Startled but not knowing what else to do, Bianca turned away with him. He led her from their sight deeper and deeper into the greenery and floral beds until finally they came to a single marble bench set amid some rosebushes. He drew her down, seating himself next to her. Bianca was a little frightened. She had never before been alone with a man. She wasn’t very comfortable. “I think we should go back to my parents,” she said nervously. Her heart was thundering.
He laughed softly and lowly, which frightened her further. “You have never been with a man before, have you? Of course you haven’t,” he said with a chuckle. “Do you realize that I am the only man you will ever be allowed to be alone with, Bianca? I am to be your lord and your master. You will obey my every wish.”
She was silent but suddenly angry at his presumption.
“Look at me! I want to see your eyes, Bianca,” he told her. His fingers grasped her small chin and almost forced her head up.
She was going to have to look directly at him. She felt brief nausea but swallowed it back. She could not, would not, be afraid of this man. Fear gave the instigator of that emotion power over his victim, and while she must wed him, she would not give him the privilege of controlling her heart, her mind, or her soul. Bianca raised her lashes and looked directly into the dark eyes of the man she was to marry. It was like looking into black ice. “The color of my eyes is said to be unique,” she told him quietly.
Sebastiano Rovere stared, amazed by the beauty and clarity of the girl’s eyes. He would find aquamarines to match their color and have a necklace and ear dangles made for her. He would have her wear them naked with her hair down. Blue, ivory, and ebony. The mental picture in his mind was almost too much to bear as he considered her spread upon his bed, ready for him. His male member ached painfully. “Will you give me a kiss, Bianca?” his voice rasped.Slowly, slowly,he cautioned himself. She was innocent.
Bianca was startled by the bold request. “Signore, I do not believe such a thing would be considered proper by my parents.”
“The betrothal agreement has already been signed,” he told her. “You are mine but for the wedding ceremony, Bianca. Your beauty, your manner have all pleased me.”
He grasped her by her slender shoulders. “Imusttaste your lips!” And he put his lips on hers, his lust communicating itself quite clearly to the girl.
Bianca was horrified. The kiss. Her first kiss screamed with his need to possess her totally. She struggled against him, yanking her head away from the marauding mouth that assaulted her.“Signore!”she gasped, and then breaking away, she fled from him into the thick greenery of the gardens.
He immediately gave chase. He could not permit her to return in tears to her parents. He would look like a lustful fool. She had stopped in her flight, obviously listening to see if he was still behind her. “DolceBianca, I beg you to forgive my eagerness. I apologize for taking forcibly what you had not offered. Come out and we will return together to your parents.”
Listening to his words, Bianca wondered how sincere they were. Not at all, she suspected, but he did not want to look a fool before her parents, and the truth was she did not want to put him in that position. As her husband he would have total control over her life, and could make it quite miserable. She needed to remain on his good side.
“You frightened me,signore,” she told him.
“I know! I know! It was unforgivable of me,dolceBianca,” he agreed. “Your innocence is so very tempting to a man of my experience. I shall endeavor not to frighten you again. Forgive me!”
Bianca stepped out from behind a row of tall bushes. “I do,signore.”
“Ahh,cara mia, you make me the happiest of men,” he swore to her. Little bitch! He would soon show her the extent of his power over her. His cock twitched again.
Bianca tucked her hand into his arm. “Let us return to my parents,” she said.
They walked back through the gardens as the evening deepened around them.
“When will you set our wedding day?” he inquired of her.
Her mother had advised her to expect such a question, and told her how she must answer it. “Oh,signore, first a new wardrobe must be made for me. And my wedding gown will take time. I must make a retreat with the nuns to ensure the success and happiness of our union. It will be at least several months before I am ready.”
Sebastiano Rovere gritted his teeth at the thought of such a delay, but it was actually no more time than any respectable betrothal would take. “If I must wait,” he told her, “then surely you will allow me the privilege of kisses and caresses in order to whet our appetite for the marriage bed. I will admit to being a man of great desires.”
“I know naught of such things,” Bianca said. “I will ask my mother if such things are permitted, for I would not sully my family’s name.”
“Of course, of course,dolceBianca,” he agreed. “Remember, though, that the legalities have all been signed and sealed. As Florence’s premier attorney, I drew them up myself and saw them properly executed. I would not bring shame on either you or your good family.”
“If my mother says it is allowable,signore, then you shall have your kisses and your caresses, I promise you,” Bianca told him. “Ah, here are my parents awaiting us.”
He almost laughed aloud at the relief on the faces of his in-laws. Did they think he meant to ravish their little virgin in their gardens? Then he realized that had he been able to manage it, he probably would have. She was a most delicious tidbit, and ripe for his picking. “We have had a most delightful stroll,” he told Giovanni Pietro d’Angelo. “I shall look forward to other such rambles while we await our wedding day.” He smiled at Bianca, who was now standing next to her mother. Then he bowed to his hosts. “I shall not overstay my welcome this evening,” he said.
“Allow me to escort you to the door,” the silk merchant said, and the two men departed the garden, leaving Orianna and Bianca together.
“You look paler than usual,” her mother noted once the men were out of sight and hearing. “Did he attempt to take liberties with you?”
“He kissed me,” Bianca said hesitantly, not wanting to go into detail.
“That was to be expected,” Orianna replied.
“You did not warn me,Madre, that he might do so.”
