This is what she’d wanted from him. The raw, feverish plunder of his lovemaking. No other man had affected her so deeply. Only Tristan could bring her wild passions to life, and if he was leaving her, then she wanted to get her fill.
“Please, Tristan, now.” She spread her legs and lifted her hips to him.
His brows drew together in an agonized expression, and he clenched his jaw tightly as he wound his arm around her waist and held her in place so he could thrust his hard length full and deep inside her.
They both cried out, going still for a moment, then Tristan began to move. Thrusting, withdrawing, thrusting again, gradually increasing the pace with every forceful surge of his hips. Intensifying waves of pleasure vibrated through her, and she wanted to make it last, but she waged a losing battle. He tightened his hold around her waist, the muscles in his arm bulging with strain as he held her tight against him and plunged deeper, his thrusts more powerful, making her cry out in ecstasy and pleasure.
Valeria lost herself to the fervor of his passion, her body trembling, her skin on fire. Another penetrating thrust and her climax ripped through her. She arched her back and screamed from the most astonishing pleasure she’d ever felt—pulsing, wet, hot—going on and on.
Above her, Tristan shuddered, driving himself into her as he sought his own turbulent release. A desperate, strangled sound broke from him, he stilled, and his eyes slid closed in pleasure. He squeezed her waist tightly as a wild shudder racked through him and his shaft throbbed deep within her.
The musky scent of their lovemaking clung to their slick, sweaty bodies and they both panted heavily, trying to catch their breath. Tristan eased off her and rolled onto his back with a heavy sigh. He draped his arm over his face, his eyes still closed, as she watched his chest rise and fall with his labored breaths.
Valeria couldn’t move, didn’t want to move, for fear she would break this beautiful spell. How was she ever going to live without Tristan?
Lucia let Rufus do the hard glaring at the gladiators who guarded the palace doors while she waited for Tristan to be brought down to meet them. How dare the barbarian keep Valeria as a prisoner in her own home. For two days the trials had been taking place in the arena and bloody executions had been carried out. Half the nobles in the city were already dead, and the other half remained in custody, waiting to be judged by the citizens and the newly formed Senate.
Lucia didn’t want Valeria involved in any of the bloodshed. She trusted the people would show mercy on her, for they had found a small handful of the nobles innocent and had released them, but she’d rather not see Valeria suffer the indignity of such a crude public trial. She also didn’t want to leave her daughter in the hands of a savage northerner. It pained her to think what the man had been doing to Valeria all this time, knowing what had happened between them once before. Valeria’s proper place was with her and Rufus now.
Tristan appeared in the doorway, looking content and well-rested, dressed in a fresh tunic with a wide leather belt cinched around his lean waist. He gave a confident—no, an arrogant—smile when he saw them.
“What brings you two to the palace?”
“You know what we’ve come for,” Lucia snapped, finding it difficult to rein in her anger.
The man was too handsome for his own good, with his light eyes, his solid body of muscle and his deep, commanding voice. Valeria had felt something close to love for this man once, but Lucia was certain the girl’s feelings had changed after being held prisoner by the man in her own home.
How could they not?
“I can’t give her to you,” Tristan casually informed them, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame.
Rufus stormed up to him and got in his face. “You can, and you will!”
“It’s not my decision to make.”
“Then whose decision is it?” Lucia demanded. “Let me speak with them.”
Tristan’s smile faltered and there was an uneasiness behind his eyes. “Senator Nero leads the rebellion. It was his decision to keep Valeria here, and she’ll have to stay until he says otherwise.”
Nero.
Lucia stifled a curse. Of all the deceptive men in Rome, he was the worst. He put his desires above all else and would say anything to convince a person to side with him. It seemed Tristan had fallen under the man’s influence, and that made him a real threat to Valeria.
Lucia met Tristan’s penetrating stare with a furious one of her own. “I want to see her.”
“I don’t think it’s a good time for a visit.”
“Why not?” She panicked, more worried than ever for Valeria. “What have you done to her?”
“Since she can’t walk out of here with you, seeing you will only upset her,” he politely explained.
Lucia understood his reasoning. But did he realize the great risks she had taken to help him, only to end up in a situation where she might lose her life?
“Valeria is not safe here,” Lucia warned, hoping to talk some sense into the man. “Nero cannot be trusted. What do you think he plans to do with her?”
“I assure you, she’s safe with me.”
“Not even you can hold off an entire army,” Rufus intervened. “These men and the legions are loyal to Nero, not you.”
A tick worked along his jaw as he contemplated what Rufus had said. “I believe the men will choose what is right when it comes to her fate.”
Lucia knew she would not be getting through to the man today. He was as stubborn as Valeria. “If you intend to leave her fate in the hands of a disloyal senator and a group of soldiers and slaves, then you don’t deserve her.”
She spun on her heel in a huff and descended the stairs that led down to the avenue. She’d have to leave Valeria’s fate up to the Gods. For today, at least. She and Rufus could hardly storm the palace.
Rufus delayed taking his leave for a moment and stared harshly at Tristan, most likely imagining the many ways he’d like to kill the northerner. Then he descended the stairs and followed after Lucia.
“Do you think it’s wise to leave her there?” he asked, the worry evident in his voice.
“What choice do we have?” She looked into the warm eyes of her beloved protector. “The Gods have other plans.”
“You put too much faith in the Gods,” he growled in response. “I’d rather put faith in my sword and take her out of there.”
“You told the Guard you weren’t with them, that you didn’t support the rebellion either way. They’ll turn on you. We both know you wouldn’t make it out alive.” She searched his determined gaze. “What purpose would that serve?”
Rufus sighed in frustration and scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “You know I only seek to make you happy.”
“Then come home with me.” She gave him a coy smile, wanting to distract him from thoughts of doing something that would only lead to his death. “And make me happy in the way only you can.”
She’d fought too hard to keep the man she loved alive and she would not lose him. There was nothing they could do to help Valeria as long as Tristan held her in the palace. Lucia couldn’t fight fate, she could only trust that everything would work itself out in the end.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tristan warred with his army of thoughts as he made his way back to Valeria’s room. No matter how badly he wanted to stay with her, Lucia and Rufus were right. Valeria wouldn’t be safe in the palace for much longer.
And every day he spent in Rome was a day closer to the legions returning.
He couldn’t stay in the city just for Valeria, and she would never leave with him. How could she? How long could she live without the comforts of her city? Without the luxurious baths and the fine clothes and furnishings? Her entire life was in Rome, while he belonged back in the north with his people and his armies. The problem was, he’d fallen in love with her from the very moment he’d found her tied up in his tent. Tristan acknowledged the feelings he had for the wife he’d los
t, and he didn’t want to diminish what they’d shared, but he hadn’t known real love until he’d loved Valeria.
He had to face the fact that there was no future for them. A life together was impossible. What could he possibly offer her that would compete with Rome? They had known their affair was doomed from the start, and Tristan was the fool for allowing himself to fall in love with her.
Resigned to what he knew he must do, he went over to the bed where she slept soundly. The long waves of her blonde hair fanned out on the pillows behind her and her soft skin beckoned for his touch. They would have this one last night together, then he would let her go and hope in time that he would forget the woman who had opened his hardened heart.
He undressed and climbed into the bed, stretching out beside her so his hands could explore her naked flesh. Valeria stirred from her sleep and looked up at him with her bright, blue eyes.
“How much longer can we stay in this bed?” she asked, smiling in contentment.
“In all honesty, not much longer.” He dragged his fingers over her bare stomach, lightly stroking her skin. “I have to think about leaving.”
She tensed, and her smile faded. “We knew the time was coming. You shouldn’t have stayed this long.”
“I want you to be safe after I leave.”
“I can take care of myself,” she said, but wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Rome is my city.”
“Your city is in chaos,” he said. “It’s not safe for you to stay at the palace alone. Where will you go?”
“I can stay with Lucia. Her villa is safe. The mob might rule, but no one wants to bring harm to a healer. They could come to need her services.”
It appeared she’d been giving her future some thought, and he had no place in it. She would be fine without him, her life would go on, so it would be useless to ask her to leave with him and travel north. While he knew she had feelings for him, those feelings didn’t run deep enough to make her want to give up the life she had in Rome.
“Is something wrong?” She frowned, a look of concern crossing her face when he didn’t speak.
“Nothing.” Tristan shook his head. There was nothing left for him to say. The future was decided. He would leave Rome, and she would stay. It was the only option that made sense.
This last night was not a time for words. It was a time for goodbye.
“Please, tell me what you’re thinking,” she said, laying a soft hand on his cheek. “You look troubled.”
Tristan lifted her hand and brought it to his lips so he could press a gentle kiss to her palm. If she went north with him, her soft skin would become hardened and calloused from riding on horseback rather than in carriages, and from carrying buckets of water to draw her own baths, or cook her own meals. He couldn’t drag her into that kind of life. Over time, she would come to despise him and regret leaving her home.
“Tristan?” Her frown deepened. “What’s wrong?”
He choked on the hard knot in his throat, and rather than answer, took her mouth in a sweeping kiss. Valeria clasped the back of his head and pulled him closer as their lips melded in fire and longing. He lavished her with kisses on her cheeks, her eyelids, along her sensitive neck. She moaned, while her hands traced the lines of his back, moving up and down until she brought gentle shivers to the surface of his skin.
“I’m going to spend the few hours we have left to us loving you,” he said, pausing to kiss to her ripe lips. “If there is one night you’ll never forget as long as you live, I want it to be this one.”
Valeria wrapped her arms around the breadth of his back and pulled him down on her. “Then love me, Tristan. Love me for as long as you’re able.”
His thick erection pulsed in anticipation, but he wanted to savor every inch of her, to make it last. He touched her breasts, filling his palm with their roundness, gently plucking at one nipple with his fingers, then the other, turning them into swollen, pink buds. He lowered his head and drew one into his mouth, sucking it and flicking it with his tongue. As he moved back and forth between each rosy peak, his hand explored the insides of her smooth thighs, then higher, to the soft petals of flesh. His fingers teased and played as he closed in on her little nub of pleasure and circled it gently. She grew slick from his touch, so he slipped his finger inside to stroke her rising passion. She was hot, tight, and he ached to shaft himself deep inside her silken sheath and make her his.
Valeria moaned and writhed beneath him, her body shivering under his touch. She dug her nails into his back and clung to him as he moved his finger in and out. He caressed her velvety heat until she was weeping for him, spiraling closer and closer to her release.
“Yes,” she moaned between her panting breaths. “Don’t stop.”
But he had to stop. He wasn’t ready to give her release, and he pulled his finger away. She gave a cry of frustration that quickly turned to one of surprise and delight as he buried his face between her thighs and closed his mouth over her sex. He licked and tasted her hot, wet flesh. Her sweet nectar coated his tongue and he flicked her swollen nub, then sucked it into his mouth.
Valeria screamed with pleasure and arched up from the bed. She clutched his head between her hands and her soft, short moans grew louder as she watched him lap at her with a look of pure ecstasy on her beautiful face. That was how he wanted to remember her. He could wait no longer.
Tristan slid up along her body and stretched out on top of her. “Spread your legs, little Roman, and let me possess you.”
“Make me yours, Tristan.” She opened to him. “I need to feel you inside me.”
He rose up on his knees and grasped her hips to lift her from the bed. With one, swift thrust, he impaled her with his rigid length. They both cried out as their bodies joined in ecstasy. Tristan started a fast bucking of his hips and thrust into her hot, wet sheath again and again. Valeria threw her hands over her head and thrashed about on the pillows, her full, round breasts bouncing up and down as he plundered her with one ravaging thrust after another.
And too soon it was over. He felt her clench and contract, going tight around him, and as she came, she moaned his name. Tristan lost himself to his own release and gripped her hips tightly as he raced toward a violent climax. With a shuddering groan the pleasure burst forth and he spilled inside her until there was nothing left of him.
Without Valeria, he was afraid there really would be nothing left of him.
Valeria awoke at dawn. She hadn’t been fully asleep, merely languishing in the glow of her and Tristan’s lovemaking. The bed beside her was empty, and across the room, Tristan was fully dressed and strapping his sword around his waist.
She had a sinking feeling in her gut. Was this it? Was their time now over?
It was impossible not to panic. She’d known their time would come to an end, but she hadn’t bothered to consider how she would feel when it did. A thousand times she’d told herself that while she had feelings for Tristan, she didn’t love him. The lie was a painful knot of regret as she watched him ready to leave.
But what did it matter if she loved him? He would never be capable of returning her love. She was a Roman. He hated Romans. Of course she didn’t blame him, knowing what pain her people had inflicted upon him, but she wasn’t one of them. Not anymore. Valeria sought a new life. One where she was free.
“It’s time to get dressed,” Tristan said. “We must to go.”
Valeria wished with all her heart that he would take her with him and she would be free of Rome and Gaius and her family. Since he’d never asked, had never so much as mentioned the prospect, it felt silly to let herself dream. He loved what they shared in bed. Now that it was over, he would return to his life and find some other woman to warm him through the long, cold nights in the north.
“Where are we going?” She glanced out the window. The sunrise was changing the night sky to soft colors of rose, orange and violet. “It’s so early.”
“I’m getting you out of here and taking you to Lucia’s where you�
��ll be safe. We have to go before the others are awake to stop us.”
“Why would they stop us from leaving?” For the last few days she’d watched Tristan move freely about the palace, bringing her food and news of the rebellion. What had changed?
“They want to keep you here,” he explained. “To use you if they should have to negotiate with the legions or your uncle.”
Valeria gasped. This whole time she’d been a prisoner in her own home and hadn’t even known. Tristan had done his best to keep her distracted. Feeding her, bathing her, making love to her over and over. He told her he wanted to protect her, to keep her safe, when the truth was…
What was the truth?
Did it matter?
In a short time she would be at Lucia’s, and he would be gone. As angry and hurt as she felt, she didn’t want to ruin her memory of the last few days. She climbed off the bed and walked over to her wardrobe. A dark blue stola caught her eye and she pulled it on over a clean tunic, then bound her waist with a white ribbon. After she slipped into a pair of sandals, she started gathering some extra clothes. And she had to get the money she’d hidden.
“There isn’t time for that.” He took the things from her and threw them to the floor, then grabbed her hand and led her out of her rooms.
She dug in her heels to stop him. “I have to get something. I promise to hurry—”
He tightened his grip and walked faster, pulling her along. “I told you there’s no time. We leave now, or we’ll never get out of here.”
Valeria was sick to leave all her money behind, but getting out of the palace with her life was more important. Not many stirred this early in the morning. Mostly the servants were in the kitchen preparing to start the day. Tristan led her out of the servants’ entrance and across the grounds to the imperial stables.
Angus waited just inside with a large chestnut steed saddled and ready. It was one of her uncle’s favorite horses.
“Fine morning, isn’t it?” he asked, flashing a dazzling smile.
This was the first time Valeria had seen him since that fateful day in the arena. Tristan had told her of their plan, how they had staged a fight for the rebellion, and she was happy Angus was recovering from his injury so well. His cheeks were rosy with a healthy glow and he appeared to be in good spirits.
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