To Love Again

'It is expected of us,' she replied, 'is it not? The door is barred, and they will leave us in peace until the morning, but you must take that short tunic off, Wulf Ironfist. The gods! It leaves little to the imagination, and I prefer you without it.'

Now they both stood naked in the flickering light of the lamps. Cailin filled her eyes with him. She had forgotten much, but now memory surged strongly through her. Reaching out, she touched a crescent-shaped scar on his chest, just above his left breast. 'This is new,' she said.

'I got it at the school in Capua,' he told her, and then held out his right arm to her, 'and this one at the spring games in Ravenna this past year. I was blocking a net man, and thinking he had me, he already had his dagger out. He died well, as I remember.'

Cailin leaned forward and kissed the scar upon his arm. 'You must never go into the ring again, Wulf. I lost you once, but I will not lose you again!'

'There is no safe place,' he told her. 'There is always danger lurking somewhere, my beloved.' Then his two big hands cupped her face and he pressed kisses on her lips, her eyes, her cheeks. Her skin was so soft. She murmured low, her head falling back, her white throat straining. He licked hotly at the column of perfumed flesh, his lips lingering at the base of her neck, feeling the beating pulse beneath. 'I love you, lambkin,' he murmured. 'I always have.'

She suddenly seemed to flame with desire. She devoured him with her kisses; her lips and her tongue kissing, touching, licking at him. She touched the scar on his breastbone with her mouth, and he groaned as if in pain. She straightened herself, and they stared deeply into each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity. They were past words. Reaching out, she touched his manhood, stroking him gently, her fingers slipping around him to softly caress his pouch of life.

'You will unman me, sweet,' he grated.

'You are no green boy,' she reassured him, 'and we may as well put to good use the things I have learned for our mutual pleasure.' Slipping to her knees before him, she kissed his belly and thighs, then taking him in her mouth, she loved him until he begged her stop, pulling her to her feet to kiss her hungrily.

He drew her over to the dais, and they lay together upon the mattress, their bodies entwined, kissing more. She was no longer the shy girl he had known. Her hands were bold and touched him knowledgeably. He didn't know whether to be shocked or delighted, but in the end he erred on the side of delight. He had lost a sweet young wife. He had regained a passionate woman. Cradling her in the crook of his arm, he began to stroke her body, and she purred at him like a well-fed feline, encouraging him, crying out softly as her own pleasure began to build.

He cuddled the perfect globes of her breasts tenderly, leaning forward to lick at the nipples with a warm tongue, rousing the rosy tips. The taste of her was exciting, and he began to lick at her warm, silken skin, his tongue sweeping over her flesh; between her breasts, up her throat, back down again to her belly.

Cailin moaned fitfully and half sobbed, 'Do you know how to pleasure a woman as I pleasured you?'

'Aye,' he rasped, and lowered his head that he might do her bidding, flicking lightly at her little jewel, but then he probed at her more deeply, his tongue pushing into her suggestively.

'Ahhhh!' she cried out, and her body arched to meet him. He was driving her wild, and she sensed he knew it. Then Wulf pulled himself up, and seeking her woman's passage, slid slowly and sensuously into her. When he had sheathed himself as deeply as he could, he let himself rest a moment, his manhood throbbing its passionate message to her. Then grasping her hips in his hands, he moved rhythmically within her until her whimpering cries rang in his ears. Cailin's lids were heavy, but she forced her eyes open that she might look into his face as he possessed her.

He took her tenderly, kissing her face, murmuring his love and longing into her ear. She was full of him, and yet she longed for more of him. She had forgotten the passion that had once existed between them, but now he stirred the embers of her memory until she was afire, and remained so throughout the night as they made love to one another over and over again, seemingly unable to gain satisfaction for very long.

Finally exhausted, they fell into a light slumber, only to be awakened by a pounding upon the door of the chamber.

Wulf stumbled to his feet. The floor lamp and one of the smaller oil lamps had burned out. Unbarring the door, he opened it to find Casia and Jovian before him. 'What do you want?' he growled.

'Justin Gabras has sent to Flavius Aspar,' Jovian said. His voice was high-pitched and he appeared frightened.

Cailin scrambled up. 'My clothes, Jovian! I must get dressed immediately, and for pity's sake find something respectable for Wulf Ironfist to wear when he meets the general.'

Casia, who was already dressed in the garments she had worn yesterday, said, 'I have your clothes, Cailin. Come with me!'

'Did you mean what you said last night?' Wulf asked her.

'Aye,' Cailin answered him with a smile. 'We are going home to Britain to reclaim our lands and find our child. Aye, I meant it!' She pushed past him and, with Casia leading the way, hurried down the corridor.

'You are mad!' Casia told her as she helped Cailin dress. 'You would give up becoming Aspar's wife and all that Byzantium has to offer for that Saxon? No man is that wonderful in bed!'

Cailin laughed. 'He is, but it isn't just that, Casia. Wulf Ironfist is my husband. We have a child, lost to us right now, to be certain; but we will find our child when we return home!'

' 'Tis madness!' Casia repeated. 'How will you get back to Britain? What will you use for money? The chances of finding your child are incredible, Cailin. Have you no thought for Aspar? You will break his heart, I fear.'

Cailin sighed deeply. 'Do you think I do not know that, Casia? What would you do, caught between the love of two men? I cannot have them both, and so I must decide between them, though it pains me to do so.'

The slave woman, Isis, came and told them, 'Flavius Aspar and Prince Basilicus await you in the atrium, my ladies.'

'Basilicus? Oh, the gods!' Casia sobbed.

When they reached the atrium, they found Justin Gabras was also there, as was Jovian and Wulf Ironfist. 'You see!' Gabras crowed triumphantly. 'What did I tell you, my lords! Once a whore, always a whore. I was shocked when they arrived last evening and then stayed to entertain the gladiators as only they are capable.'

'How easily the lie rolls off your tongue, Justin Gabras,' Cailin said coldly.

'Do you deny that you spent the night locked in the arms of the brawny Saxon, or that Casia entertained the gladiator known as the Hun?'

'Do you deny that that you forced us to it, stripping us of our garments, and making us play hide and seek in the gardens until we were caught and given as prizes to the gladiators?'

'I did not kidnap you and bring you here, lady,' Gabras replied smugly. 'You came here of your own free will, and now you would cry rape when your lewd behavior is found out.'

'Be silent!' Flavius Aspar thundered, and Cailin drew a sharp breath, for she had never seen him so angry as he was at this minute. He pierced her with a hard look. 'Did you come here of your own free will yesterday, lady?'

'Do not blame her, it is my fault!' Casia burst out. She was near to tears, a state that surprised the men who knew her.

Aspar's stern face softened a bit. 'Tell me the truth of this, my love,' he said, turning to Cailin. 'You have never lied to me.'

'Nor will I now, my lord Aspar,' Cailin said quietly. 'Yesterday at the games I thought I recognized one of the gladiators. I confided in Casia, and she felt we should come to Villa Maxima that I might see this man at a closer range in order to determine if I did indeed know him.'

'She was reluctant to come,' Casia broke in. 'She was concerned if someone saw us, it would reflect badly on you, my lord.'

'You need not defend me, Casia,' Cailin chided her friend gently. 'My lord knows my character well.'

'And when you saw this gladiator close up, Cailin Drusus, was he indeed the man you thought he was?' Aspar asked her.