She looked like a goddess, long silken limbs, skin of creamy alabaster, dark thick lashes laying like open fans above her sleep-blushed cheekbones, and crimson velvet lips. On impulse, with two long fingers he pushed back the netting to slip noiselessly onto the ornately carved wooden bed that held his mistress. She stirred him more than he had thought possible so few hours after their long night of love, so he rested his hands on the pillow beside her shoulders and leaned forward to touch her mouth with his own. He felt her lips part hungrily beneath his deepening kiss. “Jules…” breathed Contessa Marietta Louisa Primavetta, opening heavy brown eyes, which widened when they met his gaze. “What is the hour, Cara?” “It is nearly dawn. My ship leaves on the tide.” She cupped his cheeks with her palms, pulling him down to her. Her tongue flicked across his straight mouth curving it into a smile and finally he surrendered, sighing, and rested his head against her breasts.
