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“ W hat are you doing here?” Lucretia demanded when Felix showed up at her office the next morning. Dihya hadn’t yet arrived, so there was no one to hold Felix off from striding straight into the back room.

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s rather a rude greeting.”

Lucretia rose to her feet and folded her arms across her chest. “In recent memory, your visits have either been to propose marriage or harass me about taking very reasonable action against you. So which is it this time?”

The angles of his face somehow seemed to intensify as he looked at her, giving him a shrewd look. “More similar to the former than the latter.”

“If you think another proposal—”

He held up a hand to silence her. “Not an offer of marriage. Rather, a counter-offer to what you proposed at the tavern.”

She blinked, taken aback. The memory of her brazen proposition rushed through her, warming her cheeks, but she strove to mask her embarrassment. “You refused. And to be honest, I’m not sure what I was thinking when I made that offer.”

“Are you open to hearing a counter-offer?”

She knew she should demur and send him on his way, but despite herself, she was curious. What did he mean, a counter-offer? “I suppose.”

He took a step closer, and she steeled herself against the heat sparked by his proximity. Her mind flashed back to that night, the feel of his body on top of her, pressing into her. He’d been as close as one could be without actually being inside her.

“In exchange for a truce, I accept your offer of a carnal relationship,” he said. “In addition, I would like your consent to apprentice your son.”

Her mouth fell open, thrown by the unexpected request. She couldn’t even dwell on her surprise at his acceptance of the bargain she wasn’t sure she still wanted to make. “Marcus? Why?”

“I would consider it practice for when I have a son of my own one day. That’s all.”

Lucretia surveyed him. She had a feeling there was more to it than that.

After all, Felix had gone out of his way to help Marcus, even as he was trying to undermine her.

He seemed to like Marcus, and Marcus had even gone so far as to say “he’s not so bad” about Felix at one point. Which was high praise from her son.

It might not be the worst thing for Marcus to find a mentor in Felix. It still rankled that Felix had developed a rapport with him without even trying, but she had to think of what was best for Marcus.

Lucretia considered. Logically, this offer seemed to have no downsides for her. She would get freedom from Felix’s scheming, a mentor for her son, not to mention the chance to…

She tore her mind away from the prospect of the carnal relationship he offered. She could not go around making decisions based on lust. If she was to consider this, there would need to be parameters.

“How long would this continue?” Lucretia asked. “I offered you two weeks in our last conversation.”

He contemplated for a moment, his gaze raking over her. “I propose an indefinite term. Any of us, including Marcus, may dissolve the agreement at any time.”

Indefinite . Her mouth went dry at the thought of an indefinite carnal relationship with Felix.

The last time they’d discussed this, she’d treated her body as a tool to be bartered.

But now, after that night, she recognized the mutual pleasure that could be found in such an arrangement.

This was no longer about offering herself in payment, but instead it had become something with an intriguing sense of balance.

“I’ll put your offer of mentorship to Marcus to see if he agrees,” Lucretia said. “For the rest, I have one amendment.” She swallowed and met his gaze. Was she really about to agree to this? “I don’t want to be your lover. I want to be your teacher.”

This way, at least, she could maintain some distance, some control.

Simply becoming lovers was too nebulous, dangerous in its latitude.

Where these things were concerned, she sensed boundaries were important.

She could allow herself to enjoy it—to enjoy him —but only within the limits she would set.

Heat flared in his gray eyes, turning them to smoldering charcoal. “Are you qualified to teach such things? As far as I understand, you’ve only been with one man. I may be better served with a more experienced instructor.”

Her eyebrows shot up, indignant. “I was married to Cornelius for fifteen years. Assuming we had relations an average of eight times a month during that time, that is a total of…” She paused, working out the numbers in her head.

“One thousand, four hundred and forty times,” Felix finished.

She glared at him, irritated that he’d solved it before her.

“Which is one thousand, four hundred and forty times more than you, if I’m not mistaken.

” Her calculations were inflated, given how often Cornelius had been absent and how their relations waned in the last years of their marriage, but Felix didn’t need to know that.

A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “I concede, and accept your amendment.”

Dihya arrived, escorted by Caeso, just as Felix departed. “What did he want?” Dihya questioned, looking after Felix with a suspicious glower.

Lucretia leaned against the wall beside Dihya’s desk. Her mind whirled as she tried to comprehend what she’d agreed to. How had they gone from rivals to her agreeing to teach Felix the ways of the flesh in exchange for a truce? It was insanity.

But during that conversation with Felix, it seemed to make perfect sense.

“He gave some more thought to the arrangement I proposed after the shipwreck.” A shiver of nerves ran through her.

What would Dihya think of all this? “He wants to apprentice Marcus. In exchange for a truce and…a carnal relationship.” Lucretia left out the part about Felix’s lack of experience; it didn’t feel right to share something so personal about him.

Dihya let out a ringing laugh. “So you’re really going to do it?”

Lucretia glared at her. “This is not a laughing matter.”

Dihya didn’t restrain her chuckles. “I should have known it would take a business proposition in order for you to consider sleeping with someone new.”

The enormity of what she had agreed to finally sunk in. Sleeping with Felix? Being intimate with him? “I’m already regretting this.” She pressed her hands to her eyes. “I should back out. Never mind the truce, we’ll just have to think of something else—”

“No!” Dihya grabbed Lucretia’s hands, forcing her to open her eyes. “You’re unattached, and there is a young, handsome man who desires you. You don’t need to marry him, but don’t waste this chance.” Dihya raised an eyebrow. “Sound familiar?”

Lucretia let out a resigned sigh. Those were her exact words from when she’d convinced Dihya to give Caeso a chance. “Your memory can be extremely irritating.”

Dihya smiled smugly. “Trust me, it will be worth your while. I have a feeling Felix is good in bed.”

Lucretia flushed. “How could you possibly sense such a thing?”

Dihya lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Men like him—those who come off as being so aloof and reserved—my theory is they let it all out in bed.” Her smirk grew. “I bet he’ll be a wild lay.”

“Dihya!” Lucretia’s cheeks burned. She didn’t want to admit that Dihya might have a point. Despite Felix’s inexperience, and despite the fact that they hadn’t even shed their clothes, there had indeed been something…wild…about their brief encounter at the tavern. “Is Caeso like that?”

“Well, unlike Felix, Caeso is nice . But when it comes to bedding…” A knowing smile grew on Dihya’s lips. “Let’s just say the man knows what he wants and has no qualms about taking it. Do you have any idea how strong hauling sacks of flour and kneading bread makes a man?”

Lucretia let out a shocked laugh.

“If I’m wrong, you have an escape,” Dihya reassured her. “Remember, Caeso supplies the bread to Felix’s household, so if he’s bad in bed, we’ll just poison him!”

That evening, Lucretia broached the subject of Felix’s proposal with Marcus. His agreement, after all, was requisite. But she had to frame the matter carefully, as he couldn’t know of her other involvement with Felix.

At dinner, she slid a plate of honeyed walnuts toward him, which was a fail-safe way to get his attention. “Lucius Avitus Felix came to see me today,” she informed him as he shoved a walnut into his mouth. “We’ve been discussing some business matters. You know we are competitors.”

“Which is why you hate him,” Marcus said through a mouthful of walnuts.

“I don’t hate him. But he is ambitious, and he wants to control trade in all of Ostia. To that end, he’s been undertaking efforts to sabotage my business.”

Marcus listened to this in silence, perhaps putting the pieces together of why she’d been so angry when she discovered his association with Felix.

“But we have recently reached an agreement. A truce. As part of that, he has offered to apprentice you. You will learn a great deal from him, I’m sure.”

Marcus’s nose wrinkled. “I don’t want to learn about ships. I want to learn boxing .”

Lucretia sighed. “I imagine Felix will be happy to continue that facet of your education. If he does, will you agree to apprentice with him?”

Marcus considered for a moment, chewing contemplatively on another walnut. His admiration for Felix must have outweighed his disinterest in ships, for he nodded. “Fine.”

“Good.” Lucretia kissed him on the forehead, ignoring how he shied away. “I’ll let Felix know.”

“Wait a moment.” Marcus frowned at her. “A week ago, you nearly murdered Felix. Then two days ago, you went to see a shipwreck with him. Now today, you want me to apprentice with him?” He gave her a suspicious look. “And apparently he’s been trying to sabotage you this whole time?”

Lucretia hesitated. “I told you, we agreed on a truce.”

“But why would he agree to such a thing?”

Because he really, really wants me . “The terms are not your concern.” Too much sharpness entered her voice, and she instantly regretted her tone.

Marcus’s gaze shuttered. “Fine. Whatever.” He dumped the remaining walnuts onto his plate and set about devouring them.

Lucretia watched him in silence, her chest tight. Why couldn’t one conversation with him go smoothly? At least he had agreed to be mentored by Felix. She hoped Felix’s influence would do him good.