Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 62063 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62063 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
I awoke in a little room that I instantly identified as my cell in the mithraeum. The sweats had been taken off me, and I wore only a leather collar.
I had an authentic Was it all a dream? moment as my eyes fell on the copy of the Iliad Malleus had given me, what seemed a lifetime ago. As I sat up, though, the soreness all over told me that the memories that flooded back into my head represented my lived reality.
I had done it. Well, I had downloaded the drive and I had made it out, anyway. My cheeks warmed when I thought of what it had cost Marcus, though. I tried to push away the unworthy thought that by blowing his cover, I had forced him to come back to New York—and since he had returned to the mithraeum, he would of course get to take care of me.
Maybe I didn’t try that hard to push the thought away, but I felt bad about it. Or maybe I tried to feel bad about it.
The door opened, and a familiar figure entered.
“Malleus!” I said, jumping up from the little bed and wincing at the discomfort the movement caused. To my surprise and delight, the big miles took me into his arms and hugged me.
“Columba,” he said. “I’m very happy to see you.”
“Ow!” I said, though I had tried to endure it silently. I looked up into his dark eyes as he smiled down at me. “I won’t ask any questions, sir,” I told him, letting a little smile play on my lips. “But I’m sure you can imagine there are a lot of things I want to know.” I felt my mouth twist to the side for a moment as Malleus gazed patiently down at me. “Especially… you know…”
Malleus’ smile broadened. “About miles Marcus.”
I nodded, feeling my face redden a little.
“All is well,” my trainer told me. “And that’s all a columba needs to know about it.”
I frowned at him. “Am I still a columba? I thought…”
Malleus’ smile became the forbidding expression I remembered so well. I didn’t even let him say it: I said it myself.
“Don’t ask useless questions, columba. Fine.” I took a deep breath, remembering the one question that wasn’t useless. For the first time, I realized, I really meant it.
“How may I serve you, miles?” I asked.
“You will learn the answer soon,” Malleus replied, his smile returning. “Today, you rest.”
“Soon” meant that night, as I realized when, an hour after I had eaten dinner in my cell, two nuptae, dressed like me in nothing but their collars, arrived to take me to a sumptuous bathroom. I knew better than to speak to them, especially in light of the air of ritual solemnity they maintained, using their hands to position me as they wished rather than any words at all.
They bathed me, and dried me, and put my hair into a French braid. They showed me myself, in a floor length mirror, their pretty faces smiling in what seemed sympathetic happiness for me, on the occasion of whatever this all was. I blushed at the sight, as usual. I took it as a given: I had stopped wondering when I would stop feeling that thrill of shame, of violated innocence, when I saw my naked body, my little nipples, the smooth cleft between my thighs—and, always breathtaking, the collar around my neck.
“Bene,” I whispered, and it made the nuptae smile.
The nuptae led me through dimly lit corridors, our bare feet padding softly on the bare stone. Ahead I saw a small door, carved with intricate symbols that seemed to pulse with an ancient energy. My breath caught as one of the nuptae pushed the door open, revealing Marcus standing in the center of the room.
He wore a regal purple robe, belted loosely at the waist, his muscular chest bare beneath it. The fabric clung to his form, teasing the lines of his physique and hinting at the powerful body I knew so well, hidden beneath. A soft gasp escaped my lips as I realized my miles wore nothing under the robe. I thought of Delacroix, and of how much more welcome a sight Marcus seemed to me, clad that way. My cheeks flushed with warmth, love, and arousal intertwining in a heady mix that left me trembling.
“Columba Sophia,” Marcus greeted me, his rich baritone reverberating through the chamber and settling deep within me. His piercing blue eyes locked onto mine, an unspoken command pulling me forward.
I moved towards him, each step feeling like a surrender to an irresistible force. My body hummed with anticipation and a little fear as I approached, my eyes never leaving his face. Marcus’ gaze softened momentarily as he took in my delicate frame, but there was no mistaking the possessiveness that simmered beneath his calm exterior.