‘I can’t,’ she said sadly. Nothing between them was the same now, their relationship had changed the night that she’d betrayed him with Taranis, and it had never truly recovered. Even so, after he’d rescued her from Pompeii, Lucius had been good to her. Life as a Roman governor’s paramour had been quite enjoyable and their sex life had continued to be as stimulating as ever.
‘I’ll miss you,’ he said sadly, as he tenderly stroked her cheek.
‘And I you.’
Lucius pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. ‘The Emperor has given you your freedom, Sirona. Now you can return home. All I hope is that you find happiness there.’
Sirona tried to stop tears from filling her eyes. ‘And I hope that you’ll find happiness with Drusilla.’
‘Arranged marriages rarely turn out well.’ He stared at her and she thought that he was about to tell her something of great importance. But she was wrong because he merely said, ‘Your escort has arrived. They’ll stay here overnight and you’ll depart for Ostia at first light.’
‘Then this is goodbye?’
‘Yes. I have to go, Titus is expecting me.’ Stepping back, he gave her a formal bow and then strode from the room.
Sirona stood there for a moment, thinking that their farewell had been far too brief, she should have been more affectionate and thanked him for all he’d done for her. However, in the last few days she’d felt that he had been trying to pull back from her, probably to stop their parting from being more painful than it already was. She made her way to her bedroom feeling sad that she was losing Lucius, but happy and a little apprehensive about returning home.
Dismissing her maid, she sat down on the bed that she and Lucius had so recently shared. It wouldn’t be easy to accustom herself to the simple life back in Brittania, especially as most of the people she cared for were either missing or dead.
There was a soft knock on her door and the slave girl, who’d been acting as her maid, pulled it open. ‘My lady, the leader of your escort wishes to speak with you.’
‘He does?’ What would this man possibly want? Sirona wondered, rising to her feet, thinking that she’d speak to him in the main salon.
Suddenly, the girl was pushed aside and a man, wearing a long hooded cloak, strode into her bedchamber and slammed the door shut behind him. She was struck dumb with surprise, as he threw back his hood.
‘Sirona!’ Taranis pulled her into his arms, hugging her so tight he almost crushed her.
‘Lucius knew?’ she managed to stutter, as he took her face between his hands and stared lovingly into her green eyes.
‘Yes, he and his sister arranged it.’
He kissed her, a hard raw kiss filled with so much passion it literally took her breath away. He held her tightly, his lips locked with hers until he was forced to release her through lack of air. Her body seemed to melt into his and she felt the hard line of his cock pressing sensuously against her belly.
As he gently pulled her towards the bed, he divested first her, then himself of clothing. She wanted to feast her eyes on his naked body, enjoy slow sweet hours of lovemaking, but the intoxicating pleasure of his presence drove this from her mind: she had to fuck him right now. Taranis seemed to be of the same accord, as he flipped her over on to her stomach. Lifting her on to her knees, Taranis buried his cock deep into her pussy and fucked her hard and fast, giving her far more pleasure than any other man could.
Sirona grabbed hold of the woollen coverlet, as his massive shaft thrust into her body. One of his hands reached for her breasts, while the other slid between her pussy lips to stroke her clit. In no time at all, she came, swiftly and fiercely, her orgasm overpowering her completely.
Taranis lay there watching Sirona sleeping. After he’d fucked her so roughly, they’d made love again. This time slowly and passionately, as he tried to convey all his thoughts and feelings in those long lingering moments of lovemaking. Exhausted and happy, she’d fallen asleep in his arms, while he had just lain there, unable to take his eyes from her, hardly able to believe that they were together again. He had to thank Lucius and Julia for this, the two people who had helped him were the same two people he would have expected to try and keep them apart.
Nevertheless, they had both been incredibly lucky, both to survive the devastation of Pompeii and to find each other again. After his arrest, he had been imprisoned for a few weeks then, eventually, when order had been restored in the area, he’d been taken to the gladiatorial barracks in Rome. Taranis had thought that he would be forced to fight in the arena again, but that had never happened. It was well known that he’d helped rescue many refugees from Stabiae and some citizens had said that he should be rewarded for that. However, he was also implicated in the escape of almost fifty slaves, all former gladiators. Most of them had not been recaptured, including Leod and Olin.
It had been some time before Cnaius had returned to Rome and learnt of his imprisonment. Cnaius had visited him and, to Taranis’s amazement, promptly given him his freedom. Cnaius had then managed to arrange to have all charges against him dropped. By a strange quirk of fate, among the refugees he’d rescued from Stabiae had been Cnaius’s sister and her young son, and freedom was his reward for saving them.
When the Emperor had heard what had happened, he’d insisted on meeting Taranis. He’d been fortunate to spend some time with Titus, and had got to know him quite well. Titus was a good man and Taranis hoped that eventually he might bring about positive changes in the Empire.
Once freed, Taranis had lived with Julia in her villa in Rome. However, freed slaves were not allowed to marry noblewomen, so she would have to leave everything and everyone she knew in order to be with him. Also, Taranis couldn’t in all honesty think of marrying her when he still loved Sirona. He knew that eventually he would have to be cruel to be kind and leave Julia. Once she’d come to accept that, it was impossible for them to be together; she would soon find herself a new husband, especially as Titus had made a point of introducing her to a large number of rich and influential young men.
However, before he could carry out his plans, Lucius had returned to Rome to marry, bringing Sirona with him, and Julia had at last realised that she had no real future with Taranis.
‘Taranis.’ Sirona sleepily opened her eyes. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing, my love. Go back to sleep, we have to leave early in the morning.’
She smiled and snuggled closer to him. Closing his eyes, he tried to relax, but it wasn’t easy with her naked body pressed to his. He would keep the last surprise of all until tomorrow. Titus had freed her father and, when they reached Ostia, Borus would be there waiting for them.
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Black Lace books contain sexual fantasies.
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First published in 2006 by
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Copyright © Deanna Ashford, 2006
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Barbarian Prize Page 24
