Velvet & Dagger Chapter 4: The Garden of Secrets

By steamystoriesbysarahstormverified

Venice, 1527. The second of their three stolen days. Winter sun on the lagoon. Lorenzo comes for her at noon — cloaked, hooded, through the servants’ gate Isabella unlocks herself. Not the ball. Not the gondola. The hidden garden of the Contarini palazzo, where the walls are high and the city is supposed to forget they exist. Stolen touches turn into something they can no longer pretend is only hunger. For a few bright hours, the Contessa and the soldier belong to each other in the open air. But Venice never looks away for long. Across the city, someone powerful already holds their secret in his hands. Three days was never going to be enough. Rated R. Mature historical romance. Passion in the garden. Danger waiting outside the gate.