“The red dragon?” Luca’s voice lowered as he stared up at the ceiling. “As in the devil?”
I cleared my throat. “Yes. William Blake was a poet and artist, known for The Great Red Dragon paintings, commissioned to recreate the books of the Bible.”
“I’m familiar with his work.”
“See how your dad’s face is dark on one side, blocking out the light?” I raised my arm above my head to show him. “Your mom placed you and Marcello where the mirrors cast a yellow glow on your faces, illuminating your golden crowns.”
I laughed, enjoying the private joke.
“Don’t stop now. What’s so funny?”
“William Blake said, ‘He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star.’ I think she wanted someone to know your dad had gained total power and control, but he would never be a star. That no one would see him for his achievements, at least not in the way he wanted.”
He smiled at his mother’s defiance.
She wanted her work to live on long after her death, and I hoped this gave Luca some closure.
“Whatever he did to get that power…” I looked at him, unsure of how he would respond. “She was afraid of your dad, wasn’t she?”
“Toward the end, yeah. I never let her out of my sight if I could help it.”
Blinking the tears from my eyes, I wiped them away with my finger. “I feel the pain in her art. That’s what I love about her paintings.” I slipped my fingers between his, and his eyes found mine. “When you look at the walls, what do you see?”
He glanced at the framed oil paintings and canvases hung on the walls and shrugged. “I’m guessing not the same thing as you.”
I chuckled. “Probably not.”
“What do you see?”
My eyes traveled around the room, and my heart dropped to my stomach. “A cage.”
I hated telling Luca the truth about his mother. Years of studying her work made it easier for me to weave the threads of her life together. But you had to know her family to make the connections. She married a man she once loved, and he later turned into the devil.
Luca cupped my shoulder with his big hand. “What do you mean by a cage?”
“I mean a literal cage. Do you see the black panels on the walls?” I pointed at each corner of the room. “They connect at the ceiling.”
His mouth widened as he followed my finger up to the domed ceiling.
“She felt like a prisoner. You’re doing the same thing to me.”
“I’m not caging you, baby girl.” He brushed his knuckles across my jaw, and the corner of his mouth turned up into a rare smile. “I’m setting you free.”
After we left Evangeline’s studio, Luca dropped me off at my bedroom. He insisted I change into something moreappropriateand then disappeared.
Marcello waited for me in the armchair by the window. A plunge lace teddy, black with pink fringe, dangled from his finger. “Wear this, princess.”
“What if I want to choose my own clothes?”
He laughed, as if the idea was ridiculous, and held out the lingerie with a bored expression on his handsome face. I took it from him and headed into the bathroom.
Of course, he followed.
With my back to him, I stripped off my clothes. The other night in the Knights’ temple, Marcello didn’t touch me. He just stood beside Damian, his cock hard. They watched me gain pleasure from their brothers. Did it turn them on to share? It sure as hell seemed like it.
Marcello stared at me in the mirror, his eyes on my breasts as he slid a silky black robe over my shoulders. Nerves shaking through me, I shoved my arms in the holes and tugged on the belt. My legs trembled at the thought of being alone with Luca in his bedroom.
Marcello swept my hair off my shoulder, his fingers brushing my neck. “Luca doesn’t like to wait.” He steered me toward the door. “Let’s go.”