Chapter 21
Aknock came at Velia’s door shortly after she entered her room, having just returned from the evening meal. When she answered it, she saw Ferox, and a pleased smile spread over her face. A crate was tucked under his arm, and he held it out to her as soon as she opened the door.
“For you,” he said.
“Me?” She eyed the box with surprise as she brought it into her room. She laid the crate on the table and beckoned him inside. “What is this?”
“Open it.”
She untied the cord binding the crate’s top. Inside, something was covered with tufts of wool. She brushed them aside to reveal the flared spout of a jug. “Oh!” She pulled the object out, handling it with careful fingers.
She blinked at it, hardly able to absorb the intricacy of the sculpted figures that emerged from the gleaming red pottery. “What—why?” she managed, overcome.
He shrugged. “Yours broke. You needed a new one.”
Her eyes stung as she beheld the stunning pitcher. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, let alone owned. If she wasn’t mistaken, the scene depicted a group of three maenads, fervent and fierce in their worship of the wine god.
Ferox frowned. “If it’s going to make you cry, I’m taking it back.”
She clutched the jug to her chest. “No! It’s—it’s beautiful.
It’s just…no one’s ever given me something like this.
” It must have cost a fortune. “It’s too fine.
I feel as if I shouldn’t even be touching it.
” Despite her words, she traced a finger over the delicate figures, feeling the ridges and curves of the sculpted pottery.
“If you won’t use it, then I’m also taking it back.”
He made as if to grab for it, and she batted his hand away, giggling. “All right, I promise to use it!”
“You should know, Jason helped select it,” Ferox said. “He made me promise to give him credit if you liked it.”
“You went shopping with Jason?” The image of the two gladiators going shopping together for a pitcher—for her—was delightfully incredible.
“He has an eye for these things.” Ferox waved a hand at the jug. “He was extremely picky. I’m assured it’s of very fine quality.”
“I can see that,” she murmured, her eyes running over the perfect, expressive forms.
“So you like it?” he pressed.
She nodded. “I love”—you—“it.”
I love you. The words she’d only barely stopped herself from saying reverberated around her mind. She stared unseeingly at the vessel.
No, you idiot. You don’t love him. You love his shoulders, his jawline. And his cock—definitely his cock. You love his hands, the way he holds you even in sleep. You love how he fixes your hair before you notice it’s come undone. You love that he bought not one, not two, but three rugs.
You love how he protects you, how cherished he makes you feel.
Oh no.
She felt as if the jug were about to slip from her fingers, so she turned and set it safely on the table. Her hands shook, and more tears welled in her eyes. She kept her back to him for a moment, needing to master herself, needing to keep this feeling at bay.
She couldn’t love him. He was going to leave, and it would break her heart.
His hands caressed her shoulders. “I really didn’t mean to make you cry.”
Velia scrubbed away the tears clinging to her eyelashes and turned to face him. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
He slid a hand up to stroke her cheek, thumb slipping in a teardrop. “It’s only the second most beautiful thing in this room.” He bent his head and brushed her lips with his.
She deepened the kiss, twining her arms around his neck.
This was something she understood—lust, hunger, need.
She would try to forget her disconcerting realization, let him distract her with the pleasure they could find together.
A good bedding could distract from anything, as she’d learned last night.
She pulled back from the kiss. “I have a question for you.” She trailed a finger down his face, over his lips, watching his eyes darken with desire as she did. “Why didn’t you tell me you like being bitten?”
He jumped as if she’d pinched him. “I—what do you—I don’t—” he stammered, cheeks reddening.
She raised her eyebrows. “Last night, I’m fairly certain you climaxed when I bit you. Didn’t you?”
“I…maybe?” he confessed. “I don’t know. No one’s ever done that before. I didn’t—I didn’t expect it.”
“I’d like to try it again,” she murmured. Pushing gently on his chest, she walked him over to the bed, pausing to strip off his tunic. At the sight of his body, desire flared, throbbing and hot between her legs. His cock was already stiffening, but she paid it no mind…for now.
She laid him on the bed, then climbed atop him, straddling his broad torso. His hands came up to stroke her thighs, still covered by her dress. He gazed at her, wariness mingled with lust in his eyes.
“How does this feel, I wonder?” She leaned down and took hold of his earlobe with her teeth—just a light nibble.
He twitched beneath her, choking back a gasp.
His reaction pleased her. She moved down, grazing her teeth over his neck. She found the one spot she knew was the most sensitive and gave him a sharp but quick nip.
“Fuck, Velia,” he groaned. “You’ll be the death of me, I swear.”
She laughed, a trifle smugly. “Imagine being a big, strong gladiator—the emperor’s favorite, no less—conquered by a few little nibbles.” She scooted down his body and took one of his nipples between her teeth.
He let out another deep groan. “You know you can bring me to my knees with barely a glance, Velia.”
She liked the sound of that, though his devotion was dangerous. It intoxicated her, like unmixed wine. She’d lose herself in it if she wasn’t careful.
She moved further down, littering his chest and stomach with alternating kisses and nips. He jumped at each one, the powerful muscles tensing and releasing beneath her.
He hissed as her hand found his cock. She gave him one stroke, and he shuddered at the pass of her hand. Then, she lowered her head to take him into her mouth. He grunted a curse.
She took him as deep as she could, and on the way back up, allowed her teeth to graze against him. His hand tangled in her hair, and he moaned, fingers tightening.
“Careful,” she murmured as she released him from her mouth. “Or I’ll have to tie you up again.” She enjoyed his touch too much to do that, but it was rather fun to tease him.
Velia nipped the head of his cock lightly, and he jerked so hard he nearly threw her off him. She giggled, planting her weight more securely on his legs. She worked him with her mouth again, bringing him to the point where he was gasping, shuddering, writhing beneath her.
Then, she removed her mouth and replaced it with her hand. She nudged his muscular thighs apart and lowered her head to the surprisingly soft skin on the inside of his thigh. As her hand worked him, she brushed her lips over his skin once, a caress, then sank her teeth into the flesh of his thigh.
His hips bucked, and suddenly he was exploding over her hand. She bit him again, just for good measure. His hand shot down to grasp hers, holding her fingers tight around him as the climax tore through him.
When he finally slumped back onto the bed, chest heaving, she surveyed her handiwork. Her teeth left two red semi-circles on the inside of his thigh. They would fade soon, but for the time being, she liked that he was marked by her.
He was hers, at least for a little while longer.
She cleaned his seed off her hand and his cock, but when she made to lie next to him, he shook his head. “Not done with you yet.” His voice was still breathless, slurred.
He patted the spot on the mattress next to his head.
A smile grew on her lips as she realized what he wanted.
She climbed up his body, sinking her quim down onto his face.
A moan escaped her lips as his tongue found her.
She was throbbing and slick, her desire inflamed by the pleasure of tormenting him as she had.
Velia flattened her hands against the wall and arched her back to settle her hips more fully onto him. She felt him groan against her, and his hands slid over her thighs, holding her tight.
His lips clasped around her most sensitive spot. A tremor shot through her, the pleasure sharp and tingling. “Right there,” she panted. “Just like that.” Her hips flexed, moving in rhythm with the suction of his mouth. She rode his face, taking everything he gave her.
The pleasure coiled tighter and tighter inside her.
One hand slipped from the wall to find his head, fingers anchoring in his hair.
Her eyes fluttered shut, blocking out everything but the feel of him beneath her, the soft yet demanding way he worked her with his mouth.
She chased the pleasure with every twitch of her hips, every quiver of her thighs.
Finally, it crashed over her, consuming her in blissful spasms that felt endless. She moaned, the noise raw and frenzied. His fingers dug harder into her thighs as she writhed atop him.
“Enough,” she gasped as the shudders faded. She lifted herself off him, thighs trembling. Somehow, she found her way to collapse beside him. He wiped a hand across his mouth, then kissed her forehead.
As she settled against him, her gaze lit on the new pitcher on the other side of the room. Bittersweet emotion welled in her chest. How was she supposed to say goodbye to all of this? Her eyes stung, and she hid her face against his shoulder. She released a long, unsteady breath.
“Velia?” His fingers traced through her hair. “Are you all right?”
She smoothed a hand over his chest and strove to steady her voice. “Just tired.”
He curled his arm around her shoulders. “Sleep,” he murmured. “I’ll be here when you wake.”