Page 21 of The Legionary Seduction (Roman Heirs #2)

M ax stared at the woman before him uncomprehendingly. The noise of the market around him faded. Mother .

He hadn’t seen his mother, Maia, in twenty years, since he left home as a child, preferring to take his chances on the street rather than suffer his father’s temper. He remembered little about his childhood—only the constant, aching fear that plagued his early years. And he remembered his mother standing by as his father took out his anger on Max, her face blank and frozen.

Max yanked his arm out of her grip so roughly she stumbled, catching herself on the wooden table between them. “No,” he said.

“It’s true,” the woman insisted. “I know you, Quintus.”

“That’s not my name.” It was, though. Or it had been. He had been born with the name Quintus, and as a child he’d been obsessed with stories of the famous general Quintus Fabius Maximus, who had faced off against Hannibal a century and a half ago. The fact that they had the same given name made him feel a sense of kinship with the great man.

When Max ran away from home, he’d appropriated the name, insisting that he be called Maximus. It made him feel brave, even though he couldn’t claim any of the noble deeds that would ordinarily bestow the name Maximus upon someone. Crispina, recognizing that it was a ridiculous name for a child, had compromised and called him Max, and the name had stuck.

Max turned away from the woman, but she shot out from behind the stall and blocked his path, her voice rising in desperation. “I’ve thought of you every day.” Her voice shook. “I never knew what happened to you. I have prayed and sacrificed and begged the gods to bring you back to me. And now it’s finally happened.” Her eyes glistened, and a tear rolled down her weathered cheek. “Things are better now. I live outside Tibur now with your sister. She married a farmer, and they made a good life for themselves.”

He blinked, befuddled. “Sister?”

Maia nodded. “I was with child when you…when you left.”

Left . More like escaped . “What of…” He cleared his throat. “…my father?”

Her eyes darkened. “Bastard got himself killed in a tavern brawl years ago. That was when we left the city, and Furia found herself a husband.”

“Oh.” Max wasn’t sure what to say. He felt nothing at the news that his father had died an ignoble death, not even relief.

“Come home with me,” Maia said. “Meet your sister. You have a little niece and nephew, too. They’ll be so pleased to know their uncle. We’re your family.”

For a moment, he was tempted at the prospect of having a family that was truly his own. But he did have a family—Aelius and Crispina and Gaia. They had done more for him than his mother ever had. Without their kindness, he would have had nothing. He probably wouldn’t have survived a year on the streets. He never would have had Elephant, or joined the cavalry, or met Volusia. Going with his mother, even for a visit, would mean turning his back on everything they had done for him.

He stepped away, putting an arm’s length between them. “I can’t. I need to be back in Rome before dark.”

Her face fell, but he couldn’t let himself feel anything in response. He pushed past her and headed for where the two horses waited on the edge of the square.

“Quintus!” she called after him, her voice high and beseeching. “Will you come back?”

He didn’t answer.

The hours-long ride back to Rome passed in a blur. Max let Elephant take the lead, following the road west. The gelding trudged beside them.

His mind whirled, going back over every detail of his unexpected encounter with his mother. Half-remembered flashes of his childhood resurfaced, none of them happy. He couldn’t let go of the resentment he felt toward his mother, even though he knew she’d likely been powerless to stop his father.

All the same, the prospect of a sister tempted him. She must be no more than twenty years old, yet she’d already married and made a family for herself. He felt unaccountably jealous.

Her future was secure, while his was anything but. He still had no idea what he should do with his life if he was unable to rejoin the army. Even if he was allowed to return to the army, his experience with Petronax and Glabrio made him question if he wanted to. Petronax had used his power to exploit those beneath him. And Glabrio had followed orders so blindly he’d been ready to murder two innocent women.

Was that all the army held for him—grasping for power and blindly following orders?

The walls of Rome appeared on the horizon, casting long shadows on the rolling hills. The sun was setting behind the city, and Max squinted in the rays of golden light.

He desperately wanted to tell someone what had happened today, what he had learned, but he hesitated to bring it up to his family. He didn’t want them to think that he cared more about his birth family than them. As far as Max was concerned, Crispina, Aelius, and Gaia were his real family. It had just taken him a bit longer to find them.

But there was one person he knew he could speak frankly to, without fear. Once he entered the city, he dismounted and turned the two horses toward the Caelian Hill.

He knocked on the door of Volusia’s house. The small hatch in the front door slid back, revealing the face of Orion, the same slave who had greeted them two days ago.

“I would like to speak with Volusia,” Max said. “I think you know me—I’m Maximus Herminius.”

Orion hesitated. “The lady is not receiving visitors, sir.”

“Tell her it’s me, please. I think she’ll want to speak with me.”

Orion chewed his lip, but disappeared from the window to slide back the bolt and haul the front door open. “Please come in, sir. I’ll send someone out to watch your horses.”

“Thank you.” For the second time in as many days, Max entered the atrium of the house he’d been banned from ten years ago. He leaned against a column and waited while Orion went to fetch Volusia.

Footsteps sounded, and Max straightened up quicky. Excitement bloomed in his chest. It had only been two days, but he couldn’t wait to see Volusia again.

The figure that entered the atrium, however, was not Volusia, but her scowling stepfather. Max felt his shoulders curl into a defensive slouch as soon as Rufus came into view.

Rufus stopped a short distance away and raised his chin at Max, eyes narrowed. “I thought you were aware you were not welcome in this house.”

“You didn’t turn me away when I was bringing your daughter back from the dead.”

Rufus’s beady eyes flashed. “That, of course, was an anomaly.”

“So you’re going to turn away the person who saved your daughter’s life? Without me, she’d be lying in a Gallic ditch with her throat cut. You could show a bit of gratitude.”

Rufus flinched. For all his faults, the man really did love Volusia. “If it’s compensation you seek, I will ensure that you are appropriately rewarded.”

“I don’t want your money.” Max crossed his arms over his chest. “I want you to thank me for saving her life. Preferably on your knees.”

“The years have not made you any less insolent, I see,” Rufus hissed.

“The years have not taken the stick out of your ass either,” Max shot back.

Rufus’s pale face reddened. With his eyes narrowed and mouth pinched, he looked even more like a weasel than usual. It was a good thing Volusia wasn’t his blood daughter, or else she might have inherited his weaselly look. But if anyone would be a pretty weasel, it was Volusia.

“You will leave this house immediately, or I will have you removed,” Rufus declared.

“I want to speak with Volusia.”

“You have no further business with her.”

“I suggest you ask her if she wants to speak with me. If she doesn’t, I’ll leave.”

Rufus opened his mouth, no doubt to summon a burly slave to throw Max out, but before he could speak, Volusia herself entered the atrium.

“I thought I heard voices—oh, Max!” Her face brightened into a smile. “What are you doing here?”

Max cast a smug grin at Rufus, who glowered hotly enough to melt metal. “I was—”

“He was just leaving,” Rufus said. “He didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Max ignored him. “I wanted to speak with you about something.”

“He is not allowed in this house!” Rufus shouted.

“Father.” Volusia’s voice took on a note of steel. “It’s been ten years. You need to set this feud aside.” She crossed to Max and put a hand on his arm, which made Rufus sputter with rage. “Max saved my life and brought me back to you. The least you could do is not be rude to him. And you certainly have no right to prevent me speaking with him.”

Her words seemed to deflate Rufus’s rage a touch, but the color in his cheeks didn’t fade. “This is my house—”

“Then let us go outside.” Without waiting for a response, she headed for the front door. Max followed her, casting one more smirk back at a speechless Rufus.

Outside, Volusia let out a cry of delight as she saw Elephant. “You found her!” She hurried over to Elephant and allowed the horse to snuffle at her face and hair.

“I just returned from bringing her back.” Max dismissed the slave who’d been watching the horses. He wanted to be alone with Volusia, if only for a moment.

He told Volusia the story of how he’d discovered Elephant and bargained for her return, while Volusia stroked Elephant’s neck. Then, he told her of the encounter with his mother in the market square, the revelation of a sister he never knew he had.

Volusia listened with wide eyes. “I’m so sorry that your father is dead,” she said quietly when he finished.

“Don’t be,” Max said. “He was a bastard.”

She ran her fingers through Elephant’s mane. “Do you think you can find it in yourself to forgive your mother?”

Of course Volusia’s first instinct was forgiveness; she was the most forgiving person he had ever met. She’d even befriended her husband’s lover.

The memory of the Silvanus lookalike at the baths briefly surfaced, but Max was focused on Volusia’s question. He leaned his shoulder against Elephant’s solid body, facing Volusia. “On one hand, no. On the other hand, if my parents hadn’t been so terrible, I’d never have found Aelius and Crispina. My life would have looked very different.” Even if his birth parents were paragons of familial love, they still lived in poverty. He would have faced a life of labor and struggle, if he hadn’t been driven to escape.

Her gaze softened. “Well, whatever you feel about your mother, perhaps don’t deprive yourself of a sister. If I had a long-lost brother, I’d be desperate to meet him.”

Part of him still balked at the thought of reopening the door to his past, though he was undeniably tempted to meet this mysterious sister. He’d think it over more later, but for now, he didn’t want to dwell on it any further. “And you? How have you been?”

She smiled. “It’s only been two days since you last saw me.”

“Feels like a year,” he admitted.

Her smile widened, then faded. “It has been rather strange to return home, after all that happened to us. I tried to convince my father to take my evidence to the consuls, but he refused.” Her lips tightened. “He didn’t want to risk making enemies, as he’s eying another consulship soon.”

“Selfish prick.”

She gave him a reproving glance. “Don’t be rude. I think he does mean well. He wants me to put the past behind me and focus on the future. But I don’t think it will be that easy. I can’t just forget what Petronax did to Avitus. He needs to be brought to justice.”

Max nodded in agreement. “What are you going to do?”

She sighed. “I don’t know what I can do. My father’s support would have been useful in getting people to listen to me.”

“Useful, but not essential,” Max said. “To Dis with your father. You can go to the consuls yourself.”

“They won’t listen to me. A grieving widow spouting accusations against a legionary commander?” Her shoulders slumped.

“ Make them listen.” He hated seeing her like this, unsure of herself, downhearted and silenced. Her stepfather should have raised her up, bolstered her confidence. Instead he had stifled her. “I know you can do it.”

“Am I supposed to march up to one of their houses, bang on the door, and demand an audience?”

Her tone was joking, but Max didn’t laugh. “Why not? You’re a citizen of the republic they’ve sworn to protect. You deserve to be heard.”

“It sounds so simple when you say it like that.” She stepped closer to him, resting a hand atop Elephant’s saddle. “Do you remember how simple things used to be when we were seventeen? All I worried about was if my husband would be handsome and buy me nice gifts.”

“And I only cared about the horse my parents had promised me, and whether or not I’d be able to make you laugh at the next dinner party.” He laid his hand on top of hers. Elephant’s bulk hid them from view of the house, so he didn’t hesitate to slide an arm around her waist and pull her close. It felt so right to have her in his arms again that all he wanted to do was savor the feel of her body.

But desire soon heated his blood. He tightened his arm around her, and lowered his head to kiss her.

She turned away with a shy giggle, so his lips met her cheek. “Max, anyone could see!”

The street was quiet at the moment, but Volusia was right, anyone could wander by. He wasn’t prepared to give up his chance at a kiss, so he pulled her into the narrow alley between her house and the neighboring building. Shadows cloaked them. He took her in his arms once more, and she didn’t push him away as he pressed his mouth to hers.

She kissed him back enthusiastically, and slid her hands over his chest to anchor on his shoulders. His hand tangled in her hair, tilting her face up to take possession of her mouth. They stumbled back, until her body pressed against the outer wall of her house. Lust spiked, scrambling his thoughts and reducing everything to heated gasps and groping hands.

She hooked one leg around his, and let out a purr as his rapidly stiffening cock nudged against her thigh. His breathing stuttered as her hand grazed over him through his tunic.

He grasped her thigh, hiking her leg up to open her to him. “I could take you like this,” he murmured, his voice hoarse with desire, “if you’d let me.”

She put a hand on his chest. “I would certainly not,” she said, looking adorably indignant. “I will not be taken in an alley!” She giggled and pushed him away.

He released her and stepped back, taking a deep breath to clear his mind of the lust still muddling his thoughts. Taking her in an alley had been a stupid idea, and she’d been right to refuse, but her rejection threw even more light on the differences between them. In moments like this, Max was more than willing to let everything else fall away, to focus solely on the pleasure they could find with each other.

But Volusia deserved better. She deserved a man who could think beyond the present moment, who could help her build a future for herself and her son.

“I will always desire you, Max,” she said, her voice soft. “But…”

“I know.” He didn’t want to hear her say it, to hear out loud that he wasn’t the right man for her. He kissed her on the forehead, one last time. “It’s almost dusk. I should see to the horses and then get home.”

She nodded. They left the alley, and Volusia disappeared inside. Max untied the reins of the two horses, and headed for home.