Marcus: An Ancient Roman Reverse Harem Romance (Gladiator Book 5) Read online

  “Who’s screaming?” Typhon asked, strolling into the room with a pastry in hand.

  It was raspberry and I saw thoughts of another such pastry long ago spring to his mind. He stuck his finger in the jam and spread it over his lips as he kneeled in front of me.

  “Fancy a sticky, sweet kiss?” he asked huskily.

  I smirked and leaned in to lick at the jam without actually kissing him. Typhon would have none of it. He leaned in and melded our lips together until I was melting into him.

  “Do I get a taste?” Asterius asked.

  “I don’t kiss men,” Typhon said as he ended the kiss and drew back, a smug smile on his lips. “You’ll have to ask Marcus or Phaedrus.”

  Asterius acted insulted. “I was talking to Accalia, not you, you idiot.”

  I obliged him with what was left of the stickiness on my lips. Not that there was much, but Asterius did not seem to mind.

  Orion and Talos strode in and smiled at us.

  “I knew they’d start without us,” Talos told Orion with mock annoyance.

  Everyone was in a playful mood today, it seemed. I blamed it on the weather.

  “You can join in any time,” I offered, reaching my arms out to each of them. They took my hands in theirs and kissed them first on the back and then on the palm.

  My arousal, which had been spiking ever since I had found Asterius beside the fire, now accelerated. It had been too long. I had missed our shared pleasure more than I thought possible. And feared we might never have it back again.

  Now my fears were allayed.

  I drew first Talos down to kiss my lips and then Orion.

  “She thinks we don’t find her attractive anymore,” Asterius explained, as if it was the most ludicrous idea he had ever heard.

  “Stupid woman,” Orion said pleasantly, sitting on the floor next to Typhon. He rested his head on my knee.

  “Hey, do not call me stupid. If I am misguided, then it is not me who is to blame for that. I have hinted often enough over the last week or more.”

  “We wanted you to be fully healed. What you went through was painful,” Talos said, sitting down on the divan on the other side of me from Asterius.

  For a long moment we all just stared into the fire. “You know, I did not think our story would end as well as it has. I keep waiting to wake up and find myself in the hands of the Parthians.” My voice was musing and lazy.

  “It is not the end of our story. It is the beginning. Or middle. But it will be a long time before it ends. Now we have crossed the biggest river we faced. Maleka,” Orion said, stroking my leg. His hand had come up under my gown to do so.

  “And you were so sure I was too small to deliver your baby. I showed you, did I not?” I joked. But already my mind had focused on the touch rather than on the words we were sharing.

  “You showed me. And I am blissfully glad to have been proven wrong. I don’t know what I would have done without you, little she-wolf.” The pain in his voice hurt to hear.

  “Well, you do not have to find out. I was determined I was not going to be taken away from my pack after everything we had been through. And I am a very determined person, so I have been told.”

  Talos laughed. “You are that. And a beautiful one.”

  “And an incredible healer,” added Asterius, not to be outdone.

  “And well trained in the bedroom,” Typhon contributed.

  I gave his ear a sharp pull for that one.

  “What?” he exclaimed. “That is most important to us. We’re men, after all.”

  “What he meant to say,” Orion spoke over him, “is that you are very arousing and a pleasure to be with.”

  I laughed, enjoying this playfulness. We could be children back at our campsite in the woods.

  “No one has said they love me, though. What good is being determined, beautiful, a good healer, and well-trained in the bedroom, if there is no love?”

  I pouted to make my point.

  “You’ve been the love of our lives since we were thirteen. That’s a given,” Orion told me, leaning up to claim my mouth.

  “That is good to hear, because I would hate for it to be one-sided. Or four-sided. Did I get that right? Or is it five-sided, as there are five of us?” I asked in confusion as the kiss came to a lingering end.

  “You are loved... You are adored... You are the reason our hearts beat,” Asterius crooned as he swooped in for his kiss. I smiled into it and he licked my lips like a puppy.

  I jerked back with a laugh.

  “I think it’s time for bed. It will be warmer there,” Talos said, rising to his feet and offering me his hand. I took it gratefully.

  “I wondered who would be the one to say that. You have no idea how much I need you all, right now. And not just to warm my cold feet.”

  Talos swept me into his arms and strode to the big bed in the centre of the room. Dumping me into the middle, he then began pulling off his clothes. The rest joined him, while I just laid back and enjoyed the view.

  Gods, they were beautiful! I would never understand why four such men would choose to love me. But I had given up trying to reason it out. It was enough that they did.

  Life, I was discovering daily, was very, very good.

  AUTHOR AFTERWORD

  This concludes the Gladiator series. I hope you enjoyed it. Writing a Reverse Harem Romance set in an historical period was an interesting challenge.

  As much as possible, I tried to remain historically accurate. While the Romans did understand and use selective breeding programs with animals and crops, to my knowledge there was never a breeding program for gladiators. And while the Spartans did raise their boys in the manner I described, the Romans didn’t, as far as we know. But ancient history is potted, at best, so it allows for a little creative leeway.

  If you did enjoy this series please review it on Amazon. People read reviews and need your thoughts to help them decide if a book is worth trying. And I love reading them!

  You can also contact me directly with your feedback by going to my website www.nhysglover.com or my facebook page www.facebook.com/nhysgloverauthor

  And if you like Reverse Harem Romance then read my Fantasy series The Airluds Trilogy and spin-off Airshan Chronicles. If you like steamy Historical Romance with more gladiators, then try The Gladiator’s Bride or any of the other stand-alone novels set in this era. To me, Ancient Rome is just made for adventure and steam!

  xx Nhys