Max lifted her into Elephant’s saddle. Riding astride, her dress bunched up around her knees, exposing her calves. Elephant sidestepped beneath her, causing Volusia to grab at the saddle for support.
“Are you comfortable?” Max asked.
“I-I think so.”
Max vaulted up in front of her, squeezing them both into the saddle. Volusia tucked her feet around Max’s ankles for security. They were pressed together from hip to ankle, and she could feel every movement of his body as he adjusted his position in the saddle.
“Hold on tight,” he said, and then nudged Elephant into a trot.
Volusia wrapped her arms around his middle, having no choice but to nestle her chin atop his shoulder. Oh, yes, he had filled out deliciously since seventeen. All she could feel was warm, hard muscle beneath his linen tunic.
Elephant trotted down the beach toward the water, where the sand became hard-packed. Max turned her to face down the beach, and she smoothly shifted into a canter. Volusia felt Max’s knees tighten around Elephant, and the horse reached a breakneck gallop.
Wind rushed in Volusia’s ears, blocking out all sound but the rhythmic thump of Elephant’s hooves. To her right, waves crashed onto the beach. Ahead of them was nothing but an empty, gently curving shoreline. They could gallop all the way to Rome at this rate.
Her heart raced, the only thing that could exceed Elephant’s speed. She clutched at Max, afraid she’d go tumbling off Elephant’s back otherwise. Her hair streamed behind her, wisps loosening themselves from her braids. Iris would have quite a time putting her back to rights later.
Max tilted his head back toward her. “You all right?” he asked, raising his voice over the roar of the wind and waves.
She squeezed him even tighter. “Better than all right!”
He laughed. “Dare you to close your eyes.”
An answering laugh bubbled up from deep in her chest. “Only if you don’t.” She closed her eyes. Exhilaration spread through her. Her stomach lurched in a way that was somehow thrilling. Nothing existed but the feeling of flight and the body clutched in her arms, the only thing solid in a world of rushing wind and pounding hooves.
Elephant slowed eventually, and Volusia opened her eyes, squinting in the sunlight. Max turned Elephant around, and they trotted down the beach to rejoin Volusia’s patient gelding. Her breathing calmed, but the thrill didn’t leave her.
“Thank you,” she murmured as Max lifted her back onto her own horse. She thanked him not just for the mounting assistance, but for everything—this day, the gallop, the way he listened to her.
“Of course,” he said, and swung up onto Elephant. He took hold of her horse’s lead, and guided them back in the direction of Narbo.
Chapter 7
VolusiaandMaxreturnedto town in late afternoon. Volusia regretfully parted from Max at the front door with a smile and a murmured goodbye. She had revealed too much to him, but it had felt good to talk to someone. Iris knew the state of her marriage, of course, and Volusia did confide in her, but Iris received all of Volusia’s confidences relating to Avitus with a calm, almost expressionless demeanor. Volusia understood—it would be inappropriate for a slave to express any frustration or rancor toward the master of the house, even if she was only sympathizing with Volusia.
But Max had seemed near outraged at the revelation of her passionless marriage.Vesta’s tits,he’d said. His language should scandalize her, but it brought a smile to her face, just like when they were adolescents. She sent a silent plea of forgiveness to the goddess of the hearth, and vowed to make a few extra sacrifices on Max’s behalf next time she was near a temple.
Volusia paused at the door of Avitus’s study. She heard no voices from within, so surmised that he was alone. She tapped on the door. “Avitus?”
“Come in.”
She entered, and crossed the room to lay the bundle of redcurrants on his desk. “I harvested some redcurrants for you.”
His face brightened, and he picked a berry from the top of the pile. “Your excursion was satisfactory?”
“The countryside is beautiful.” It was, but what she most remembered from the afternoon wasn’t the swell of hills or sparkle of sunlight on water, but Max’s face, the press of his hand on hers, his promise that she could trust him, always.
She shoved the memory aside. “I was chatting with the legionary who escorted me. He mentioned some interesting anecdotes about Petronax that I thought you should know.”
Avitus raised an eyebrow as he ate another berry. “Yes?”
Volusia seated herself in the chair across from his desk, wondering if she was overstepping by mentioning this. Ordinarily, she didn’t interfere in her husband’s affairs. But here, so far from home, she felt vulnerable, despite their high position. “There’s been some dissatisfaction since Petronax raised the taxes here.”
He waved a hand. “There is always dissatisfaction about taxes.”
“But isn’t he overstepping by hiking up the tax rate? He’s meant to be in charge of the legion, not the province.”
“He was acting governor before I arrived, Volusia. He was entitled to do as he wished. With respect, you understand little of these matters.”
