We have the most wonderful news! Your sister has been blessed with a healthy baby girl. We are going to spend a few weeks with Herminia and Fulvius. It would be so splendid if you came to visit to meet your new niece. We would all love to see you; it’s been too long. Are you married yet? Being a grandmother is delightful so far, and I would appreciate another grandchild sooner rather than later…
The rest of the letter consisted of updates on the various foals that had been born on their farm, which Felix skimmed.
He was happy for his half-sister, though the difference in their ages meant that they weren’t especially close. Herminia was ten years younger, born after his mother’s marriage to Maximus. Herminia had been married two years ago, at the age of seventeen, to a prosperous farmer only a short trip from his parents’ estate.
Well, he would have to make the journey out to see them. He wouldn’t ignore a summons like this from his mother—though it was framed as a request—and in truth it had been too long since seeing his family.
The prospect of a journey reminded him of his earlier plan to search for Lucretia’s guardian, who supposedly lived near his family. That felt like another life, when he had still been trying to undermine her. So much had changed since then, and he was grateful he’d never needed to enact that part of his scheme against her.
He'd leave the day after tomorrow. He had a meeting arranged with Lucretia for tomorrow night, and that would give him enough time to make sure Siro and Paulinus were apprised of anything they might need to manage in his absence.
Chapter 23
“You’re leaving?” Lucretia asked when Felix told her of his upcoming journey. They were, once again, sequestered in his dining room, accompanied only by a few steaming platters of food and a pair of gently flickering candelabra. “For how long?”
He shouldn’t have been so gratified at the disappointment in her voice. “Two weeks or so, if there are no delays. It should take about three days to reach my sister’s home. She and her husband live near my mother and stepfather, outside of Spoletium. Are you familiar with the area?”
He couldn’t help asking: if her guardian lived near there, she must know something of the vicinity.
But she shook her head. “No, my family is from the south. I’ve never been that far inland.”
Well,thatwas somewhat interesting. He stopped himself from prying further. Given their truce, it was of no concern to him.
Besides, she was now lifting her dress to her waist, which thoroughly distracted him from all thoughts of Spoletium or guardians or anything but the fast-growing ache in his cock.
She slid into his lap, soft thighs clasping his hips. His hands sank into the flesh of her bottom, pulling her closer.
“Mm,” she breathed, giving a little rub against him which made him groan. “I think you’re ready for a more advanced lesson.”
“Advanced…?” His mouth went dry at her words and her closeness.Could this be…did she mean…
He’d been growing increasingly desperate to bed her, to know what it felt like to slide into the tight, slick clasp of her body. He hadn’t wanted to press her on it; he understood she might prefer to avoid that particular act due to the risk of pregnancy.
She dragged a finger down his lips. “Utilizing these.”
“We’ve already covered kissing.” He extended his tongue to lick the tip of her finger.
A pleasing flush rose to her cheeks. “Utilizing these…somewhere else.” Her gaze swept downward, and he started to understand.
“You want me to kiss you…here?” He palmed the warm place between her legs, which made her arch against his hand.
She nodded, hands tightening on his shoulders.
Despite the immediate surge of interest that made his cock twitch, he hesitated. “Is that, er, something people do? Something men do?” Though he wasn’t personally experienced in these matters, he had listened to other men discuss their carnal endeavors. He’d gotten the impression that using one’s mouth to pleasure another, whether male or female, was something only slaves or courtesans did.
Lucretia raised an eyebrow. “It can be somethingyoudo.”
“But is it, I mean, proper?”
She gave him a cheeky grin. “I’m not sure anything we’ve done is considered proper. Are you looking for special dispensation from Caesar Augustus himself?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t, actually. Tell me.” She climbed off his lap, coming to sit on the couch next to him.
He shrugged, embarrassment crawling over his skin. “I’ve heard people say it will give you bad breath or rot your teeth.”
She chuckled. “Did you ever notice that Cornelius’s teeth were particularly affected?”
