Free The Rossetti Letter (v5) by Christi Phillips Page B

“Tonight you will stay, watch, and learn.”
    Alessandra smoothed her nightgown over her thighs and kneeled on the upholstered bench beneath the peephole for a better view. As to her own inquiry of La Celestia—what more was there to sex beyond what she’d done with Lorenzo?—the courtesan had remained infuriatingly silent. “What you’ll see tonight will be far from usual,” she had replied, “but I think you should know what is possible. Your life as a courtesan can be full of pleasure, if you want it.”
    La Celestia and her lover entered the room clad in long robes, having just come from the bath. They said not a word, but stood on the rug in front of the fire, facing each other. La Celestia looked up at him with a sweet smile as he slipped her robe over her shoulders and let it fall to the floor.
    The courtesan was even more beautiful naked than she was when dressed. The roseate points of her breasts and the flourish of dark hair at the juncture of her thighs were the only touches of color on her exquisitely pale body. Everything about La Celestia was round and supple: her full, high breasts, the inviting curve of her stomach, and her buttocks, so round they appeared as halves of a perfect globe. It was easy to understand why men wanted so desperately to possess her.
    Her lover—Gabriele, La Celestia had called him—stood a head taller than the courtesan, and his thick gold hair brushed his shoulders as he bent to kiss her. La Celestia unbelted his robe and, as he’d done to her, slipped the robe over his shoulders and to the floor. A quiet gasp of wonder escaped Alessandra’s lips. She’d never seen such a man, except in paintings of Adonis or Hercules. Where La Celestia was composed of curves, Gabriele was sharply drawn, with muscular, well-defined legs and a broad chest. His tawny skin contrasted dramatically to La Celestia’s own.
    As they drew apart, Alessandra saw that he was already aroused, something that was not lost on the courtesan, who reached down to stroke what Alessandra could see was much larger than her hand. Then La Celestia sank to her knees in front of her lover.
    What could she be doing? Alessandra wondered. For a second she thought that La Celestia glanced at the voyeur’s chamber with a brief, mischievous smile just before she took Gabriele’s penis in her mouth. Alessandra’s jaw dropped in amazement. She had never done that with Lorenzo; she hadn’t even known it was something that lovers did. But La Celestia’s actions didn’t seem to surprise Gabriele at all, and it was clear that he was enjoying it. He rested his hands gently on La Celestia’s head as she caressed him with her lips, tongue, and hands, and his head fell back with what appeared to be intense pleasure.
    La Celestia raised her eyes to his and stood up. Gabriele ran his hands over her body, then brought his mouth to her breasts, suckling each one in turn. After a moment, he knelt down, too, and for the second time Alessandra looked on with astonishment as he buried his face between her legs.
    The effect on La Celestia was immediate and even more remarkable than the effect she’d had on him. She moaned with delight, her hands briefly on his head before they restlessly moved over her own body, fondling her breasts and her lips, the touch of her own fingers adding to her gratification. Gabriele clutched her hips and pressed his mouth more firmly into the tender spot he’d found. La Celestia moaned again, louder this time, her legs trembling. Then her lover, without forsaking his post, braced her back with one hand and placed the other on her buttocks, and lay her down before him, continuing to bite and lick her with the most spectacular results. The courtesan writhed on the floor, her legs bent, her back arched, her hands on Gabriele’s head as if to more closely embrace him in this extraordinary kiss. Shocking sounds issued from her lips. If Alessandra had not been a witness to the scene before her, she would