He tilted his face up and captured her mouth with his. She pulled him onto the bed with her. The box crashed to the floor, spilling coins everywhere, but she didn’t care.
Kallias drew back. “I almost forgot,” he said, panting slightly from their kiss. “There’s something else you said you wanted yesterday. Something I believe I can accomplish in short order.”
“What did I say?” She had no idea what he was referring to. They hadn’t spoken much yesterday after the competition, preferring to spend their time engaging in activities that required few words.
“You don’t remember?” He shot her a cheeky smirk. “Then this will be a pleasant surprise indeed.” He rose from the bed and fished a handful of silver coins from the pile that spilled from the overturned chest.
“Wait,” she protested. “Where are you going?”
“Meet me in the square next to the Theater of Pompey in half an hour,” he said, heading for the door.
She scrambled to her feet. “Kallias!”
But he was already gone.
Lea huffed. She still didn’t know what he was on about.
She spent the next half hour cleaning up the fallen coins and attempting to reorganize all of his medical supplies into an arrangement that took up less space—to little effect.
Then, she headed out to meet him at the appointed place. He awaited her on the edge of the busy square that fronted the theater. She couldn’t help smiling when she saw him, though they’d only been parted for half an hour. Would it always be like this, the mere sight of him enough to bring a smile to her face?
“I don’t think I said anything yesterday about going to the theater,” she said as she joined him.
“No, you didn’t.” He took her shoulders and spun her around. “But you did say something about the baths.”
Now she remembered: she’d made an offhand comment last night about wanting a hot bath to ease her sore muscles. Kallias had instead given her a massage that began soothing and endedsomewhere rather more invigorating, and she’d forgotten all about her desire for a proper bath.
But now, the columned façade of the closest bathing complex loomed before her, up a set of wide marble stairs.
“It’s—it’s not the right day.” Several mornings each week were set aside for women to bathe privately. Today wasn’t one of them.
He grasped her hand and led her toward the building. “I know. I’ve arranged it.”
“What?” She dug her heels in as he tried to tow her up the stairs. “They won’t let me in.”
“They will,” he assured her.
Mostly out of curiosity, she stopped resisting and let him lead her to the top of the stairs, then through the door.
A man inside the antechamber monitored the entrance. Lea hesitated, sure he was about to bar their way, but he only gave her a curious glance before motioning Kallias forward.
Kallias turned to shoot her a grin overflowing with insufferable smugness. “With bribery, all things are possible,” he said as they passed into the domed entrance hall.
Lea stopped short. There was not one single person in the huge space. Usually, this area would be filled with people coming and going, echoing with the noise of conversations and laughter.
Now, though, it was empty. Silent.
She stared at Kallias with wide eyes. “What did you do?”
He shrugged and led her toward the changing rooms. “As far as anyone else is aware, the baths had to be drained urgently to repair a leak. No doubt it will be fixed in…well, however long you take to bathe.”
This was more shocking than Drusilla’s exorbitant gift. Kallias had somehow emptied an entire bathing complex of people. Just so she could enjoy a bath all by herself.
Well…not by herself. With him, which was even better.
She was too befuddled to move, so he helped her out of her dress, handed her a linen towel, then stripped off his own tunic, stowing their clothes in a cubby against the wall.
Still dazed, she followed him into the next room, which contained the hot pool. This room, too, was empty of people. Steam rose from a large, round pool which filled most of the space. The room was shadowy, a bit of light filtering down from a few small windows high on the walls.
