Gladiator Heart (31 page)

“What happens when the legions return?” Tristan asked. “Will I still be the hero of Rome then?”

The two senators exchanged wary glances. Tristan knew that look. They weren’t telling him everything. Whatever their plans, he wanted no part.

“You have your rebellion,” he said. “My only wish is to return home.”

“I’m with Tristan on this.” Angus stepped up and joined his friend. “We were promised freedom if we inspired your rebellion and broke out of the arena. It would be false to go back on your word.”

Damn these Romans
.

Tristan was right. None could be trusted. Angus had thought himself content to enjoy the luxuries of the palace, along with the ladies brought in to entertain them, but it was only a fleeting distraction. Hearing Tristan speak of home made him anxious to return to the north. This city held nothing but lies and trickery. And what would happen to them when the legions returned to restore order? They would be heroes no longer. Angus wanted to be far away from Rome when the time came.

“I fear what would become of the rebellion if you were to leave the city.” Senator Nero walked around in front of the table and leaned back against it, placing his hands on either side of him. “What can I do to convince you to stay?”

Tristan sent Angus an anxious glance. Both of them were united in their decision.

They would leave Rome.

“We were brought to this city against our will,” Tristan stated. “Now that we are free, it holds nothing for us.”

Senator Braxus stepped forward. Tristan hoped the younger man would speak with more sense than his partner. He’d been there when the alliance was made and knew Tristan’s only desire was freedom.

“I wonder what would become of the lady Valeria if you were to leave,” he said with staid calmness.

Tristan tensed. Was there a threat underlying his words?

“How do you know about her?”

“Don’t think you can play us for fools.” He swished up to Tristan in his green toga, his eyes shrewd and assessing. “We all know you have her upstairs, that you protect her from the mob.”

Tristan had been too quick in thinking no one would be concerned about what happened to Valeria. The leaders of the rebellion could seek to use her to their political advantage. Had he known who she was when he’d first found her, he would have done the same.

“It didn’t seem right to turn her over to their violence,” he said. “She’s done nothing against the people.”

He also wouldn’t feel right handing her over to the senators. The two men were proving to be less than trustworthy.

Senator Braxus clasped his hands behind his back, assuming an imposing stance as he looked down his regal nose at Tristan with the loftiness endowed to one of his position. “What will happen to her without your protection?”

Tristan clenched his jaw in annoyance. “Do you think I have a care what happens to her after I leave?”

It pained him to say the words, but letting these men know he did care about her would reveal a weakness they could exploit. He wouldn’t put it past the senators to use Valeria as a means of controlling him for the purpose of their rebellion, and that was something he couldn’t allow.

“I think you must have a care for her,” Senator Braxus replied. “Or she’d be imprisoned in the arena with the rest of the nobles.”

Tristan had to come up with a believable excuse. “Where I come from, women are spoils of war. I intend to enjoy my prize first.”

The senators exchanged another calculating glance.

“Let the man have his prize.” Atilla clasped his large hand on Tristan’s shoulder. “He’s earned it.”

“Make certain she remains in the palace,” Senator Nero instructed. “We may have need of her in the future.”

Tristan should have seen this coming. As fate would have it, he and Valeria had less time than he’d thought.

Valeria wondered what was keeping Tristan away for so long, when he entered her room as if her thoughts had conjured him out of thin air. He closed the door and secured the broken bolt with his sheathed sword.

“Did you miss me?” His confident smile was absolutely devastating. With his shorter hair and shaven beard she could see every handsome detail of his face.

She’d missed him more than she wanted him to know. He would be leaving Rome soon, and she would be left behind with only her memories to comfort her. She should be angry with him, but neither she nor Tristan could change the fact that they belonged to different worlds. Sometimes worlds collided, however briefly, before continuing on their separate paths.

She could see by the haunted look in his eyes that they would be continuing on very shortly.

Tristan stalked up to her, grabbed her by the arms, and brought his mouth down over hers in a hungry, crushing kiss. Valeria threw her arms around his neck and clung to him as she returned the passion of his searing kiss. Their tongues twined together, and between their bodies, a fiery heat exploded, melding them together so each knew what the other wanted because what they both wanted was the same.

He gathered one of her breasts in his hand and stroked her nipple through the fabric of her tunic with his thumb until it hardened to an aching peak. She felt his touch as if he’d done it between her legs, bringing that throbbing, aching need to life.

She moaned and clutched his shoulders, desperate for the release only he could give her. They fumbled with each other’s tunics, practically ripping the clothes from their bodies until they were bare. Tristan backed her to the bed and fell upon her, his hot, wet mouth latching onto one of her nipples. He licked and suckled the sensitive pink tip, then moved to the other, all the while his fingers worked between her legs, spreading her until he found the swollen bud he was seeking.

Valeria cried out from the stunning pleasure of his ravenous assault. Her senses were on overload as he touched, licked, sucked, each dizzying sensation building upon the last until she thought she would burst from the pleasure.

This is what she’d wanted from him. The raw, feverish plunder of his lovemaking. No other man had affected her so deeply. Only Tristan could bring her wild passions to life, and if he was leaving her, then she wanted to get her fill.

“Please, Tristan,
now
.” She spread her legs and lifted her hips to him.

His brows drew together in an agonized expression, and he clenched his jaw tightly as he wound his arm around her waist and held her in place so he could thrust his hard length full and deep inside her.

They both cried out, going still for a moment, then Tristan began to move. Thrusting, withdrawing, thrusting again, gradually increasing the pace with every forceful surge of his hips. Intensifying waves of pleasure vibrated through her, and she wanted to make it last, but she waged a losing battle. He tightened his hold around her waist, the muscles in his arm bulging with strain as he held her tight against him and plunged deeper, his thrusts more powerful, making her cry out in ecstasy and pleasure.

Valeria lost herself to the fervor of his passion, her body trembling, her skin on fire. Another penetrating thrust and her climax ripped through her. She arched her back and screamed from the most astonishing pleasure she’d ever felt—pulsing, wet, hot—going on and on.

Above her, Tristan shuddered, driving himself into her as he sought his own turbulent release. A desperate, strangled sound broke from him, he stilled, and his eyes slid closed in pleasure. He squeezed her waist tightly as a wild shudder racked through him and his shaft throbbed deep within her.

The musky scent of their lovemaking clung to their slick, sweaty bodies and they both panted heavily, trying to catch their breath. Tristan eased off her and rolled onto his back with a heavy sigh. He draped his arm over his face, his eyes still closed, as she watched his chest rise and fall with his labored breaths.

Valeria couldn’t move, didn’t want to move, for fear she would break this beautiful spell. How was she ever going to live without Tristan?

Lucia let Rufus do the hard glaring at the gladiators who guarded the palace doors while she waited for Tristan to be brought down to meet them. How dare the barbarian keep Valeria as a prisoner in her own home. For two days the trials had been taking place in the arena and bloody executions had been carried out. Half the nobles in the city were already dead, and the other half remained in custody, waiting to be judged by the citizens and the newly formed Senate.

Lucia didn’t want Valeria involved in any of the bloodshed. She trusted the people would show mercy on her, for they had found a small handful of the nobles innocent and had released them, but she’d rather not see Valeria suffer the indignity of such a crude public trial. She also didn’t want to leave her daughter in the hands of a savage northerner. It pained her to think what the man had been doing to Valeria all this time, knowing what had happened between them once before. Valeria’s proper place was with her and Rufus now.

Tristan appeared in the doorway, looking content and well-rested, dressed in a fresh tunic with a wide leather belt cinched around his lean waist. He gave a confident—no, an arrogant—smile when he saw them.

“What brings you two to the palace?”

“You know what we’ve come for,” Lucia snapped, finding it difficult to rein in her anger.

The man was too handsome for his own good, with his light eyes, his solid body of muscle and his deep, commanding voice. Valeria had felt something close to love for this man once, but Lucia was certain the girl’s feelings had changed after being held prisoner by the man in her own home.

How could they not?

“I can’t give her to you,” Tristan casually informed them, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame.

Rufus stormed up to him and got in his face. “You can, and you will!”

“It’s not my decision to make.”

“Then whose decision is it?” Lucia demanded. “Let me speak with them.”

Tristan’s smile faltered and there was an uneasiness behind his eyes. “Senator Nero leads the rebellion. It was his decision to keep Valeria here, and she’ll have to stay until he says otherwise.”

Nero
.

Lucia stifled a curse. Of all the deceptive men in Rome, he was the worst. He put his desires above all else and would say anything to convince a person to side with him. It seemed Tristan had fallen under the man’s influence, and that made him a real threat to Valeria.

Lucia met Tristan’s penetrating stare with a furious one of her own. “I want to see her.”

“I don’t think it’s a good time for a visit.”

“Why not?” She panicked, more worried than ever for Valeria. “What have you done to her?”

“Since she can’t walk out of here with you, seeing you will only upset her,” he politely explained.

Lucia understood his reasoning. But did he realize the great risks she had taken to help him, only to end up in a situation where she might lose her life?

“Valeria is not safe here,” Lucia warned, hoping to talk some sense into the man. “Nero cannot be trusted. What do you think he plans to do with her?”

“I assure you, she’s safe with me.”

“Not even you can hold off an entire army,” Rufus intervened. “These men and the legions are loyal to Nero, not you.”

A tick worked along his jaw as he contemplated what Rufus had said. “I believe the men will choose what is right when it comes to her fate.”

Lucia knew she would not be getting through to the man today. He was as stubborn as Valeria. “If you intend to leave her fate in the hands of a disloyal senator and a group of soldiers and slaves, then you don’t deserve her.”

She spun on her heel in a huff and descended the stairs that led down to the avenue. She’d have to leave Valeria’s fate up to the Gods. For today, at least. She and Rufus could hardly storm the palace.

Rufus delayed taking his leave for a moment and stared harshly at Tristan, most likely imagining the many ways he’d like to kill the northerner. Then he descended the stairs and followed after Lucia.

“Do you think it’s wise to leave her there?” he asked, the worry evident in his voice.

“What choice do we have?” She looked into the warm eyes of her beloved protector. “The Gods have other plans.”

“You put too much faith in the Gods,” he growled in response. “I’d rather put faith in my sword and take her out of there.”

“You told the Guard you weren’t with them, that you didn’t support the rebellion either way. They’ll turn on you. We both know you wouldn’t make it out alive.” She searched his determined gaze. “What purpose would that serve?”

Rufus sighed in frustration and scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “You know I only seek to make you happy.”

“Then come home with me.” She gave him a coy smile, wanting to distract him from thoughts of doing something that would only lead to his death. “And make me happy in the way only you can.”

She’d fought too hard to keep the man she loved alive and she would not lose him. There was nothing they could do to help Valeria as long as Tristan held her in the palace. Lucia couldn’t fight fate, she could only trust that everything would work itself out in the end.

Tristan warred with his army of thoughts as he made his way back to Valeria’s room. No matter how badly he wanted to stay with her, Lucia and Rufus were right. Valeria wouldn’t be safe in the palace for much longer.

And every day he spent in Rome was a day closer to the legions returning.

He couldn’t stay in the city just for Valeria, and she would never leave with him. How could she? How long could she live without the comforts of her city? Without the luxurious baths and the fine clothes and furnishings? Her entire life was in Rome, while he belonged back in the north with his people and his armies. The problem was, he’d fallen in love with her from the very moment he’d found her tied up in his tent. Tristan acknowledged the feelings he had for the wife he’d lost, and he didn’t want to diminish what they’d shared, but he hadn’t known real love until he’d loved Valeria.

He had to face the fact that there was no future for them. A life together was impossible. What could he possibly offer her that would compete with Rome? They had known their affair was doomed from the start, and Tristan was the fool for allowing himself to fall in love with her.