Read Online Cortigiana (A Vamp Life Prequel) by Jez Strider - Free Book Online

girl not love you?” I smiled sweetly.
He flashed a devilish grin that chilled me
to the core. “On second thought, let me make sure you don’t forget
me for a few days.” In an instant, he was behind me, pushing me
toward his quarters. It was one of the most difficult nights of my
life. I spent it face down while Dante gave me a gut-wrenching
goodbye.
He was gone when I awoke the next day. I
could barely walk and had bruises all over my body. Dante wasn’t
known for being gentle, but I’d never taken a pounding like that
before.

Shame found me. I was in my room, looking
myself over in the mirror and it unexpectedly gripped me. Hard. A
good, honest person would have told Dante the truth no matter what
the consequences. That person was not me. I was weak, scared, and
concerned only with what I wanted. Integrity had not fit into that
equation.
A knock on the door drew me away from the
mirror. I tugged on the sleeves of my dress and wore my hair
loosely around my neck to hide the numerous marks of evidence from
my rough night. Another knock caused me to curse under my
breath.
    “ Yes?” I called
out.
    “ It is Giulia. Antonio has
brought up your meal. If you are dressed, I will send him
in.”
    “ I am not hungry, thank
you.” I said.
There was faint whispering between the two.
I placed my ear against the door to hear what they were discussing.
Giulia answered a question.
    “ No, sir. She must be
lovesick. Earlier she would not eat or let a servant attend to
her.”
Several more bangs on the door made me jump.
“Evelina, open this door right now. You need to eat.” Antonio
yelled.
    “ Go away. You are in no
position to give me orders. I am the mistress of this house.” I
placed my palms against the wood separating us and bowed my head.
There was no way I could face the man I loved, looking the way I
did, and after what I’d had to do with Dante.
    “ She does not know you are
more than a bodyguard, does she?” Giulia asked.
    “ No. Let us keep it that
way.” His voice grew hard. “That is an order.”
I could hear the sound of his shoes as he
stalked off down the hall away from my room. Guilt and shame were
such terrible friends to keep. After walking to the balcony, my
favorite place of solace, I wiped the tears from my eyes for them
to instantly be replaced by fresh ones. I sat down and idly picked
one of the flowers growing in front of me. One by one, I plucked
away the petals and let them float lightly down to the water
outside. For what must have been hours, I did this as I tried to
figure out a way to reach a happy ending. The same thought kept
coming to me and it made me hate myself even more. Dante Sanuto
needed to die for me to be free.

    “ Open this door right now.”
Antonio said with impatience when I didn’t answer for the third
time. His tone frightened me almost as much as Dante did. I mean,
what did I really know about the man? From day to day, he changed.
What he wanted changed.
    “ Please leave me alone.” I
called out.
    “ You have been in this room
for two days and have barely eaten. Grant me entry or I will break
this door down.” His voice sounded strained and I envisioned him
clenching his teeth.
Hesitantly, I crossed the room and let him
inside. He pushed by me, slammed the door, and grabbed me firmly by
the shoulders. I turned my head so I would not have to meet his
gaze. This caused my hair to fall to the side, revealing the hectic
pattern of fading bruises along my neck. They had never taken so
long to disappear before.
    “ This is….” For a moment,
Antonio appeared to be losing his quiet control, “This is more
difficult that I imagined it would be.”
No words spilled from my lips because I had
none to comfort him. I’d spent every moment since my last night
with Dante wallowing in remorse. Antonio’s stare bore into me so
severely that I had to turn my back on the man I loved. Pleasing
many lovers as a courtesan had been easy. This was different. My
heart could not