From then on, things changed. Lucrezia came to life more and more each day under Cesare's watchful eye and loving hands. He came to her every night to ensure she was looking after herself and her son with every means at their disposal. He made her smile every night, telling her stories of the corrupt men in the College of Cardinals and how their father belittled them in his own way. He was trying to form some sort of alliance with Florence despite Cesare's reassurance that they would do nothing, as they were renowned for. Florence did not need to be bought in any way. Yet their Holy Father did not want to take chances. He was considering annulling little Joffre's marriage and marrying him to Florence. Lucrezia had laughed at the thought of her Papa trying to annul a marriage that was the only relatively happy one in the family, even if the happiness was borne out of ignorance rather than real contentment. Her love brought her back to life slowly but surely, whispering his love and affection and desire in her ear at every opportunity. Every morning when she woke, he was lying by her, watching her sleep with such love and happiness in his eyes it made her throw her arms around his body every single morning and press herself against him. He never pulled away. Not once.

That morning was no exception.

Pressed against him, hearing his sigh against her naked shoulder was enough to make her mind up. They had been without each other for long enough. Their reconciliation was not yet complete. But it would be.

She began peppering his neck and jaw with feather light kisses, her tongue scraping against his facial hair every now and then. She felt his lips pucker against her skin to respond in kind. He needed no words of reassurance. No, "Are you sure?" would come from him. He knew. He always did.

He deftly rolled them so that he was on top of her, pressing her into the soft bed and gripping onto her waist so hard that she knew it would bruise. She smiled into his mouth at the thought. A visible mark of their passion. Her soul was marked and forever would be. What was a bruise on her skin compared to a lifetime with his life and hers intertwined? Even in death, they were both going to Hell, surely. A bruise was nothing compared to an eternity in Hell. But they would be together… and that was all that mattered to her.

She could feel his erection pressed against her through the thin material of his clothing. She quickly untied the leather bounds, pushed the item down his legs and quickly grabbed hold of what hung heavy between his legs. He felt perfect in her hand. It was more reassurance that what they were doing was so right.

He hissed through his teeth and bit her shoulder in response, causing her to cry out. His hand swept from her waist to her mouth, covering it so her household staff did not hear.

"Please," she whispered from behind his fingers, darting her tongue out to taste them.

"Anything for you, my love," he responded, moving his hand to replace it with his lips. He did not need to check if she was ready. He knew she was. She was always prepared to take him into her body, like she was made for him. Made to love him in every way.

He entered her slowly, savouring every single second. It was not the first time they had done this and would certainly not be the last, yet every time was special. It was another time they said yes to allowing themselves the pleasure of love without the restrictions society placed on them. And saying yes felt beautiful.

"Lucrezia," he groaned quietly, her name sounding like a prayer.

To him, it was. She was his salvation far more than God ever had been or ever would be. She was his purpose for living, who he would worship till the day he died and beyond. People adored God with such absolute certainty, with such surety and with such fervour. To him, their love of God paled in comparison to his love for Lucrezia. Micheletto, his only friend, was the only person who knew this. He saw the love, the adoration, the worship. Cesare's sole mission now was to make Lucrezia see that. She needed to know how she was loved without any doubts in her mind. He needed to wash away the past, the good and bad. Needed to start anew.

And this was the beginning of that transformation. He would love her with every ounce of his being until she forgot the men who came before him and the women who came before her, until she forgot his past misgivings and sins. He would make sure they never tainted her sweet mind again.

He thrust harder at the thought and her sighs and whimpers spurred him on. It was only like this that she gave herself up to him completely. He lived for it.

They reached their ecstasy together as they always did, never letting one go somewhere where the other was not. And as always, the Earth moved beneath them.

He lay with her for hours after, forgetting his tasks for the day. Nobody disturbed them as they lay under the covers of the bed, laughing like children over silly things and exchanging kisses – both chaste and ardent – as though they were newlyweds. Perhaps, Cesare thought, in some ways they were. They were starting a new life together, even if it was a secret life. For they could never be publicly affectionate. Nobody would understand. They were soulmates who simply happened to be brother and sister. Their familial connections were trivial in comparison to the enormous love between the two of them. They were soulmates first, lovers second and family last.

He thought back to the time when he had only half-jokingly suggested running away to a village on the coast and changing their names. He wondered how far they would have to go so that nobody knew them.

As he tucked his little love under his arm and held her so close that it was impossible to see where one ended and the other began, he made a mental note to find such a village.

For he was sure he would be in need of it soon. Their love was too obvious now – they had passed the point of no return. Their father was a busy man but he was astute: he would notice the change in their relationship if they stayed for much longer. Their only other option was to see each other in private only and he would never subject his sister to such an ordeal. He would not be ashamed of her.

He glanced down to see that Lucrezia had fallen asleep once more. Her soothing breaths soon got the better of him and he joined her in the land of dreams. He dreamt of the village they would eventually call home, where they could be man and wife and raise Giovanni and hopefully other children of their own.

Cesare Borgia fell asleep with a smile on his face.

And so did Lucrezia.

He had fulfilled his promise – she was happy once more.

And that was enough to keep them strong when everything else was against them.

It was enough to prove that their love was natural. Unholy, perhaps, but right.

They were clean and bloodless together.

And each other's.

Always.