Click on image to enlarge.

	Regular				Club
You Pay:	$4.99				$4.24

eBook Category: Erotica/Suspense/Thriller
eBook Description: What begins as a purely academic study of a bland medieval portrait soon turns Father Jacob Ellory's life upside down. The young priest soon becomes enmeshed in the affairs and intrigues of the Rossi family, finding himself caught up in a gilded world of art, mystery, and sin. Soon Jacob is in over his head, unable to tell who is a friend or an enemy, and terrified that he is losing his mind. From the machinations of the Catholic church, to the seductive power of a beautiful set of twins, join Jacob on his exploration of a whole new world, where he learns there is much more to life than serving God. (Graphic sex. Incest and religious themes.)

eBook Publisher: Torquere Press, Published: http://www.torquerepress.com, 2004
Fictionwise Release Date: May 2004

61 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [489 KB], eReader (PDB) [179 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [165 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [144 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [208 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [196 KB], hiebook (KML) [364 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [230 KB], iSilo (PDB) [136 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [168 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [229 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [219 KB]
Words: 52000
Reading time: 148-208 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

The painting was unexceptional. Really. The subject was typical of its period; a woman, seated, shown only from the waist up. Her hair was confined under a net, but the curls that escaped were a coffee-brown, dark and lustrous. Her face was all angles, pointy chin and high cheeks, with a nose that could have been printed in profile on an ancient coin. Her eyes, a deep, rich greenish-blue, told Jacob that they were probably an artist's convention, a flattery. They matched the brocaded robe the woman wore over a deep green gown. Her jewels were conventional sixteenth century gaudy; chains and charms dripped from her neck and ears.

She smiled at him in the enigmatic manner made famous by the Mona Lisa. Her right hand rested on her breast, modestly covering any exposed cleavage. Her fingers, over-long and freakish as all such hands were painted back then, toyed with the one standout addition to a dull arrangement. The central pendant on her very busy necklace was a winged lion, much like the symbol for Saint Mark, the famous patron saint of Venice. This lion, however had the hindquarters of a sea-creature, in the shape of a long scaled tail, split at the end. It was a gorgeous piece, obviously made of roughly polished emeralds and gold, and Jacob couldn't help but admire it.

The portrait itself was painted on wood with egg tempera, a method that dated the artist, if not the painting. The use of egg tempera was well into its decline by the time this painting was completed, thanks to the ease of use that the relatively new oil paints provided. The painter must have been old school to have such talent with the tricky and quick drying egg paints.

Yes, quite average, which was why Jacob was puzzled at his reaction to the piece. He was fascinated by it. He'd stared at it for over an hour, noting a crack here, a wormhole there, the unfortunate water damage on the bottom third of the work. Whoever this lady was, she wasn't really beautiful, but Jacob couldn't take his eyes off her. There was something in her expression, something subtle that Jacob really wouldn't have expected an artist of mediocre talent to capture. It was a glint in her eye, a tiny quirk to her lips that spoke of mischief. And intelligence.

The more he looked, the more he liked her. Her skin was golden, not creamy, which he thought was lovely. So many of the Renaissance ladies he'd seen immortalized on canvas were pasty, washed out. It was fashionable for a lady to have moon-pale skin, after all, and so this lady's warm olive tone was suggestive, as if there were a bit of lusty peasant under all the fine feathers. Her lips were not full, but they had a pleasing shape, and the upper lip was just a bit rounder than the lower. It gave her a very sensual allure.

The room seemed overly warm suddenly, and Jacob could feel sweat breaking out over his body, heat blooming in his hidden places: under his arms and between his legs. He shifted on his stool, uncomfortable in clothes that were too heavy and skin that was too tight. Extraordinary that a simple painting could do this to him, but it was. He was becoming aroused.