ATasteofRome (2 page)

Ryan pulled his guidebook from his bag. “Right, I think we
need to check this out to make sure we see the highlights.”

“Fair enough, mate,” Kristian replied. “Otherwise we could
wander all day and not be entirely sure what we’re looking at.”

The other man nodded absently as he flicked through his
book, looking for the right page. “Ah, okay. There’s the Decumanus Maximus, the
theater, the Casa di Diana and Thermopolium, the museum, the Forum…the list
goes on. I’ll just keep checking this as we go along in case we come across one
of them.”

“Sounds good.”

With that, they walked farther into the ancient city,
following the well-worn paths and marveling at how much was left considering
the age of the place. The walls varied from around knee height—sometimes
less—to way above their heads. They climbed vantage points, took lots of
photographs and checked a few highlights off the list in the guidebook.

Soon they reached an area where the well-defined paths
ended. And yet the sprawling ruins continued. Shrugging, Ryan said, “Shall we
go and check it out? You never know what we’ll see off the beaten path.”

“Yeah, go for it.”

They walked through the long grass and wildflowers, growing
closer to the outer reaches of the place.

“Do you get the feeling we’re not meant to be here?” Ryan
said after a few minutes. “There’s nobody else here.”

“I know what you mean, but surely it’d have been fenced off
if it were out of bounds. It doesn’t look as though anything’s going to fall on
us. Well, no more than everywhere else.”

“True.” They continued in silence, broken only when Ryan
retrieved his drink from his bag and took several long pulls—the heat was
pretty intense.

A movement in the corner of his eye made him stop suddenly.

Kristian exclaimed, and Ryan hushed him, pointing to what
he’d seen.

A black and yellow lizard had paused in its journey up a
section of the ruined wall, soaking up the sun. The two men remained still, as
did the creature. It was like a standoff. Eventually the lizard moved off,
scurrying up to the top of what was left of the wall, then out of sight. Ryan
and Kristian exchanged a look.

“Wow, that was cool,” Kristian said. “I bet there’s loads of
them of them here, isn’t there? So many places to hide.”

“Yep. It’s a huge adventure playground for them. Especially
since in this bit there are no tourists except us. They must be cursing us for
disturbing them!” He continued walking, and his friend fell into step behind
him. After a couple of minutes, they came to what looked like a fairly major
junction. Or what
had
been a major junction, anyway. The site still
continued in each direction.

“Wanna split up?” Ryan asked. “We’ll keep over to this side,
though, and shout if we find anything outstanding. Then if we don’t meet up at
any point, shall we wait for each other back where we came off the main path?”

“Yep, okay. I’ll go left.”

“And I’ll go right. See you later.” They turned and headed
in their respective directions, and Ryan was soon swallowed deeper into the
complex. It felt as if no one had trodden these paths since the city had been
abandoned over a thousand years ago. Much of what he saw was the same—endless
dwellings, streets, corridors, bath houses and meeting places. After a while,
though, he saw another vantage point. Scrambling up a dirt incline, he peered,
fascinated, at the ramshackle hut at its top. It was out of place, really, set
apart from everything else—but perhaps that was the point. Some kind of lookout
point, perhaps? The tiny building itself was a little creepy and it was in
pretty good condition and a great place to hide. Double-checking there was
nothing inside that could jump out and startle him, sending him plummeting over
the edge to his certain death, he looked around.

Ruins stretched as far as the eye could see in two
directions, but in the other two directions he could now see the edges of the
vast area. The view, however, stunning as it was, couldn’t keep his interest.
For he’d spotted something even more fascinating. Below him, in what had been a
large room, was a mosaic floor. That wasn’t unusual, of course—there were
mosaics on floors and walls throughout the complex. What was so wonderful about
this particular piece was the condition it was in. Far from the cracked, worn,
dirt-covered mosaics he’d seen elsewhere in Ostia Antica, this one was pretty
much complete, and very visible. He was just about to open his mouth to shout for
Kristian to come and see his discovery when he spotted something else.

Just off to one side, in the darkest corner of the room,
there was movement. He stepped forward to get a better view, expecting to see
another lizard. In fact what he saw was much larger. And there were two of
them.

The young couple had clearly been there for a little while,
as Ryan had caught them right in the middle of getting hot and heavy. Their
skin tone told him they were probably Italian—perhaps employees of the tourist
attraction on their lunch break. The girl, who was slim with small breasts, was
pushed up against the highest wall in the area, and her back was probably being
scratched raw by the rough brick. She didn’t seem to care, though. Her eyes
were closed and her mouth hung slack. She was in the throes of bliss.

Her partner was ramming into her with ferocity, yet Ryan
could see that he only held her up with one hand—the other was busily stroking
her clit. He was tall and well-built, dwarfing the girl, and by the way she was
moaning and groaning, he was obviously very skilled at lovemaking too.

Ryan couldn’t take his eyes off the scene before him. He was
a good few feet away and much higher up than they were, so he couldn’t see any
detail. But it didn’t seem to matter to his cock—it had started filling with
blood as soon as his brain had registered what was going on, and now pressed
against the inside of his boxers and jeans.

Suddenly the combination of what he was seeing before him,
the risk factor and the sun beating down on him made him uncontrollably horny.
Instead of ignoring his erection and willing it to go away and leaving the
lovers to their illicit tryst, he carried on watching them and released his
cock from his clothes and into the fresh air. He fisted himself, then began
stroking up and down, keeping his gaze firmly on the steamy alfresco sex in
front of him. They obviously weren’t expecting to be seen, because rather than having
pulled their clothes up, down or to one side, they were butt-naked, flashing
everything they had to the sky and sun. Which meant that Ryan had an unimpeded
view of the Italian chick’s tits. They weren’t large but they were perfectly in
proportion with the rest of her, with dark brown nipples that he would happily
have wrapped his tongue around.

He focused on the female being fucked, the sounds emanating
from her throat. The couple wasn’t being massively loud—they wouldn’t be able
to hear them back on the main path, for example—but they weren’t being quiet
either. The noises filled Ryan’s ears and he wanked his cock faster as their
passion overtook them and they bumped and ground against each other, striving
for blissful release.

The girl was a real firecracker. She was giving as good as
she was getting, clearly very focused on pleasure and not particularly gentle
about it. She had her arms curled up under her man’s and was clinging on to his
back. It probably wasn’t necessary, but she was using her nails to grip him,
leaving a series of reddened marks on his shoulders. He’d look in the mirror
later and grin as he remembered how they got there. They would be like a badge
of honor.

Ryan felt his climax approaching and realized he’d sped up
his ministrations considerably. Perhaps he was subconsciously trying to catch
up with the young lovers, so he could time his orgasm with theirs. Providing
they came together. It didn’t matter either way, as long as they didn’t
discover him.

He had to guess how close they were, of course, which meant
he sped up and slowed down a few times as there were a few false alarms.
Eventually, though, their cries were so abandoned, their bodies thrashed
together so violently that there was no going back, no holding off. The girl
clawed wildly at her man’s back—he’d look as if he’d gone ten rounds with a
tiger by the time she was finished. He’d be lucky if she hadn’t drawn blood.

Impossibly, their movements grew even more frantic. They
bucked and writhed together until the guy suddenly gave a huge jerk of his
hips, pinning his girl against the wall, then tilted his head back and roared
his release to the sky. He managed to keep stimulating the girl’s clit and her
orgasm followed not long after. Her entire body bowed and her mouth went wide,
slack, as her body was taken over by pleasure. Then she shuddered and let out a
series of sounds that weren’t unlike those a banshee would make.

Ryan’s climax made three. He bit his lip to keep himself
quiet and worked his hand over his shaft until his balls tightened and lifted
closer to his body then shot spurt after spurt of spunk out of his slit and
onto the dry, cracked ground at his feet. Thanks to Taryn’s antics during the
night there wasn’t too much cum in him, so he was able to pull himself back
together and tuck his cock away within just a few seconds. Then he shifted
along the hill he stood on, so he was out of the sight of the people at the
edge of the room with the awesome mosaic, and tried to get his breath back. He was
a little surprised at himself, if he were completely honest. He’d never had
himself down as a pervy Peeping Tom before. Yes, he’d watched and wanked over
the girl in the peep show in Paris, but that was different. She had been
knowingly putting on a show, fully aware that men were behind the windows,
tugging their cocks over her.

But the couple who’d just fucked in Ostia Antica hadn’t got
a clue. They’d sneaked off for some privacy—or as much privacy as you’d get in
a tourist attraction, anyway—and he’d been unable to stop himself watching.

Shaking his head, Ryan decided not to beat himself up over
it. If you’re going to fuck outside, you’ve got to accept there’s going to be a
chance you’ll get caught. They couldn’t have been that bothered or they wouldn’t
have done it there in the first place. Plus they hadn’t seen him, anyway—they
were none the wiser and no one had gotten hurt. It had just been a little
unexpected smutty fun.

He stayed where he was for a few moments longer, giving the
young couple a chance to get dressed and leave the area before he made his way
down from his perch and attempted to find Kristian. The last thing he needed
was to bump into them as they made their way back to civilization—they’d know
just by the look on his face that he’d witnessed their lovemaking.

After a few minutes had passed, he walked back down to
ground level and toward the main path he and Kristian had originally deviated
from.

“Hey, mate,” he said, seeing his friend coming from the
other direction. “Come and look at what I found. It’s awesome.”

Ryan and Kristian emerged from the train station, quiet and
reflective after their day spent at Ostia Antica. It seemed they’d both been
awed by the sheer amount of history in the place and the scale of it all. Ryan,
of course, had been extra-awed by the copulating couple he’d watched and
masturbated over. He hadn’t mentioned the incident to his friend, instead just
showing him the amazing mosaic he’d found before they went on their way,
continuing to explore the ancient city. He probably wouldn’t have believed him
anyway.

“Okay,” Kristian said, stepping to one side and leaning on
the nearest wall to let the crowds pass him by, “I’m famished. Shall we go and
find something to eat?”

Ryan nodded and they headed into the chaos together and
found a cheap café where they ordered a beer each and perused the menu.

“What’s the plan for later, mate? And tomorrow?” Kristian
asked.

Ryan glanced up from the sticky, laminated page. “Uh, dunno
about later, really.” He glanced at his watch. “Well I guess this is dinner
taken care of. What do you want to do?”

“Please don’t kill me, but I’m pretty knackered. I was
thinking of a few drinks somewhere near to the hostel so we can just toddle to
bed when we feel like it.”

“Nah, I won’t kill you. I’m feeling pretty much the same
way. As for tomorrow, I was going to be a bit obvious and head to the Colosseum
and the Roman Forum. You?” He took a sip of his beer and waited for his
friend’s reply.

“I’ll see how I feel in the morning. I’m tempted to have a
day off, to be honest. Just chill out somewhere, sit and watch the world go by.
I know I probably sound really boring, but if I do too much and I’m too tired,
I won’t appreciate it. And I reckon soaking up Rome’s atmosphere will be pretty
entertaining in itself, anyway.”

“You are a bit boring, mate. But I’ll let you off ’cause
you’re right. There’s no sense in rushing around like a headless chicken and
not really enjoying or remembering what you’re doing. I might have one of those
chilled-out days myself toward the end of the week.”

Kristian raised his glass and they clinked. “To having a
chilled-out time,” Kristian said.

“To making sure we’ve got enough energy to pull some hot
girls!” Ryan replied.

They laughed together, then drank some more of their beer
before turning their attention back to the choice of food. A minute or so
later, Ryan closed his menu, waited for his friend to do the same, then
gestured for the waitress to take their order.

They watched as she walked away, her short skirt swishing
from side to side with the movement of her hips. When she was out of sight,
they looked back at each other, approving expressions on their faces. “I
would,” they said together, then collapsed into laughter once more.

After they’d finished their meal and paid, they hopped on
the Metro back toward the hostel.

“I’m heading straight into the queue for the shower,” Ryan
said as they headed into the building.

“Yeah, me too. It’s been a long, hot day.”

They fell into a companionable silence as they grabbed stuff
from their lockers and shuffled toward the bathrooms to wait for showers to
become available. As it happened, they seemed to have hit a quiet time and
didn’t have to wait long for cubicles to free up.

“See you over the road in a bit?” Ryan asked.

“Yep, see you there.”

Ryan stepped into his cubicle, locked the door and stripped.
Shoving his dirty clothes into the bag he’d brought with him and retrieving
clean ones, he grabbed his wash bag, stepped into the shower and turned on the
water. The blissfully hot water pounded down on him and he stood there for
several long minutes, much longer than was necessary, just relaxing under the
spray.

He remembered that he was probably holding up the queue, so
he washed and rinsed quickly, then hopped out of the shower and dried himself
off. Spraying on deodorant then cologne, he got dressed, picked up all his
stuff and got out of the shower. He dumped what he didn’t need in his locker
and headed to the bar over the road, where he and Kristian had arranged to
meet. He expected they’d bump into Shanna and Taryn at some point, which
wouldn’t be a bad thing. It seemed all four of them were happy with the casual
arrangement they had, and he for one was more than willing to carry it on until
they parted ways. After all, what straight young man wouldn’t want to fool
around with two smokin’ hot American chicks?

He spotted Kristian almost immediately, sitting with a
brunette he didn’t recognize. He walked over until he was a few paces away and
tried to get his friend’s attention without the woman seeing. He didn’t want to
cock-block Kristian by joining them at the table if he wasn’t welcome. The
other man saw him and smiled, beckoning him over, so Ryan went and sat down.

“Hi.”

“Hey, mate. This is Aria. Aria, this is Ryan, the friend I’m
traveling with.”

She held out an immaculately manicured hand and Ryan shook
it. “Lovely to meet you, Aria.”

She inclined her head and he immediately wondered what the
hell she was doing with Kristian. She came across as incredibly posh, very
well-off if her clothes and grooming were anything to go by, and probably about
ten years older than them. A horrible thought suddenly went through his mind.
God, was she a prostitute? His friend could be pretty naïve at times and he
might not have realized what was happening when a stunning woman talked to him.
He probably thought it was his lucky day. He decided on an easy way to find
out.

“So, Aria, where are you from, and what do you do for a
living?” He gave his brightest and most genuine smile, hoping to charm an
answer out of her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kristian frown at him.
Poor guy probably thought he was trying to muscle in on his woman.

Aria replied, in heavily accented English, “I’m from here,
from Rome. And I am an advertising executive for a large company that deals
with designer brands.”

Ryan had to stop himself from raising his eyebrows. That
would explain her glamorous outfit and expensive-looking hairstyle, then. She
had a damn good job. If she was telling the truth.

“Really? That sounds very interesting, though I must admit I
don’t really understand what that means. Can you tell me a little more?”

A crease appeared between the beauty’s eyebrows, and Ryan
knew he had to tread carefully. He was in danger of pissing off both her and
his best friend. So he listened attentively as she explained, watching her body
language to see if she was displaying any “tells” that might indicate she was
lying. He found none, and the way she had to pause a little and think about her
answers told him that she didn’t have a story she could roll off the tip of her
tongue without thinking. Equally, she wasn’t taking so long to reply that she
might be making it up as she went along.

Satisfied that the hottie was who she said she was, he
waited until she was done talking. “That’s excellent, Aria, really good. Thanks
so much for explaining it to me. Can I get you another drink?” He pointed to
her almost empty wineglass.

She gave a single nod.

“Any preference?”

She gave him the name of an expensive-sounding white wine.
Typical. She earned a fortune—why the hell had he offered to buy her a drink?
Damn his polite upbringing. He fixed a smile on his face, slid off the stool
and walked around the table. “Give me a hand, mate?”

Kristian narrowed his eyes, then turned to Aria and smiled.
“Won’t be a sec.”

They headed toward the bar together. Once they were there,
waiting to be served, Ryan spoke before his friend could. “Before you thump me,
let me explain.”

His friend raised an eyebrow, which indicated he should go
on.

“I took one look at your gorgeous girl over there and
thought she was an escort or something. She’s obviously loaded and older than
you, so I just thought I’d prod her a bit and see if I could suss her out.
Clearly I was wrong. She’s an advertising executive and that’s the end of it.”
By the time he’d finished speaking, his friend’s face had gone through a series
of expressions, from confused to angry to relieved and finally understanding.

“Well, uh, okay. Thank you, I guess, for looking out for me.
But don’t worry, I know an escort when I see one.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Our student budget definitely doesn’t
stretch to high-class call girls! Okay, I’ll buy the two of you a drink, then
bugger off somewhere else. I don’t want to cramp your style.”

“You sure? I don’t mind if you hang around for a bit. She
might even want to be shared.”

“Nah, you can have her all to yourself. I don’t want to risk
you losing out. You deserve some fun with her.” The barman arrived and Ryan
ordered Aria and Kristian’s drinks, handed over the relevant amount in euros,
stuck his change in his pocket, then clapped his friend on the back before
turning and leaving the bar. He saw Aria watching him as he passed and he gave
her a wave and a grin before stepping out into the night.

Bollocks, what the hell was he supposed to do now? He was
more than happy to get out of Kristian’s way so he could have some fun with the
sexy cougar, but that meant Ryan had to find somewhere else to be.

He stood, breathing in the night air as he pondered. Then a
bolt of inspiration struck him and he pulled his phone from his pocket and
composed a message to Shanna.

Hey, where are you? You and Taryn free for a drink? R x

He knew she’d assume that he and Kristian were together but
it didn’t matter. If one or both of them were free to meet up, he’d explain
where his friend was and that would be the end of it.

His phone bleeped almost instantly.

We’re just coming out of the hostel now. Yes, free for a
drink. Where? S x

Instead of replying, he crossed the road and waited outside
the front door of their hostel. Just as Shanna’s message had said, they were
exiting the building.

“Hi.”

The two girls shrieked, and Ryan hoped like hell there were
no police around. They’d think he was an attacker or something. “Hey,” he held
his hands up placatingly, “it’s just me. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I
thought it was a waste of time replying as by the time I hit send you’d be out
here.”

Shanna gave him a light slap on his arm but she was smiling.
“It’s all right. You just startled me, is all. Where’s Kristian? And why aren’t
you in there?” She pointed to the bar he’d just left.

“The answer to both of those questions is pretty much the
same. Kris showered faster than me and was in there when I arrived, but he was
with a girl, so I’ve made myself scarce and I’m gonna go somewhere else to
drink. I don’t want to cock-block him.”

The girls nodded with not a flicker of jealousy or
irritation. He moved between them and lifted his elbows, indicating that they
should link arms with him. They took his lead. “Where to, then, ladies?”