Seduced by the Gladiator (29 page)

I had never considered that I might enjoy blows to my ass during sex. Christus understood me better than I had ever known myself, it seemed. As I cried out with the smacks that rained over my ass, my cunt, I realized that he did what he did so that I could relax, something that many people would not see.

I did not need to be in control with him. In fact, I found that I liked it better when he controlled me.

My ass was on fire, the skin red and hot, when he suddenly stopped and leaned across me. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but a part of me wondered what pleasures were in store next.

He had taken a bottle of oil and was pouring it into his hands. The smell of it, combined with the tang of our sex, mixed in the air, and as I sniffed, I squirmed.

The coolness of the sweet, cool oil against the inflamed heat of my ass made me gasp, and at the same time brought every nerve in my body alert. When he took his large hands and began to rub it in, the oil became warmer and my skin became cooler. I let out a satisfied sigh.

He rubbed at the fleshy fruit of my buttocks, exploring my crevices front and back. He used far too much of the viscous liquid, getting my skin slick and slippery. He paid special attention to the pucker of my ass, which must have been clearly visible to him at that angle.

When he retreated, I made a whimper of protest, wanting no pause in the sweet sensations.

I sighed with satisfaction when I felt the nudging of his solid erection at my back. I was surprised when, instead of sliding his cock down to the entrance of my pussy, he pulled apart the flesh of my ass cheeks and positioned his cock at my entrance there.

I hissed as he slid that first inch in, stretching the tight muscles of my sphincter. I pushed back against him, burning with a fiery pain along the length of his cock. My flesh contracted around him as I adjusted to the feeling of him in that tight, tight channel.

He took his time, moving back and forth; an inch slid in, an inch taken out. The pain dulled, melting into pleasure, and I pushed back against him again, taking him deeper and letting him know that I was ready.

One hand grabbing for my breasts, he sank the rest of the way in, pushing until I felt his testicles swing gently against my rear. I breathed heavily, my heart racing.

Oh, it was so good.

“Christus. More.” The presence of his cock sent little shock waves of sensation skimming over my skin. And when his hand moved around front to pinch and pull at my clit, I thought that I might shatter with the pleasure of it all.

I heard his breathing become more labored and squeezed my muscles around him. He made a sort of gasping noise and pulled himself out.

“Not yet.” We both breathed hard, our tension having mounted to an inescapable height. Not. Yet.”

Gently, Christus urged me over onto my back and eased me down on the pillow. I reached up and fisted my hand around his shaft. He closed his eyes and groaned, then eased himself down on top of me, bracing his weight on his arms.

Resting his forehead on me and looking into my eyes, he eased into me finally, as I thanked the gods.

This, this was what I needed—the feeling of my lover, riding inside of me.

Christus hilted himself inside of me easily, and I pushed back against him, still wanting more. His legs nudged mine farther apart, as far apart as they could get, so he could fill me that much deeper. When he began to move, the tip of his cock hit my womb with every thrust he made, and I made little whimpering noises as my oversensitized flesh was aroused yet again, past any and all boundaries I had thought I possessed. I could feel the sensations building up.

My flesh spasmed; not quite an orgasm, but a definite spike in feeling, just as he stopped. I made a half-strangled noise deep in my throat, but he did not pull out. Instead he ran his hands down the length of my legs as far as he could reach before grasping me behind my knees. He pulled my legs in front of him and braced them on his shoulders.

Then, finally, he gave me what I needed—what he needed. With a look in his eyes that was very nearly wild, he began to fuck me, his thrusts brutally hard, his movements meant to claim me as his, to possess me entirely.

I could not move much with my legs around his neck, so I ran my hands over my breasts. I savored the feel of the soft creamy hot skin, the tight satin peaks. I allowed him to feast his eyes on the sight of me touching myself, of me making myself feel good with my own fingers. His eyes watched me greedily, so I took a hand and slid it down—down between my legs—and rubbed the hard nub of flesh there.

With my legs splayed and the pressure of my finger on my clit, I came almost instantly with my muscles spasming around him. I shifted my hips even as I gasped for air, urging him to come with me, because I knew he was ready. He had been ready all night for it, to spill himself into me, but he had been holding back for my sake.

His breath came faster, and I knew he was close. A couple of upward thrusts of my hips and he let go, letting loose with a shout as he emptied himself into me.

He took a moment to gather his breath then extricated my legs from their upright position, gently rearranging them so they lay flat against the bed once again.

I was glad he did that for me, because my muscles were feeling so lax I wasn’t sure I could move at all.
Maybe in a minute. Or maybe never again
. I thought that I would be quite content to stay right there, just like that, forever.

He rolled, holding me close, so that I was lying on top of him with his still semifirm cock nestled cozily against my hip.

As I lay there sprawled out on top of him, I could feel his breath on my neck, and felt the slight rise and fall of his chest as his breathing began to slow. His pulse was beating right under my fingertips, and I found it reassuring somehow. It reminded me that out of all of it, the whole surreal experience of Gaius and the games, this was real.

H
owever we had been expecting the emperor to make contact with us, it was not by chance in the market.

Christus and I stood together in a light mist of rain, haggling with a merchant over the price of a loaf of wheat bread. Viola was a mere two paces away. She had not been feeling well, but we had all agreed that leaving a female alone in an inn of any sort was not the best of ideas.

With a price for the bread agreed upon, a hand that did not belong to Christus or myself reached out and dropped a coin on the table. We turned as one and found a man in a simple but fine cloak standing closer to us than a stranger might.

His face was shadowed by the hood of the cloak, but his eyes were visible. The color of honey, they were wise and wary, and I immediately felt as though I could trust them.

“You requested an audience. Let us walk.” Beside me, I heard Viola let out another small squeak, an endearing habit of hers that came upon her when she was afraid or excitable.

I felt like squeaking, myself. We were in the company of the emperor of Rome.

Christus placed himself between the man and Viola and me, ever the protector. The emperor was silent for several long minutes, speaking again only when we had been swallowed among a crowd of people vying for fresh fish at a popular vendor.

Unable to even pretend that I was not the wary gladiator that I had been for years, I noted a dark-skinned man following us through the crowd. I did not feel as though he was a threat—I was certain that he was there to watch over the emperor.

“Tell me why I should not kill you as you have killed my brother.” Viola’s hand shot out, clasping mine, and I squeezed her fingers in reassurance.

We would not be intimidated. We had been through worse.

“I suspect that you already have that reason, likely from the same sources that told you that we were not staying at the inn you were told we would be staying at.” I knew that my words were brash, but I took a calculated risk and spoke anyway. Christus grabbed my arm in warning, his body tense, and I held my breath, wondering if I had just signed the warrant for our deaths by being so bold.

Instead, after a long moment, the emperor began to chuckle. He turned to face me, lifted his hood back enough that I could see his face. He looked nothing at all like Gaius, and for that I was profoundly grateful.

“I appreciate your boldness, Lilia the fierce.” He cocked his head slightly, his golden brown eyes studying me intently. He appeared to approve of what he saw, for he nodded briskly, as if satisfied.

“You are correct in that the treachery of my brother was not new to me.” The emperor resumed his walk, and I scurried to keep up with him, trusting Christus to keep an eye on Viola. The emperor studied a cart full of fresh figs, turning a plump one this way and that before tossing another coin at the vendor and strolling on, fruit in hand.

“My brother had never been a creature in whom one could place much trust. Our father saw the touch of madness in him long before I did and asked me to watch out for my brother.” I thought that I detected a hint of wistfulness in the man’s voice, but it was gone before I could be certain. “Clearly I did not watch closely enough, for you and countless others have suffered greatly at his hands.”

Turning suddenly, the emperor presented the fig to Viola, whose face was flushed red, even in the rain. She blushed even further at the gesture, accepting the fruit with a murmured thanks.

“As compensation, I offer each of you a reward.” He watched as Viola bit into the fruit, clearly finding refreshment in the treat. If I was not very much mistaken, he seemed sad and sorry for the young girl’s predicament.

“That is very kind of you, sir.” It struck me that I had no idea how one was to address an emperor. The absurdity of the entire situation had me holding back a fit of laughter.

This was all so strange. I was a gladiator, a slave. So was my love, and so was the girl in our company. Yet here we were, dressed as freedmen, walking through the market with the emperor.

The gods must have been in need of amusement.

“I offer you a reward, if you answer a question for me.” I exchanged a quick glance with Christus, then felt pinned by those deep eyes of the powerful man beside me.

“Anything you wish, your . . . sir.” I could feel the tension in Christus as he answered the man.

The emperor smiled. “Your Imperial Majesty. This is my title.”

Christus looked abashed, as if he should have known this. I squeezed his hand—there was no way that he could have known how to address the emperor.

I wondered if I would ever be enough to bring my gladiator peace. He looked at me as I wondered, and took my hand in his with a smile.

Whatever it was, we would get through it together.

The emperor looked down at our clasped hands, his expression unreadable. He looked again at Viola, who had finished her fig and looked much revived by it.

“Here is my question.” A dark curl fell from beneath the hood, clinging to the man’s forehead. In that moment he looked no older than myself or Christus—so young to have so much power. In truth, he was no freer than either of us.

“I will give you two choices, and I ask which one you will choose.” Nerves began to worry at my belly. Viola crowded in close to my side. “One. You will be granted your freedom.”

My heart leapt—freedom! The chance to be with Christus, to make a life with him.

That was too easy, and I knew it.

“You will have freedom, but you will be forced to live apart from your love. You will never see him again.” Christus growled low in his throat, and I felt like doing the same.

I did not appreciate the threat of separation, not even by the emperor himself.

The emperor raised his eyebrow at the growl. “I have not said that this will happen, gladiators. I am merely posing a riddle.”

“Two. You may remain together for as long as either of you live, but you will return to the ludus and to your dominus.”

“Oh, that is dreadful.” Viola covered her hand with her mouth as soon as she had spoken. The emperor looked at her with his eyebrows raised, surprised by her outburst. She looked down at her feet, abashed, then raised her chin defiantly as an afterthought.

“Why would you do such a thing? What does it matter to you?” Viola was clearly upset as she rubbed a hand over her belly in agitated circles.

I held my breath. Oh, what had she done? She had spoken so far out of turn, the emperor would not be condemned for ordering her execution.

Instead he seemed intrigued by her boldness, as he had been by mine earlier. “Calm yourself, child.” Though the emperor himself was young, Viola could not have been more than half of his age.

I saw his eyes linger on the curve of Viola’s belly, and wondered if he suspected, as I did, that the child was of his blood.

He turned to Christus and me, and his expression was stern.

“I require an answer to my question.”

Opening my mouth to speak, I found that the words froze on my lips. I knew what my decision would be in a beat of the heart, but I suddenly needed to hear Christus speak first.

What if his feelings faded in the face of freedom? I would not blame him for the choice.

No, I would not blame him, though it would rend my heart in two.

“Have you ever been in love, Your Imperial Majesty?” Christus had been quiet for much of the time that we had been walking with the emperor, allowing me to do most of the talking. Now he looked the man straight in the eyes, and I saw the ferocity of the gladiator who had fought for my life reflected there.

The emperor seemed somewhat taken aback, but he had his answer at the ready. “No. I have not.”

“I thought not.” The words Christus spoke were cool. “If you had ever loved a woman, truly loved one, then you would know that there is but one choice. A life with freedom, but without your love, is not a life at all.”

Warmth flooded through me. He chose me. Christus chose me. Even when we returned to the ludus, we would be together.

The lips of the emperor were twitching, and I rather thought that he was trying to repress a smile. “Your answer is the same, Lilia the fierce?”

“Without question.” I wished, very much wished, that we were not in a public market. I wished to demonstrate my love for Christus right at that moment, and I rubbed my thighs together in an attempt to assuage the ache.