Venice in the Moonlight by Elizabeth McKenna

Author:Elizabeth McKenna [McKenna, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2013-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

wirling a lively minuet in Consul Smith’s ballroom, Marietta let herself forget her troubles for the moment. Dinner had been a lavish affair with too many courses to count, so she welcomed the exercise, though she swore the musicians were deliberately playing in double time. As the last notes of the song filled the air, she turned away from her partner, George, and came face-to-face with Nico.

“Oh, hello, again.” She dabbed at the drops of perspiration on her forehead with a lace handkerchief. “Signor George Brown is with me.”

The men bowed.

“How are you this evening, Signore?” Nico asked.

Over the opening chords of the musicians’ next song, Marietta didn’t quite hear what George mumbled in reply, but Nico must have from the look of amusement that flashed across his face.

Nico held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

Marietta glanced around at the promenading couples on the dance floor. “Are you sure?”

“I can do the Giga with my eyes closed.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. They skipped and hopped the country dance, and he never missed a beat. When the dance ended, he slipped a hand around her waist and guided her to an empty alcove in the shadows.

“How do you do it?” Out of breath, she fanned herself briskly.

“Practice.” He dipped his head behind her ear. “You smell delicious tonight.”

A shiver ran down her spine. She pushed him away gently. “I know how much you practice that too.”

His lips tightened into a grimace, but then he smiled good-naturedly. “I’ve a lot of time on my hands.”

She looked up into his handsome face and felt the pull of his desire. All she had to do was say the word and he’d be her lover—and after five long years of living with a horrible husband—the word threatened to escape her lips. However, he was trouble and she had to remember that.

“I’m being rude to the Browns. I should go find them.”

He leaned in again. His potent scent surrounded her like a lover’s embrace.

“Kitty.”

He only whispered her name, but the hot breath in her ear said so much more. Her knees trembled. With one word he offered her a chance at ecstasy. It was hard to turn down.

“Nico,” she said firmly. “I will see you tomorrow for your sitting.”

He shifted his hips to touch hers and then lightly brushed his lips against her temple. “I’d rather see you tonight.”

Her heart pounded out a nervous beat. She backed up against the wall, as far away as she could get from him. “You’re incorrigible.”

“And you’re irresistible.” He smiled teasingly and closed in on her again.

She stared at his perfectly formed lips and strong, white teeth. The room full of dancing guests behind them blurred until it was just the two of them. Before she married Dario, she’d had little experience with beaus. It was why she was so easily fooled by his charms. Now free, she desperately wanted to find the love that was absent in her marriage, but here she stood with a similar man. Nico only had to cock his head and smile to melt even the strongest of wills.

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