Being In Love (Siri's Saga Book 5)

by Cindee Bartholomew

  I reach out and stop her, grabbing her arm with my pole dancer grip. Her eyes are shocked when she looks at me. "Blood?"

  "Yeah! Blood. It was a real gladiator style battle. Although the edges of the swords weren’t sharp enough to slice, they would cut."

  Instantly I see the small scars on Aurei’s body and I’m thankful too this isn’t going to happen anymore. I don’t know what I would have done, if I would have seen him fighting and bleeding. "Damn!" I breathe. "Remind me to give Quintus a hug later!"

  She giggles. "Yeah. I won’t have to remind you to do that. Come on. We are supposed to sit in the 'Senate’ section."

  When the trumpets sound, I become completely enthralled in the show. The production is a BIG DEAL! I can’t believe Aurei didn’t tell me all this! We sit for hours cheering and screaming for our Liotine team as we are entertained by ripped men with bugling muscles in small suits of armor like Aurei’s. It isn’t only the Liotine men. There are horse and riders from other areas too. They have their own colors and family crests. It’s sort of like a rodeo, but not. It’s sort of like a polo match, but not. It’s sort of like a horse show, but not. It’s more like the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur in Vegas, but not with knights, with the whole Roman Soldier and Gladiator twist. There are even clowns selling fresh flowers and balloon puppeteers working the crowd and keeping the kids engaged. It’s so entertaining and absolute good fun! Awesome Sauce!

  Every time Aurei rides within shouting distance, I give him my best and loudest "Yee-Haw" along with a Siri-ous tornado fist pump. The horsemen are performing as a cavalry legion in tight formations. I keep my phone out the entire time and either snap photos or video to capture his horsemanship. Bee and I pop several selfies too and she posts them on her FB page to share with her Alabama family and friends. I decide I should be more cautious with my posts. I will wait until I can clear them with Aurei and Quintus, before I upload and tag him.

  When Aurei exits the arena with the Liotine group, he is on the outside and passes right by our booth. I rush over to the side and wiggle my way to the front, then totally fangirl over him. His smooth, flawless, healthy, golden tone skin that covers his bodybuilder, muscular physique and supports his heavy, gold, chest plate with the bright red cape and his yellow green gaze behind the gold of the helmet with the red plume sticking out the top glistens in the sunlight with a thin sheen of sweat and totally rocks my world with how utterly and completely spectacular this man is! I form a heart with my hands and hold them over my head. When I catch his eye, I pull it to my heart, then form the sign language symbol for I love you and salute him.

  His grin splits his helmet. Boom! My knees are weak!

  A man beside me snapping pictures with a big camera says, "Quello sguardo! Ah! Perfetto. Lo sguardo d'amore!" I know perfetto translates perfect and amore is love, and that the photographer caught his look, immortalizing it forever.

  I lean out over the wall and Aurei leans over far enough to give me a passing kiss. When my lips find his, the excitement inside me sparks a wave of ecstasy as if it were a lightning bolt filled with electricity. When I lean back into the booth, my feet and toes are tingling as if that lightning tried to exit into the earth through them. "BANG! BABY! BANG!" I pump my fist with thunderous enthusiasm, cheering for him.

  When he is out of sight, I return to Bee and see that Zita has joined us. Her smile is pure enjoyment at my pure enjoyment. While we sit together and politely watch the others perform their feats of horsemanship, Bee shares our selfies, and some of the pics she took with Zita, who tells her to post them on the Celebration event page.

  When the last group has performed and they clear the arena floor, Zita rises and steps up to a microphone that has been placed in our box. She explains the decision not to hold the combat battle this year and there are some unhappy people who whistle their displeasure. "Our champion and his would-be challenger have instead agreed to put on a little show of skill for you." She goes on to explain how Big Al thought it imperative for his family to know their heritage on a personal level.

  She shares some family history stuff I should be listening to, but I get totally distracted when I see Aurei’s fine ass sitting on Caesar in the holding area next to our box, waiting to enter the arena again. His helmet is on and his head is facing forward focused on the gate. His posture is rigid and his body is tense, but he sits his horse completely relaxed.

  "We hope you enjoy the show." Zita finishes speaking and the gate swings open.

  My mind is on my hero. As Aurei walks his prancing Warhorse through it, my eyes feast on his fine, beautiful beast of a body sitting on Caesar, in all his glorious black, wet, shimmering coat and wavy, flowing mane, tail and shins, who struts his awesome, beautiful, beastly body too. I watch mesmerized along with everyone else as he puts his horse through combat sword drills with Quintus who also is rocking every aspect of the Roman soldier image. Quintus wears the complete chest piece though, probably to hide his tats, and his robe and plume are now black, not red. He sits a white stud. They each have shields and as they circle, they clash in a dance too real to be choreographed. Their Warhorses push each other and maneuver their Masters into position, then they separate and square off at each end of the arena.

  When I see Aurei lean forward slightly in the stirrups, I hold my breath, knowing he is going to charge. I lean forward in my seat too, feeling his energy flowing within me. I can sense his breath, increasing with the adrenaline rush. I can hear the muffled sound of the cheering crowd from within his helmet. I can feel the thumping vibrations through my body as Caesar’s hoofs thunder forward. It unfolds in slow motion for me. Maybe because it’s a repeat of his swordsmanship that I watched earlier, but for whatever reason, it’s truly captivatingly spectacular and it makes my blood pump with the fierceness of the charge and the threat that the swords hold, but it’s also beautiful to watch.

  Bee leans over and tells me. "Don’t worry, Siri. I’m getting all this!"

  "Thank you." I tell her from my trancelike state without breaking my focus on Aurei.

  Quintus has charged at the same time too. As they rush towards each other, they lean over the necks of their steeds and perform the intricate hand play and swordsmanship. When they meet in the middle they toss their swords in the air, but instead of catching their own they catch the others. The timing to accomplish that is a split second and I stand up and give the loudest "YEE-HAW" I possess as the crowd erupts with cheers and applause. I turn to look at Bee and she is filming me, not Aurei! "WOW! That was awesome! Please tell me you got that!"

  "I got it up until everyone stood up." She laughs from behind her phone as she continues to video me.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  I turn back around to watch Aurei and Quintus racing to the wall, then pull up hard, forcing their horses to sit on their haunches to stop, then they line up to do it again. "Holy Hell! They’re going to do it again!" I tell her. "Stand up! Stand up! You’ve got to get this!" I wave her to her feet and she’s laughing at me as she climbs into her chair. She pans the crowd, and focuses finally on the show. Again they charge with the awesome swordsmanship, the toss and the precision catch. The crowd collectively holds its breath then cheers! I’m jumping up and down beside myself now along with everyone else. When they line up the third time, they again perform the impossible feat to perfection. When they stop at the wall, both men stand up on their horses backs and one of Caesar’s ears goes forward, his head comes up, and his gait changes to a canter as they circle the Arena, riding next to the wall. The crowd rushes down to wave and try to touch them, tossing flowers onto the stadium floor.

  Ah! So that was what all the flowers were for and Caesar wasn’t unsure at all when I stood up. He responded as trained. Ha! And now I really know why Caesar has extra long reins too! That rascal, Aurei! He sure as hell knows how to keep a secret!

  When they reach the 'Senate' box, they stand shoulder to shoulder before Zita and the family. She steps back up to the microphone
and thanks them both for 'showing off.' The crowd laughs. My eyes remained glued to my hunk and my smile is plastered to my face. When they sit their horses to exit the arena, I rush to the wall and hang over again, determined to get another kiss.

  Aurei’s grin greets me, and I see his eyes twinkling too. He stops and tells me. "Climb on, Cowgirl. I’m finished for the day. We can get out of here."

  "You don’t have to ask me twice." I giggle as I hoist myself up on the wall, then drop down behind him. Caesar waits patiently, then prances us off through the exit and under the stadium. As soon as the crowd is behind us, the Warhorse drops the dramatics and walks quietly behind Quintus and his white horse as we go down the ramp. The clip clop of their hoofs echoing off the walls. My arms are wrapped tight around Aurei as we go and I plaster kisses all over his back.

  We exit into the sunlight at the rear of the stadium. There is a large pasture roped off and hundreds of people and horses there. We make our way toward the rear. When Aurei pulls up, he says. "I brought you a surprise, Baby Sister!"

  "Ah! I love this surprise!" Ann laughs and jogs over. She holds her arms up for me and I slide off into them, then she hugs me tight. "It’s so good to see you, Siri!"

  "It’s good to see you too, Ann!"

  We talk fast and at the same time about Bee and the show, laughing about the pictures she posted. Ann was checking her posts and commenting on them. Aurei hands his sword and shield to a ranch hand, then removes his helmet. He sits patiently with a smirk on his face, watching us interact as if we have known each other for forever too. Then he says, "Come on, girls. Let’s ride back up to the big house before the show’s over and the crowd pours out."

  Ann offers. "You two go on without me. Siri can ride Rosso. Maybe she’ll win this time. I want to head inside and check on Bee. She wasn’t feeling too good this morning. I’ll ride back with the women." I give her another quick hug as the ranch hand that took Aurei’s armor returns with Rosso.

  While I’m climbing on, Quintus rides over to speak. He has shed his heavy armor and is bare chested too. His muscular, tattooed body is gleaming with sweat and he grins as he trots up. "You’ll be glad to hear that our little show of solidarity and skill is blowing up twitter and YouTube. We may be the next viral sensation."

  Aurei nods, "That’s good for Italy."

  "Yes, it is. You two heading back now? I thought it would be good for publicity to let the press take some pictures."

  "You pose for them." Aurei states and smiles at me. "Ready, Cowgirl?"

  "Yee-Haw, Sir. I’m ready to ride."

  Aurei dons his helmet, turns Caesar towards the rear and leads us past a big tent with tables of men sitting under them. There are drinks and it’s obvious from the laughter that they are alcoholic beverages. Apparently, everyone has been indulging all day. I see not only Antonio, Angelo, and a few others I met last night at dinner, but Bob’s golden head of thick hair. He is engaged in an intense conversation with a man who is talking as much with his hands as his mouth, then they all bust out laughing. He was obviously telling them a really good joke. Someone calls out to 'Maximus’ to join them, but he doesn’t respond and when they see me, they wave and let it go.

  When we enter the pasture, he slows enough for me to catch him and we walk side by side in silence. I can’t help my eyes constantly turning to watch him sitting casually in his armor as we go. His face staring straight ahead, intentionally not looking at me, makes me smile. Finally the silent treatment drives me crazy and I tell him, "Screw you, Aurei Moore. You and your secrets! For the love of Zeus, you should have told me what an awesome day this was going to be! I had no idea the elaborate degree the Celebration would be. It was awesome and you are amazing! Quintus too! Hell, the whole thing! I can’t wait to watch the videos Bee shot and share them with Cat! She’s going to cream her cookies! How long did you train in order to perfect that sword toss? It was spectacular...." And on and on I blurt out whatever comes to mind as fast as my thoughts fly over the events of the day. Knowing he won’t interrupt me until I’m finished, I rant until my excitement is spent, then I look at him.

  His expression hasn’t changed. He is still riding with his face forward. He hasn’t glanced over one single time. He hasn’t heard a single word I’ve said!

  I kick Rosso and he trots a few steps then stops not wanting to get ahead of Caesar. I look back at Aurei with a 'hello!' look on my face.

  He smiles, then winks that killer wink at me. "Baby Thang, did you hold that thought?"

  My mind flashes to his face when he is pounding me as his hand squeezes my throat and he approaches climax. I love that face. "Yes, I did."

  "Good." He asks, "Did you cheer for me?"

  I pull Rosso up, staring at him in disbelief. "What the hell? You didn’t hear me?" He ignores me and walks right by.

  "You’ve got to be kidding me. He can’t hear a thing in that helmet." I tell myself, then I yell my best "YEE-HAW" for him to test that thought.

  He turns his head to look at me and his 'shit eating' grin is there. "I heard you." Then he looks forward again.

  "How much can you hear?" I ask as he slowly walks away. He doesn’t answer. "Aurei!" I kick Rosso and he trots even with him again. "Hey," I stick my arm out and touch him.

  He stops and takes his helmet off. "Yes, ma’am?" He asks politely.

  "You can’t hear with that on, can you?" I point to his helmet.

  "Not much."

  "You rascal! I was yelling my fool head off for you! Loud! I thought you could hear me! Why did you want me to yee-haw for you if you couldn’t hear me?" I laugh confused.

  "The crowd heard you."

  "Hell yeah, they did! I was the only one hollering 'yee-haw' and I yelled it loud and a lot!"

  "Good." He grins and starts to put his helmet back on.

  As it slides in place I tell him, "The Bastard Son of Thor, God of Thunder really suits you now."

  His 'shit eating' grin is back, but he holds out his hand and I put mine in it. He cinches our fingers and we ride holding hands as the horses walk up to the barn. Then in a few minutes, he says, "I heard you in my heart."

  "You say the sweetest things, Sugar Bare." I shake my head, letting his love flow over me, then my thoughts turn to the Goddess gown and the implications of it. His actions this weekend have all been designed to make sure everyone, family, friends, the media, the community, everyone, know that we are a solid couple. He’s sure of us and he wants everyone to be sure of it too. My heart warms with the thought.

  Only Mia right now seems to be the obstacle I have to overcome. I wonder how I should go about winning her over. Some women who overstep their authority have a hard time backing back into place afterwards, and she may be one of those. She is certainly aggressive. Yelling at him, her boss, that way on the phone and coming boldly into his house too to confront him about me. Bee said she’s never liked her. She and Ann have been together a long time too. But she’s his VP and I need to deal with her. I have to deal with her. I let our fingers go and grab his wrist. He looks at me. I motion for him to remove his helmet so he does. "Aurei, tell me more about Mia."

  "No." He says simply.

  "Yes." I stop Rosso for emphasis, but Aurei continues walking, so I kick Rosso and trot past.

  Aurei is frowning when he looks at my determined face, but he doesn’t stop, so we continue walking side by side. As he hooks the helmet onto the saddle, he says. "There is nothing more to tell. She’s a selfish bitch that stirs shit up. I’ve tolerated her because she’s good at her job, and I needed her to hold down the fort when I was deployed. That’s it."

  I watch the helmet as it moves up and down with Caesar’s gait. "Aren’t you forgetting the part about 'she was my first one?'"

  "And she was my first one." He states, but doesn’t take the bait to tell me more on that.

  I look up at him and our eyes meet. I see thunder in his. I know he doesn't want to talk about Mia, but I feel compelled to. My eyes narrow and I ask, "Is
there more to it? Because she seemed awfully possessive of you entering your house to confront you, knowing you had your whore in your bedroom and were pounding her brains out."

  He stops now and says to me. "Listen to me, Siri. Mia is a nonissue. She isn’t important. She used me and I let her, but I used her too. Then and now. That’s the extent of our relationship." We stare at each other. Neither backing down. "I see you giving me your Wild Thang look." He finally smirks.

  "Aurei, best I can tell. She is Enemy #1 to us, and if she is as manipulative as you say, she will make our lives hell, but if I can understand her better, then maybe I can bring her around. Tonight will be my first opportunity to win her over. I want to be prepared to battle her, but I want to win! There is strength in knowledge, so tell me everything about her."

  "You don’t have to battle her."

  "There you go again with your naive assumptions. Yes, the hell I do. She is playing a game of Chess within your organization. She thinks she is the Queen to your King." He frowns. "And she probably has been, but she sees me as the Enemy Queen trying to dethrone her rather than both of us being on the same team. Your team!" His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t say anything. "Listen to me, Aurelius Moore. I was right about Ruthless and I’m right about Mia. If I’m going to become a part of all this ... Oh!" Aurei’s hand grabs my arm and snatches just as Rosso bolts. As I slide out of the saddle, reaching for him, he pulls me easily into his lap. I sit cuddled in his arms as he steadies Caesar. "What the hell?"

  He chuckles. "Rosso always bolts right around here. Ann and I usually race back to the barn."

  "Remind me to spank Ann! Shit! That scared the hell out of me."