Sistine Heresy by Saracen Justine

Author:Saracen, Justine [Saracen, Justine]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Gay & Lesbian
ISBN: 9781602820517
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

*

Finally the heat from the caldera had spread under the stone floor and up through the vents behind the walls, so that both the water in the marble pool and the air in the room itself were pleasantly warm. Adriana dropped two large bath cloths on a bench near the pool. Behind her, Lucrezia began to disrobe with the same aplomb she’d had in childhood. She undid the laces of her bodice, dropped her wide skirts, and tugged off her underdress and shift. Turning slightly away, Adriana undressed as well.

Without comment, they both stepped nude into the bath and sat down so that the water rose chest high. Adriana opened the bronze tap behind her and steaming water flowed into the pool.

“Ah.” Lucrezia laid her head back and squeezed water through handfuls of dark blond hair. The luxuriant backward curve brought her breasts up and outward, breasts that were no longer firm and maidenly, but still provocative. Catching sight of Adriana’s glance she sat up and pushed a playful wave toward her. “I know what you’re thinking, that I’ve lost my figure, while you’re still trim as a girl.” She affected a slight pout.

“Not at all,” Adriana lied. “You are as beautiful as when you ran through the Papal Palace and every man in Rome was in love with you. Only now you have your own court. Motherhood becomes you, and so does a duchy,” she added, veering off the subject of the body.

Lucrezia’s fears were well founded. She was not yet thirty, but she looked older. Her soft face hinted at weariness and, without the corset of her dress, she had a paunch from the several children she had borne. “You mean it?” she asked girlishly. “It’s so difficult, you know, after motherhood and a certain age. But a woman must remain attractive. It’s our form of power, after all.”

Adriana settled back against the pool wall, sinking as deeply as possible into the delicious warmth. “All things turn on power, don’t they? And that’s what women must do when they want it. Be seductive.”

“Seductiveness has served us both well. You have the Villa Borgia and I have my duchy.” Lucrezia ran her fingers through her wet hair. “We have nothing to apologize for either, because when we have power over men, we improve them.”

Adriana was skeptical. “Seductress and saint. That’s what Michelangelo said about women. They all want us to be like the Madonna, but we always turn out to be like Eve. But you know? I have a lot of sympathy with Eve.” She smiled. “Can’t you just imagine her scolding him? ‘Adam, get some sense. This is the tree of knowledge. Eat, for God’s sake.’”

Lucrezia giggled, then pressed her fingertips on her lips. “Be careful, Sister. There are priests who don’t care for talk like that.”

“Yes, I suppose there are. But I can tell you I’m fed up with priests. I’m fed up with it all.”

Lucrezia flicked droplets of water at her. “Listen to you! Have you fallen under the spell of the new sciences? Very dangerous, you know.

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