Chapter 31

The clunk of a log landing in a fury of sparks drew his attention. Cosimo stood by a growing fire, his back to Henri. The apprentice feasted on the view. The man was a tower even stripped of his clothes. Built not of brick or stone but muscle. His legs like those of a bull, furry and rising to a rump, so plump it could’ve been poured from a cannonball mold split.

Henri joined him, raising his hands to the fire’s warmth. Cosimo’s skin was pinkened by the bath but retained its dark luster. The Italian’s hair fell thick as a mare’s, glossy and dripping. Rivers formed and met in the valley between his hillocks of breast muscle, splashing like falls over his muscled stomach. Beading the thicket between his furry thighs. His thick piece raised like a swordsman’s. Saluting Henri. Cosimo watched the flames feed on the crackling logs.