Sensual Danger (Venice Vampyr #4)

It was one thing Nico had noticed instantly when he’d scoured the houses on this block for one he wanted to make a bid on. On the side facing the canal, an archway had been built into the house, making it possible for a gondola to move into the interior of the house and out of the rays of the sun. If using a closed gondola, it would afford a vampire the ability to enter and exit without exposing himself to the rays of the sun. Nico couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

While there were many homes in Venice that possessed this feature, on the block that he and his fellow vampires had decided to buy up all homes in order to establish a stronghold only two houses possessed such a covered entry: this and the one Dante and Raphael lived in with their wives. It would be a boon to snatch this house up before anybody else did.

“Yes, yes, it has a covered space for our gondola.” He made a dismissive hand movement as if he didn’t care about the feature. “But let me ask you something. Are you in need of a house because you’ve recently become engaged?”

Nico narrowed his eyes. Why was the blasted man so interested in his personal life? If there were another house like this available, he would leave Lombardi right now. His questions were getting downright rude. “No.”

Another smile crossed the man’s face. “Ah, excellent, excellent. Well, in this case, shall we discuss the purchase price? I assume that you’re in possession of liquid funds?”

Nico sighed with relief. “My funds are liquid and can be dispensed at the shortest notice.”

Lombardi nodded. “That’s what I thought. As for the price, are you aware of the amount Signore Gandolfi’s home fetched only recently?”

“I’m indeed intimately aware of it.” Lorenzo, one of his friends, had purchased the house.

“Good. I would like twenty-five percent more.”

Nico’s jaw dropped. “Signore, you can’t possibly be serious. This house isn’t any larger than Signore Gandolfi’s.”

Lombardi took another sip from his grappa. “Signore Gandolfi’s home is drafty and in need of repair. This house isn’t.”

“Ten percent more,” Nico conceded.

“This home comes with its entire contents.”

Surprised, Nico almost spilled his grappa. “You’re selling the furniture with the house?”

“Not just the furniture, everything.”

A terrible thought settled in Nico’s gut. “Not the footman!” He wouldn’t tolerate that insolent man.

“Of course not. Adolfo, the footman you met, will come with me to the countryside. Everything else stays, including the other servants: a second footman, a maid, and the cook.”

Even though Nico would hire his own servants later, he nodded and looked around, assessing the furnishings. They were in good condition and of good quality. “Is the rest of the house furnished comparably?”

“It is. You may assure yourself of it personally in a short while.” Lombardi took a deep breath. “Do we agree? Twenty-five percent more.”

Nico didn’t have to think about it. While the price was a little high, knowing he didn’t have to deal with furnishing the house, plus the knowledge that it had a covered entry for a gondola more than made up for the outrageous sum Lombardi demanded.

He rose and offered his outstretched hand to Lombardi. He took it with a surprisingly firm grip.

“Now to the arrangements for the ceremony,” Lombardi added.

Nico’s stomach lurched as instant panic filled his body. “Ceremony?”

“Yes, the marriage shall be performed with utmost haste. And as soon—”

“Marriage?” Nico croaked.

Lombardi’s beaded eyes looked at him as if Nico was dimwitted. “Yes, the marriage to my daughter of course.”

“I’m sorry, signore, but there seems to be a misunderstanding.” Was the man senile? “We discussed the purchase of your house.”

“Which we agreed on for a fair price. And this price includes a marriage to my daughter. I thought you knew.”

“Knew what?” Nico felt like tearing his hair out. How many glasses of grappa had the man had tonight?

“Everybody in Venice knows that I’d never part with the house unless my daughter gets a husband in the bargain. I’ve been waiting for a long time to make a match for her. I must say, I never figured that she would get such a dashing, young man as her betrothed. I would have settled for somebody much older and less handsome than yourself.”

Lombardi’s words told him everything he needed to know: his daughter was ugly and without any skills or graces to recommend her. And Nico would be the last man to accept a woman like her as his wife.





2


“He wants you to do what?” Dante repeated for the second time.

Nico glared at him. “Are you deaf?”

Dante exchanged a grin with his brother Raphael who was lounging in his armchair in front of the fireplace, one leg casually swung over the armrest while the other was stretched out in front of him. Only in his own home could a man be this relaxed.

While Nico was always welcome in Dante’s and Raphael’s home, at present the feeling of comfort he normally sensed at the brothers’ house escaped him. Inside, he was agitated and wondered whether he was making the biggest mistake of his life. Had he made the right decision?

“You could do worse than get a wife in the bargain,” Raphael said.