by Darcy Abriel
"Marius prefers to live outside the gates. At the villa on the hill. Do you remember it?"
She nodded. “Yes, I remember.” Quintus had distracted her when she'd asked about it at the time. No wonder.
"You'll need glamour in case someone sees you. The outside world today isn't what it was in Romulus's time. It's a dangerous place for our kind. There's not the same respect for our world. I can't let you go alone."
"Then you'll come with me."
"Neither of them will be happy if I let you go. Antius will be very displeased that I spoiled his game. But I thought it was time you knew. Enough is enough. And besides, I like you.” She had to smile when she saw the ruddy color surge into his face.
She reached out to squeeze Latek's small hand. “You'll always have safe haven in my home, Latek. Don't worry. You've taught me so much since I arrived. Help me now. Meet me in an hour near the side door. Few people use that door, so we are less likely to be discovered. Why is it things I should know are kept from me and I have to find them out in bits and pieces?"
"Antius will be angry I revealed the truth."
"I'll take care of my father. Don't worry about that. You just get me to the villa."
On a mission, she stalked back through the gardens and into the villa. No one was going to stop her from doing what she had to do.
There was a brother. And he was a twin. Why hadn't she realized? As she thought back to when she first met Quintus, those first two days, some of the fog that had kept details from her finally lifted. And she had a feeling that she now knew why some of that time was foggy. They had done some sort of spell to keep her from remembering too much. Damn them.
She forced herself to recall more about those lost hours. There had been two men, identical in almost every way. Except for the way they handled her body. One with hard, callused hands, the other gentle and sensual. Why hadn't she realized?
With each of them there had been that sense of distance and yet they had loved her so well, that she hadn't even considered there might be two of them. They'd kept her far too occupied with other matters on her mind. Exhausted and sated.
She walked into her room at the villa and was brought up short as she saw one of her maids in full engagement with two satyrs. In her bed.
"What's going on here?"
The tableau pulled apart and scrambled off the bed.
The Sabine woman quickly knelt before Gulietta. “I'm sorry, Satyress. We should have gone somewhere else. But it was—we were—"
Gulietta held a hand up to halt her words. “Forget it. I don't have time for this now. Just get out of here and find somewhere else to fornicate."
"Yes, Satyress. Right away."
Could she really discipline the woman? This was satyrville after all. Fucking was an everyday occurrence. This was a sexually permissive society and certainly not a part of the human world in any way, shape, or form.
Her mind came back to trying to absorb this new information that Latek had provided. There were two of them. Looking exactly the same. And she'd fucked them both. One of them willing to sacrifice his life—his freedom—for the happiness of the other. Could she feel any more like a pawn in someone's game?
Well, she'd just see about that. The gamemaster was about to be replaced.
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CHAPTER 8
"Marius, there is every chance that she will choose you. You have a softer way about you. Women like that."
Marius closed the book of poetry and set it back on the shelf. “Don't be a fool, Quintus. She's not just a woman, but a satyress. Mixed with Sabine blood. She revels in your strength. She needs your firm hand to keep her to a steady course. Don't forget I've seen you together. Your children will be a strong force to be reckoned with."
"Don't speak ahead of yourself. Remember, I watched her with you as well.” Gods yes, he had watched. From the shadows as the proud beauty responded so wantonly to his brother. As she had to him. He wanted her, but if she chose Marius he must abide by her decision.
"I wish Antius had not forced the promise on us. It's not fair to her. And I have a feeling she won't be happy when she finds out she's been lied to."
"We had no choice. We either play the game his way, or both of us lose the chance to have an opportunity for love and freedom. Anyway, I think I've become too disillusioned over the centuries. She is best with you. You are much better with children anyway."
"Stop it, Quintus. She will choose whom she will choose. I've a feeling we both have come to admire her more than either of us cares to admit. But in the end one of us will be mate and the other will remain in Antius's service."
"What if she chooses neither of us? There is the possibility when she discovers what has happened she will deny us both.” Quintus knew it was more than possible she would be so angry with both them and her father that she would chose neither to sire her children.
"Mating with her and combining Roman with Sabine blood—"
"And satyr."
Marius nodded. “And satyr is a great gift."
"Right. One of us will be freed from Antius's domination. The other will remain forever under his thumb, subjects to his whims. And his games. One of us will have another carrot dangled before us as we race for the finish. How many more centuries for either of us without hope of warmth of family and children? And an end to service to the satyr."
"Or maybe that is his game. For her to discover what he has done. Then he retains both of us. He is sly enough to do such a thing. To torture us with freedom and then snatch it away.” Leave it to Marius to consider all the possible alternatives. Neither of them had considered the possibility that she would scorn both of them when she discovered the truth. They had jumped at the chance for freedom for one of them. With one of them free, there was always the chance of finding a way to free the other.
"She will choose one,” Quintus said with more confidence that he felt. “It was Romulus who put us in this position. He made the choice for us. He had the right, as our ruler, to do so."
"He should have felt some responsibility as a man, as our pack brother, not to use us as chattel."
"Romulus did what he felt best for Rome. We have done our duty and protected him as we swore an oath to do. We have served."
"We should both walk away. Now."
"We have fought too long and too hard. One of us must win. Or it has all been for nothing."
Quintus stared out the window. “I don't want a mate on these terms. I don't want Gulietta to be forced to choose between us. This is not how I wish to win her."
Marius placed a hand on his shoulder. “It will work out. You'll see. Whatever happens, it will be for the best."
Quintus whirled around to confront his brother. “That's the way it has always been with you. The peacemaker. Why don't you fight for what you want?"
His brother tipped his head to the side and looked at him curiously. “You want me to fight you for her?"
Quintus shoved him back with both hands. He felt so impotent with the situation the way it stood. He wanted to roar with frustration. Hounds of hell, he wanted to demolish everything in his path right now. Even his own brother. He shoved again.
Marius dropped back. “I won't fight you. You're my brother."
"You don't want her?"
"Of course I want her. She beautiful and strong and exciting. Are you saying you don't want her?"
"Damn you, Marius. Damn us both.” He whirled around and punched a hole in the wall. Several picture frames crashed to the floor. An ancient Grecian vase toppled off the table and shattered when it hit the stone tile.
"I am not your enemy, Quintus.” The words came from his brother in a quiet tone from behind him.
"Maybe I am,” a female voice said from the other side of the room. Quintus whirled around.
"Gulietta.” Both men uttered her name at the same time.
For the moment she was without her horns, a sparkling glow of glamour surrounding her that only those
of the magical kingdom could see. Her legs and feet were shapely female. Much as he remembered her from that first night.
"So, Latek was right. There are two of you."
She unbuttoned the burgundy wool cape. Removing it, she tossed it onto the sofa. She gazed around the room. “Quite a few books.” She looked at Marius. “So you are the studious one I take it? Marius? Is that your name?"
"H-how did you know?"
She pointed to Quintus. “He carries a dagger in his belt. You don't. It's sort of telling, you know."
"You are not supposed to be here. Antius will not be happy."
"And when exactly were you going to tell me that two of you have been making love to me all these months?"
Quintus jutted his jaw. “When Antius commanded it. When the time was right for you to make a choice. Antius doesn't like his game spoiled before he's ready to end it."
"Men. Stupid males.” She folded her arms across her chest and paced the floor. “If my father thinks he's going to run my life, he's got another think coming. I have more of my mother in me than he could possibly imagine."
She whirled around on the two males. “Why would you allow yourselves to play his game?"
"We owe him our allegiance. He will free one of us, but only the one that you choose as your mate."
"And you agreed to this asinine bargain?"
Quintus glanced at Marius and then back to Gulietta. He didn't want to make a choice between his brother and this woman. It wasn't right that he must give up his brother for a chance at freedom. But it wasn't fair to his brother either.
"We have agreed between us. One of us will go free and then be in a position to gain freedom for the other."
"Ah, I see. And this is how you will use me."
Marius stepped forward. “That's not the way it is, Gulietta. We don't want to use you."
"Really. That's going to be awfully hard to prove.” She first walked up to Marius, studying him closely. And then she turned to Quintus. Then she stepped back. She turned to look at Marius again. “Kiss me."
"Now?"
"Right now. Kiss me, Marius."
Quintus watched his brother step close to Gulietta and take her in his arms. He'd watched them before, but never under these circumstances. Those times it was with the knowledge that she had only thought she was making love to one man. This was different.
The kiss ended and Marius stepped away. Gulietta licked her lips and then turned to Marius. “Now you."
"Me?"
She arched a brow. “Yes, you. Kiss me.” She already had the authoritarian tone that he knew so well from Antius. She was definitely his daughter.
He strode forward and swooped her up into his arms, arching her back over his thickly muscled arm and claiming her lips like a conquering warrior in Romulus's guard. Possessing what he wanted to claim for himself.
Long moments later he released her. She swallowed hard as she staggered backward. Righting herself, she glanced at each of them. Her lips were now red and engorged having been possessed by both men.
He felt his cock thicken, needing more than just a kiss. That tantalizing taste was simply a prelude to more. He saw it in her stance, in the heavy, glazed look in her beautiful blue-violet eyes, the color of pansies on a spring day. He knew the rhythm of her body too well by now.
"Which shall it be?” he asked.
She turned to look at Quintus. Her hands went to the dress she wore and quickly she stripped it from her body and tossed it aside.
"Show me where the bedroom is and then I'll tell you."
"Which will you have?"
Her gaze narrowed. “Both. Now. And then I will give my father my decision."
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CHAPTER 9
It was Marius who lifted her into his arms. He looked over his shoulder at Quintus. “Don't dawdle, brother.” And then he moved toward the staircase and mounted it with hardly a hesitation in his step.
Gulietta gazed around when they stepped into the large, airy bedroom on the second floor. The bed was massive.
"Whose room is this?"
"Mine,” growled Quintus.
She smoothed a hand over the gold coverlet. “Big bed."
He flashed her a set of perfect white teeth. “Big man,” he responded, dropping his pants to punctuate that statement.
Gulietta rose to her knees and reached for the huge cock bobbing between his legs. “Very big,” she commented. She gently pulled him toward her and leaned forward to enclose his prick with her mouth. She swirled her tongue over the mushroomed tip—hot, silky, and leaking pre-cum—then sucked him deeper. She fastened one hand on his hip.
She released his glistening cock and looked up into his eyes. Quintus had eyes like newly honed steel, hard and impenetrable.
"Which of you has taken me in the ass?” Oh yes, she had an idea who it was.
Dark lust flickered across his expression. He yanked her up against his chest. He snagged her earlobe with his teeth.
"Ow. That hurts,” she said.
He gripped her head from behind and held her fast. “We've both had you, Satyress. In all ways."
Something in her stomach fluttered at the thought of that. Hadn't she known that all along? And they wanted her to make a choice?
"Who will take me there now?” She couldn't help asking, a shudder of anticipation rippled through her.
"I will,” Marius said from behind. “At least the first time.” And then he nipped her other earlobe. The two men imprisoned her between them, holding her fast so she couldn't move, her breasts against Quintus's chest, her back flattened against Marius's chest. Like being thrust into a fierce column of fire, their heat consumed her.
Oh, God. Her stomach twisted into a knot of desire.
They both released her at the same time. Quintus picked her up and tossed her onto the middle of the bed, one man fell to either side.
"You asked for this, Gulietta,” Marius said as he fastened a hand to one of her legs and spread her thighs.
Quintus settled between them, lifted her hips and delved between her pussy lips with his mouth. She almost shattered instantly.
"Oh, yes. Yes.” She would have thrust her hips, but he had complete control. His tongue burrowing in and out, twirling over her clitoris, then dipping inside once again, sipping at her juices.
It was Marius who claimed her mouth, his tongue working in sync with Quintus's action and she found herself swept away on a formidable tide of pleasure. One she had no wish to resist.
Within moments she was climaxing, a rush of pleasure that spilled from her, her cry caught by Marius, her cream consumed by Quintus.
They flipped her onto her stomach, and switched places as Marius licked at the flesh of her rounded bottom and Quintus trailed his tongue over her shoulders and down her back.
She felt Marius delve between the crease of her cheeks, his tongue circling around her anus, before dipping inside. He lifted away and then she felt the spill of liquid along her crease. She gasped when two fingers entered her. Groaned as they penetrated.
Which was how they caught her by surprise when Quintus cuffed her hands to the iron headboard.
"What are you doing?” She tried to break free.
"Making certain you go nowhere until we have given you everything you've asked for. That and much more. We will not let your decision between us be an easy one, sweetling."
After struggling for a few minutes, she finally relaxed. Why not let them have their way? She had a feeling it was going to be utterly delicious.
"That's better,” Quintus said. He turned her onto her back and rose over her. His dick fisted in one hand, he brushed the flared tip against her lips. No words were necessary, and she opened her mouth to suck him inside.
At the same time Marius lifted her legs and draped them over his shoulders. As she fondled Quintus with her tongue, Marius entered her ass. Oh, God, the friction of his entry almost sent her over the edge once more. Shallow at first and then
deeper, harder, and finally she did explode. Her scream was stifled by Quintus's cock.
Quintus thrust his hips, again in counterpoint to Marius's rhythm. She circled her tongue beneath the plumed head, dipped into the slit, causing Quintus to gasp. His fingers curled into her hair, holding her steady.
The sighs and groans, undulating bodies, male heat and aroma had her climaxing again and again, pulsing orgasms that seemed to never let her hit the ground.
Moments later both men were shouting out their own climaxes. But it was only the first.
Long hours later Gulietta knelt in the Roman-styled bath on the first floor, her body opened and eager to embrace both of these men. She knelt beneath the statue of Pan, which was spewing water, and this time Marius's cock filled her pussy and Quintus was buried deep inside her ass. Their movements were slow, with no urgency to the powerful, synchronized thrusts of the two men.
She tipped her head back and water poured into her mouth. Quintus wrapped a hand in her wet hair, arching her neck still farther back. His fangs scraped across her skin. And then her eyes flew open as she felt another set of sharp teeth raze across her breast. And once more she shattered with her orgasm accompanied to the sounds of twin, deep-throated growls.
"I think,” she managed to gasp out, “that talking with my father can wait for another day. These decisions are so difficult to make. I must be certain, you know."
She heard the twin chuckles as first Quintus eased from inside her anus and then Marius pulled his hard prick from her pussy. They all fell into the water, heading for the deeper end of the room-sized bath.
Her mind was dizzy with possibilities. She lifted onto the lip of the pool, her feet dangling in the water. She watched the two men as they swam a race across the pool-size bath. Late afternoon sunlight filtered in through the windows. The shock of realizing that she was in love with not one man, but two, had her thinking hard about what she was going to tell her father when the time for a decision finally arrived.
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CHAPTER 10