GladiatorsAtonement (7 page)

Sheathing his blade, he left Thelonius strapped where he
was, blood trickling down his former master’s naked body, and leapt out of the
window of the bathhouse, disappearing into the darkness of Antioch.

As much as the warrior screamed for retribution, his love
for Helena was more. He would let Thelonius live, if he left her be. If
Thelonius did anything to harm Helena he would hunt him down across the ends of
the earth and beyond.

Running as fast as he could, he tried not to think about all
the times Thelonius had bled him, tortured him. Before he made it back to
Helena’s he stopped and was sick. His stomach continued to churn as he
staggered up to the roads toward her home.

He stumbled through the darkness until he made it back to
his hiding place at the base of Helena’s garden. She was waiting for him and
stood as he stumbled in. When he collapsed against the wall she put an arm
around him. The tears stung at his eyes, and he did not want to cry in front of
her. He did not want to show her how weak he truly was.

“Come. Let us wash him from you,” she whispered.

Nodding, he went with her. Eratos was thankful she did not
ask him what he had done. She knew, and she was kind to take care of him.

By the gods he was in love with her. Deeply in love.

Yet he didn’t deserve her. He was just as sick and twisted
as Thelonius, drawing blood from him. Torturing him, just as had been done to
him. A moan slipped past his lips. He was a coward.

Helena led him to the back of the house. He paused. “The
servants.”

“They have been dismissed for the night. I only have two,
and they both reside in Antioch with their families. The only ones here tonight
are you and I. Come.”

Eratos nodded and followed her to the bathhouse of the
villa. The water trickling from the fountain eased his shaky nerves.

Helena began to peel the clothes from him, and then she
removed her clothing. Eratos reached out and released the pins from her hair,
allowing her glorious brown hair to cascade down around her shoulders.

“
Anam cara
, I am sorry you have to see me in my
moment of weakness.”

“Hush, everything will be all right now.”

“I want you to know, I did not kill him. I will not lose
your trust. Your faith in me means more than my need for blood atonement.”

She smiled and ran her fingers over his cheek. “I know that.
I know. Now come.” Taking his hand, she led him down into the bath, which was
surprisingly warm. When Eratos looked up he could see the night sky. Clouds
skittered across the inky blackness, allowing only pockets of moonlight to
escape through and light the pool. Stars twinkled where there were no clouds,
thousands of stars, glittering and twinkling in the darkness. Then a cascade of
them began to fall, and he thought of those he had lost. Those he had loved and
he shuddered, hoping never to be watching the sky for Helena’s soul to streak
across.

He submerged under the water, letting the grime and filth of
the pleasure house and Thelonius wash away from him. When he broke through the
surface Helena swam up behind him and began to run a sponge over his body,
washing him. Eratos sank down in the water, luxuriating in the feel of Helena’s
naked breasts pressed against his back, and the water trickling down over his
shoulders.

“I do not deserve this kindness,” he whispered.

“Yes, you do,” she said in his ear, before wrapping her arms
around his chest. “You are brave.”

“I am not.”

“You are. You faced the demon, and you are here with me.”
Helena laid a gentle kiss on the side of his neck. Desire flooded through him.
He turned around and pressed her against the cool tile of the pool. He lifted
her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist.

Helena sighed with pleasure, and it was like music to his
ears. All he wanted now was to possess her. He did not care for anything else
at this moment. He just wanted to plunge deep inside the woman he loved and forget
the horrors of his past.

Forget the need for revenge and death.

“
Anam cara
, I need you. Let me have you.”

“Yes, please, Eratos. Take me.”

He surged forward and scooped her up. Carrying her from the
pool, he strode to her bedchamber and laid her down against the damask bedding.

“Helena, you make me forget, I—”

“Hush, no words are needed now.” Reaching down, she took his
hand and placed it on her breast. Her touch was like a flame, scorching his
skin, burning him with a pleasurable pain. “Touch me,” she whispered urgently.

Eratos knew he was lost to her when his hand drifted down
from her breast to her belly. She cried out when his hand slipped between the
dark curls at the apex of her thighs. Fire flowed through his veins at the feel
of his fingers brushing her silken softness. The rough pad of his thumb began
to rub the tiny nub between her folds. As much as he needed to bury himself in
her tight sheath, he only wanted to bring her pleasure.

“Take me now, Eratos,” Helena begged breathlessly.

“I will not hurt you, sweet
anam cara
,” he said
hoarsely. “I want you. I want to mate with you, but I want you to tremble with
ecstasy.”

“Now, Eratos. Take me now.” She ran her fingers up the shaft
before touching the head of his cock, a bead of moisture clinging to the tip.
Eratos let out a hiss of pleasure.

“Helena,” he groaned. “If you keep that up, I will come
now.”

“Should I stop?” she teased.

“No, do not stop.”

Eratos parted his legs and moaned as her hot, wet center
brushed against his loins. A thrill of excitement thrummed through his body at
the thought of being so close to her. He positioned his cock head between her
slick folds. “My gods, you’re wet,” he said as he began to rub the center of
her pleasure again. It thrilled him that he was the only one to touch her so
intimately and make her ache with need.

Mine.

Helena reached down and she kept her eyes locked on his and
she took his cock and raised her hips, slowly guiding his hard length inside
her.

Eratos moaned out, throwing his head back as his hardness stretched
her, filled her. He wished he could stay here forever, wrapped up in her
warmth.

“Helena, oh gods.”

He could feel her legs trembling on either side of his
thighs, her fingers digging into the flesh of his back.

He began to rock back and forth, reveling in the feeling
that it was creating in him. The tension that was coursing through him began to
build inside him and willed him to move faster, ride harder. He wanted Helena
to heal him, and chase away the nightmares of his past. Rocking faster, he could
feel her pussy clenching around his cock. His fingers were in her curls,
bringing her pleasure as he rode her.

Their eyes locked in the moment they both gained their
bliss. She shuddered against him, crying out. He spilled his seed inside her,
then pulled her tight against his chest, holding her like he was afraid of
losing her.

“I love you,
anam cara
,” he whispered.

“I love you too, Eratos. Please, do not leave me.” Helena
began to cry then, and he held her close. He wished he could assure that he
would not, but at this moment he did not know if he could be successful in
atonement.

And he did not want to break his promise should he fail.

Chapter Seven

“Father?” Her voice echoed through the
vast marble hallways of her family home. She headed to the main atrium, where
her father held his dinners, even entertained His Imperial Majesty. The hallway
was dark on either side of her. The statues of the gods were shrouded in
darkness. Their white marble eyes stared at her, making her feel uneasy. “This
is not right.” Yet she was still propelled further.

“Father?” she called out again.

“Helena?” Her father’s call echoed through the marble halls.
Helena swallowed a sob caught in her throat.

“Father.” She started running down the hallway, which
lengthened and lengthened as she ran.

“Helena?” Her father kept calling, his voice becoming
farther and farther away.

“I am coming, Father,” she cried out. Fighting to run
farther, she finally made it to the atrium. Although the night surrounded her,
the atrium was awash in brilliant sunlight. The room glowed white and it made
her eyes hurt as she stepped in the room.

As her eyes adjusted to the sunlight she caught sight of her
father, standing with his back to her in the middle of the room.

“Father,” she whispered. It had been so long since she had
seen him. It physically hurt to be separated from him. “It is me, Helena. I am
here.”

Yet her father did not turn around. A sensation of dread
traveled down her spine.

“Father?”

He turned around slowly, his arms open wide and Helena
fought the urge to scream as he faced her and blood spurted from the open
wounds on his wrists. He collapsed against the marble floor and Helena rushed
to his side, collecting him against her breast, crying. She could feel the
blood seeping into her toga.

“Father, no.” When she looked down this time though it was
not her father she held to her breast, but Eratos. His lifeless blue eyes
stared up at the white ceiling. His skin was gray and waxy with the kiss of
death.

“Eratos.”

Then Thelonius laughed, and when she turned around she saw
Thelonius sitting in a pool of blood. He grinned at her and raised a golden
goblet filled with blood to his lips and growled.

“Mine.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Helena woke up with a start. Sweat soaked her body and she
still trembled in fear from the dream. She rested her head on her hand, trying
to shake away the memories of the nightmare. She had lain down for a nap,
because all day she had been plagued by an uneasy feeling that she could not
shake. Eratos had returned to his shelter in the garden, perhaps he was even
out stalking Thelonius. She did not know, but at this moment she wished she
did. Her dream had brought an evil portent to her and it disturbed her greatly.

Pinning up her hair and wrapping her stola around her, she
made her way out of her bedchamber and into the garden. When she stepped
outside the sun hung low in the sky. She had almost slept away the entire
afternoon.

Helena shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself as she
looked out over the city. Dark clouds threatened the far eastern sky, a storm
was rolling in. A cool breeze blew down off the peaks of Mount Silpious in
bursts. She watched the boughs of her olive trees bend in the wind.

It was a day like this, this feeling of unsettledness, which
she experienced on the day Thelonius walked into her life, ruining it forever.
She choked back a sob as she thought of her father again and how much she
missed him.

She wished Eratos was here with her at this moment to chase
away the shades that were haunting her this day. The hair on the back of her
neck stood on end as she heard heavy footfalls behind her. She did not need to
turn to know it was Thelonius who approached her.

“There you are, you whore.”

Spinning around, she came face-to-face with Thelonius.
Behind him was a large man, his curved blade telltale to the Eastern lands
beyond the sands of the desert. Thelonius’ hand gripped her damask
sheet—bedding she thought was disposed of—apparently he had found it. The
telltale bloodstain on the sheet was proof enough to tell him she had been
deflowered.

“Ah, you’re home.”

“Do not vex me, Helena.” He held out the sheet. “I take it
you are no longer a virgin.”

Holding her head up high, she did not answer him.

“Do not deny it, Helena. You’ve been plucked.”

“Aye, I have.”

Thelonius’ face turned red. “You are my wife, you are
supposed to remain faithful to me. I am the one who is granted the right to
deflower you.”

Helena laughed. “As if you would.” Her eyes narrowed. “You
have no interest in me besides my money. What does it matter to you that
someone else plucked my maidenhead?”

“It was mine. I do not like anyone else taking what was
mine.”

“My body is not yours,” she spat.

Thelonius took a step forward. “By marital rights it is. You
should have remained chaste for your husband.”

“Did you honestly expect me to remain faithful to you?” She
laughed, her fists clenching with pent-up rage. “You murdered my father.”

“I did no such thing. Your father took the coward’s way out
and committed suicide.” Thelonius snorted. “I had proof he was out for Nero’s
blood.”

“He had no qualms with any of the Imperial family. He was
loyal even as the blood spilled from his wrists. You killed him because he
threatened to tell the empire about your disgusting need to bathe in blood.”

“You were blind to your father’s indiscretions. He was a
coward and died as a coward.”

“How dare you? He did the honorable thing.”

“The honorable thing would have been to face the Praetorian
Guard like a real man.”

Helena shook with rage. “You would do the same, the coward
that you are.”

Thelonius advanced on her, but she saw him wince in pain as
he grabbed her upper arm, squeezing the flesh painfully. As she craned her neck
she could see blood seeping through a linen bandage.

“I am no coward.”

“Does it hurt?”

His eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Retribution,” she whispered gleefully.

“You whore. Who did you have here, and do not lie. I know it
must be you allowing him access.”

“I had no one in here with me.”

Thelonius’ eyes narrowed and he advanced toward her. “Do not
lie, your chamber smells of sex.” He proffered the stained sheet. “Your virgin
blood is all the proof I need.”

“And what are you going to do about it?”

“I’ll divorce you. I finally have a legitimate reason to do
away with you and keep your money for myself. I don’t know why I didn’t think
of it before. I’ll take great pleasure throwing you to the streets where you’ll
have to earn a living on your back.” He turned and smiled at the man behind
him. “Actually, I already have an interested buyer.” Thelonius snapped his
fingers, and the man approached her. Helena backed away.