“We can just go back to sleep if you like,” he whispered in her ear. “You must be tired still.”
She gave a light chuckle. “If you think I’m letting you go back to sleep at this moment, you’re sorely mistaken.” She gave him a long, lingering stroke.
In a fluid but forceful movement, he rolled her flat on her back and pinned her beneath him. Her thighs parted once more, her feet tracing a line up the back of his calves. He reached down to align their bodies. His cock pressed against her entrance, then his hips canted forward, and her slick folds welcomed him, offering no resistance as he buried himself deep. Her eyes fluttered closed as he filled her, her mind overwhelmed with the warm pleasure of him inside her.
He let out a low moan and lowered his head to rest in the curve of her neck and shoulder. He muttered something, almost certainly an obscenity, but his mouth was muffled against her body.
She drew her knees up and tilted her hips, urging him deeper. He braced his arms on either side of her head and began to thrust. His movements were slow and gentle, and she could tell he was holding back, afraid of hurting her.
She wrapped her legs around his waist. “Harder, Max,” she whispered. “Fuck me like you’ve been waiting ten years to do it.”
He let out an incoherent groan and obliged. By the gods, he obliged. The hard, fast thrusts drove every thought from her mind. Nothing remained but the feel of his body on top of her, inside her, and the rasp of his breath against her skin.
She even forgot about her request for him to take precautions—but he remembered. He withdrew from her and spilled himself over her stomach with a grunt. Then he collapsed on his back next to her, chest heaving, a glimmer of sweat on his forehead.
On unsteady legs, she raised herself out of bed and tottered over to grab a damp cloth, which she used to clean both of them. Then, she tossed it away and climbed back into bed, pulling the blanket up over both of them. He gathered her to his chest, and she let out a contented sigh.
Moments later, Max had fallen back to sleep, his arms slackening around her. She closed her eyes. A slight tug of melancholy pulled at her. This coupling with Max had laid bare the feelings that had been simmering under the surface since they were seventeen, but their future was so uncertain. They had the rest of their journey to spend with each other, yes, but what would happen once they reached Rome?
Her priorities needed to be bringing Petronax to justice and caring for her son, which would likely require making a strategic marriage to give him an influential stepfather. Max, for all his virtues, was not the sort of man who had the connections or influence to set Lucius up for a successful public career, and she had a feeling he wouldn’t relish the responsibilities that a life with her entailed. He sought a life of freedom, of adventure, and wouldn’t want to be tethered to Rome and its politics, or a stepchild.
Nevertheless, her heart ached as she thought of what he’d sacrificed for her. His military career, his beloved horse, and nearly his life. She vowed that if she was successful in bringing down Petronax, she’d ensure that Max was reinstated to his position in the army. That, at least, would begin to repay some of what she owed him.
Chapter 18
Maxwokewithhisface buried in Volusia’s golden hair. Sunlight streamed into the room, and the sounds of early morning echoed from the tavern downstairs: murmurs of conversation, stools and tables scraping as they were pushed back to sweep the floor, footsteps on the stairs.
He sat up, gently disentangling himself from the sleeping woman beside him. Volusia was sleeping on her stomach, one slender arm raised to pillow her face, the ivory skin of her back left bare by the blanket.
His memories of last night were hazy, and he questioned if they were real, but his cock throbbed as he looked at her. It clearly remembered what being inside her had felt like.
Volusia stirred and rolled over, which exposed her beautiful tits to the sunlight. Unable to resist, he allowed his hand to cup one, his finger coaxing her pink nipple to harden.
She shivered and opened her eyes, giving him a shy smile. “Good morning.”
“It’s averygood morning so far.” He gave her nipple a playful pinch, which caused her to yelp and slap his hand away with a giggle.
He wanted nothing more than to stretch his body over hers and sink into her once more, but the morning light made him remember their responsibilities. Now that they were fed, rested, and had some coin to their name, they had to return to Rome as fast as possible, so their families would know they weren’t dead.
Volusia seemed to be of the same mind, for she swung her legs out of bed and crossed to where they’d dumped their clothes yesterday. She lifted her filthy dress with a frown. “We need new clothes.”
Max nodded. “Agreed. Let me see what I can do.” He threw on his stained and ripped tunic, grabbed a few silver coins, and headed downstairs.
An hour later, he’d bartered for a spare tunic and dress from the tavern keeper and his wife, and had also secured them breakfast, two mediocre horses, and a small supply of food for the journey.
By midmorning, they were off. “How long do you think it will take us to reach Rome?” Volusia asked as he guided the horses down the road away from Genua. Since Volusia wasn’t an experienced rider, Max kept hold of a lead attached to her horse. The brown gelding he rode was stocky, with a lumbering gait—nothing compared to Elephant’s graceful, fluid movements, but he would have to do.
“A little over a week, I think,” Max said. “Maybe eight or nine days. With luck, we’ll only be a few days behind Glabrio.”
“Good,” she murmured. He knew she must be thinking of her son, who would soon believe himself to be an orphan.
Max didn’t know what to say, so he spurred the horses into a canter, which removed their ability to speak.
When the light faded at the end of the day, they made camp in a grassy area a little ways off the road. Max built a fire while Volusia portioned out some of the bread, cheese, and dried apricots they’d packed.
The stars brightened the darkening sky as night fell. While they ate, he became entranced with the way the firelight flickered over the curves of her face, casting shadows across the hollows of her throat and collarbone. Despite wanting to reach Rome as soon as possible, he relished these few days that remained with Volusia. Their paths would diverge once they reached Rome. Volusia would return to her family, and Max to his—and more importantly, he’d set out to get Elephant back.
These could be the last days he’d ever spend with her, and he would savor every moment.
