Read Online Forbidden Blood: A House of Comarré Novella by Kristen Painter - Free Book Online

thankful that she’d have the mask to hide behind all evening. “When are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
    He tipped his head toward a grand palazzo ahead of them. “Now. We’ve arrived. The ball will already be under way.”
    She studied the gorgeous coral mansion ahead of them on the Grand Canal. Colored smoke curled up from large gold pots outside the entrance. “A ball? What house is that?”
    “The Palazzo Pisani Moretta. And the ball is the Il Ballo del Doge . The most famous ball in Venice.” He smiled. “Impossible to get tickets for.”
    She laughed. “But somehow you managed two.”
    “Of course.” He nodded as the gondola pulled up to the steps, looking once behind them and scanning the other gondolas.
    Masked footmen helped her out, and as soon as Dominic was beside her, he took her hand and led her forward. At the door, he showed a gold coin, and after its inspection, they were granted entrance.
    Inside was another world.
    Fire-eaters, jugglers, and musicians greeted them as they strolled through the house. Acrobats hung from the ceiling in the main ballroom, twisting and spinning on yards of red and purple silk, while others dangled from enormous metal hoops dressed as exotic birds. There were so many things to look at, she felt a little dizzy. “Wow.”
    Dominic laughed and snagged two glasses of champagne from a passing server. He held one out to her.
    “No, thank you, I can’t. At least not until…things are settled.”
    “Ah, yes. The comarré laws prohibit alcohol, don’t they?” He smiled sadly. “It’s unfortunate you won’t taste this, considering…” He moved to set both glasses down on a side table.
    “Wait.” A thousand alarms went off in her head, all telling her what she was about to do was wrong. Let the blasted alarms ring. She might die in a few days. A sip of champagne was not going to change that. “Give me the glass.”
    With a new smile, he handed her a flute, then lifted his and clinked it against hers. “To us, cara mia , and whatever future lies ahead.”
    She raised hers a little higher. “And to this evening. Whatever it may bring.” She drank and the bubbles tickled her nose. Her quick swallow was followed with a laugh. “Oh! That is fun. It tastes…how I feel.” She took another long sip. “I might have another of those.”
    He laughed and took her hand. “We should find you something to eat. Too much champagne and the night will end before you wish it to.”
    Across the great hall, music swelled as the orchestra began. Couples filled the floor, each more elaborately costumed than the next. The longing to join in was too great to be denied. And for once, it didn’t have to be. “I can eat later,” she said. “Right now, I want to dance.”
    And dance they did. So long, she forgot that she was not a free woman. In Dominic’s arms, her bonds fell away. He treated her like a queen, doting on her the whole evening. Anything she wanted to do, they did, whether it was watching the magic show or simply escaping for a moment of quiet on one of the secluded terraces overlooking the Grand Canal.
    There, with the night sky wrapping the city in a blanket of stars and the gentle lapping of the water below them, she again remembered what awaited her. Her deep sigh must have betrayed her, because Dominic leaned in behind her, his hands beside hers on the balcony, his broad chest pressed to her back. He nuzzled his mouth near her ear. “What is it, tesora ? Are you not enjoying yourself?”
    “Yes, I am. I just remembered that this night will end.” She glanced at the horizon. “And in only a few hours.” She turned to face him, her hands coming up to his shoulders. “You have given me so many wonderful new memories, I could almost accept my lot if death awaits.”
    “Almost?” Behind his mask, his eyes filled with confusion. “What else can I do for you, amore mio ? Name it and it will be so.”
    She smiled, his sweet words mingling with the