The Perfect Concubine

by Michelle Styles

  She wrenched her arm away. ‘It was nothing to do with you. I made my peace with him. Years ago. It belongs to the past.’

  ‘No one ever hurts you again, Valeria, or they answer to me. Understand?’

  She stopped and turned towards him. ‘You need not worry then. He won’t.’

  Piso slapped his hands together. ‘You can’t possibly know that. I’ve experienced what your father can do in a rage.’

  ‘Because what happened with Ofellius destroyed him.’ The lump in her throat grew. ‘All his power and prestige is gone. Life is a punishment enough. He is a shell of a man who only lives for one thing—to see his son again. But he remains my father.’

  Piso shook his head. ‘I’ve no pity for the man. I know what he and Ofellius did. I know the men he killed, cheated and ruined.’

  ‘This is Rome,’ Valeria argued. ‘What merchant doesn’t have something in his past? Are you proud of everything you have done?’

  ‘I’m no priest of Jupiter with unblemished hands and reputation, but I look after those who are important to me.’

  ‘The Piso I remember from years ago would never kick a man when he was on the ground.’ Once I loved you for it, she whispered in her mind.

  A muscle jumped in his jaw. ‘I changed.’

  ‘A pity.’

  Valeria strode out of the room and did not look back. When she reached her room, she sank down into a heap and hugged her knees to her chest.

  Chapter Five

  The stench of cabbage was even worse today than the day before. Valeria lifted the corner of her veil and put it over her face, blocking out the worst of the smell, hating the fact that she wanted the visit to be short. But it had to done. No one had noticed her leave the compound.

  When she knocked on the door, her mother had answered with a puzzled expression in her eyes. ‘What are you doing here, Valeria?’

  ‘I’ve brought some food.’ Valeria dug out the fruit, cheese and bread. ‘A gift from Piso.’

  ‘I know the Aventine speaks of his generosity,’ her mother said. ‘But there was no need.’

  ‘There was every need,’ Piso’s rich voice rang out behind Valeria. ‘We can’t have you or Valerius starving, can we?’

  Valeria gasped for air. Piso had followed her. She’d been naive in thinking that he was occupied elsewhere and would only come to her in the night.

  Piso entered the room like some great avenging Greek god. Despite her best intentions, Valeria was aware of his every move—how his short tunic slid and clung to the mid point of his thighs, how his belt emphasised his waist, and the power in his jaw. Most of all, she remembered how he’d held her in his arms until he discovered her scars.

  ‘I can explain,’ she said, stepping forward, trying to block his view of her father.

  ‘It is self-evident.’ Piso turned from her. His entire being seemed transfixed by the spectacle of her father’s slack mouth and even slacker hands. ‘Bread will do your father no good, Valeria. He has not the wit to tear.’

  ‘My mother feeds him gruel. The bread and fruit are for her.’ Valeria held out her hands and willed him to understand. She might hate her father’s actions but he remained her father. ‘I refuse to leave them to starve simply because I have become your concubine.’

  ‘Valeria is very kind, Piso,’ her mother said, dropping an ingratiating curtsey. ‘But I think my headstrong daughter acted without your orders. You must take your food with you, Valeria. You must go and never return. We’ve no need of thieves here.’

  ‘We return to the compound, Valeria.’

  Valeria glanced at her mother who made shooing motions. ‘Not without knowing that my parents are safe.’

  ‘Valeria, must you always be a trial?’ her mother said with maddening complacency. ‘The gods will not desert us, even if my children have.’

  ‘I keep telling you, Mother. The gods are not listening.’ Valeria hated the way everything had gone wrong and that her mother blamed her, Valeria, for their misfortunes.

  ‘Will you make a sacrifice to the shrine, Valeria, before you go for the final time?’ her mother asked pointedly. ‘You forgot the last time. You have to ask for the gods to listen—otherwise they can’t hear.’

  Piso strode over to the household shrine where several lamps shone in front of the various lares. He suddenly stilled. ‘You are missing the Artemis figurine, the one who looked a bit like Valeria.’

  ‘I lost her years ago.’ Valeria gave a shrug but her insides clenched. ‘It was never replaced.’

  ‘I remember it. It was one of your favourites.’

  Valeria examined the missing tiles in the floor. She had placed the Diana statuette in Piso’s near-lifeless hand, in a vain effort to keep him safe. Her mother maintained that Valeria had cursed the family, and all their troubles stemmed from that single act.

  ‘I was very upset when it went, but then I married and had other things to think about.’

  Piso gave a slight nod. ‘You are a dreadful liar, Valeria, you always were. But you’re a good daughter, better than either of them deserve.’

  ‘Will I be able to bring food to my parents again?’

  ‘No. It won’t be necessary.’

  Valeria glared at him. How typically male and arrogant. ‘I will anyway. Despite everything they have done, they gave me life.’

  ‘You should allow me to finish, Valeria, before you speak.’ Piso placed the parcel of food down. ‘I will arrange for food to be brought to your parents. I’ll not allow them to starve. If your mother wishes to believe it is from the gods, she may.’

  Tears pricked at Valeria’s eyelids as she saw her mother turn red and then white. Piso was going to look after them.

  ‘I hold you responsible, Valeria,’ he said as they went out into the sunlit courtyard where Piso’s litter waited. ‘I know you mentioned last night that your father was fragile now, but you could have told me about the true level of their deprivation rather than sneaking away on the pretext of shopping. Honesty, remember. Are you coming back?’

  ‘Would you have listened?’ Valeria kept her back straight and her head up. ‘I will go and honour our wager as I honour all my debts.’

  The litter ride back to Piso’s house had been conducted in total silence. Valeria was very aware of how their bodies collided when the litter went around a corner, and the intensity of his expression. Her insides trembled. There had to be a way of getting back to what they’d shared the previous night before he’d found her scars. Right now, time was slipping from her with each drip of the water clock. She needed something else to bargain with, something to bind him to her and keep his interest beyond three days.

  ‘I ought to tie you up next time to keep you in one place,’ Piso said, breaking the silence as they reached her room. ‘You weren’t where I wanted you.’

  ‘If there is any tying up, I’ll do it,’ she said, relief flooding through her. The gods had provided the answer.

  A spark of interest showed in his eyes. ‘And you think you could tie a knot that I couldn’t get out of?’

  ‘Yes,’ Valeria answered without giving herself time to consider the pitfalls to her plan. She could do this and take the lead. ‘And if I do, will you take me with you to Alexandria?’

  ‘I doubt you could.’ A smile tugged at his features. ‘You create an unbreakable knot, and you may go.’

  ‘Then there is no time like the present to try.’ Valeria put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back towards the bed. When they reached it, he fell backwards, taking her with him. She undid her belt and looped it about his wrist before attaching it to the bedpost. His eyes widened, but he did nothing as she undid his belt and tied his other wrist to the bedpost.

  She sat back on her heels and looked at him with his arms fastened above his head. He pulled on the bonds but nothing happened. His tunic was tangled about his waist, revealing his powerful legs. An arrow of desire shot through her. ‘What do you think about those knots?’

  He pulle
d against them harder, and to her surprise, they held. ‘Are you going to release me?’

  She pretended to consider the question. ‘Not right now. We are going to play a game.’

  ‘What sort of game?’

  ‘Answers, and we will see what each brings,’ she said quickly, before she lost her nerve. ‘First question—why are you going to send food to my parents?’

  He was silent for a long heartbeat. ‘I’m doing it because I saw you with them and how, despite what they did to you, you are willing to forgive and help them in their hour of need. You showed me there was another way.’

  She stared at him, surprised. He truly was going to assist her parents. Because of her.

  ‘It is the truth, Valeria,’ he said, breaking the silence. ‘Next question.’

  ‘What are we doing this afternoon?’ she asked, drawing her finger down the side of his face. Her entire being pulsated with desire. ‘After all, I have two days left with you.’

  ‘I don’t know—should I take it that you have plans?’

  ‘Perhaps.’ She undid her hair so it fell about her shoulders, and then she leant forward. ‘We shall feast alone tonight.’

  She captured his feet and undid the buckles of his sandals, tossing them over her shoulder. They landed on the floor with a thud.

  ‘Are there more questions?’

  ‘Should there be?’ Her hands skimmed his legs, moving steadily but unhurriedly upwards as a sense of power went through her. This man was under her control. She caught her tongue between her teeth. She could do what she liked to him. Even tease.

  ‘What do you think?’

  ‘Wrong answer. You’ll have to pay a penalty.’ She sat up and shamelessly began to touch her breasts, kneading and caressing them until the nipples were erect. She heard his groan as she lazily moved her hands lower, mimicking how he had always touched her. She half closed her eyes and tried to recapture the craving.

  ‘Valeria.’ The word was half plea and half promise.

  ‘Shall we try again?’ Leaning forward, she moved his short tunic with tantalizing slowness and revealed his rampant arousal. She sucked in her breath. ‘What are we doing this afternoon?’

  ‘Whatever you want.’

  Her hand curled around his velvet hardness. Slowly, deliberately, she lowered her mouth to him and tasted. Delicately she traced the tip of his head. His body jerked upwards and he groaned in the back of his throat. His arms strained against the bonds as she took more of him into her mouth. A wild throbbing filled her. She was doing this to him. Surely she was doing enough to keep his interest.

  As his movement increased, she released him, straddled his body and impaled her body on him. He filled her completely. The bed creaked slightly and his arms reached up to enfold her and bring her down next to him.

  ‘You’re no sailor,’ he rumbled in her ear. ‘Those knots would not hold a flea. My turn now.’

  ‘Maybe I wanted you to be free. Maybe I wanted to be held,’ she whispered against his chest.

  He turned his body so she was lying beneath him. His hand stroked her face. ‘Having you in my arms is far preferable to being bound.’

  He moved within her, driving hard, understanding her need, and their cries echoed throughout the room as she shattered.

  Later she watched him sleep. His lashes made half circles on his cheeks. Her heart turned over. It would be so easy to give him her whole heart, but she knew her ancient betrayal would haunt her and some day, it would come out, and he would never forgive her for it. A long drawn-out sigh filled the room.

  Instantly his eyes opened. ‘Something is bothering you.’

  And she knew she had to tell him now rather than waiting for it emerge. After what he did for her family, she had to confess. She had to hope that he could forgive her.

  ‘You asked me last night why I’d been beaten. My father beat me because someone had seen me kissing a man in the Temple of Diana the night Marcus left.’ Valeria traced the scars on his back. He deserved the truth. She wanted all the shadows between them gone. ‘And he wanted the name.’

  He moved away from her and sat on the side of the bed. She glimpsed again yesterday’s hardened man. ‘The lashes went deep to scar you that badly. You didn’t give the name straight away.’

  ‘I can be stubborn but in the end, I whispered your name.’ She put her face in her hands, unable to watch him and see the growing hatred. ‘I betrayed you. My back was on fire. All I could think about was getting him to stop. He wanted me to marry Ofellius straight away. I refused.’

  ‘Go on.’ His face gave nothing away and he remained sitting. ‘You married him anyway.’

  Valeria swallowed hard, finding it far more difficult than she thought possible. ‘They lay in wait for you. That night my mother took my arm and led me to the warehouse.’

  ‘Why did they take you to see me?’ His voice was no more than a hoarse whisper.

  ‘My parents wanted me to see the consequences of my continued refusal. You were beaten to an inch of your life, and I knew if I’d done as I was told in the first place that wouldn’t have happened to you. Your being there was all my fault, my responsibility.’ Valeria hugged her arms about her middle rather than ask for his arms. ‘They agreed to spare your life if I married Ofellius. My mother made me shout the words so everyone—so you—could hear. I saw them cut you down. I…I tucked the Diana figurine in your hand, hoping even then that you would know I was innocent and come save me. Then, when I saw you with those women on my wedding day, I knew you were never coming.’

  His voice broke. ‘They left me in the gutter to die. More dead than alive. Luckily a gladiator’s surgeon tended my wounds and saved my life. Later when I went through my clothes from that night, I discovered the figurine. No one knew where it had come from. It wasn’t until this afternoon that I realised who had originally owned that figurine. If I’d known, Valeria, I’d never have entered into our wager. I owe you too much.’

  Valeria encircled her knees with her arms, and stared at the grey shadows on the walls. He hadn’t known.

  ‘If you would like me to leave, I’ll go now,’ she said around the lump in her throat.

  The silence stretched unbearably and she wondered how she’d find the strength to walk back to her parents. She was idiotic to ever have hoped.

  ‘I was an arrogant young fool, Valeria and like all fools, I did something that I now regret. I hurt you, rejected you, when I should have believed in your love and rescued you. I hope I’ve grown in wisdom with my years.’ He gathered her in his arms and stroked her hair. His face was wet against her skin. She looked up and saw the tears on his cheeks. ‘You looked like a goddess on your wedding day with your flame-coloured veil and all I had was stupid bravado. How I regret causing you one heartbeat of pain? Tell me about what happened afterwards. I want to know the truth, not the Aventine gossip. No more secrets between us.’

  Valeria forgot how to breathe. He wasn’t throwing her out. He didn’t blame her. The great and heavy burden she’d carried for so long was gone and she knew she could tell him the rest of her story.

  ‘How do you know your brother is in North Africa?’ Piso asked, after she’d explained how she’d suffered in her marriage and why she’d divorced Ofellius.

  ‘One of Ofellius’s captains found my mother, he’d heard a rumour about Marcus.’ She gave a smile. ‘As long as Marcus is found, nothing else matters, according to my mother. He was always their favourite.’

  Piso put his arm about Valeria and she snuggled into the warmth of his body. ‘Did this sailor say which gladiator’s house Marcus fights for?’

  ‘I think it was Strabo.’ Valeria sat up, as her mind searched for the answer. ‘Yes that’s it, Strabo the Cyrenian. Strabo in Cyrene.’

  ‘And you are certain of this?’

  ‘Yes.’ Valeria settled back against his arms. ‘Will you take me to Alexandria when the winds change?’

  ‘If it’s your desire, Valeria, we’ll go.’ He pressed a ki
ss against her temple and his kiss was a healing balm rather than a raging storm.

  Piso watched Valeria breathe. His body protested as he eased himself out of her warm embrace. Her confession earlier had shown him what a self-important fool he’d been. He should have believed in her love for him. He longed to turn back time and save her from all that misery but he couldn’t. He could only ensure her life from now on was full and complete and that she lived her life how she wanted to.

  He pressed his lips together. Someone had given Valeria the wrong information. Strabo was one of the leading lanistras in Capua rather than in North Africa, making it much easier for him to travel there and plead with Marcus to return.

  ‘I’ll keep you safe,’ he whispered against her hair. ‘Trust me. Believe in me. This time, you will have a choice.’

  He went to his private shrine and withdrew the little Artemis figurine. After Valeria’s wedding parade, he’d discovered it tangled in his bloodied clothes. He thought the gods were mocking him. He had tucked it in his shoulder bag until he found a suitable place to leave it. On that first voyage after Valeria’s wedding, it had saved his life as he returned to the boat to get it, intending to finally leave it at a temple of Artemis, but he surprised a gang of thieves and saved the cargo. Thereafter he kept it with him as a symbol of his renewed fortune. He’d thought it was the figurine, but now he knew that it had been Valeria’s love, which had kept him safe and brought him home. He scribbled a brief note on a scrap of parchment before leaving the figurine and the note beside her pillow.

  Valeria woke between tangled sheets to bright sunshine. She reached out but the bed was cold.

  Valeria drew her hand back as disappointment filled her. She remembered his words about not being alone, but they brought her little comfort. She drew her knees up to her chest and tried to think. Surely he couldn’t be tired of her! Last night had been beyond describing and the third day had barely begun.

  She concentrated on breathing steadily as she searched for a reasonable explanation. She’d overslept. He had business. He’d be there in the atrium, listening to clients’ petitions, solving problems, and she wanted to be there, near him.