Blurb
“So sweet and delicious do I become, when I am in bed with a man who, I sense, loves and enjoys me, that the pleasure I bring exceeds all delight, so the knot of love, however tight it seemed before, is tied tighter still.”
Married at sixteen to an abusive husband, feisty Veronica Franco escapes his cruelty by taking the only option open to her. Soon, she’s feted as one of the most beautiful and sought-after courtesans in 16th Century Venice.
A talented seductress, she’s able to create desire in her patrons under her own terms, giving them her body but not her heart. She courts the cultural élite for fame and fortune, publishing her poems and letters, while battling tomaintain a balance between her sense of self-worth and the need to win and keep the support of men.
But when disaster strikes, and her life begins to unravel, will she be strong enough to hold her own in a man’s world?
***Advisory: sensuously erotic, this novella contains frequent scenes of explicit sex, sexual language, and the imaginative use of Murano glass.***
Genre: Romantic erotica/historical erotica
Excerpt
My eyes practically fall out of my head when Mamma reaches under the cushion and pulls out a loaf of bread shaped like a prick. ‘Lesson number one. You’ll need to take this into your mouth, all the way down to the back of your throat, without making any marks with your teeth. But first I must teach you how to touch a man so that his member swells to this size.’
‘You mean it isn’t always as big?’ I think of the bulging codpieces that poke out from between men’s legs.
‘Sometimes it’s as small as a mushroom. You’ll be surprised how quickly it can grow when you stroke it. Your movements should be slow and subtle. Don’t touch it straight away. Gently rest your hand on your patron’s leg, then brush your fingers on his cheek. Let your shawl slip down so that he can see your breasts. All these things you can do after you’ve entertained him.’
‘Entertained him?’
‘Most definitely. You’ll be an honoured courtesan. Highly sought after. There are only just over a hundred among the thousands of whores in Venice.’
‘So many?’
Mamma ignores my question. ‘When you are entertaining your patron by singing, playing the lute or spinet, or with witty conversation, you must flirt with him, entice him into your bed.’
‘Why do I have to take him in my mouth? I thought my figa was made for a man’s prick, not my mouth.’
‘All part of the seduction, cara. Men will stick their pricks in all our orifices, including our back passage. If you are really fortunate your patron might seek to give you pleasure too, by sucking your figa. Never, ever, ask him to do it, though. The initiative must come from him. There are men who enjoy the taste and smell of us.’ Apples and Musk. Of course.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Siobhan Daiko is an author of romantic historical fiction, now specialising in erotic novellas featuring famous courtesans, strong women who held their own in a man’s world. She enjoys reading and writing about sex, love and Murano glass. A lover of all things Italian, she lives in the Veneto region of Northern Italy with her husband and two cats.
