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I knew something was wrong when I saw Rufio walking towards our home. I had learned to pick up on the many of the subtleties of his movement. His stride matched his attitude, for example. The swiftness with which he turned his head and locked his piercing eyes on someone would bely a pretended air of ‘at ease’. He had been trained for the military, I knew, but he was always on alert, and there were times I felt as though his very body buzzed like a bee as he awaited news. I loved to calm him, watch his flickering eyes soften and his lips relax into a sweet little smile, but those moments didn’t last long, usually. Especially now, with the threat of war on the horizon.
My body warmed with anticipation upon seeing him. We were still in the bloom of new marriage, and I was often eager for him when he came home for the night. Though he was years my senior and I had had no option in the marriage choice, I considered myself lucky. He was a good man, a strategist, and not as prone to the same brutality so many of our generals showed on the field. He knew the consequences of his actions, and accepted responsibility. He was intelligent, and that was part of why I loved him.
Now, however, even as my body heated excitedly seeing him in the fading daylight, I felt a twinge of anxiety. His stride was long, his feet hitting the ground hard enough to leave small puffs of dirt. His back was straight and his arms swung in wide arcs. He’s angry. No, more than that. He’s furious. Oh gods, what happened?
Thanking Vesta I had thought to heat some bathwater for him, I ducked inside, trying to ignore the anxiety turning to fear in my stomach. I hurried to the wash closet, checking the water. Still warm.
I felt him enter the house, pushing a wave of energy in front of him, and moved quickly back out into the main room. He was standing just inside the door, looking around at the candles I had lit. His gaze moved immediately to me as he registered my presence, and I saw the flush of anger in his cheeks and the tension in his jaw. I was almost afraid to look at his eyes but my attention was drawn there. I pulled in a breath at the blazing blue focus he had aimed at me, and took a helpless step forward. “My love?”
My words broke the spell in the room. He threw down his helmet with a crash that made me jump, and then he began to pull his armor off, revealing his dirt-encrusted skin and sculpted muscles. I swallowed hard, feeling the area between my legs grow damp. Fear and lust were warring inside me and I had no idea which one was going to win. He dropped the armor unceremoniously on the ground, and I watched in silent awe as more and more of his body was revealed. When he finally dropped the last stitch of clothing, my mouth fell open at the sight of his cock, engorged and hungry. I’d been told I was fortunate to have a man of his size, but there were definitely times when I wondered how all of that fit in there.
I had a feeling I was about to find out again.
He stalked towards me, though I didn’t think his eyes saw me. Sure enough, he pushed right past and into the wash closet, beginning to splash water on himself.
“Rufio,” I tried again, “has something gone wrong?”
He grunted and scrubbed at his arms. I watched the play of light on the water on his skin, and pressed my thighs together, trying to breathe deeply and pick a damned emotion.
“Is it Antony?”
His head snapped around, and I recoiled a step at the fury now directed at me. “I don’t want to talk about it!” he said, his voice powerful enough to rattle my insides. “I have no wish to discuss Antony or duty or anything at all. I want that wet little cunt of yours open and waiting for me when I’m through here. Take off your robe and get on the bed.”
Fear definitely left its mark, surging through me in a wave of panic that made my body tremble, but the tight, pleasurable pulsing between my legs drove me swiftly to the bedchamber. With a gulp, I pulled my robe off and climbed onto the bed, laying down on my back and spreading my legs. Inspiration struck, and I quickly pulled the fasteners from my hair, letting it spread across our pillows. Then, with an excited little moan, I reached down to caress that secret little place between my legs that heightened desire and heated me up. He liked it when I was particularly warm inside, and I’d discovered that this little spot helped immensely.
The anticipation grew, and I panted, writhing slowly on the bed as my fingers worked between my legs. Even just the thought of him, angry or not, made my skin flush and my lips grow red. I let out a helpless little whine as a wave crested and moved my fingers quickly from my legs. I didn’t want to go too far, but as it was I wasn’t likely to be able to wait too long.
I didn’t see him enter the room, but I felt it, and the approving sigh that met my ears made me smile. “Good. You’re obedient. I can always count on you to be obedient.”
I grinned, feeling a wave of warmth. I had pleased him.
He climbed onto the bed, mounting me with no hesitation, and his mouth crushed down on mine even as he pushed forward, forgetting all attempts at seduction or elegancy. His cock was a bar of metal jamming against my skin, and I whimpered with the shock and pain of it. He pulled his mouth away to curse furiously and reached down to guide himself in. I arched my back in preparation for him and felt his thick tip pushing me open.
And then a sharp cry tore from my mouth as he split me, pounding in so fast I had no time to prepare. The shock of pain radiated through my body, briefly numbing my extremities, and before I had even started to think about processing it, he did it again. And again. And again. He drove me down into the bed, sending waves of pain rolling through my body from his full length reaching my core. My hips and back cried out from being jammed into one position. His fingers made bruises on my shoulders, points of agony that alternated between unbearable and sweetly ecstatic. He grunted with each thrust as though lost in the heat of battle, and while his eyes were open and focused on the wall of our chamber, I knew he did not see. I was barely able to cry out as I rocked beneath him, my breasts swaying hard enough that I felt their motion.
The shock of his entry had made my ears ring, but as I began to feel his rhythm, I began to pulse my inner muscles in time, tightening myself around him rhythmically as he moved. The pleasure grew inside of me, and his grunts became longer and louder. I wanted to reach for him but I knew he was away now, fighting whatever demons or devils had driven him to use me like this, and I was not about to simply lay still and suffer pain.
I thrust my hand between my legs to rub swiftly at the little knob of pleasure, noticing it was swollen now and almost too sensitive, but the moment my fingers touched it the explosion inside of me was enough to break my voice free. A great cry spilled out of my throat and he reacted, looking down at me with his fierce, penetrating gaze. I put my eyes on his and held them as best I could, struggling to keep up with the motion of my inner walls and my fingers.
He began to bare his teeth, and I knew he was almost finished. Sweat had sprung out across his forehead and he had not slowed down one bit since that first thrust. But my insides had recovered and were rippling along his shaft, and my spot deep within was trembling from his thickness rubbing against it so swiftly and firmly. I could feel every inch of him moving inside of me now, and the edges of my vision were sparking and fuzzing as my sensitivity grew by leaps and bounds. Our eyes were locked on each other even as our pleasure began to steal our vision, and the cry that had come from my throat was being followed by other passionate sounds that I had no control over. I longed to say his name, to scream it, but could not, and prayed that Venus would approve of my noises even if they had no words.
The blindness came, followed by joined cries that surely echoed through our open windows, and I clenched around him, listening to him roar as his juice filled me. My body sang with him, vibrated with him, my love, and I remained wrapped around him as the tension and the rage began to drain from him. His body, so much broader and taller than mine, pressed me down into the bed, and I barely found the strength to wrap my arms around him, much less let my fingers pull through his dark hair. His lips landed on my neck, followed by his head slumping to the pillow alongside me. He covered me, and I was safe under him.
We lay there, panting, tied together at our waists, as darkness continued to fall outside. It was a long time before I felt him stir and shift, and I whimpered when he tried to move away from me. My body wrapped firmly around him, and he sighed before laying his lips softly on my neck. I could not let him exit me, and I didn’t want him to anyway.
“Laelia.” It was a breath, and I tightened my arms around him.
“Will you tell me?” I whispered. “What made you so angry?”
“I hurt you.” He pushed himself up onto his hands, looking down at me.
I blinked up at him, dismissing the comment. “What made you so angry?” I lifted my hand to brush his cheek and he grabbed it, kissing my fingertips gently.
“I…it’s…”
“Surely there is no business so secret that causes so much pain?”
“I did hurt you.”
“No more than you are hurt.” It had hurt, he had hurt, but I knew it wasn’t normal. It was not the first time he had come home angry or the first time he had been rough with me, but he was my husband, and I was to be whatever he wanted of me. I was strong enough to find pleasure in pain, and I loved him fiercely. There would be a line I would not allow him to cross. But this was not it. “Please? Are you afraid I will talk at the river? May the gods strike me if I share a secret that is not mine to share!”
“No!” He lay his finger on my lips quickly. “Don’t make that vow. I don’t know what is secret and what isn’t and I won’t have you fearful of words. I know how important they are to you.”
“Please tell me.”
He stared down at me, and I could see the war in his eyes. It seemed an eternity before he spoke again. “I have been ordered to negotiate with one of our allies for…needed supplies.”
Only one ally would cause him this much agony. My stomach churned. “Egypt.” I knew I couldn’t hide the look on my face, and as his face twisted I knew I’d failed.
“Egypt,” he sighed. “Three years since Egypt bewitched Caesar, and I fear it was not only Caesar that fell to her power.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lord Antony is my friend as much as my lord. I have served him these past three years, and I have seen much. And I am no fool, Laelia, I know the look of a man who wants what he cannot have. Antony has not gone to Egypt because his pride will not allow him to admit his love for the queen. And so he has me go in his place.”
I swallowed hard. “Is she truly…”
“She is beautiful,” he admitted, and I felt the pang deep in my chest. “But more than her beauty, she is proud and passionate and clever, and she wields words as well as our soldiers wield swords. She has not reached out to us because she does not need us. She knows we need her. And so Antony will have me plead and cajole so as not to damage his pride. It is not my place and it is not my strength. That he believes me capable of it is beyond my understanding. I will do it because he is my lord and he is my friend. But Laelia...you know I don’t wield words well. Not like her.”
The pang in my chest turned to fear in my stomach, and I pulled him closer to me. He shifted, wrapping his arms around me, and the smell of him filled my nose: male, leather, the soap he had used to wash himself, the sweat his exertions had produced. The scent of him, uniquely his, only made my heart beat faster and a small tremble run through me. Not of lust now, but fear.
“Why are you trembling?” he asked quietly. “What have I said that frightens you?”
“I don’t want you to go,” I blurted. “I don’t…”
“What frightens you so much?” His voice was alarmed now, and his hands were on my shoulders, pushing me slightly away from him so he could look into my eyes. His expression was concerned, surprised even, and guilt held my tongue as I shook my head. I couldn’t ask him to shirk his duty to Antony for the beauty of a woman leagues away. But the idea of him traveling alone to see her, to negotiate…I was no fool, I knew the methods ‘negotiation’ could take.
My husband was not skilled with words, this much was true. But when he tilted up my chin to look into my eyes, I knew he could see everything I wasn’t saying, and I saw almost a sadness come over his face. “Laelia…”
“I don’t want to lose you.”
“You’re not.” He said it gently, and then his fingers tightened on my chin. “You’re not.” It was firmer, his eyes were harder. A promise. I could feel his intent. “A beautiful woman is not enough for me.”
“Proud. Passionate. Clever.” I repeated his words.
“Domineering. Manipulative. Self-centered. Her love is as much a weapon as it is an emotion. I saw what it did to Caesar, remember? She is formidable indeed, I will not deny that. But I have no desire to conquer her and no use for her arms or her lips. Not when I have you.”
“I am conquered,” I whispered weakly.
“As am I, Laelia. Do not believe for one instant that I am not bewitched by you. Do not doubt my love for you, ever.” He leaned over to kiss me, a far tenderer and sweeter press of his lips to mine than had been when he had come home. He held my mouth with his, shaping it slowly with his lips, letting his tongue slip in to mix himself with me. He lifted his head slowly to whisper. “I have a duty to Antony and to Rome, and I have a duty to you. I cannot fail any of you, and you have my word that I will not.”
“When will you go?”
“In a day or so with the tide. Preparations must be made and Antony has ordered I go by sea to hasten the journey.”
“A month without you?” At least this time he wasn’t going to battle.
“A month without you,” he replied, smiling. “I never understood why wives seem to forget their husbands are suffering just as much as they are!”
I fixed him with a Look, and he chuckled. “I just promised you that isn’t something you need to fear!”
“I’m answering your question about why we forget.”
“And now you are being too serious.” The laughter on his lips reached his eyes as he caressed my cheek. “You know I will keep my promises, and I will repeat that on the word of Veritas. Won’t you play with me now?”
I relented, smiling slightly. “Not all husbands are as loyal as you.”
“Their loss. But I imagine not all of them have a wife such as you.”
“You know I don’t respond to flattery, Rufio!” I giggled, even as I blushed.
“Your cheeks say otherwise! They’ve gone the color of apples!” His eyes glinted mischievously and he leaned over, pretending to bite at my face. I burst into giggles at the tickle of his proximity. He continued to playfully growl and nip at my cheeks, laughing quietly as he moved down to my neck. His growls grew deeper, and my giggles turned slowly to moans as he descended my neck to my breasts, sucking softly on my nipples. The pulses of pleasure began to race through me and I pushed my hands into his hair, arching against him as his teeth and tongue toyed with me.
“Apples indeed,” he whispered. “Soft, sweet flesh.” He mouthed his way further down, making my stomach clench in excitement and anticipation. Heat and dampness bloomed between my legs again, the arousal coursing slowly through me. How easily Venus came to me when he was near, I felt blessed by her at times.
“Your scent,” he sighed as he hovered between my legs, “I could bathe in it.”
He parted my folds with his tongue, a firm yet flexible muscle that slid invitingly towards my entrance. My body, still slightly sore from his earlier domination, shuddered under his touch, and he withdrew slightly. “I’m not going to hurt you again, Laelia. I shouldn’t have.”
“I found pleasure in it,” I breathed. “I will always find pleasure with you. I am yours to do with and to have as you please, you know that.”
“All the more reason I shouldn’t hurt you.” He slid his hands along the insides of my thighs, and up over my mound and abdomen, tilting his head to wrap his lips around me. He began to caress my bud with his tongue and I gasped, letting out a hungry moan. He moaned appreciatively in response and leaned in closer, adding pressure to his motion. Unconsciously, I ground my hips against him and pressed my fingers into the bed, clenching the covers as the waves of growing desire and pleasure crested and rolled through me. He moved his hands from my skin to cover my hands, taking them, interlacing our fingers as I wound my legs around his shoulders. I arched my back as his tongue moved faster and his lips tugged on me, sending small shocks through my body. My needful sounds filled the room around us and crept out the windows.
I could feel my body beginning to sing, to reach the blessed oblivion, and a sudden tension made me gasp. “Wait…wait!”
He pulled back, looking up at me. I could see myself streaked across his lips and the first hard pulse went through me. “I want you inside of me.”
He smiled slowly and climbed back up my body, encircling me with his arms. I turned my head to kiss his muscles and let my hands run along his sides and shoulders, reveling in his broad but slender beauty. He was a secret, my Rufio, a general known for his intelligence, but his power and strength and agility sorely misjudged. He could be hurt…but only if one could touch him.
“Have you tasted yourself?” he asked softly. “Apples and fresh wood.”
I reached down to brush the head of his eager cock, making him freeze and inhale. In doing so, I caught streaks of his juice on my fingers, and brought them to my lips. I painted him on me, then licked one finger clean, tasting the strong, clean musk that was such a part of him. I watched his pupils dilate with lust, then held another coated finger to his lips, gazing into his eyes. His tongue slipped out to lick himself from me, then trace a part of his lip. I lifted my head and he lowered his, and we joined our tastes together. Once again he opened me with a smooth, fluid motion. There was only a little pain now, and I whimpered, grinding up against him, urging him to go quickly. He laced one hand into mine and pressed it into the bed, and I slid my free hand down to urge myself again, panting hungrily.
He lay a hand on my face, looking down into my eyes, and grinned impishly. “Again, that hot little cunt of yours demands satisfaction, hm? Wouldn’t it do you good to rest a little?”
“You better not stop or I will deny you when you return from Egypt,” I gasped back.
His eyes flashed and his grin widened. “Are you threatening a general?”
“Yes!”
He dropped his hand to my breast and pinched the nipple, sending a shock through me that made me gasp. Then, his hand traveled down to mine where I was rocking against my fingers, and the wide grin turned positively wicked. Before I had a moment to realize what he was doing, he had flipped over, rolling me on top of him. I looked down in surprise at his body spread out before me, our thrusts pausing and our panting filling the room.
“Here is what will happen,” he said, his voice playful but commanding. “Put your hands in your hair. As though you are going to spread it out.
A little perplexed, I did so.
He began to move under me, thrusting up like the rocking of a horse. The pressure of his cock against my inner spot made me gasp, and I dropped a hand to touch myself.
“Keep your hands up!”
I did so.
His face softened. “Now ride, Laelia,” he quietly ordered. “Ride me.” He moved one hand to my bud, and I twitched as his long, deft fingers began to caress and toy with me. I began to thrust on him, the new angle and stimulation making my body sing with ecstasy. My mouth opened as my eyes narrowed.
“Ride hard,” he purred, “and make sure everyone knows the punishment for threatening a general.”
It wasn’t hard to obey. My body knew what it wanted, and I sheathed him fully. He was my sword and I welcomed him, protected him even, pinning my thighs to his hips and grinding onto him with needy, eager mewls. He groaned, one hand bruising my hip with his grip, and the other, dear Venus, the other coaxing and caressing and urging me. I had to move, I couldn’t stay still, and I bounced up and down his thick, hard shaft, this time feeling every inch inside of me, and as I tightened around him, my cries grew louder. My head tipped back until the tips of my hair brushed his thighs and he groaned. His sounds drove me harder and he moved his hand to hold the small of my back, bracing me as he swirled his thumb rapidly around my bud. The warm tension bloomed in my abdomen and I twitched on him as it began to grow.
“Laelia,” he growled, “my obedient wife. Have you learned not to threaten a general?”
“Yes!” I whined to the ceiling.
“Have you?” he snarled.
“Yes!”
His thumb moved slower and I groaned, feeling the rapidly building sweetness plateau. “Rufio, please…!”
“Tell them!”
“I will…not…threaten…a general!”
His thumb ceased. “Tell them who!”
I stared down at him, briefly uncomprehending. My vision was fuzzing, my brain filled with cotton, and Venus’s pleasure aching in my core. Everything was singing, but my thrusts were not achieving what I wanted and he was no longer helping.
His body was flushed with desire, his eyes sharp and fixed on me, the pupils almost eliminating the blue of his iris. He was heaving for breath, his skin shining with sweat, and I realized he was as close as I was.
“Tell them, Laelia, who it is that has taught you this lesson!”
I understood. I looked into his eyes. “Rufio.”
He began to grin and shifted under me. “Who?”
“Rufio!”
He thrust up and my insides cried out. I moved to meet him, and his thumb pressed against me, picking up its motion right where it had left off, as intense and purposeful as it had, and I swayed on him, howling to the ceiling.
“Who taught you this lesson?”
“Rufio! Rufio!” My hips were slamming onto his as hard as he was pounding up into me, and his thumb was an exquisite point of ecstasy that I was racing for.
“Good girl!” he snarled. “Make sure…they know!”
“RUFIO!” I screamed, driven by his command, his possession of me. “RUFIO! RU---”
My world flashed, cutting off my obedience, turning it to a series of wordless, rhythmic screams as I came apart above him, my arms spread and my voice echoing out of our home onto the street. My world was him inside of me, thick and hard and hot, my only tangible tie to reality, while the rest of me briefly joined the gods themselves.
I came back to myself slowly, still hearing my cries leaving my throat now as desperate, exhausted moans. I had ceased moving, and barely felt him roll me back down to the bed. As his body pressed into mine, my oversensitive everything howled, and I let out another thrilled cry. He laughed very softly and kissed me gently. “May the gods forgive me, Laelia,” he panted, “but being with you, I feel as though I am divine myself.”
I longed to reply to him, but I could barely open my eyes, much less think of words to say. I felt him cover me slowly, his lips tracing my skin, and finally come to rest, pinning me to the bed protectively.