Gladiator Heart (34 page)

His lips quirked into that impossibly devastating smile she’d come to love. “If you have the time, would you like to walk with me?”

“I don’t think I should stray far from the villa. It’s not safe.”

Why was he torturing her like this? Why didn’t he leave?

“You’ll be safer with me than you are out alone.”

Her heart would never be safe around Tristan. Every time she saw him, she fell deeper in love.

Lena’s gaze shifted back and forth between them with curious excitement, like she could see the sparks of their attraction and was waiting for an explosion of some kind. More people strolling by sent second glances their way the longer they stood in front of the produce stand in the middle of the street. It was too late to save her reputation where Tristan was concerned. They had been lovers. Let the people talk. She didn’t care.

“I would like to visit a friend while I’m out,” she said, worried about what would happen if they were to end up alone. “You’d certainly be welcome to accompany me.”

He narrowed a speculating look at her, hesitating to accept her invitation. “Will I have to worry about this friend wanting to kill me, or in any way cause me bodily harm?”

She smiled. “I can’t make any promises.”

Not able to go back to the palace, the money she’d been saving from her bets was inaccessible to her, but Vorenus still held the winnings from her six-to-one bet, and she wanted to claim them. She would need the money to start her new life.

She also wanted Vorenus to meet Tristan. The tavern owner could measure the weight of a man with a single glance, and she valued and trusted his opinion. What would he think of Tristan?

Tristan stepped up close to her and it felt like his grey eyes saw straight into her soul. “I’ll just have to take my chances where you’re concerned. I believe you’ll come to my rescue if things get out of hand.”

Gods.

Could the man get any more desirable? She was so worked up just being near him that she’d let him take her right in the middle of the street if that’s what he wanted. All he had to do was ask in his deep, smooth voice. A voice that sent her senses spinning in all directions.

She needed a distraction, and started off towards the tavern, walking backwards so she could taunt Tristan with a flirtatious smile. “Are you coming along, or not?”

He arched a brow in interest. “Where exactly are you taking me, lady?”

“The place is a bit shady, but I’ll protect you if anything goes wrong.”

In a few long strides, Tristan caught up to her. “I’m touched that you care.”

“You’re touched all right.” She laughed teasingly and turned to walk forward, leading him through the street.

“Are you saying my skills please you?”

“What skills are those?”

He leaned close and spoke at her ear. “Do I need to remind you of all the ways I can make you scream my name?”

Her cheeks flamed. She avoided looking at him, or at anyone they passed, for fear they might see what she was thinking in that moment. That they might discover the secret yearnings Tristan had awakened in her.

She couldn’t reach Vorenus’s tavern quickly enough, and she hurried inside with Tristan following. Vorenus sat at one of the tables with a few of his men, drinking his usual mug of ale.

“Try not to say anything that might upset him,” she cautioned Tristan over her shoulder as she approached the table.

Vorenus didn’t take to strangers well, and he had a nasty temper. It was even nastier once he started drinking. He looked up when he sensed their approach, and his gaze landed on Tristan. She saw the recognition pass between the two men. Of course these two had somehow found each other. She should have known. Birds of a same feather will flock together.

“I was wondering where you got off to, my friend.” His gaze slid from Tristan to Valeria, and his smile widened into the brash, cavalier grin she was so used to receiving. “I see you’ve found your girl, and that she’s come along willing. You won’t be bothered if you want to take her upstairs.”

Valeria’s mouth fell open in complete and utter shock.
Take her upstairs?
He talked about her as if she were one of his whores.

“
I
should like to go upstairs,” she said in a clipped tone. “I believe we have a debt to settle.”

Vorenus laughed loud and deep. “I was wondering when you’d come back, lady. It’s always such a pleasure to see you.”

Tristan was still trying to put together the idea that Valeria and Vorenus somehow knew each other. What did she do in a place like this, with a man like Vorenus? He wasn’t a bad man, but he didn’t seem like the kind of company Valeria would keep. This was the roughest tavern in the city, which was why he and Angus had chosen it, but what business did Valeria have here? His curiosity was sparked.

“Old friends?” he asked, glancing first at Valeria, then at Vorenus.

“You could say that.” Vorenus finished his mug of ale with a hearty swallow and rose up from the table. “She’s one of my best clients.”

Client?

Tristan knew what kind of business went on in a place like this. What intrigues was she involved in?

“Come, let’s find some privacy from this sordid lot.” Vorenus led them up the rickety staircase.

“What exactly do you do here?” Tristan asked in a harsh whisper as he followed Valeria up the stairs. “Do I even want to know?”

“Don’t worry,” she said over her shoulder, turning to give him a sly wink. “It’s nothing too scandalous.”

Tristan lingered on the stairs, hoping she was right. He didn’t want to get rough with Vorenus if anything went wrong. He genuinely liked the man. When Valeria reached the top of the stairs, he rushed up to join her.

Vorenus led them into a large room full of books, with a wooden table in the center, and parchments tacked to the wall, full of writing and scribbles he didn’t think he’d be able to translate even if he could read Latin.

“You won the big bet.” Vorenus produced a large wooden box inlaid with colorful gemstones and set it on the table. “You were lucky not to place a bet on the last day, since we all know what happened.” His expression turned serious.

“What happened?” Tristan wondered.

They couldn’t be talking about the rebellion, or the fact that Valeria was placing bets on the fights in the arena. Surely not. Both of them gave him bewildered looks. Vorenus cocked his head to the side and Valeria lifted one of her slender brows.

“You and Angus didn’t win that last day in the arena,” Vorenus finally explained. “The lady would have lost the bet.”

“What do you mean we didn’t win? We freed the city from corruption,” Tristan pointed out, knitting his brows as he frowned.

Was no one grateful for their sacrifice?

“And the people thank you for it,” Vorenus said respectfully. “But according to the rules of the board, Caesar gave you thumbs down. That’s a loss.”

Tristan scrubbed a hand over his rough beard and took a deep breath. He eyed Valeria and found it hard to be upset with her when she looked so beautiful standing there, telling him she’d been placing bets on him to win.

“Why would you place bets on me?” he asked.

Why would she do that when she once told him she didn’t care what happened to him?

“I wanted to help you, and was running out of ideas.” She looked down at her hands and fidgeted with the loose end of the ribbon woven around her waist. “I had to sway the odds in your favor and help you win the crowd. It turned out to be the one thing that saved you and Angus in the end.”

Tristan admired her tenacity. When no one else believed in him, she had. Rather than question why the Gods had sent her to him, he thanked them.

“The other bettors couldn’t compete with her once she started winning.” Vorenus counted out a large amount of gold coins and placed the stack on the table. “That’s twelve thousand denarii.”

Tristan nearly choked at the sight of so much money. “All that from only a single bet?”

“I bet big.” She smiled, then turned to Vorenus and said, “Do you have something I could put it in? I didn’t bring a purse.”

“You can’t carry all that money around.” Tristan objected to Valeria putting herself in that kind of danger. “You’re asking for trouble.”

“I could hold onto it for you, if you’d like,” Vorenus offered. “Unless you have need of it right away.”

“No, I don’t need it yet. It was never supposed to be for me.” She turned her gaze on Tristan. “I won it for you.”

“For me?” What need did he have of so much money? It was only good in Rome, and he was leaving. “Why?”

“I was going to use it to buy your freedom.”

Never had more beautiful words been spoken. Valeria had fought for him every step of the way. She did care about him.

“I can start an account.” Vorenus produced a small curl of parchment from inside the box and reviewed the list.

“Be careful,” Valeria said, a sly smile tilting up the corner of her mouth. “He’s a vicious accountant. He’ll keep track of every last bit.”

“I pride myself on accuracy, lady.” Vorenus poured a cup of wine from the flask on the table.

“At least now Angus and I can pay for our rooms,” Tristan said.

He didn’t feel right staying at the tavern for no charge. Nothing in life was free, and eventually the price would be demanded. He had no desire to pay with his soul.

“We’ll settle your account when you leave.” Vorenus drank his wine. “No need to worry about it today.”

Tristan wanted to get Valeria alone. “Would you care to visit my room? It has a good view of the countryside.”

Her cheeks flushed a hot crimson and she gave Vorenus an embarrassed glance. “I think I should return to Lucia’s before she worries.”

She scurried out of the room, and Tristan rushed to keep up with her, almost falling on the flimsy stairs as he chased after her. She ran through the door and out into the street. Tristan found her standing in front of the tavern, waiting.

“Can we not have a moment alone?” He hated hearing the desperation in his voice, but he felt he was close to losing his chance.

Valeria looked up and down the street, biting down on her lower lip as she appeared to be contemplating the idea of them being alone. When she turned her gaze up to him, he saw the resolution in her eyes. His heart lifted.

“Do you want to see why I love Rome?”

Relief washed through him. “I want to see everything you love.”

The best way out of the city was through the gate behind the sewers. The nefarious odor could be thanked for the fact that it was so loosely guarded. Valeria and Tristan walked along the road in silence as they left Rome behind. She didn’t really know what to think, or to say. He was supposed to be gone.

She led him along a side road that snaked up into the lush green hills of the countryside. In the trees above them, birds were singing and flitting from branch to branch. Colorful flowers bloomed under the bright warmth of the summer sun, and a light breeze flowed gently over the land.

“Where are we going?” Tristan broke their comfortable silence. “I thought you were going to show me why you love Rome.”

She turned and walked along backwards, smiling at him. “I am.”

When they came to a grove of trees at the top of the hill, Valeria stopped to look at the city below. This was her favorite spot in all the world. From up here, Rome shared its true beauty, with its white-columned structures and arched windows. The giant arena was transformed into a majestic structure that held the possibility of greatness rather than death. There were no slaves, no people starving in the streets. No greed, no corruption, no war.

“It’s so peaceful from up here,” she said. “It’s like a different city altogether.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Tristan demurred.

She sat beside a tree and leaned back against the roughened bark while stretching her legs out in front of her. Tristan sat next to her, close enough for their bodies to touch. Shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, hip to hip. She drank in the comfort of his nearness as she kept her gaze fixed on the city below. The sun was starting to set over the horizon and a flock of birds flew over the arena. In her lifetime, she wanted to have a million moments like this. And she wanted to share all of them with Tristan.

“You come up here often,” he observed. “It’s nice.”

“Here I can be myself.” She fidgeted with her hands in her lap. She’d never shared her secret place with another. “I have no duties, no obligations. I’m just a woman, sitting on a hill, looking at the city. I could be anyone, anything I want.”

She’d gotten lost in many daydreams on the top of this hill. So far, none of them had come true. Except Tristan. She’d dreamed of falling in love, but in her dreams, the man had always loved her in return.

“Do you wish for a different life?” Tristan asked. He plucked a long stem of grass and began tying it in knots.

“All the time.”

“What would you change?”

“I wouldn’t have lost my mother.” She felt the emptiness of that ache more keenly than any other. “Perhaps, had she been around, I would have turned out to be a better woman.”

“I think you turned out remarkably.” Tristan tossed the knotted stem of grass aside and took her hand in his, holding it gently. “I wouldn’t change one thing about you.”

She looked over at him. He was watching her, his grey eyes so intent and focused as he studied her face. Like he could see not only the woman she was, but the woman she wanted to become.

“Would you change anything about your life?” she wondered.

“I’ve done things I regret, and I’ve lost people I love, but if I changed any of it, I wouldn’t be here with you.”

“Do you want to be with me?”

“Valeria, I –”

She leaned in close to him and placed a soft kiss on his mouth, silencing him. She was afraid to hear what he was going to say. Afraid that it wouldn’t be what she wanted to hear.

“Are you that impatient to have me?” he murmured against her lips, smiling. “Did you bring me here to take advantage of me?”

She smiled back. “I brought you here because it’s my favorite place in Rome. I wanted to share it with you.”