Artistic Licence Read online

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Copyright

  About the Book

  In Renaissance Italy, Carla Buonomi is determined to find a new life for herself where she can put her artistic talents to good use. Dressed as a boy – albeit a very pretty one – she travels to Florence and finds work as an apprentice to master craftsman, Piero Cortoni. All goes well until she is expected to perform licentious favours for her employer – who discovers her gender bending secret. In an atmosphere of repressed passion, Carla has to ensure that Piero keeps his word. If the Guild of Apothecaries finds out, she will face not only expulsion but also severe and humiliating punishment.

  Artistic Licence

  Vivienne LaFay

  Chapter One

  CARLA BUONOMI HAD been walking all night. Hungry, thirsty and tired, she sank on to a rock jutting from the hillside and rested her aching feet. The boots she wore were her own, but the rest of her clothes were unfamiliar, men’s clothes, stolen from her cousin Stefano while he slept. She regarded them as her due, hoping they would protect her now she had left home and set out to survive as best she could in the great city of Florence.

  The sun had come up over the horizon, although it was still dark where she was. Carla could see the city swimming in a bath of gold, seemingly just a stone’s throw away. She took out the chalk and charcoal that she kept in the purse at her belt and began to sketch on the rock where she sat. Two of the buildings stood out from the rest. On the left she could see the russet dome of the cathedral, its seductive curve topped with a jutting lantern. To its right, the thrusting tower of the Signoria proclaimed the power of the city-state. Carla felt a shiver of excitement travel down her spine. There was something almost sexual in that juxtaposition of feminine roundness and phallic potency.

  Aware that such an idea would not have occurred to her if she were still a virgin, Carla blushed to recall what Father Andrea had said to her at confession, that not just her reputation but her soul had been sullied. It was true, she saw the world differently now. Never again could she view life with innocent eyes, which was why she had decided to conceal her woman’s body beneath Stefano’s dark tunic and itchy hose. She scratched at her groin and felt the soft folds of her sex beneath her knuckles, which made her pause for thought. She would have to do something about that.

  Despite her eagerness to arrive at the City of the Lily, Carla felt utterly exhausted. After scrubbing out her brief sketch she made a pillow of the small sack of possessions she carried then lay down on the rock for a nap. It was hidden from the track by a clump of umbrella pines so she felt quite safe, and soon the sun would reach that spot with its welcome warmth. She intended only to doze for five minutes, but soon she drifted into a state of sleep where dreams and memories intermingled freely . . .

  As long as Carla could remember, Stefano, the handsome son of her father’s brother, had egged her on to perform daring deeds and naughty pranks. As children they had climbed trees together, raided birds’ nests, put fir cones in people’s beds and generally run wild. He had made her life exciting, but when Carla reached adolescence her mother had warned her against spending time alone with him.

  ‘It is not seemly for a young girl to behave like that,’ had been her only explanation.

  When her father warned that Stefano would ‘get her into trouble’, Carla had shrugged. What was so new about that? They had been making mischief together for years. So, although she was careful not to be seen with him, it was relatively easy to find ways to meet in secret. She would watch and wait until she saw him go up into the hills then casually remark that she was going to look for wild herbs or berries. The pair would then meet far from prying adult eyes and spend a couple of hours chasing rabbits, paddling in streams or climbing trees, just as they had always done.

  But one summer afternoon, when Carla was sixteen and Stefano seventeen, their high jinks took a new turn. Carla found a trinket on the road, a golden tassel that must have fallen from the bridle of some nobleman’s horse, and said she would make a pendant of it.

  ‘No you won’t!’ Stefano teased her, trying to snatch it. ‘I saw it first!’

  ‘But I picked it up. Finders keepers!’

  She ran with it up the gentle slope of the hill towards an olive grove. Stefano followed, his strong thighs making light work of the gradient, and by the time they were amongst the gnarled trees he had her pinned to the ground.

  ‘Now, yield!’ he demanded, his black eyes glittering with amusement as he prised her fingers open and snatched the tassel.

  Annoyed at being deprived of her treasure, Carla bit his hand. He slapped her cheek and she kicked out at him, just missing his codpiece.

  ‘Vixen!’ he snarled, pulling her roughly into his arms. ‘Don’t you know never to kick a man in the crotch?’

  ‘Why not?’ she asked, cheekily.

  ‘Because you could ruin his family jewels, that’s why!’

  ‘Well you stole my treasure, why shouldn’t I spoil yours?’

  She struggled free, giggling and breathing heavily, but he caught hold of her again and this time his hand brushed the taut swell of her breast. Carla felt a tingling between her legs and a swooping sensation in her stomach. It had happened several times recently when she was in Stefano’s company but she had thought little of it until now. Faced with her cousin’s sensual smile and knowing eyes she suddenly understood, at some intuitive level, why her parents had warned her against him.

  Stefano’s gaze was smouldering at her wickedly and his hand returned to her left breast, where the nipple was clearly outlined beneath her linen shift. He gave it a gentle squeeze, intensifying the dizzy heat that was suffusing through her veins. Suddenly everything seemed to be in slow motion. Like a rabbit mesmerised by a fox Carla could only stand there in a daze, wondering why she felt such a strong yearning for him. His lazy thumb moved back and forth across the hard bead of her nipple, while her legs seemed to melt beneath her.

  ‘Well, well, Carla. You are a big girl now, aren’t you?’ he said in a low, insinuating tone that was a bit like his old wicked coaxing, only more wicked. ‘And a naughty one, too. I think I’m going to have to spank you. Oh yes, indeed!’

  She was suddenly afraid, not of him but of the sense of being at the edge of an abyss. ‘No Stefano, please!’ she murmured, but not very convincingly.

  He ignored her, pulling her down on to the ground beside him then over his lap. Carla struggled as he lifted up her skirt, but the more she wriggled the more she could feel his cock harden beneath her, pressing into the soft flesh of her stomach. She had seen men’s things before, when they peed or washed, but she had never been in such close contact with the alien organ and the effect on her was arousing. Somewhere in the mat of hair between her thighs a secret pulse was throbbing wildly.

  Stefano pulled up her skirt until her bare buttocks were exposed to the warm sunshine, and a deep thrill passed through her. Although she could no longer see her cousin’s face, Carla knew he was enjoying this turn of events as much as she was. His scent was in her nostrils, crude and yet beguiling, a male smell composed of sweat and earth and something indefinable.

  ‘Naughty, naughty girl!’ he whispered as his palm caressed her behind. ‘You’ve given m
e a monstrous hard-on, you little hussy. I intend to punish you severely for this!’

  He began to tap her lightly on alternate buttocks with the flat of his hand. Carla lay prostrate, enjoying the feeling of helplessness and the sensual warmth that came not only from the sun on her bare bottom and the light pummelling, but also from somewhere inside her. Again she felt that tormentingly delicious melting, and knew that she wanted him to do more to her. Her body was crying out for something, but what? In her ignorance she could hardly imagine.

  The slapping grew more forceful and soon her bottom was smarting, but Carla remained in her drowsy state, lulled by the rhythmic beating accompanied by the humming of the bees. She was enjoying this feeling of surrender, of letting Stefano do what he liked to her. And all the time she was aware of what she was doing to him, keeping his prick hard and strong so that it formed a great ridge beneath her belly.

  The token punishment ended but Stefano was in no hurry to release his cousin from his lap. His hands stroked her tender bottom with gentle rhythm, making her sigh, and soon she felt his lips on the nape of her neck, tickling her as he whispered, ‘Did you enjoy that spanking, wicked girl? Or do you prefer what I’m doing now?’

  She turned and grinned at him. ‘I like both.’

  He pretended to be shocked. ‘Shameless creature! How can you be taught right from wrong if you like both pleasure and pain equally?’

  Carla giggled. ‘You didn’t hurt me. Not much.’

  His eyes glistened at her. ‘You want me to hurt you? They say a woman always bleeds the first time. Is that what you want, cousin?’

  ‘I – I don’t know.’

  Carla felt confused. She sensed that the way he was treating her, talking to her, would have earned her parents’ disapproval, yet she didn’t know how to stop him. The old Stefano had undergone a transformation into this sly, seductive creature who had a strange hold over her that she could not explain.

  He pulled her off his lap and put his arm around her shoulders as they sat, side by side, beneath the ancient olive trees, then he kissed her cheek. ‘Don’t worry, Carla. I won’t go any further than you want me to.’

  His words confused her even more. Go? Go where? But now he was kissing her mouth and his warm, moist lips tasted of honeyed wine. Carla let him slip his probing tongue into her mouth and slide around inside, making her feel light-headed. At first she surrendered passively to the invasion but after a while she was giving as good as she got, her tongue duelling with his while their lips moved against each other urgently. The kiss went on and on, becoming more passionate as she responded.

  At last he pulled away, allowing her to gulp down some much-needed air.

  ‘Good!’ he grinned, his eyes filled with grudging admiration. ‘That was pretty good, for a first effort.’ His expression grew first doubting, then teasing. ‘It was a first effort, wasn’t it? Don’t tell me you’ve kissed another boy before me or I shall throw you across my knee again.’

  ‘No,’ she giggled. ‘I’ve never kissed anyone like that before.’

  ‘Nor shown anyone your nice new titties?’ She shook her head shyly and her hands instinctively went to cover her chest. He pulled them away. ‘No, don’t hide yourself. They look really nice. At least, as far as I can tell beneath your clothes. Will you let me have a proper look at them?’

  Chary of him, Carla shook her head. He laughed. ‘All right – an improper look, then!’

  Echoes of her parents’ warnings prompted her to say, ‘Stefano, I don’t think I should. It’s not right.’

  ‘Just a feel, then. There’s no harm in that, surely.’

  He had them in his hands before she knew it, kneading them softly, making the nipples stand out like hard, unripe olives. Carla was unprepared for the tingling sensations that spread from her breasts down to the secret niche between her thighs, the fluttering in her stomach that was a bit like hunger pangs only far more exciting. She gave a soft moan, and soon his lips were enclosing hers with crushing insistence once more while his fingers continued to work eagerly on her nipples, fanning the flames of her desire for him.

  Stefano plucked her breasts out from her chemise like fruit from a tree and began to lick them. Carla lay back on the grass in sensual abandon. The sensations were sweeter than she could ever have imagined. Her whole body was yearning for more of the wonderful lightness and warmth that made her flesh feel as if it were made of something rare, ethereal.

  ‘Carlotta!’

  Stefano murmured her baby-name in a voice thick with desire. His legs were pressing hard against hers, his crotch moving restlessly so that the bulging rod rubbed against her and his appetite for her increased. Carla felt a stab of fear. Her cousin was like a runaway stallion who could scarcely be stopped in his headlong course. She was afraid he might turn on her if she tried to stop him, to snarl and spit at her like a wild beast. She had once seen him like that in a fight with another boy and the horror of it had impressed itself upon her memory.

  ‘Stef . . .’ she began timidly. His lips instantly pressed against hers, stifling all protest.

  His hands were lifting her skirt now, eagerly smoothing a path up her clenched thighs which he proceeded to prise apart. Carla could feel the open folds of her sex moistening and swelling with excitement, and when he touched her there a shudder of blatant lust went through her. It was an intensification of the peculiar feeling she’d been having for the past few years, a feeling that was half pleasure and half torment, an urge that awakened a craving for something immensely powerful and mysterious.

  ‘Oh God!’ she heard Stefano mutter, his breath hot on her lips as his finger probed the last defence between him and his goal. There was a stab of pain and then a feeling of wetness.

  ‘Are you bleeding?’ he asked, looking down at her.

  She gasped in horror: what had he done? But a smile spread over his handsome face as he pulled out his glistening finger. ‘No, not blood. Just your runny love-juices, you little hussy! You can’t wait for it, can you?’

  She felt him fumbling with his belt, and then he pulled down his hose and exposed his long, thick member. Wonderingly she took its silky strength between her fingers, gazing down in fascination at the way its red valve reared up at her. In the tiny slit she could see a smear of liquid. The loose skin moved beneath her fingers and, as she experimentally pushed it up the column of his cock, he gave a loud groan.

  ‘Don’t! You’ll trigger me off!’

  ‘What do you mean?’ She stared at him, wild with curiosity, and the ache inside her mingled with the itch outside.

  He grinned, his eyes dark and knowing. ‘I mean it would be a waste if I came before we’d both had some fun. Come on, Carla, don’t be shy. It’s too late for that now. Lie back and open your legs to me, there’s a good girl.’

  ‘W – what are you going to do?’

  Her voice was faint, and the hum of the bees was disturbing now. Carla had a feeling that she was about to cross some irrevocable threshold. Was this what her parents had meant by getting into trouble?

  Stefano seemed to read her thoughts. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t get you into trouble. I’ll pull out in time.’

  ‘Out? Out from where?’

  But his face grew hard and determined as he knelt between her limp thighs and pointed his erection at her private parts. Passive now, Carla let him place the red tip of his penis right between her folds. It felt very soft and melting down there, but at the same time she could feel an insistent pulse that was urging her on. Clasping his shoulders she pulled him down into her.

  ‘Oh!’ he groaned, as the head of his prick slipped past the vestige of her virginity and into the wet warmth beyond. Carla clutched at him fiercely, steeling herself against the slight twinge of pain, then relishing the extraordinary sweetness that was slowly overtaking her senses. Being touched inside, right inside, felt wonderful.

  Stefano’s hand was on her breast, caressing its rounded fullness and making her nipple tingle, but the contact
between their outer flesh was nothing compared to what was happening internally. Carla gasped in wonder as he began to thrust into her, over and over again. The way he was sliding in and out of her was pure bliss, and soon her hips instinctively moved to maximise her pleasure. After some initial awkwardness she found that she could match her thrusting pelvis to his, and soon they were following a pattern of four shallow, restrained thrusts followed by one long reckless one, as if they were engaged in a horizontal galliard.

  Carla felt herself becoming wetter, and there was soon an odd squelching sound that made her giggle. Stefano frowned at her, and pulled out abruptly. ‘Look, you made my cock go limp with your silly giggling!’ he complained, pouting.

  She stared down at the flaccid organ. It was strange to think how stiff it had been, seconds before. What a curious phenomenon a man’s thing was, with a wayward life of its own. But when Carla reached out and touched it she felt it stir.

  ‘That’s better!’ he smiled at her. ‘Give it a good pulling and maybe things will improve.’

  But as she stroked the penis back into full erection it twitched in her hand and then shot a stream of sticky liquid over her hand. She squealed and pulled her arm away.

  Stefano laughed. ‘That’ll teach you! At least you didn’t get any of that inside you.’

  Carla wiped her hand on the grass, but she felt sorely disappointed. Something that should have happened, hadn’t, and she had no idea what it was. All she knew was that when Stefano had been inside her body it had produced the most exquisite feelings in her, feelings that she longed to explore more fully.

  He drew her close and she lay there in the crook of his arm, gazing up into a clear blue sky. Playfully Stefano dangled the golden tassel over her open crotch. It tickled her still-sensitive labia, making her restless and desirous once more.

  ‘Here, take this in exchange for your cherry,’ Stefano whispered. ‘Just remember you’re mine now, mine alone. I can have you whenever I want.’

  She looked up at him with scared eyes. ‘What do you mean?’