143
" My poor brother. You’ve seemed so distracted ever since he returned to Venice. It shouldn’t be too hard to convince him that you’ve run off with another man,” he said, his tone smug with satisfaction.
“Where did you get that?” Cass demanded. It was the letter she had started to Falco. Cass had tucked it away in her journal just a day ago.
“You really shouldn’t leave your personal journal just lying around,” Cristian said. “I found it by the entrance to the Frari.” He pressed the tip of the blade into her skin. “Illuminating reading. You’re lucky it wasn’t my brother who found it first.”
She must have dropped the journal when she fled from the crowd of wedding gusts, just before she fainted by the water’s edge. Cass felt the room break apart into darkness…Any second now, he would plunge the blade into her neck…
“My poor brother,” Cristian repeated. “How he bragged about you when our father arranged your engagement. Such betrayal. It will destroy him. You really are a fallen woman, just like the rest, aren’t you? "
― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)
145
" You should be more careful, you know.”
Cass opened her mouth but no words came out. Again, she felt her stays crushing down on her chest. “Careful?” she managed to croak. “You’re the one who knocked me over.”
“I couldn’t resist,” he said, and he actually had the nerve to wink at her. “It’s not often I get the chance to put my hands on such a beautiful woman.”
Cass stared at him, speechless. Without another word, he turned away and followed the group of laughing artists into a crowded campo, his muscular form disappearing among merchants’ sacks of cabbages and potatoes. The scene blurred a little, like a painting, and for a second Cass wondered if maybe she had hit her head and had imagined the whole exchange.
Liviana’s uncle Pietro materialized suddenly by her side, followed by Madalena. “What were you thinking, running off by yourself?” Pietro frowned severely. “And that common street thug put his hands on you! Do you want me to go after him?”
“No, no,” Cass said quickly. “It was just an accident.” Still, the nerve of the boy to tell her to be careful. He, clearly, was the one who needed to watch where he was going.
“Your dress!” Madalena reached toward Cass, but stopped short of touching the soiled fabric. “You must be furious.”
Cass looked down at her soggy gown. Even the rosary hanging from her belt had gotten dirty. Cass wiped the coral and rosewood crucifix clean in the folds of her skirt. The dress was obviously ruined, but she had always found it a bit uncomfortable, and she had plenty of others.
“You’re lucky you weren’t hurt,” Liviana’s uncle said sternly. “I hope that teaches you not to wander the streets unaccompanied again.”
“Who was he?” Madalena asked in a whisper as Cass allowed her to take her arm and lead her back to the church.
“No idea.” Cass realized she was trembling. Her heart thudded against the walls of her rib cage. The sting in her palm was already fading to a dull throb, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the boy’s devilish smile, or the feeling of his hands on her. Mostly, she couldn’t shake the image of those bright blue eyes that just for a second had gazed at her so intensely, in a way no one had ever looked at her before. "
― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)
147
" All finished. Don’t look, though. You and your man must be surprised together.”
“Siena,” Cass cautioned quickly. “He is not my man.”
“If he looked at me the way he looks at you, I would not be so quick to denounce him,” Siena teased, her eyes brightening in a way that reminded Cass quite a bit of Feliciana. She stepped back from Cass and gave a satisfied nod. “And now--for me. Shall I change into something more revealing as well?”
Cass realized that Siena intended to accompany her. “I--I think it’s better if Falco and I go off on our own.”
Siena’s flawless skin paled. “Unchaperoned? But that’s unacceptable. If your aunt found out, she’d run me out of the villa, if she didn’t kill me first.”
So true. Cass could just hear Agnese shrieking about what Matteo would think. “She won’t find out,” Cass promised. “She’ll be gone for days. And I won’t make a very realistic prostitute with a maidservant in tow.” Cass didn’t bother to point out that of all the rules she might break that evening, departing with Falco unchaperoned was the very least of them.
Siena agreed reluctantly, but her good mood had vanished. She led Cass back to the portego, to where Falco waited. A slow smile spread over the boy’s face.
“Almost perfect,” he murmured. He bent down and gave the seam of Cass’s dress a yank. Cass yelped. The shiny fabric slit up the side so that a hint of her shapely calf peeped out. “Now it’s perfect.”
Cass glared at him. Siena gasped, then clapped a hand over her mouth. “Please be careful,” she begged. “Your aunt would never forgive me…”
Falco flashed his dazzling smile at the lady’s maid. “Nothing bad will happen to her. You have my word. "
― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)
149
" My poor brother,” Cristian repeated. “How he bragged about you when our father arranged your engagement. Such betrayal. It will destroy him. You really are a fallen woman, just like the rest, aren’t you?”
His body tensed up. The dagger’s tip broke through Cass’s skin.
A rivulet of blood began to trickle down her neck. The pain was slight, like a pinch or a bee sting, but Cass gasped, half expecting her breath to bubble out through the tiny cut.
“I didn’t betray him,” Cass squeezed out. She pressed herself back against the stone wall, trying hard not to swallow, not to breathe too hard. She felt a surge of nausea.
“Didn’t you?” Cristian withdrew his dagger momentarily and Cass couldn’t stop herself from collapsing to the ground. Her legs simply wouldn’t hold her. “I seem to recall a second letter tucked inside your journal,” he continued. “A rather intimate confessional.”
Cass knew it was insane to lament the loss of Falco’s note while a madman was brandishing a dagger in front of her. Still, her heart bled a little at the thought of losing the last piece of him she’d ever have. "
― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)
152
" Are you all right?” she asked Luca. “You’re not injured?”
Luca rubbed at his right side. “A cracked rib, perhaps.” He winced. “But I always expected that being your fiancé would come with an element of risk.”
Amazingly, Cass managed to smile. “Thank you,” she said, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. “For saving me. I don’t know what would have happened if--if you hadn’t…”
Luca looked down at her, his light brown eyes soft with emotion. “That was quick thinking with the lantern. I think you saved me too.” He removed her hand from her neck, entwining his fingers in hers. “We make a good team.”
Cass felt a rush of warmth. She rested her head against his chest for a moment. His heart thudded quickly beneath the fabric of his tunic. Cass stretched up on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered again.
Luca reddened. “Come,” he said. “We should see that you’re attended to. "
― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)
153
" Something sharp slashed at Cass’s left arm and she cried out. Snapping her head around, she searched for her assailant, but the crowded alleyway blurred into a sea of arms and hands all reaching out toward her. She gasped, beginning to panic, struggling against the current of faceless flesh.
“What? What is it?” Falco pulled her from the tangle of sweaty bodies and pressed her up against the side of a small bakery shop.
Cass looked down at the sleeve of her teal chemise. Someone or something had sliced right through the silky fabric. Falco separated the torn material to examine Cass’s skin beneath. He lifted her arm to show her the swollen pink line just below her elbow.
“Look, no blood,” he said. “You probably just got your sleeve caught on a sword hilt or belt buckle.”
Or a knife. Cass searched the crowd again, but no one was paying her any attention. Falco’s hand felt hot on her flesh, almost burning. She pulled her arm away, turning to look back at the entrance to the alleyway. It seemed impossibly far away. Unreachable.
Falco traced his finger along one of the delicate fishbone braids that framed her face. “It was just an accident,” he said.
Cass felt the blood return to her face. She glanced down at her torn sleeve. The scratch on her arm was already starting to fade. “Sorry,” she murmured. “I’m being silly. It just scared me, that’s all.”
“It’s all right,” Falco said. His voice was surprisingly gentle. Cass had been certain he would mock her for being a child, a spoiled little aristocrat afraid of her own shadow. "
― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)
159
" Falco’s eyes flickered when he saw Cristian. “This one is actually with me,” he said, slipping an arm around Cass’s waist.
“Then you might want to keep a closer eye on her.” Cristian nodded curtly at Falco and turned back toward the salon.
Looking back over his shoulder, Falco added, “They tell me she’s got special skills.” He let his hand slide even lower, onto one of Cass’s slender hips, as he directed her back out into the night.
Cass pulled away from Falco the second the door shut and they were out of the man’s line of vision. “Special skills?” Her voice burned with acid.
Falco grinned. “You mean you don’t?” He leaned in close and snaked both his arms around her waist. “I’m going to require a refund then.” His breath was hot against her neck.
Cass couldn’t help it. She saw the room with the candles again, her naked body intertwined with Falco’s, the two of them so close together they were practically wearing the same skin. Her whole body went rigid at the thought.
“Oh come on,” Falco whispered in her ear. “I was joking. Acting the part.”
Cass softened a little bit but still pulled back from his embrace. She couldn’t think of him that way when she was angry. She shouldn’t think of him that way at all. She took a deep breath and tried to regain control of her thoughts. “And acting the part requires you to put your hands all over me? Or is that just an extra benefit?” She didn’t know if she was more angry at Falco for treating her like a common prostitute or for leaving her alone in that house full of brutes.
Falco rolled his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself, Cassandra. I prefer my women a little less…repressed.”
Without thinking, Cass reached out and slapped him. Her palm connected with the side of Falco’s face with a satisfying smack. She withdrew her hand immediately, horrified at what she’d done. To her surprise, Falco started laughing.
“That’s more like it,” he said, his blue eyes lighting up the night. He rubbed the side of his face. “I think that’s going to leave a mark.”
“I--I’m sorry,” Cass said. A red blotch began to form across Falco’s cheekbone.
“Don’t be. I’m sure I deserved it. If not now, then at sometime in the past.” He winked. “Or the future. "
― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)
160
" Don’t flatter yourself, Cassandra. I prefer my women a little less…repressed.”
Without thinking, Cass reached out and slapped him. Her palm connected with the side of Falco’s face with a satisfying smack. She withdrew her hand immediately, horrified at what she’d done. To her surprise, Falco started laughing.
“That’s more like it,” he said, his blue eyes lighting up the night. He rubbed the side of his face. “I think that’s going to leave a mark.”
“I--I’m sorry,” Cass said. A red blotch began to form across Falco’s cheekbone.
“Don’t be. I’m sure I deserved it. If not now, then at sometime in the past.” He winked. “Or the future. "
― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)
