GladiatorsAtonement

by Amy Ruttan

  “You know of the passageway?” she asked, dismayed.

  “Of course I do, you foolish girl. You think I would not know all the ins and outs of my own home?”

  Feigning ignorance, she shrugged her shoulders. “If you slept through the intruder’s appearance, then I must have as well.”

  “I find that hard to believe that an intruder would leave you untouched.”

  “Perhaps the intruder is like you, for you have left me untouched. Perhaps the intruder has no strength in his sword,” Helena hissed.

  “Get out of my sight, you brazen whore.”

  Helena shook her head but secretly laughed as she took the stairwell back to her bedchamber. Eratos had really frightened Thelonius.

  Good.

  Thelonius was nothing but a murdering pig and he deserved everything that was coming to him.

  If only her father could have had a chance for revenge against her husband after Thelonius had blackmailed him and secured her father’s vast wealth by marrying her.

  She had every reason to despise Thelonius. He stole her from her family, brought her to Antioch and then turned the Praetorian Guard against those she loved. She didn’t even have a chance to properly mourn them. There was nothing left for her in Rome once Eratos finished with Thelonius. Antioch was home now.

  * * * * *

  Thelonius opened the shutters and peered out into the silent garden. “I know he is nearby. I am leaving this house and I will return by nightfall with more guards. I will find him and root him out—you have my word on it.”

  She did not respond, what could she say? Helena smiled as Thelonius stormed from the house, taking all the hired guards with him. She was glad to be rid of him, even for only a little while.

  Helena sat down on the edge of her sleeping pallet and ran her hands along the bedding. Picking up one of the pillows, she held it close and could still smell Eratos’ scent permeating into the fibers of the cloth. The masculine scent of deep spices and something wild.

  Untamed.

  Her blood heated thinking about Eratos and how their bodies melded in passion. She pulled off her clothing and lay down on the bedding, spreading her legs and closing her eyes as she thought of her mighty gladiator taking her.

  Fire flushed her cheeks as she pictured Eratos entering her room as she lay on her bed, naked, vulnerable and alone. Her nipples hardened, recalling his hands on her breasts, caressing them, kneading them. His clear blue eyes locked on her with intensity as he bent over her, capturing one of the sensitive buds with his lips, branding her with liquid fire.

  Helena bit her lip as she caressed her breasts in response to picturing Eratos’ hands on her flesh. An ache, a need, made her drive her hips upward. She licked her fingers, trailing them down over her stomach and between her thighs. Her hand slipped down her sex, parting her folds, and she began to circle the center of her pleasure. A headiness enveloped her body as her blood ignited, building slowly into a full-blown inferno that raged through her.

  By the gods, she wished Eratos was here, taking her, mounting her.

  Closing her eyes, she saw Eratos’ face between her thighs. Pictured his tongue licking her slit, felt his fingers slip inside her sheath, pumping in and out of her. A wild sensation built up inside her. She felt as if she were going to shatter as her release came fast and strong. The muscles in her pussy pulsated as the aftermath of her erotic fantasy washed through her.

  When the last shudders of her orgasm left her, she rolled over and gasped as she saw a dark figure lurking in the shadows. Helena sat up and was about to scream, but Eratos stepped out of the shadows, naked, his cock fully erect.

  “You really should not have done that, anam cara.”

  “Oh?” She arched a brow. “Why is that?”

  Eratos grinned. “Only I shall bring you pleasure.”

  “You are so sure of yourself, gladiator.” Licking her lips, she scooted across her bed. “Let us make a wager, shall we?”

  “I’m intrigued.”

  “You cannot touch me as I try to bring you to the very height of ecstasy. If you take me before I am done, you lose.”

  Eratos grinned. “As simple as that? I accept your wager. I have survived many battles, I am positive I can overcome this one.”

  Helena grinned. “We shall see.”

  “When does—” His words were cut off in a moan as she grasped the base of his shaft and ran her tongue along the underside of the tip. “Anam cara.” More strangled Celtic words escaped past his lips as she took him in her mouth. Her hand moved up and down the length of him as she sucked on his cock, giving him the same pleasure he had bestowed on her last night.

  Eratos grunted and began to thrust into her mouth, his fingers entwining in her hair as he thrust against her, but all too soon he pulled away.

  “This is not how I want to release.” His words deep, husky, laced with ecstasy.

  Helena grinned. “Do you yield?”

  “Aye, now get on your hands and knees.” Helena chuckled as she did that. Eratos cupped the cheeks of her bottom, kneading them. His cock teased the entrance of her slick entrance. He thrust forward, filling her. She gasped as he began to move in and out of her. Eratos plunged deep into her, holding her hips, bringing her tight against him as he took her like an animal.

  He leaned over her back and she could feel his hard chest against the curve of her spine, his hands on either side of her. His movements became shallow, his breathing thick and rapid in her ear.

  “By the gods, you are so tight.”

  Helena purred as he stiffened and spilled his seed into her. Eratos pulled out of her and collapsed against the bedding. Helena chuckled and curled up beside him. He opened one eye and looked at her.

  “I win,” she teased.

  “Is that so?” With a large roar Eratos pounced on her. His cock hard as he knocked open her legs with his thighs and plunged into her again. Proving to her he never gave up without a fight.

  * * * * *

  “Thelonius is out,” Helena announced lazily, lying across his chest. Eratos chuckled and continued drawing unseen circles across her soft, delicate skin.

  “I know. His men are scouring Antioch at this moment, looking for me. He has made his way to a Roman bath in the section of town that caters to his sick whim.”

  Helena raised herself on one elbow. “Then he’ll be gone for some time.”

  Eratos growled pleasantly. “Still hungry for more, anam cara?”

  A pink blush stained her cheeks. “I am always hungry for you, warrior.” She bent down and kissed him lightly on the lips. “But that is not what I am suggesting.”

  “Oh, and what are you suggesting?”

  “A perfect chance to torture him some more.” Her eyes lit with a gleam of delight.

  “I like how you think.”

  Helena rolled off him and quickly dressed. It was a shame she was covering her glorious body, but he would uncover it later. He would wait and hide and hear Thelonius’ terror for himself. He was looking forward to reveling in it.

  “Come.” She held out her hand and they ambled up the stairwell together. They entered the chamber and Eratos spied his earlier message, still scrawled upon the wall. “What do you propose to do this time?”

  He smiled and pulled out a scroll. “I had this written especially for him. Secrets I overheard in my time as a slave. It warns him this is a copy.”

  Helena arched any eyebrow. “I take it these are secrets he does not want to be let out on the world.”

  “Aye,” Eratos said gruffly. He placed the scroll on Thelonius’ ample pallet. Right in the middle of the pristine sheets where he could see it, and know that someone was in his home.

  “Perhaps he will just blame me,” Helena said.

  Eratos shook his head. “Unless you know the ancient language of my people.”

  “I do not.” She touched the scroll. “Are you saying Thelonius does?”

  Eratos nodded. “When he first purchased me, he sp
oke the words of my people. He made it quite clear…” He trailed off as the words came back to haunt him. The things Thelonius said he was going to do to him. His stomach knotted painfully and a bead of sweat broke out across his brow as the horrifying images crossed his mind.

  “Eratos,” Helena whispered gently in his ear, “come, he cannot harm you any longer.”

  “What?” Still dazed, he looked down at her. Her kind and gentle touch reassured him he was safe. Thelonius could no longer harm him.

  “Come with me.” She took his hand and led him out of the bedchamber.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To a place that always helps me clear my mind.” Helena led him from the villa and through the garden. She parted some branches of the olive grove that led to a little iron gate. Pulling a key from the pocket of her stola, she unlocked it and led Eratos inside.

  It was a small garden, but overhead were grapevines that were laden with fruit and had interwoven together to form a roof. Pockets of sunlight filtered through, and in the center was a small fountain. The patina on the statue was moss colored and the water no longer flowed. The place had been forgotten, hidden for some time.

  “How does Thelonius not know about this place?”

  Helena shrugged her shoulders. “He does not like the garden. I stumbled across this place when he was away. After you left, I found it. It was refuge. The olive trees run around the perimeter of the wall of my garden, one can move invisibly through them and hide here.” She handed him the key. “I know it is not comfortable, but it gives you a place to stay.”

  Eratos took her hand. “It is beautiful, anam cara. It is comfortable, and I have stayed in places not as pleasant as this.”

  “I’m sure. I heard the great fire destroyed most of Rome, how you escaped that is beyond me.”

  “I hid in the catacombs with my half-brother and his Roman wife. She was an intuitive little thing, loyal to Taranis.”

  Helena paled. “The catacombs? Well, I will bring you straw bedding, I will not have you sleeping on the stone ground.”

  “Aye, so this is much more pleasant.” He took a step forward, placing his hands on her hips, pulling her tight against him. “Will you come and visit me here?”

  “Yes, of course.” She ran her hands over his chest. “I used to fantasize about you. I used to dream we were together here.”

  He let out a feral growl as he ran his hands up to cup her breasts. “We can be.”

  She laughed. “As soon as I get the bedding here, then I intend on living out those fantasies.”

  Eratos scooped her up in his arms. “I want you again, anam cara.” He captured her lips with his. “I need you.”

  “Yes,” she whispered breathlessly.

  They left the secret garden, keeping to the shadows so no one would see them. He quickly made his way back to her bedchamber and Helena breathed an inward sigh of relief that they were not caught. His lips captured hers once more as he hungrily devoured her.

  Eratos carried her to her bedchamber. He was about to drop her back on her pallet, but she broke free of the kiss.

  “Not here, my warrior. I have somewhere else in mind.”

  Intrigued, he set her down. Helena took his hand and led him to the back of the house. He could hear water trickling. Helena opened a door and it was a large open-air Roman bath. His body trembled in anticipation. He could do with a bath. His skin was prickly from the heat of the day.

  They quickly stripped out of their clothes. Helena stepped forward. “What do you think?”

  “I think, anam cara, this will do just fine.” He kissed her tenderly.

  Helena ran her hands over his skin, touching each mark, each nick from every lash he received from Thelonius. Reaching up, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her from her tender exploration. Their eyes locked. The only sound was the gurgle of the fountain in the center of the pool.

  “You are so different from others,” he mused out loud as he brushed away an errant strand of hair from her face.

  “I know.” She opened her mouth, as if to tell him more, but she did not.

  “Do not be afraid to tell me anything.”

  “I trust you with my life, Eratos.”

  Having her body so close to his just fired his blood, made him want her even more. Her nipples hardened as he cupped her breasts.

  “No more talk.” He began to lay kisses against her neck, her pulse began to quicken under his lips. “I need to be buried inside you.”

  “Aye,” she whispered, her arms wrapping around him once more.

  “How much do you want it, anam cara?”

  She let out a low moan, her hips rolling as she tried to slide closer to him. Eratos chuckled as he began to nibble her neck, reveling in the fiery passion that he was unleashing from her. His little Roman was so responsive.

  “Do you want me?” he asked again, his voicing hitching slightly.

  “I do, Eratos. You know that I do.” When she spoke his name it sent a shiver of delight down his spine. Never had his name sounded so sweet on a Roman’s tongue before.

  He wanted to take his time, but she was irresistible. Her breasts high and firm, begging to be kissed and sucked. His eyes drifted down to the curls at the juncture of her thighs. Gods, how he wanted to taste her there again, bury his face in her. She did not cover her body in shame—instead she pressed her naked body up against him, returning his kisses fervently. He ran his hands down her back to cup her backside in his hands, kneading the cheeks as their tongues intertwined. She intoxicated him so.

  Eratos led her to the pool. They went down the steps and sank into the tepid water. He pulled her close. Helena wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him tight against her. A shiver of excitement rippled through him as her delicate fingers touched him, swirling around his nipples, over his chest and down his rock-hard abs.

  He groaned as her hands came dangerously close to his cock. “Anam cara, do you know how much I want you?”

  “How much?” she teased, nipping at his neck.

  Eratos groaned. Helena reached out and guided his hand to the curls at juncture of her thighs. “Touch me.”

  He swallowed hard. Her brazenness inflamed his desire immensely. His fingers parted her folds. He began to stroke her and she moaned against his shoulders, dragging her teeth against his skin.

  She ran her fingers down his hard stomach and then lightly along his shaft. He gasped as she touched him there, her hand encircling him, stroking him up and down.

  “Don’t,” he said, grabbing her wrist. “I want this to last, and if you keep touching me like that, it won’t.”

  He kissed her hard, his tongue pushing past her lips and entwining with her own. He let his fingers run through her hair as she ground her hips against his cock.

  He ran his fingers from her chin down her neck to her nipple. He cupped her breasts and brought his lips down to suckle her and nibble.

  Helena let out another guttural moan and tossed her head back and forth. She began to rock her hips as he rubbed her slit.

  “Look at me,” he demanded hoarsely.

  She opened her eyes, which sparkled in the moonlight.

  “What do you want, Helena?”

  “You, only you.”

  He sucked in a deep breath. “By the gods.”

  “Come inside me,” she said, opening her legs wide. He let out a low, guttural growl and pushed the head of his cock against her core, entering her swiftly, burying himself to the hilt. She was so tight, so warm, so wet. He leaned against the edge of the pool as he moved in and out of her slick heat. She angled her hips to take him deeper, harder. His cock rubbed against her swollen clitoris.

  “Oh yes,” she murmured, arching her back to take him deeper.

  He waited until her hips began to grind, then he knew she was ready and eager for more. He began to move in and out of her slowly and it was so hard not to go faster. Sweat broke across his brow as he strained to keep himself from coming. When she began to undu
late faster and ride his shaft up and down, searching for her release, was when he allowed himself to let go. He began to ride her hard and fast and she moaned in pleasure. He rubbed the pad of his thumb against her clit and brought her to the same pleasurable release as he came.

  Her fingers dug into his back as the muscles of her sheath clamped down on him and he emptied his seed inside her. Eratos collapsed against her and then slid out of her as Helena’s feet rested on the bottom of the pool. He sank down in the water, allowing it to envelop him and wash away the world. When he surfaced, he picked up Helena and they lay against the cushions in the sunlight. He just listened to her breathe heavily as they let the dry, hot breeze fan their spent bodies.

  Chapter Four

  Eratos was resting on the straw bed that Helena had set up for him in the secret alcove in the garden she had shown him. The sun was setting, and he watched the sky through the vines turn from pink to red, and the first twinkles of stars peek from the twilight. He even picked a bunch of grapes—they were plump, juicy and sweet.

  Just like Helena.

  He had spent all day mating with her and yet his cock still hardened thinking about her. Why a man not interested in women would marry such a fine specimen baffled him. Why would Thelonius be so greedy when he had no interest in the fairer sex?

  He also wondered why Helena hated Thelonius so. Was it because Thelonius left her untouched? Somehow Eratos doubted that. So what drove Helena’s burning hatred for his former master? What had Thelonius done to her?

  It made him burn with fire thinking Helena had been hurt by Thelonius. He was ill that she was forced to watch his tortures, like he got some perverse desire out of it. A fortnight seemed a long time away to end the life of such a foul creature as Thelonius, but a promise was a promise and he would not break his word to Helena.

  A warrior never broke his word.

  The sky darkened as the sun finally set, but the moon was full and brilliant. The inky black sky was alight with millions of stars. He began to relax until he heard someone rustling in the olive grove that concealed him. Scooting up, he pulled out his dagger, ready to strike if it was not Helena.