Centurion's Honor (Imperial Desires, Book One) (14 page)

Though her heart ached, her pride demanded this of her.

She could not, she would not beg them to stay. She would not beg them if they did not want to.

Anan made her way through the vestibules of her villa into the dining hall where Titus and Cassius awaited her return.

As soon as she entered she spied the two men, clad in the full armor of their uniform, the metal shimmering beneath the ray of sunlight that spilled through the window. They both turned at the sound of footsteps, and their gazes, the pair of them took her breath away.

Desire churned in the depths of their eyes, but with it something else, something more. She looked away, afraid that the longings of her mind had wreaked havoc with her sanity. That she had gone so far as to take to imaginations.

She noticed Leviticus stood to the left of Cassius and that Olivia huddled in the shadowed corner, awaiting her presence and ready to fetch whatever Anan requested.

Finally she turned her attention to the legion commander who stood before the three men, and when she did she was given quite a surprise.

“Gaius Ovidius?”

He smiled at her as he crossed the room to embrace her. When he drew back, his eyes were twinkling.

“That is Commander Gaius Ovidius to you,” he joked with a smile until suddenly it disappeared. “I have heard of all the troubles you suffered and I am sorry. Those were my men who were involved and I assure you, they will be dealt with harshly.”

Anan did not respond to that. She did not know what the punishment for treason was, nor did she wish to. Instead she said, “All this time you have been legion commander and I did not know. I heard word you were at an outpost nearby, but I never imagined.” Anan looked him up and down, searching for any traces of the wild and rebellious youth he’d once been. His body was honed with muscle, his face chiseled and handsome. Only his eyes remained unchanged, a deep, shimmering blue that were so dark they were almost violet. “Does your father know you are the legion commander?”

He shook his head. “I imagine I told him, but my father would not remember such details. He believes me to be a lowly foot soldier camped at a nearby outpost, which is mostly true.” His lips crooked into a sheepish smile then. “Quintus was told of the change in command along the border when I took over, but I guess he did not tell you.”

She scowled. “Obviously not, but then he did not tell me a great many things.”

“Like how he was purposely raiding your lands?”

“I still do not believe he was behind that,” Anan defended Quintus.

Gaius was not convinced. “We shall see.”

“What will happen? To Quintus, I mean. What will happen to him?”

“He will be tried by a military tribunal. If found guilty he will be sold into captivity.”

“And if he is found innocent?”

“He will be set free.”

But with nothing, his home, his lands, they all belonged to her now. If Quintus returned, he would have to beg for her leniency, as she’d once begged for his. She did not yet know how that made her feel, what she would do if he came to her. Anan imagined she would dwell upon that if the day should ever come.

She noticed Titus and Cassius stared at her, so she turned and said, “This is Claudius Ovidius’ son.” She did not think it necessary to introduce him as their legion commander, for they knew this already. Anan realized it may not have been wise to remind the two men that their commander shared blood with Claudius when Cassius’ eyes darkened and Titus’ gaze sharpened on Gaius.

“I have known him since he was a boy,” Anan added, almost helplessly, but it was as if they did not hear her, and she bit back a sigh with the shake of her head.

The pair was entirely unreasonable in their jealousy, but especially Cassius. She swore if they had their wish she would never leave her home, and in turn, no man would ever enter it.

She was grateful when Gaius stepped in and returned them to the matter at hand.

Gaius crossed the room to stand before the three men, while Anan stood to the left of Leviticus at the very end of the line, awaiting Gaius’ directives—a direct order from the emperor himself.

Gaius spoke to Anan first.

“Now that Quintus’ loyalty is in question, I have been commanded by the emperor to restore you to your position as regent.” He read directly from the message and Anan listened intently.

When he was done, he turned his attention to Leviticus, and in that moment, Anan noticed something that raised her eyebrows.

Gaius’ gaze bore into the young man, who was a younger, blonder version of Titus. If she did not know better, she’d think Gaius was taken with Leviticus, but then Gaius’ attention strayed to Olivia, where he stroked the young woman with his gaze, as one would caress with their hand. Olivia blushed, but other than that, she did not appear shaken by his appreciation. Not so much as a tremor raced through her, but such had not been the case when Claudius had gazed upon her, and his attention had been far more benign, far less intense and far more fleeting.

Anan frowned throughout Leviticus’ promotion, mulling over what she’d just seen. If Anan was not mistaken, Gaius was a man of dual interests, much like Cassius and Titus, but Olivia was not that sort of woman. Anan’s arrangement with Cassius and Titus was a special one, the bond they’d formed, they shared, was unique, and not everyone was well suited to such an arrangement. Olivia was one such person. Her young maid could be shared between two men, after all who wouldn’t wish such a thing? But Anan did not believe Olivia was well suited to share her man with another, especially not another man.

And Anan was now fairly certain Gaius was such a man. That Olivia did not seem drawn to him only compounded Anan’s sense of frustration. It would appear as if Olivia and Gaius were not well suited after all, and Anan refused to wed the girl to a man who would not love and cherish her properly. Anan had endured a loveless, humiliating marriage. She would never wish the same for Olivia.

When Gaius was done with Leviticus, he finally addressed Titus and Cassius, drawing Anan’s attention away from her thoughts and back to the present matter.

The two men held themselves rigid and straight before their legion commander, their faces chiseled masks of professionalism. As they stood there, decorated in their military dress, Anan experienced a measure of pride. Over and over they had risked their lives to save her, to save her home.

They deserved to be recognized, to be honored.

As Gaius had done with Leviticus, he commended them for their service, for their bravery with a medal of valor from the emperor himself. Both men accepted the medals, but when it came time for them to receive their promotion, and with it, their next duties, Cassius requested permission to speak.

“Yes,
Decurio
?” Gaius asked.

Cassius stepped forward and retrieved a set of papers he’d rolled up and placed in the leather strip around his waist. He handed the papers to Gaius as he spoke. “Commander, I have seen how these ceremonies proceed and before you waste your time promoting myself and Titus, I would give these to you from the both of us.”

Gaius took the papers and looked at them curiously, then back at Cassius, but he never opened them. “And what are these?”

“Retirement papers, sir. Titus and I wish to put in for retirement, which we have well earned.”

Gaius stared at them through rounded eyes. “Whatever for? I am about to promote you, and with that comes a hefty salary, many more coins.”

“It does not matter, sir,” Titus interjected. “There are some things more important than coins, than status.”

Both Cassius and Titus continued to stare straight ahead, but Anan could almost feel the weight of their gazes upon her. Though they did not once look at her, their words, she knew, were meant for her, and it warmed her, in that region surrounding her heart.

“Retirement, you say?” Gaius asked, turning his back to them all. He paced back and forth for a short while, stroking his bearded chin.

“That is unfortunate that you insist upon retiring, because now I must find another two men willing to serve as the permanent personal guard to the regent of Dahomey.”

“Sir?” Cassius asked, his eyes wide in surprise, along with Titus’. Anan was certain she looked much the same.

“Well the emperor has decided that a regent of a Roman province should be protected by Roman soldiers. He believes that is the reason why Quintus’ mother was able to act so boldly.” Gaius stole a quick, sheepish look at Anan. “Not that you would ever do such a thing, of course.” He returned his attention to Cassius and Titus then. “But the emperor wants Anan to have a permanent guard here to protect her if something should ever arise, and since you two did so splendidly, he specifically requested the pair of you. You both would be promoted to the special rank of commander and the position would be a permanent one, but if you wish to retire…”

Gaius’ eyes sparkled with mischief and Anan realized in that moment that she’d been fooled. Claudius had known all along his son was legion commander and not told her—
the swine
. It was probably Claudius himself who’d told his son of the
special
arrangement she shared with Titus and Cassius. It was probably Claudius who’d suggested Titus and Cassius be appointed as her
permanent
personal guards.

Anan smiled outright.

Truly, Claudius was a genuine friend.

“And this would be a permanent duty? We would not be called away?” Titus asked.

“Your only duty is to protect the regent of Dahomey, so no, you would not be called away.”

Titus and Cassius exchanged a brief look, and Anan grinned when Cassius held out his hand.

Gaius was all too happy to return their petition for retirement and the rest of the ceremony proceeded without further incident.

* * * * *

“You did not have to retire for me. I thought maybe you could petition your legion commander to be transferred to his legion not even an hour’s ride from him, not leave the military entirely,” Anan said after Gaius departed and she was alone with Titus and Cassius inside her chambers. “Being a soldier is your entire livelihood.”

“But it is not our entire lives,” Titus whispered, his hand caressing her cheek. Anan noted Cassius’ nod and with his permission, Titus’ lips settled upon her soft skin. She trembled as he kissed her lightly against her chin, then her neck.

Anan closed her eyes as she struggled to draw in her next breath.

“I did not want you to leave the military,” she rasped, still working to have some semblance of a conversation even as Titus slipped her garment from her body.

“And we did not want you to beg,” Cassius said softly, his breath warm against the back of her neck. “I promised you that you would not have to, that you would never have to, and I keep my promises.”

Titus captured her lips then in a searing kiss she felt all the way to the tips of her toes. His mouth was firm against hers as he coaxed his way inside her mouth, devouring her as he probed deep with his tongue.

She shuddered against them as pleasure coiled its way through her. A distinct warmth flooded the area between her thighs as Titus kissed her, while Cassius nibbled the sensitive flesh along her neck, his hands softly kneading her breasts. Trembling against them with need, with desire, her legs were boneless and she would have collapsed had she not been imprisoned within the arms of her two lovers.

That she could barely stand, let alone walk, Anan would never know how she found herself splayed across Titus, atop the bed. She seemed to only be aware of Titus’ hands against her waist, holding her above him, her legs straddling his hips.

She felt the tip of his cock press against her wet slit, then plow deeper through her slick folds until the head nudged against her opening. His emerald gaze slammed into her, causing her heart to skip a beat at the pleasure she glimpsed on his face.

She cradled his stubbled jaw within her palm as he slowly lowered her atop his hard cock until he impaled himself fully inside her. She gasped at the invasion, her body stretching to take him deep inside her tunnel, to the very hilt.

He called her name, staring at her through eyes hooded with desire, his head rolling back as he gripped her hips and pounded her atop his length. Her breasts bounced with every thrust and he captured the supple flesh, massaging the full globes as he shoved his cock inside her over and over again.

Tremors of pleasure roiled through her, swamping her in waves as every inch of her strained toward climax, to that blissful place of fulfillment.

Anan was almost there when she felt a blast of warmth against her neck, and a slick, hot finger probing her anus. She gasped in surprise, in pleasure as Cassius pushed his finger, coated in oil, into her tight orifice. He pumped inside her, stretching her, never once causing Titus to break his rhythm.

Cassius groaned against her neck as he slipped another finger inside her, stretching her wider.

“You are so tight here,” he breathed against her flesh. “And I have wanted to take you there since that day in the stables.”

She moaned in response, at the pleasure of Titus fucking her, in anticipation of feeling Cassius’ rod buried inside her.