“How do you wish to have me?” I ask, knowing that I cannot say no.
He grins, shifting my body so that I can feel his length press against my center. “I wish to watch you take me, dulcissima.”
My entire body breaks out in a shiver as I lower down along his length. Sweetest. I think that Marcellus gets a lot of his desires met when he says dulcissima, I know that I would give him almost anything to hear him whisper it again.
Chapter Two
MARCELLUS
Laurentia slips from the room when dinner has been consumed. It is what she does every night, as if she does not wish to socialize with anyone at all. I think that she does. She does not strike me as someone who is socially inept, perhaps she does not feel comfortable in her new place as the personal famulus to the empress.
After a few moments of drinking wine with the family, I decide to make my way toward her. I try not to make it obvious, but I have no doubt that Cassia is watching every move that I make. She should worry about herself and her future prospects, not so much mine or anyone else’s.
Slipping inside Laurentia’s room, I am surprised to see her back to me. She is facing the window, her nude body highlighted by nothing but the moonlight. Closing the door behind me, I slip the lock into place.
“Do you feel for me?” she asks oddly.
We’ve come to a comfortableness where we’re no longer famulus and master, we’re mutual lovers, at least when we are alone.
“Feel for you?” I ask.
I know what she is referencing and the feelings she would like to know if I hold or not. However, I am unable to answer her, at least not in this moment.
She turns her head, looking over her shoulder at me and gives me a small smile. “Do you feel for me, Marcellus?”
When she says my name, it sends chills down my spine. I have never allowed a woman to speak my name, not this way, and especially not a famulus. I cannot admit any feelings for her, no matter what I think or feel inside, it matters not. She is famulus and I am the frater to the emperor. I may choose who I wish to wed, to make a life with, but I certainly cannot choose a famulus.
“I feel things, yes. If you are asking me my feelings on love, you know that I cannot answer.”
“Cannot or will not?” she grinds out.
Closing the distance between us, I wrap my arm around her waist and press my palm against her belly. My other hand, I glide my fingertips down her arm as I touch my mouth to her soft shoulder.
“It matters not, Laurentia.”
“It could,” she breathes.
I hum against her skin, tasting her with my tongue, wanting to be inside of her more than I want to breathe. She turns in my arms and looks up at me, her eyes wide and full of unshed tears.
“You’ve asked your brother for a list of brides to choose from,” she murmurs.
“I have,” I mutter as my fingers shift from her belly to between her legs.
Sliding my fingers through her folds, I swirl them around her landica as we talk. She shifts her hips, jerking them as her head falls back against my shoulder. I bring her closer toward the edge of her release, knowing that I will not allow her to fall over unless I am inside of her, but I do enjoy this part greatly.
“And what will happen to me?” she asks between panting breaths.
Touching my mouth to hers, I bury two fingers inside of her and grind my palm against her landica. She whimpers, jerking as she rubs herself against me.
“You will stay as mine, just the way we are.”
LAURENTIA
Tears fall down my cheeks after he leaves me naked and alone in bed. Turning my back to the closed door, I stare at the wall. I cry. I cry harder than I did the night that I was brought here to be a famulus. I cry because I have fallen in love with Marcellus.
I knew he was not mine to keep and yet I hoped and I stupidly allowed myself to dream. I shouldn’t have. I knew better and yet I threw caution to the wind and allowed it anyway. I partially blame the empress. She has falsely allowed me freedoms that I should not possess.
Unable to sleep, I gather myself after lying in bed for hours and I dress for the day. I cannot do any chores at this hour, so once I’m dressed, I head down to the gardens.
I freeze at the sight of Cassia sitting on the bench that I had meant to occupy. “You’re Laurentia, come and sit,” she calls out without even looking at me.
Shuffling toward her, I sink down on the edge of the seat. “I’m to be married. My cousin has chosen for me. The first match fell through. I do not know the details, I wish that I did.”
“Do you not care for him?” I chance asking.
Cassia shrugs a shoulder, then turns to face me. “I do not know him well, but he is willing to live here with my family. Something that I think Tiberius demanded after the first match fell through. I should be grateful.”
I hum, unsure of what to say. I will never have the dilemma she finds herself in. I will never even have a husband. It should not bother me the way that it does, but I have fallen in love and I want a life with him.
“Are you scared?” I ask.
Cassia nods her head, licking her lips before her bright eyes meet mine. “I am scared, but I am also excited. I will be his bride in just a few days’ time. I should be embarrassed because a man didn’t want me, but I’m not.”
“Why?” I ask.
“It was not the fates of the gods, that man. This one is.”
“I am happy for you,” I say with a genuine smile.
“You know that Drucilla will grant your freedom, then you can be just as happy as I am.”
Pressing my lips together, I look down at my lap, unable to respond to her words. I will never be as happy as she is, because I will not have Marcellus. I have allowed myself to dream far too much and I am so angry, but at myself more than anyone else.
“Marcellus looks at you as if he would like to keep you,” Cassia whispers.
Lifting my head, I turn to look at her. “He probably will,” I confess. “Though I will not be able to keep him.”
“With your freedom, you can,” she urges.
I love how positive and naïve she is all at the same time. It is a wonderful trait to have, though I’m not sure how it will help her in the future with her marriage.
Hopefully, the empress will give her the truth of marriage before she dives in with her eyes closed. I don’t spoil anything for her, instead, I give her a smile before I excuse myself to go back to my room.
Chapter Three
ONE MONTH LATER
MARCELLUS
She has denied me for weeks. Her cubiculum door is usually locked or she is nowhere to be found. I have not seen her in far too long and my body yearns and aches to be inside of her. My mind nags to have a conversation with her, to hear her voice, to see her in more than just passing in a room full of people.
I need to be near her. I need to be alone with her. I want to be inside of her.
Seeing her in the hallway, I take the opportunity. Normally, I would not be so brazen in public, but it matters not if someone sees us. I cannot stand to be without her for another second longer.
She is walking toward the gardens. I hurry behind her, wrapping my hand around her mouth and my other arm around her waist before I spin her and pin her body against the wall with my own.
Her eyes widen, and I grin as I release her mouth. “I have missed you, why do you hide from me?” I ask on a murmur.
“I do not hide from you,” she breathes.
I hum, touching my mouth to hers. “You do.” Sliding my tongue inside of her mouth, I penetrate her, loving the way that she tastes. There is no better taste than that of Laurentia’s sweet mouth.
Reaching down, I wrap my fingers in her skirt and begin to pull it up. I almost have it completely up and my hips fitted between her legs when I feel her strong grip around my wrists and she pushes me away.
“No,” she whispers.
“No?” I ask, unused to the word.
&nb
sp; She nods her head once. “I am a free woman, Marcellus. So, no.”
Releasing her, I take a step back, lifting my hand and running my fingers through my hair as I watch her. She has said no to me. This is a word that only Tiberius has the authority or balls to say to me.
“No,” I say, repeating the word to myself in disbelief.
Unable to speak, unsure of what to say. Anger pulses throughout my entire body and before I say and do something that I would forever regret, I simply turn and walk away from her.
LAURENTIA
There now. It is done.
There will be no more evading Marcellus. There will not be a need any longer to avoid him at all. He will never make his way into my room again. He will cease watching me from across the room and he will never grab me and kiss me in the hallways again.
He will act as though I do not exist, and everything will be better. Everything will be as it should be. I am free, but still very much a famulus to my empress, and I am fine with that. She is a wonderful employer. Marcellus will marry and create a family with a good Savonaian woman.
Everything will be just as it was always meant to be.
This will be good.
So good.
Then why do I feel so terrible? Why does my entire body ache? Why do I want to cry and lie in bed, unmoving? Why does the simple idea of waking up tomorrow make me want to cry all over again?
Curling my knees up against my chest, I stare out at the wall and wonder when the pain will ease inside of me. Then, I think about Marcellus and that Savonaian woman together. Will he take her to celebration the way he did me? Will he kiss her? Will he create life with her?
The answer is simple.
Yes.
He will do all those things with whatever woman he chooses. Marcellus enjoys the physical pleasures of being with a man just as much as he does a woman. His mulier will need to enjoy that as well.
It wasn’t hard for me, as a famulus, though there were many things that were foreign to me before I moved to Savona. Now they are just part of life, pleasures of the flesh are one of them, and I have discovered that there is a lot of pleasure to be found in this world. There can be a lot of pain and heartache too.
Chapter Four
ONE WEEK LATER
LAURENTIA
I watch as the domum around me is in a buzz. Confused, I hurry to where my mistress is. She’s in the garden as usual, her favorite place to spend her days.
It is cool and covered with lush greenery, out of the elements, but also outside so that she can have fresh air. I don’t blame her at all for spending her days out here, I would do the same.
Once I am outside, I see Drucilla sitting on the bench, hurrying over to her, I open my mouth to ask her what is happening and she turns to me, her eyes finding mine.
“Have you something to say to me?” she asks.
I blink, pressing my lips together. “What do you mean?” I ask.
She doesn’t look angry, but she is very serious as she watches me. Slowly she rises to her feet, reaching out she takes my hands in hers.
“You have something to say to me, do you not?”
Opening my mouth, I have nothing to say, nothing comes out. But behind me, someone clears their throat. Turning my head, I look to see Marcellus and Tiberius standing just a few feet away, their eyes on us.
Shifting my gaze back to Drucilla, I shake my head, unsure of what to say.
“Marcellus has requested, but I have not approved as it is not my place to do so since you are a free woman,” she murmurs.
“Requested?” I ask.
She hums. “He has asked me for your hand in marriage on this day.”
I gasp.
The sound does not sound real, it is loud and comes from me, but my head spins so quickly that I am unsure it even came from me. Then before I can speak, Marcellus’ arms are around me and I’m turned to face him.
My entire body trembles.
Looking up at him, I blink a few times, completely frozen.
“Become my mulier,” Marcellus whispers.
MARCELLUS
I cannot know what her response is going to be. Laurentia watches me, her eyes wide and her lips parted. She doesn’t answer me immediately, licking her lips a few times, but no words escape.
Lifting my hand, I cup her cheek. “I love you, Laurentia. You are free and I would like to have you as my true mulier.”
“Marcellus, you cannot. What about children?” she whispers.
“Can you not produce them?” I ask, worried that possibly she cannot have them. It would be difficult if that were the case, but I would still marry her. She is who I choose.
She shakes her head, gasping for air before she continues. “I can have them, I think. But I am not Savonaian blood, I was a famulus.”
“I know exactly who you are and your past. It matters not. All that matters is that you are at my side. Nothing else.”
I think that she is going to deny me the mulier that I desire, but then she rises to her toes and touches her mouth to mine. “Yes,” she breathes against my lips.
I do not delay. Without another word, I take a step back from her and guide her toward the officiant who is already waiting. There will be celebrations and food to come as well. Days of celebrating. Even games that Tiberius has already scheduled.
“I apologize for disappearing for a week. I needed to prepare,” I murmur.
She laughs and shifts her gaze to meet mine. “I thought that we were going to move on, I didn’t know.”
I snort. “There is no moving on from you, Laurentia, not for me at least.”
Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
LAURENTIA
Biting the corner of my lip, I watch him from across the room. I did not think that this would happen. It has been so long, a year, and we had both just assumed that it was not possible for us.
And yet.
The barley seeds grow.
“You’ve requested my presence?” Marcellus asks, his voice low and husky.
Turning my head, I look over my shoulder at him. He is smiling down at me and my heart skips a beat. “Come here,” I whisper.
He closes the short distance between us, sinking down, and lifts his hand, touching my shoulder.
“What is it, dulcissima?”
“We’re to have a child,” I breathe, afraid to say the words too loud, afraid that they may not come true if I do.
His eyes widen, and he doesn’t speak. Instead, he slips his arms beneath me, carrying me like a child through the garden, then the domum until we reach our room. Without a word he deposits me on the bed, his gaze looking down and connecting with my own.
“A child? I did not think…”
“Me either,” I breathe.
His lips curve up into a grin. “I did not realize I could ever be so happy, Laurentia.”
“I did not think it was possible, not after this long,” I say.
His lips curve into a huge smile and he takes a step toward me, gripping my dress in his hands before he pulls it up and off of my body, throwing it onto the floor. Spreading my thighs, I inhale a deep breath as his fingers shift between my legs.
Dropping my head backward, I whimper as his fingers work me, they move and shift through my folds, touching me just the way that I adore, just the way he knows I love.
“We will celebrate soon, the whole city,” he promises. “What are your desires, anything my mulier wishes, it shall be hers for one evening.”
Goose bumps break out over my skin at the thought, leaning forward, my hips continue to move to the rhythm that he has set and I touch my mouth to his before I whisper my desires.
“I wish to be pleasured by another man’s mouth while you bring him pleasure, just like the first time. I knew I loved you that night. I wish to recreate it.”
He smiles. “Whatever my mulier desires, it is hers.”
MARCELLUS
Walking into Tiberius’ office, I cannot keep from smiling
. I have never been so happy. It oozes from me. It consumes me. Tiberius senses my presence and lifts his head from his scrolls.
“You seem very pleased with yourself, frater,” he points out.
Sinking down into the seat across from his desk, I cross my leg at the ankle and look at him, my smile unshakable.
“I am. My world could not get any sweeter.”
Tiberius chuckles. “I am happy about your new addition. We were all concerned that it would not happen. It pleases me that there will be another babe in the house.”
“I did not think it possible either, truly. How could our world, our lives, just keep getting better?” I ask him.
“The gods have blessed us all, Marcellus. They continue to bless us as we continue to honor them. It is simple.”
“Do they?” I ask. “Truly, do they?”
Nodding, he stands and walks over to the window. “The wolves continue to watch guard over my mulier and now our babes. The bears are also close by. We have defeated Diaboli. Your mulier was granted freedom by mine, therefore making her a suitable match for your union. All these things could not have happened without the fates of the gods.”
“Will it ever end?” I ask.
Tiberius turns his head, his gaze finding mine and his lips curving up into a grin. “No, it will not. As long as we are steadfast and true. As long as we teach our babes to be good and decent, to be smart and strong, to be humble and kind, our family lines will forever succeed. The gods will always watch over them and when we expire, we will guide them as well.”
My frater is not wrong in his thinking. The prophecy is in full motion. The problems that the other countries started to have, resolved themselves as soon as Diaboli was defeated and now they all prosper, including ours.
Bride of the Emperor (The Prophecy of Sisters Book 4) Page 29