by Aidan, Nadia
“This is impressive,” Cassius said finally after a long silence.
“You seem surprised.”
He quirked a single brow. “But that should not surprise you. Most wealthy Roman women do not seem to have the temerity to purchase and run an estate on their own, without at least the assistance of a male relative. And yet you have built this place from nothing and it has thrived under your care.” His gaze sharpened on her. “I am surprised.”
His admiration was so unexpected that she was shocked at the heat suffusing her cheeks. “I imagine given the chance, along with a bit of education, women of Rome would be equally adept at such things,” she replied.
Cassius shrugged. “Perhaps.”
He did not seem convinced, but she disagreed with his assessment. She recalled her brief time spent in the city of Rome. The wealthy wives and matrons she’d encountered had all been intelligent, but she was astounded to find that they languished about most of their day with few duties to occupy their time.
“Perhaps you are simply adept at such things, where others, no matter their education, would simply fail.”
Her eyes twinkled at that even as she ignored the veiled insinuation that somehow other women could not do what she had done. “Careful there, Decurio. That almost sounded like a compliment to me and my barbaric ways.”
She could have imagined it, but Anan would swear Cassius’ lips twitched with the beginnings of a smile.
Titus, she’d discovered, was less restrained, and when she glanced at him she was treated to a wickedly handsome grin.
The midday sun had grown warmer, and the stables were all of a sudden hot and musty. She turned to leave but stopped at the distinct sound coming from beside her. She did not need to glance over the wooden gate into the stable to know what she would find there, but she did anyway.
Anan had spent too many hours and days in stables to be shocked by what she saw—a powerful chestnut stallion on his hind legs, behind one of her mares powering inside the beast, rutting in the way of wild animals.
The act did not shock her, nor was it the source of any embarrassment.
Her shock and embarrassment only came when she spun around and slammed into the scorching gazes of the two men who’d drawn closer, too close.
Her breathing was suddenly shallow, her breasts suddenly heavier.
The sounds of the animals fucking behind her filled the silence that stretched between them.
Cassius and Titus looked between her and the horses rutting in the stable.
She knew what they saw.
She knew what they thought, because her thoughts were the same, but she fought to bury the desire flaring hot inside her, to ignore the pull of attraction pulsing between the three of them.
These Romans, they were her enemies, it would be foolish to take them to her bed, or entertain any thoughts of such. She started to leave the stable but was forced to halt when Titus blocked her way.
“What is fascinating about animals is that their needs are primal, instinctive.” She started at the touch of his hand against her cheek, his warm, sweet breath brushing across her face. A deep, sexual hunger stirred within her belly, inflaming her skin, tightening the buds of her breasts.
“It is mortals who seek to deny their baser urges.”
“You think I am denying my urges?”
“Are you?”
He must have glimpsed an answering flicker in her eyes because a small smile curled his lips.
“From the moment we arrived and stood before you, I saw desire in your eyes—”
When she started to protest, Titus shook his head. “Why deny it when it is shared? I know the truth, as does Cassius, and so do you.” His calloused hand was rough against her cheek, and she knew if she did not push him away he would not stop with a touch.
She didn’t.
“Animals do not deny their needs,” he whispered, his face drawing closer. Her heart hammered faster and she knew she should stop him. “When it comes to the desires of our bodies, why should we?”
Because it is foolish to be driven by the desires of one’s bodies was what she wished to say.
She didn’t.
Instead, she lifted her head and when his lips found their way to hers, he crushed his mouth against hers, his tongue driving inside.
He was right. She had long denied the demands of her body, but with Titus’ lips fused to hers, she decided she did not wish to do so any longer.
His kiss was desperate, urgent as he sealed their mouths and she yielded beneath his full, firm lips, drinking in all that was him.
She had not forgotten about Cassius, but neither was she fully aware of him, until a pair of hands cupped her breasts and a hard bulge pressed against the swells of her ass. She gasped then groaned into Titus’ mouth as Cassius groped the globes of her breasts, grinding his engorged cock into her backside.
Warm breath fanned across the sensitive skin of her neck, followed by the light teasing of lips against her flesh. Titus devoured her mouth with his, while his hands found their way to her ass, to massage her gently then firmly.
She was trapped between the both of them as they grinded against her. Hands and lips were everywhere as she found herself bombarded by the sensation of both men touching her, kissing her. Titus’ hands inched beneath her stola, pushing it up the length of her body. Cassius joined his cause, holding it in place so that it bunched at her waist. With her legs unencumbered, Titus nudged her thighs apart so that he could rub his hard groin against the lips of her dripping pussy. She gasped, her hands clinging to Titus’ broad shoulders as a bolt of heat shot through her.
She was panting and breathless, her legs unsteady as fierce, hot need consumed her and she would have fallen had they not held her trapped between their hard bodies.
Cassius pressed the mound of his cock deeper within the swells of her ass, grinding harder.
“One day soon, I shall take you here,” he breathed against the crook of her neck and a low moan escaped her when he pressed a finger against her lips until she opened her mouth fully, taking his digit inside. He groaned as she sucked on his finger, before he slowly removed it from her mouth to probe gently at the entrance to her anus with his wet digit.
She’d never had a man touch her there before, let alone take her there, and she shivered even as the forbidden pleasure warmed her.
Her sheath was hot and wet, dripping with the evidence of her arousal, and she knew when Titus finally pulled away from her, his tunic would be stained with her juices.
But like Cassius, he drew away from her only slightly to replace his burgeoning arousal with his searching finger.
He probed inside her, tentatively at first, the wetness of her tunnel making his journey slick, even as the unyielding flesh of her body clenched tight at his invasion.
He wrenched his lips from hers to rest his cheek against hers and she knew from the rigid lines of his body, his face was drawn and tense.
“By the gods,” he groaned, pushing his finger deeper inside her. “You are as tight as a virgin.”
She gasped at the intrusion even as the muscles of her cunt drew him inside. More wetness greeted his searching finger as she began to relax around him. Titus pumped and thrust his middle finger inside with a steady, unrelenting rhythm. By the time his thumb found its way to the nub at the apex of her pussy she was a mindless ball of raw sensations and nerve endings.
In the distance she heard a harsh belting, a bellowing sound, and knew the rutting stallion had found its release.
“And now it is your turn,” Titus breathed against her lips before claiming them once again.
He buried his finger inside her on deep, stabbing strokes, in tune to the deep, stabbing thrust of his tongue into her mouth.
When Cassius shoved his finger deep into her ass, as far as it would go, she splintered apart, powerless to stop the wave of pleasure and heat crashing upon her.
She came on a long, soul-stirring cry that Titus swallowed with his
kiss. Her pussy clenched around his finger, causing her rectum to pulse around Cassius’ digit, which was still buried within.
The dual invasion, the dual pleasure left her body shuddering and satiated and she would have collapsed into a boneless heap at their feet had both men not held her.
Several minutes passed before she could breathe normally. Several more passed before she had the strength to stand on her own, and when she did, both Cassius and Titus pulled away from her long enough to help her right her garments.
It was while she was still trying to smooth the wrinkles from her stola that footsteps came upon them and she spun around.
Olivia, her maidservant, stood in the entrance of the stables, the sun against her back. The young woman was just months away from eighteen annum, so Anan knew the three of them did not fool her maidservant even as they stood with rigid spines and faces devoid of the passion they’d experienced just moments ago.
“Yes, Olivia. I thought I told you to enjoy this day as your own.”
She nodded. “Yes, domina, but there is a matter that requires your attention.”
Olivia looked nervously between her and the men at her back. Anan recognized the apprehension in her gaze as one not of embarrassment but of fear.
Her eyes sharpened on Olivia and she was already moving toward her. “Not again.”
“I am sorry, domina. With everyone idling about the day, the damage was much worse this time.”
She cringed at that. “Who alerted you?”
“Hiram, domina. Despite your decree he went to check on the animals. Good thing he did too or all of them would be dead.”
“Dead?”
For the moment she’d forgotten that Cassius and Titus still trailed behind her.
She met Cassius’ gaze from over her shoulder, but as they neared the clearing where she housed her livestock, it soon became apparent to them all as to the meaning of Olivia’s words.
Her maidservant had not lied. She raised hundreds of goats and swine, but half of her stock appeared to be dead, their bodies littered about the pen she’d passed, what seemed to be only moments ago.
“Hiram has secluded the ones that still live?” she asked Olivia.
“Yes, domina. Hiram rounded them up and they are now in that part over there.”
Anan nodded, even as she whirled around and headed for her stables.
“What would you have me do?” Olivia called after her. “Should I gather Hiram and the others and have them remove the bodies?”
“No.” Anan stopped long enough to address the young woman. “Let it be until the morrow. Thank you for alerting me, but go about your day as you’d planned.”
Olivia wanted to protest, but Anan was already shaking her head.
“Go, Olivia.”
Anan almost smiled at the firm line of the young woman’s lips. She was a stubborn one, for which Anan could only blame herself. Olivia had been in her home since she was a young girl, orphaned by the war with Rome as many in her household had been. Against her husband’s wishes, she’d raised Olivia more like a daughter than a servant, and apparently infused her with some of her indomitable will, for which Anan was well known.
The young woman was as educated as any male, far more educated than a Roman girl of her age. Olivia could read and write, but she was also privy to the inner workings of a large estate. Her maidservant was better suited as a wealthy farmer’s wife than a slave, which was why Anan planned to free her when she turned eighteen and provide her with a sizeable dowry. She already had a suitor in mind for Olivia, but if she continued to lose livestock at this rate, she would not be able to provide the girl with the dowry she deserved.
Anan frowned at that. Someone had been poisoning her livestock for many months now. At first it had been little by little, so small that she’d thought it was a random illness or infection until she’d suspected the drinking water was being contaminated.
She’d had her servants keep a vigilant watch over her holdings, especially her livestock, but with everyone in their quarters for the day, it would be relatively simple to steal upon her estate, put poison into all the troughs and disappear without notice.
“Where are you going?”
Twice she’d forgotten the presence of the centurions and she spun around, surprise etched across her face. She was not used to explaining herself to anyone, but the rigid line of Cassius’ jaw told her this man could be as stubborn as she. It would simply be easier to just tell him.
“I am going to pay a visit to that blasted stepson of mine.”
“Why?” asked Titus. “You do not think he had anything to do with this?
“Of course not,” she answered as she began to saddle one of her mares. “But I need to speak with him about the damages. With the heavy taxes he burdens us with, and my steady loss of supply…” Her brow furrowed into a frown, full of worry and frustration. “I need him to waive his tax or give me a loan so that I can replace what I’ve lost.”
“Do you think he will assist you?”
The look in her eyes must have been telling because a dark glower crossed their faces.
“I do not know,” she said truthfully. She mounted her horse then and prepared to leave the stable but Cassius’ hand on the reins effectively stopped her.
“I do not need a guard to visit my stepson’s home,” she argued before he could part his lips and say what she gathered he would.
“Your livestock were poisoned. You require a guard more so than you did before.”
“Someone has been poisoning my livestock for many months and as you can see I am perfectly well.”
Instead of placating them, her statement only heightened their unease.
“Why did you not tell us this when we arrived?” Cassius demanded. “Just because no one has acted upon this threat to you and your estate does not mean you are not in danger.”
“Cassius is right. Why are we just learning this now? The poisoning of one’s livestock is a serious matter, not one to be taken lightly.”
“And I am not taking this lightly.” She sighed. “But until I catch this person, there is little else I can do.”
Cassius disagreed. “You will wait until Titus and I saddle our horses and then we shall accompany you.”
Her eyes raked him. “I take orders from no one, Roman.” She tried to wrench the reins from his hands, but his grip was firm. She stared at him crossly.
“Anan,” Cassius bit out tightly. The way he said her name was slow and deliberate and it caused a sliver of ice to creep down her spine, one part fear, the other dangerous arousal. “Tonight I have every intention of taking you to my bed and you can spend your time there experiencing unending pleasure, or you can spend it being punished, where I will keep your body hovering on the brink of pleasure long after you sob and plead for a release that will not come.”
Her gaze darted to Titus who’d heard every single word, and when he nodded, her breath seemed to lodge in her chest.
“Your choice, Anan. A night of pleasure or one of punishment.”
Her lips pursed into a tight line even as her body tingled with anticipation of what he’d do to her this night, and she trembled with desire. “This is not fair,” she managed to rasp out. “Your tactics are underhanded.”
He shrugged, a smug grin stealing across his face. She ached to slap it off him. “What shall I tell you? I am a Roman and as you well said, we Romans have no honor.”
She imagined she could have broken her jaw if she’d gritted her teeth any harder.
“Very well,” she finally gritted out. “I shall wait until you’ve saddled your mounts.”
* * * * *
An hour later, the three of them arrived at the palatial estate of what had once been her father’s home. Since she’d lived there, sturdy Doric columns fashioned out of marble and simple mosaics had given way to an array of ornate and grotesque bronze statues, dark gray colonnades and expansive atriums crowded with dozens of fountains that poured into an overbeari
ng pool. The simple style of her childhood home with its Greek and Egyptian adornments had yielded meekly to the Roman architecture that effortlessly overpowered the once tranquil villa, as the Romans themselves had effortlessly overpowered her once peaceful homeland.
The soldiers who guarded her stepson Quintus’ home were all Roman, though of a different legion than Cassius’ men. Nevertheless, they acknowledged her presence, which many knew all too well, and the rank of the guards who accompanied her.
Within minutes they were escorted into an expansive dining hall where they were offered wine and food while they waited on plush couches for Quintus to grace them with his presence.
It was a long while before he did, and with each passing moment her temper mounted until she was fuming.
Truly, she did not gather the reason for her anger. Quintus was not responsible for what had happened. If anything, he suffered as much ill as she. She suspected whoever was poisoning her livestock and raiding Quintus’ holdings nursed some grudge against the royal line. That was the only thing she could think of.
Several suspected her, that she was at the root of all this, and they would, given their ignorance of what was going on at her own estate. She wished to keep them ignorant, which was why she’d resisted visiting her stepson for so long.
She did not want it to become common knowledge that her holdings were vulnerable to attack, lest someone decide to do just that and attack.
But she could no longer maintain this secret. She was dangerously close to losing all her livestock. Her reserves and surplus would sustain her. She simply needed a small loan until the next harvest that would not come for months, otherwise, times would be lean until then.
And the longer she waited, the more worried she became and with that, her agitation increased.
She had never quite learned the art of patience and she did not do humble all too well when it came to the son of the man who’d spent the fifteen years of their entire marriage visiting every woman’s bed but her own. Quintus was the glaring evidence of Maximinius’ infidelity and that her stepson had inherited what rightfully belonged to her, that he now hoarded livestock and grain that rightfully belonged to her people, made her blood boil.