the strength to rise above the current that was swallowing them both, sweeping them out to sea.
Ravenna would not yield.
She brought both palms flat against his chest and pushed. Saturnino opened his eyes, drowsy, pupils dilated, breath brushing against her face in a soft pant.
“Release me,” she whispered.
Saturnino immediately dropped his hands and propelled himself backward. He stared moodily at her, immortal, jaded. A kind of mercenary she had no defense against. He wasn’t thinking of her, no, neverher. There was no line that he wouldn’t cross, and the full truth of it made her heart sink.
“You’re in way over your head,” Saturnino said, and something like compassion flickered in his eyes.
But she couldn’t trust it.
He was a shape-shifter, a chameleon, a master manipulator. His kiss had left an imprint on her mouth, and she knew that as long as she lived, she would never forget how he felt, wrapped around her.
“I’ve never been with a man,” Ravenna whispered. “I’ve never been in love.”
Saturnino tilted his head. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t take myself lightly,” Ravenna said. “While everything is a game to you.”
“It’s a common mistake people make about me. I take everything seriously, Ravenna. Everything.”
“Then you understand,” Ravenna said. “Promise you won’t kiss me again.”
“I thought youunderstoodwho I was,” he shot back.
Anger steeped the air between them.
His cold-blooded ruthlessness dominated the space between them. It would govern every one of his actions, his thoughts, his methods. He would take everything from her.
She was terrified that she would let him.
“I do,” Ravenna said quietly. “I know what kind ofmanyou are.”
He regarded her mutely, cold and motionless. Even the water around him did not ripple. Ravenna turned away, moving toward the stairs, her heart thumping as she climbed each step out of the pool, the water dripping down her legs. Her chemise stuck to her skin, the outline of her body clearly visible. She bent to retrieve her overdress, and then hastily straightened, another cursed blush warming her skin. She glanced over her shoulder, but she ought not to have worried.
Saturnino was staring at the water, fingers lightly skimming the surface.
Ravenna tied the laces of her gown, fingers shaking from the sudden cold, keenly aware of the naked immortal waiting, wishing, for her to leave. She looked at the cat. “Are you coming with me?”
Saturnino raised his eyes, glancing at the feline, a speculative gleam in his eyes. Ombretta stretched, clawing at Saturnino’s clothes, before following Ravenna down the cobbled path.
She did not hear Saturnino’s whispered words, drifting after her.
“I’m not a man, Ravenna.”
Ravenna opened the door to her room, bone weary, shivering from the damp, borrowed gown draped over her. The covers had beenturned down, her pillow fluffed, and she quickly undressed and put on a fresh camicia. There was warm water in the washbasin. Imelda had come and gone; Ravenna couldn’t stomach another interaction with her. The maid’s presence in her room felt invasive and unsettling.
She washed up, patted her face dry on a soft cotton towel. Her nose picked up a savory aroma coming from a covered tray perched on a small round table near the bed. Imelda had left a plate filled with roasted chicken, seasoned with thyme and sage and accompanied by a thick, freshly baked loaf infused with rosemary, perfectly crusty on the outside. Figs and slices of apple were piled high in a small bowl next to a smaller plate with creamy slices of Brie cheese.
