Her gently stated protest roused no anger in his eyes, only joy to sparkle back at her as her breath came quicker for the heat he bestowed so freely. And so when his hands cupped her foot and urged it up upon his knee she allowed it, shifting to balance better only to gasp when his lips from her foot, and then his hands were moving upward, and his lips as well, upon her calf, and she became aware of how utterly intimate the moment was without truly caring. How could he gaze at her so, as if she were in truth a goddess come into his grasp, as if each touch he took of her skin inspired him to burn all the brighter with life.<br/><br/>And yet still she felt the tremble of his hands, and marveled that so powerful a man could feel for her as deeply as he did.<br/><br/>When Alessandro spoke of her misreading his intent hot color swept the blond's cheeks, wondering if perhaps she had given herself too much confidence in her own beauty. Still her shoes were removed and she left in stockings as her feet found purchase once more. Her Lord delighted she thought in shocking her, for upon his knees did his fingers work at her laces, and then his teeth joined until her skirt cascaded to the floor as he spoke of torment and suffering. Uncertain, the young woman bit her lower lip, her breath coming uneven upon the sight of his handsome face smirking up at her.<br/><br/><strong>"Why should you court agony?"</strong>For he could take her, if he willed it. Her own desires in the end mattered not now that she had thrown her fate in with his, at his mercy. The removal of his coat distracted her somewhat, for she did so admire the powerful breadth of his shoulders, the strong masculine form beneath his clothing.<br/><br/>He gave her no time to recover from that flustered reaction, not as his body rose from the floor and then reached for her, this time to undo her bodice with their chests crushed just so against each other and his lips close enough to kiss. Not that he kissed her again, though the earlier embrace haunted her thoughts, left her trembling as she blushed and shifted against him as another article of her clothing was cast to the floor and more of her was revealed to him. And oh his response, it was enough to make her flush with arousal and delight both.<br/><br/>A shock came then, when his trousers were so swiftly discarded and only his trews kept his body from being naked before her eyes. The obvious sight of his arousal, straining against his clothing had her throat working, her blue eyes wide and uncertain. Flirtation was one thing, but<em>this</em>was something far different.<strong>"Alessandro... why?"</strong><br/><br/>So often she asked him that, and yet he was a mystery to her, greater each moment they spent time together as he at last removed the confines of her corset and left her in only the thin shift of her chemise against her flesh, her stockings slipping down her legs slowly. The press of his lips against the swell of her soft stomach had her inhaling shakily and then the corset was gone, completely, and her pert breasts revealed with taut nipples that spoke of how he affected her. His mouth was hot against her skin, his lips traversing her fair skin and summoning from her little sounds. When his mouth teased around one nipple she startled herself by moaning, trembling against him as her hands clutched at his shoulders.<br/><br/>Long lashes blinked, attempting to clear her pleasure hazed eyes in time to see that his shirt had been discarded and a hard body lay beneath it, one broad of shoulder and solid, a man's body, not a boys. Nervously her tongue wet her lower lip as he reached for her, taking then the last of her clothing and baring her in the candle light that gilded her fair figure, from the rosy hue of her nipples to the golden curls at the apex of her slender legs. She had tasted the power of a man's infatuation and desire before, but this was different, the way he looked at her, the way he touched her... and then he was nude as well, as if they were Adam and Eve of old and she understood abruptly that the original sin had no hope of ever not happening. Not if Adam had been as Alessandro was.<br/><br/>Her Lord only deepened her confusion then, speaking of agony before sweeping her into his arms and she melted into him with a low sound of hungry need she had never made before in her life. To his shoulders she clung as his lips slanted over her own, and every bit of skill she had learned in her flirtations was called upon now as she sought to match his searing kiss with one of her own while overwhelmed by the sensation of his calloused hands hot against her back, the curve of her ass, and the hard press of his shaft against her stomach. No kiss had ever been so glorious.<br/><br/>When he withdrew she made a low sound of protest, but did not follow after him when he departed, though she swayed unsteadily where she stood with features clearly dazed from his passion. Serafina moved only upon his command, walking slowly toward the bath from the other side to give them the safety of physical distance. The warm water caressed her, but not so well as his hands had. She sank down into the bath, shuddering as he spoke of learning of each other when all she wanted was to feel his kiss, to know the fullness of his touch. The splash of water prompted a soft, shaky laugh and she splashed back in kind.<strong>"I know not what there is to speak of when your lips render me speechless in wonder."</strong><br/>