by Karrie Roman
Drusus linked his fingers with Caius’s and led him to the pool. The water was clear and calm. Caius didn’t hesitate to step into it, swiftly sinking low enough for the cool water to lap at his waist. Drusus was only a few steps behind him.
Strong arms wrapped around him from behind as Drusus’s hard body pressed along the length of his own. The sensation would never cease to enthral him.
They made love out of doors often, wrapped in their furs to guard against the cold. They shared a love of their land and nothing felt more natural or perfect to him than exploring each other, bringing each other pleasure surrounded by the land and all of its wonders. Even the occasional abrasions and bruises to his back and ass cheeks were worth it.
“Sometimes, I cannot believe I am here—with you, so alive and vital, in my arms,” Drusus murmured against his throat.
“It is like a dream. Our dream.” Caius fondly recalled those nights he had lain in Drusus’s arms, back in the camps, when they had created their perfect world. He too, sometimes, could not believe Fortuna had smiled so brightly upon them. She had given them all they had dreamed of and more.
“We only lack Calpurnius’s children for us to spoil,” Drusus added.
Caius turned in his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to Drusus’s lips. He loved kissing Drusus: the intense, passionate kisses where it felt as though they were trying to consume the other, to the soft, lazy kisses they shared once their pleasure was spent. But it was the simple, intimate kisses that simply meant ‘I love you—love touching you’ that Caius cherished the most.
“Julia told me she wishes to have a child as soon as possible. She will be a wonderful mother.” His sister was good and kind, but with a backbone made of unyielding rock. Ideal traits for a mother.
“Cal will make for an interesting father, considering he is still such a child himself.” Drusus’s voice was filled with affection for his brother.
Calpurnius had gone to war with them and fought as well as any man, though Caius knew Drusus was right, Cal was still like a child at heart, full of wonder and awe at the world around him.
“His nightmares have eased, though Julia still wakes him with caution when she must.”
“It is a good thing”—Drusus continued—“that he did not return to the legions. Cal is so full of life and joy. I feared years of death and war would have broken his mind.”
Caius nodded in agreement. Like Drusus, he often felt guilty for being almost glad the Varus disaster had occurred. As awful as the ordeal was, and as great as the loss of life had been, it had given Caius and Calpurnius their youth back, sparing them from years of service in Roma’s mighty army.
The disaster had also freed him and Drusus, so they could spend their years together doing what they loved. Not even Augustus’s order that all Roman men should marry and breed would tear them apart. Drusus had given his youth to Roma and Caius his hand—quite enough.
He closed his eyes, humming contentedly as Drusus’s hands cupped his arse.
“What thoughts are in your mind, beloved?”
“I am thinking how fortunate we are. And that I wish Marcus and—” The list of names he wished were still in this world was too long. He hated the cruelty of so many lives lost, so few left behind.
“I know. The loss is hard to bear. I think of Marcus—all of them—often,” Drusus murmured.
Drusus’s hands tightened on his buttocks, pulling him closer. They often had this shared need to confirm the other was still alive and whole. They had come so close to losing it all, but whenever they came together, touched, and held each other, they were reminded they still lived, and the one they loved above all others lived also.
Caius let himself be drawn to Drusus, let himself be overwhelmed with pleasure as he always was whenever Drusus took him. He had never imagined feelings so intense, pleasure so all-encompassing, or a love so eternal. His life had been changed so violently and could so easily again. Yet Caius knew, believed right down to his bones, that not even death would part him from Drusus for more than a moment in time.
About the Author
Karrie lives in Australia’s sunshine state with her husband and two sons, though she hates the sun with a passion. She dreams of one day living in the wettest and coldest habitable place she can find. She’s been writing stories in her head for years but has finally managed to pull the words out of her head and share them with others. She spends her days trying to type her stories on the computer without disturbing her beloved cat, Lu, curled up on the keyboard. She probably reads far too much.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @karrie_roman
Website: www.karrieroman.com
Other books by this author
Saved
Advent Adventure
Shipped
New Year’s Shippin’ Eve
Sentinel
Trusted
Valor
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