Page 21 of The Tribune Temptation (Roman Heirs #1)

A elius’s words lingered in Crispina’s mind for the rest of the day. Of all the things I never expected from our marriage, a child was at the top of the list. Sitting next to him at dinner, while he tried to dissuade Max from tossing nuts into his goblet, she thought back to their first meeting, when she’d found him arrogant and thoughtless.

Now, he had somehow become her family. Even as they had grown closer over the past weeks, she’d still been keeping her distance, knowing their marriage would end. Aelius needed an heir, and until today, Crispina believed another woman would have to give that to him.

But nothing was certain anymore. If Aelius adopted Max, could she have a life with him?

She glanced over at her husband. He had given up trying to get Max to stop throwing nuts and now they were both trying to see if they could land a nut in Gaia’s goblet across the table. Gaia cast her eyes skyward and covered her goblet with a napkin.

Crispina could imagine no place she’d rather be, no people she’d rather be with. She wanted Aelius, wanted a life with him, wanted to be standing at his side when he won this election and all the ones to come, wanted to grow old with him. An image rose in her mind: ten years from now, Aelius being confirmed as consul before the senate, herself at his side as he achieved his great, improbable dream.

Her eyes moistened, and she turned her face quickly toward her plate. Gods, what was wrong with her?

She focused on Aelius once more, on his nimble fingers as he launched a nut across the table. She knew those hands almost better than her own these days. Another thought intruded, one wholly inappropriate for the dinner table. Perhaps Max’s arrival had inadvertently removed the last barrier between her and Aelius, the one thing she’d been holding back.

She reached for her wine, her throat suddenly parched. Yes, she wanted him…and tonight, maybe she would have him.

Aelius caught her staring at him and grinned at her. She returned the smile, suddenly wishing they were at a loud, crowded dinner party so she could lean over and whisper something enticing in his ear.

But Max and Gaia were their only companions, so she held back until the meal was finished, until she and Gaia put Max to bed, until she joined Aelius in their bedroom.

He reclined in bed, reading over a piece of papyrus.

“Reading anything good?” Crispina asked as she bent to take off her sandals.

“A list of influential patricians and notes on how to win over each of them. I already crossed off your father. I presume becoming his son-in-law is enough to gain the votes he controls.”

“What will you promise the others, since you can no longer sell yourself into marriage for a handful of votes?”

Aelius glanced over the list. “One man has shipping interests, so I would promise to support a bill mandating harsher penalties for smuggling. This other man wants to build a temple, Catullus tells me, seemingly out of piety but no doubt so his own name will be plastered all over it. He will need the plebeian assembly’s approval to consecrate the land. I can promise to help with that if elected.”

“The city doesn’t need another temple when the homes of its own citizens are crumbling,” Crispina muttered. She thought of the slum where she’d found Max, the dilapidated apartment blocks at constant risk of fire or collapse.

Aelius sighed. “Believe me, I know. But I need to ensure enough support to win the election. Unless you have a better idea?”

Crispina folded her arms as she thought, momentarily allowing herself to be distracted from her aim tonight. “What if there’s a compromise? Downgrade the temple to a shrine, and suggest the man use the remaining funds to rebuild areas of the city in disrepair. He would please the gods and the people at the same time.”

Aelius gave a slow, approving nod. “You’re right.”

She shot him a smile, then pulled her dress over her head and tossed it away. Aelius sat up in bed. He had seen her body many times by now, but he always had the same stunned, worshipful expression on his face whenever she bared herself.

He patted the bed next to him. “Come to bed.”

“I need to take down my hair.” Still naked, she sat at her dressing table and removed the pins and thread holding her hairstyle in place. Now that the discussion of politics was done, her mind returned to what she wanted tonight.

It would be easy, not to mention pleasurable, to go along with the activities they always enjoyed. He wouldn’t ask for more.

If she wanted this, she had to ask for it. Nerves tumbled in her stomach.

Aelius got out of bed and came to stand behind her. She stilled her hands and let him take over. He extracted the last few pins, then leaned over her to pick up the ivory comb from her dressing table. He ran it through her hair gently, reverently, to clear the tangles. Then, his fingers divided her hair into three parts. He braided it just as she liked, not too tight or too loose, and tied it with a thin leather cord. His hand swept from her hair to the front of her throat, gently tipping her head back. He bent and kissed her.

Her nervousness spiked as their lips met, but she allowed the pleasure of his touch to wash away her anxiety. She broke the kiss to stand and turn around. He kicked the chair out of the way and pulled her to him, his hands skimming down her back to grasp her bottom. His arousal, temptingly stiff, pushed against her hip through his tunic. She stroked it through the fabric, and he groaned in her ear.

He drew her toward the bed, and a moment later she was beneath him, his fingers delving between her legs.

“Aelius, I…” She swallowed hard. “I want you,” she whispered.

He chuckled. “I’m yours.” He lowered his head to kiss her shoulder.

“No, I, I…” She shivered as his lips tickled her skin. “I want you.” She tried to imbue the words with more significance, but he merely looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

She tried again. “I want you…inside me.” Her cheeks burned. Divine Juno, why did this have to be so difficult?

“As you command.” He slid a gentle finger inside her, followed by another.

She arched into him, her eyes fluttering closed as he filled her. “I didn’t mean fingers,” she managed amid a gasp of pleasure. He was going to make her spell it out, wasn’t he?

He withdrew his hand. “Tell me what you meant.” His voice sounded deeper, rougher than usual.

She struggled for words once more. “I think you know what I meant.”

“I want to hear you say it. I need to hear you say it.”

She kept her eyes closed. There was no way she could look at him now. “I want…your cock…” Her voice dropped to a pathetic mumble. “Inside me.”

His breath caught. His lips brushed her neck. “And what do you want me to do with it?” he murmured against her skin.

Her eyes shot open. “I imagine that’s perfectly clear. Surely you’re not that dense.” She managed to regain some sharpness to her voice.

His hand found her breast, thumb sliding over her nipple. “You know a great many words, Crispina. Use them.”

“I fear I would rather recite Homer.” Her voice became unsteady again, rendered breathless by his touch.

He let out a soft chuckle. His hand trailed down her stomach to tease between her legs. He stroked her slowly, maddeningly.

She groaned. Why did her husband have to be the sort of man who delighted in these evil games? Why couldn’t he be the type who would fling her onto her back and take her as soon as he had the barest permission?

“All right,” she finally gasped. “I want you to fuck me, Aelius. There. Are you happy now?”

“Blissfully. Just one more question.”

“Aelius!”

He stopped touching her and sat up, taking the warmth of his body away from her. His face grew serious. “Why now? Why tonight, after all these months?”

Another question that would be painfully difficult to answer. Crispina sat up too. “This will sound strange, but I believe it’s partly due to Max.”

His eyebrows raised. “That beastly little scamp has made you want to lie with me?”

Crispina smiled. “In a strange way. I didn’t want to lie with you at first because I was afraid of what would happen if I didn’t conceive a child. I was holding onto a tiny, foolish hope that maybe it would be different with a different man. And I didn’t want that hope to go away. Even though I’ve never longed for a baby, I just…wanted to know if I could do it. But now, with Max, I’ve realized we could be a family of sorts. So it doesn’t matter if I can bear a child or not.”

A relieved smile lit his face. “Was that what it was? I was afraid you didn’t think I was good enough for you.”

“You are the best I could ever hope for. More than I deserve.” And to Dis with what Horatia or anyone else thinks .

He cupped her cheek, then his brow furrowed, and he hesitated for a moment. “I know our arrangement included talk of ending things after the election. But now…” He lowered his head to brush her forehead with a kiss. “I can’t bear the thought of being parted from you.”

Her heart felt as if it would burst. Warmth swelled within her, and she pulled him close. “Make me your wife, Aelius, truly. Forever. And don’t make me do any more talking.”

He let out a dark chuckle as he rolled on top of her. His weight pressed her into the bed. A memory flashed through Crispina’s mind of the last time she had done this with Memmius. Her chest tightened, but she took a deep breath and ran a hand down Aelius’s arm, feeling the light fur of hair that coated his lean muscles. His weight was grounding and comforting, not oppressive and stifling.

She braced her knees against his hips, opening herself to him. “Yes,” she hissed as he eased himself inside her.

He worked himself into her with gentle, easy movements. When he finally sank all the way in, he let out a rough sigh, sensual tension etched in every line of his face.

Warm pleasure filled her. She hooked her calves over his legs, urging him deeper. He kept his arms braced on either side of her head to hold most of his weight off of her, and moved in slow, smooth strokes.

Too slow. She tangled a hand in his hair and pulled. “Harder.” She needed more, needed to feel him in every inch of her body.

He obliged with a groan, setting a hard, fast rhythm that made undignified sounds burst from her mouth with every thrust. She clung to him, digging her nails into his back and shoulders as the pleasure grew nearly unbearable.

He lowered his chest onto her, finally letting her take his full weight. The change in position, while slight, tweaked something between them. The pleasure swelled and burst. Shudders wracked her body, and she writhed beneath him, hips bucking as if she’d throw him off.

But he kept her pinioned beneath him, a hand gripping her hip to keep him deep inside her. She reveled in his iron grasp as pulsing, sparkling waves of pleasure coursed through her.

Aelius slammed into her one final time with a grunted curse. Then his body went limp, and he collapsed onto her, chest heaving. Crispina stroked the back of his head. He raised his head enough to kiss her forehead, then rolled off her, freeing her from his weight. “My wife,” he whispered with a lazy, exhausted smile.

Crispina snuggled into his chest, heedless of the sweat that coated them both. “Always.”