More than slightly flustered by so warm a smile, so rich a tone of voice, Serafina felt her cheeks sweep with the pink of a blush even as she gave a nod to the words echoed upon her Lord's lips. She was so newly brought among them, and in her mind none save Nicoletta herself should dance within his arms. Though that was likely a very unusual notion, seeing how Alessandro was known through out the city as one of the most infamous lovers of women. A glance went then to her Lady, searching in those lovely eyes for guidance but she saw only what her mentor had spoken and she was not intending to defy, no, never that. And so when he leaned in she found her heart racing, her cheeks brightly colored and pulse beating too swiftly in the hollow of her throat as his voice washed over her senses.<br/><br/><strong>"Please, my Lord, I... I know not what to say."</strong>Gentle as the blond's voice was in that moment her voice also plead for understanding of their most unusual of relationships. She had sought them out only to find the freedom accorded to women who sold their bodies for power, not simply money; instead she had the promise of something far more treasured unfolding before her and the young woman found herself uncertain. Yet too she wondered how then a dance with her might be a punishment; did her Lady believe her ill of form?<br/><br/>The volta.<br/><br/>His request as he conducted her within the villa once more had her blush anew, grateful that perhaps her mask hid some bit of that color as they moved onto the shinning marble of the ballroom floor. It lay upon the tip of her tongue to protest the notion of such a risque dance, indeed one she had only previously seen done and mimicked in private, never performed with a partner. Alessandro seemed to know which words to utter though to still her protest, to tempt her into such a dance. A glance went then anew to Nicoletta, for the other woman she would gladly do anything asked of her. The man who held her revealed what his punishment was, to hold her but not with the same intimacy he had first envisioned, rather that which would skirt the bounds of propriety but not leave them entwined with one another.<br/><br/>Oh how fast her heart beat then, realizing that he meant to bring to the surface all the passion that lay within her heart and before the throng of their dear friends who already murmured of who the mysterious woman in black, standing out among the white robed others, was.<strong>"Besides, but never surpassing."</strong>It was important for her to speak those words, for she would shine beside Nicoletta, yet it was not in Serafina's heart to attempt to surpass or diminish the glory that was the lovely courtesan. Again her Lord made her breath catch as his lips caressed softly the curve of her ear, and the tease of his tongue along it's shape made her shiver against him, long lashes lowering as she felt that first swell of desire as her body replied to him in ways yet foreign to her for no young man she had flirted with had ever been so bold.<br/><br/>Powerless to resist the lure of all that he was, and the promise that lay in his voice, his eyes, she gave an incline of her head to acquiesce to his request of dancing in his arms, one wounded though it was. Upon her surrender he motioned the musicians, the song struck up and the young woman found herself focusing fiercely upon the steps, not wishing to disappoint either of the two who had chosen her for their own. Each step made her skirts rustle about her, her heart beat filling her ears as readily as the swell of music from the instruments until it shifted, until his hands were upon her waist, lifting her skyward as if he might launch her into the very air to fly as the angel he named her.<br/><br/>Yet his hands were strong and possessive, making it clear he never meant to send her from him. She moved with him, instinct providing what skill could not as passion rose within her, glimmering in her summer sky eyes even as he set her down, their thighs brushing together through clothing, and yet again they moved, closer wound together than ever. Her eyes sought his and found herself unable to look away. Her awareness of the others present faded until there was only he who held her ,lifted her, and she who had bade them perform for her pleasure.<br/><br/>The song, and it's magic, could not last forever, for it as all things do must come to an end. When it did a handsome young man of dark skin and brilliant eyes approached them, beckoning them to follow to where the doctor would attend Alessandro. Serafina sought out Nicoletta, only moving with her Lord and the servant once a slight nod of the head was given, her cheeks flushed now from the exertion of the dance, from the race of desire the man had fueled within her. As they made their way to a parlor she focused on the attempt to resettle herself, to soften the bright flame that now burned within her. Concern for his shoulders returned, particularly that he had lifted her so many times upon an arm wounded that very afternoon.<strong>"Your shoulder, did you strain it over much?"</strong>