“Not interested,” Ferox ground out. Though some men might revel in special treatment like this, he hated it. These people didn’t care about him—they only wanted to be able to say that Ferox the gladiator was their best customer.
“Once you see my girls, you’ll change your mind,” the woman said. “One moment.” She gave him a sly smile, then disappeared into the back of the building.
Velia waited beside Ferox for the brothel manager to return. She glanced around the room, curious. She’d never been inside a brothel, though one of her parents’ favorite insults to hurl was how she’d inevitably end up at a place like this.Stupid whore, all you’re good for is spreading your legs, might as well earn some coin for it…
She shook off the memories and examined the space. The front room was small and sparsely furnished. No doubt patrons were not meant to linger here. A narrow hallway, down which the woman had disappeared, must lead to the private rooms.
The walls shone bright with fresh plaster, and the tile floor was swept clean. A few oil lamps flickered in niches along the walls, and the air bore the floral scent of some unknown perfume. All in all, it seemed like a decent establishment.
Ferox must have frequented this place before if he knew of it. Her stomach gave a lurch at the thought of him coming here, negotiating a price, disappearing down that hallway with some strange woman…
Velia cast a sidelong glance at him. He hovered in the doorway as if he couldn’t decide if he wanted to make a run for it or not. She could still feel the grasp of his hand on her arm from their journey here. Somehow, he’d managed not to actually cause pain. He must have been very careful to moderate his strength. She remembered all too well the brutal, destructive force with which he’d destroyed Achilles’s wall. The incident still made her smile.
She recognized his overbearing actions as protection, and her flimsy protests had quickly died away when she realized she appreciated the warm, solid proximity of his body. A bit of manhandling was well worth it.
Four women, followed by the middle-aged manager, emerged from the corridor. The women arrayed themselves in a line before Velia and Ferox. They were all reasonably pretty, with bodies that appeared well-fed and healthy. That was good; Velia couldn’t have Achilles catching some malady from a woman.
They were also all ogling Ferox, batting their eyelashes and offering smiles that seemed to promise all sorts of licentiousness. One of them even allowed the shoulder of her dress to slip down, exposing an expanse of golden skin and the swell of a breast.
Velia narrowed her eyes. She stepped in front of Ferox to shield him from their gazes—not that she was large enough to block much of his body. A sudden possessiveness rose within her, and she put her hands on her hips.Shecould ogle her uncle’s gladiators as much as she wanted. These other women? Absolutely not.
The less time they spent here, the better. Velia turned her attention to choosing a woman for Achilles. But how? They all seemed, well,fine. Then, she remembered Achilles’s stated preference for large breasts.
Velia cleared her throat and pointed at the two slenderest women. “Not them. He’s requested, er, bosoms of a certain size.” Heat rose to her face. Maybe she shouldn’t have insisted Ferox come. This encounter was fast becoming the most embarrassing thing she’d ever had to undertake.
The two slender women shrugged and left, not without final lascivious glances at Ferox.
Velia took a hesitant step toward the two remaining women, trying to discern which of them had the bigger breasts.
“Is this what you want to see, love?” the one on the left said, and slid her arms out of her dress. It fell to her waist, exposing a decently large pair of bosoms.
Ferox made a strangled noise as the other woman did the same.
Velia’s face flamed. She was perfectly comfortable with her own body, but this was an entirely different situation. And with Ferox here as well—she wondered if it would be preferable for the ground to open up and swallow her down to the underworld.
But she had a task to complete. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. The left woman’s breasts were larger, but the right woman’s appeared rounder and firmer. Which was superior?
Maybe Ferox could make himself useful for more than just protection. He was a man, after all, and this situation clearly required a man’s opinion.
She turned around and found him staring grimly at his feet.
“Ferox,” she said. “Tell me which is better. For Achilles, I mean.” Both of the women were attractive enough, she supposed, but this wasn’t about her own opinion.
His gaze flicked up to her face before resuming its focus on the floor tiles. “No.”
“Oh, don’t be such a maiden,” she snapped. If she could stand to look at a few half-naked women, so could he. She poked him hard in the arm, which felt like jamming her finger into a marble wall.Ouch.“Tell me which you like better, and then we can leave.”
The promise of leaving must have been sufficient inducement, for he lifted his gaze to the two women for the barest moment. “That one,” he grunted, waving a hand in the vague direction of the woman on the right.
Velia exhaled in relief. She wasn’t entirely sure he’d even looked at the woman, but she’d take the excuse to be done with this encounter.
The brothel manager dismissed the two women. While Ferox waited, Velia negotiated a rate for weekly visits to the ludus from the selected woman. It cut into her profits more than she would have liked, but she hoped the investment would be worth it if it kept Achilles happy.
“There’ll be an extra fee if he leaves marks on her,” the woman warned, and Velia nodded in acceptance. She paid in advance for the first visit, and then she and Ferox were on their way.
Ferox let out a deep sigh once they were on the street, as if he’d been holding his breath the whole time they were in there. “That was humiliating,” he muttered.
“For the women?”
