For the Sake of an Empire Ch. 06

The following is a complete work of fiction inspired by Roman history, with a strong fantasy aspect for the use of artistic license. The original story which was previously posted on Literotica has been completely revamped, so the folks who have been following the story might want to go back and re-read from Chapter 1. Hopefully if you enjoyed the original, you will still enjoy this one. For those who wrote to me about this series regarding its lack of overly explicit sexual content, I will state for your peace of mind that it is NOT a stroke story. If that interests you, you'd be better off reading something else.

Disclaimer:

The following story may contain erotic situations between consenting adults. If it is illegal for you to read this please leave now. Please do not copy or distribute the story without the author's permission.

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For the Sake of an Empire Chapter 06

"Marry me, Marcus, and take the throne ... All this could be yours if you only allow it"

"Marcus, my son, do not break the heart of an old man. Take the throne. It is yours by right. Kings are made, not born. They are forged through battles, tears and pain."

"Captain, Celaenia needs you now more than ever, the country mourns and is on the brink of toppling without a leader."

"Marry me, Marcus, marry me..."

"Enough!" Marcus shouted to the sky. The waves of the ocean crashed upon the shore, breaking against the rocks beneath his balcony. The sound was full of angry wrath; mirroring the rage he welcomed tonight to drown his grief though even the roar of the ocean could not completely silence his thoughts.

His hands, which had shed so much blood in the name of Celaenia, were darker now, stained with his uncle's blood. He had murdered him as surely as Portia had, with neglect instead of brute force.

His arms corded with tension, his head dropping between them to look down at the craggy surfaces of the rock cliffs. Ships had been dashed to pieces against those cliffs, and city legends claimed that on moonless nights, the spirits of those lost walked along the rocks moaning their fate. Marcus imagined his uncle's spirit among them, a finger pointed in accusation.

Marcus rubbed one hand over his face, his skin leathery and creased with grief. His encounter with his cousin had drained him, knocking down emotional boundaries that had long been in place, and now the voices of those he failed calling to him from the mist, reminding him of his losses.

"I did not know that my absence would bring about this fate. I swear to you, your death will go unpunished, Uncle. I give you my oath as a man, a solider..." His voice cracked. "...and as your son."

He stiffened when a knock came at the door, the sound resonating through his aching skull. He ignored it, hoping whoever was on the other side would leave him in peace, his attention focused on the jagged rocks turned white by the frothy waves. A noise from the chamber behind him distracted him from his tumultuous thoughts, tension strumming through his broad shoulders. Through the billowing curtain, he caught a glimpse of a figure moving within the room. He watched as the trespasser moved quietly through the room, searching among the possessions near his bed. Marcus silently drew his sword, eyes narrowing as he cautiously moved through the whisper of the silken curtain and into the room. He stopped short when the razor sharp tip of his sword nudged gently at the hollow of the throat of the intruder. Her face and form were gently obscured by the sheer shift and veil she was wearing, the generous curves of her body backlit by the light of the dozens of candles that had been scattered throughout his room. Startled eyes that could easily have been any color, met his through the gossamer material shot through with silver thread, the delicate fabric accentuating slender curves that darkened into mystery between her thighs.

"What is this?"

"A gift from my lady, Lord Aurelius."

"Who is your lady?"

"The lady Portia."

Marcus met her eyes, while the blade's tip continued to rest steadily against the fluttering pulse in her throat, gentle vibrations moving through the steel. He saw her catch her breath, but her hands remained loose at her sides. She made no move to protect herself as the flat edge of the blade traced its way down the center of her body, caressing the heavy lace at the hem of the veil to gently lift it an inch.

"I wish to see what Portia would consider a suitable gift for her beloved cousin. Remove the veil."

The fabric rippled as she exhaled, her gaze holding his as she obediently lifted the material to reveal lips that were gently parted, rosy where they had swollen on one side. Fair strands of hair waved around her face to the floor, accentuating the swollen line of her jaw, blue eyes swimming in skin that had already begun to bruise.

Marcus's eyes narrowed, concern overriding his surprise. He dropped his sword, closing the distance between them quickly. Strong hands gripped her shoulders, his hold gentling when she winced.

"Gemella... what happened to you? Who did this?"

"It does not matter."

"Of course it does. Tell me who did this."

"I cannot say, Lord Aurelius. I..." She trailed off, her voice wavering. Her lips trembled at the memory of Sirrus's hands on her body, his body forcing her to his will. "Please do not ask me."

"Gemella, it is my duty to protect the people of Celaenia."

"Please forgive me, Lord Aurelius, I cannot say ... but he haunts my every thought," Her breath caught, fingers curling into his arm. "He did things to me...used his fingers and hurt me...I can still feel him, forcing me, making me pray he would just kill me and be done with it..."

In supplication, Gemella fell to her knees before Marcus. Her hair caressed his feet as her head dipped lower, her forehead touched to the tops of his sandaled feet in a gesture of complete submission. "Do not send me back to my lady. She told me I was to come to you and I cannot disobey her."

"Does she know of this?"

"No... No one knows of it. Please, Lord Aurelius. I cannot return without completing my task." Tears choked her voice, shoulders tensing when his hand moved beneath her chin with more gentleness than he had shown his lady cousin earlier.

"I will not take you against your will, Gemella."

"She wishes me to give your pleasure. I have to do as she asks!"

"Shhh," Marcus soothed, his other hand resting on the side of her face to cradle her head between his hands. "What occurs in this room is none of your lady's concern. I will not send you back if you wish to stay. You've been viciously used by someone and I will not do the same. Shh. It's all right. You're safe now."

Gemella's eyes widened when he caressed the curve of her jaw with the rough pad of his thumb, a gentle contrast to the harsh handling that she had experienced earlier. Her body had been violated, her heart torn asunder and she hated the fear that froze her in place, rendering her incapable of running or yielding completely.

She was a pawn caught in the middle of a game where rules and fairness meant nothing. If they had, the gods would not have abandoned her to the dark machinations of Portia and Sirrus. She would not be here, in the room of the man she had loved for all of her life, ordered to do what she would have freely done; surrendering her body and her heart, indulging in every dream she had ever allowed herself.

Her throat swelled with emotion, long lashes hastily lowering so that he would not see the glittering touch of tears in her eyes. If she failed, her life was forfeit. She knew that to be the truth as surely as she knew the sun would still rise and set when she ceased to exist. Sirrus and Portia had each in their way, reduced her to nothing and yet Marcus would not allow her to wallow in her insignificance. He wanted to save her, but what could he save? She was already dead. Her strings had been cut the moment she walked into his room, the work of the fates done. She was trapped between the cruel whims of both the gods and man.

"I am not going to harm you. Come," he repeated gently, his hand slipping beneath her elbow to bring her to her feet. He could feel the tremors sliding through her slender body, her skin cold to his touch.

Gemella allowed him to guide her over to the bed, moving like a shadow. Marcus lifted her gently, coaxing her arms around his neck before he laid her back against the welcoming comfort of the fresh sheets. Her pulse skipped when his hand smoothed through her curls, pushing them back away from her face, his fingertips lingering on the bruised flesh of her temple. She had been brutalized by someone, her expression as lost as those of women he had seen in ransacked villages, their bodies used and discarded.

His jaw tightened at the idea of her pain, but he did not press her for the moment. He intended to continue investigating the matter, swearing to himself to bring to justice whoever had used her so cruelly. The laws that governed the city applied to all, protecting the innocent and punishing the unjust. If Celaenia stopped fighting for the people who were her heart, she would fall into the darkness and shadows.

Marcus shifted, his arm curling around her to bring her to his side, her head cradled against his chest. He could hear her heart beat like a frightened bird in her chest trying to escape, her small hand curled into a fist on his belly. She was a cord of tension, reminding her of the other woman whose memory still haunted him, the hatred and passion in her eyes burned across his soul.

Marcus's eyes closed. "Rest now. You are safe here. No one will harm you, I swear it."

"Promises made cannot always be kept, Lord Aurelius."

How many promises I have made that have been broken... I hear their voices in my mind, begging answers and I have none to give...

"Have you ever known me to not keep my word?"

She shook her head, tears squeezing form beneath her tightly closed eyelids, leaving a trail along his clothing.

"Then trust me to keep my promise. You're safe with me. Close your eyes and rest now. Tomorrow we can talk."

"I cannot. When I close my eyes, I see his face..."

"Whose face?"

"I cannot say but he haunts me..," Her breath caught, fingers curling into his arm. "He did things to me...used his fingers and hurt me...I can still feel him, forcing me, making me pray he would just kill me and be done with it..."

Her words ended in a sob, her face buried against Marcus's body. His arms tightened around her as he sat up, pulling her into his lap to rock her as he had once rocked his son when night terrors plagued him. He murmured nonsense words soothingly into her ear, his chin resting on her head as she cried. Every sound hardened his against the man who had destroyed her spirit.

"He cannot hurt you anymore. Listen to my voice, Gemella. I do not know who used you so cruelly, but while I have breath in me, it will not happen again. I swear that to you."

"He wants you dead..."

Marcus stiffened at her soft revelation. "Who?"

"I cannot name him, Lord Aurelius, for he sees and hears all. Celaenia is not safe anymore. Even the shadows turn against us now, waiting for moments of weakness."

"Are you saying someone plots against the crown?"

She nodded, her lips brushing damply against his collarbone. "The King's death was not an accident... I can say no more, but your life is in danger. Mine is forfeit as are the lives of anyone who stands in the way."

She sniffed, watery eyes meeting his. His face, scarred and hardened from battle, was handsome, chiseled, and tight with passion. A shadow of growth from a day's beard was rough upon his cheeks, abrading her palm gently when she tentatively stroked it. True to his word, he did not touch her, allowing her to explore everything she had been denied.

"It was supposed to be you," she murmured, a tear appearing in the corner of her eye, caught on the tips of her eyelashes like a tiny crystal to sparkle in the candlelight. She blinked and Marcus watched it slide down her cheek and become caught at the corner of her mouth. His finger gently traced the damp path, wiping it away.

"It was supposed to be you," she repeated. "When he used me, I tried to imagine your hands on my body, teaching me about pleasure and not pain.

"No woman should be mistreated, Gemella. Passion is not pain."

Marcus turned her face to his, his thumb rubbing along the delicate line of her jaw. She dipped her head, pressing a tentative kiss to his fingers, the saltiness of her tears slipping between her lips. She felt him tense, but he made no move to stop her as she

"What do you want from me?"

"Erase him from my mind and make me forget.

"Gemella," he protested.

"Lord Aurelius, please."

Marcus' shoulders stiffened as her lips hesitantly brushed over his. He had never taken an unwilling woman and after what had been done to his wife and his son, the callings of his body came a far second after the haunting memories in his heart. He could still see Aurelia in his mind's eyes, her lips parted in a silent scream that he never heard, eyes wide and vacant.

"I cannot. Forgive me, but I cannot do this."

Gemella was silent for a moment, her gaze cast down. She could see the tension thrumming through his body, his belly a knot beneath her hand. She knew his pain, could feel it in her core more deeply than the physical aches that lingered.

The whole kingdom knew the story of Marcus's wife and they prayed to the gods to give her and her son peace in the Eternal Gardens. They should have prayed more for the man who had been left behind.

Her expression softened when she looked up at him. "I know you do not love me."

Slender fingers lay gently over his mouth when he began to protest. "Shh no. I know you do not. I am not asking you to love me, Lord Aurelius, simply comfort me. Allow me just a moment of what might have been if I had been born to another fate. Please," she murmured.

"You have been cruelly used, Gemella."

"By one man. He was not you and I do not want him to be the memory that haunts me for the rest of my life." Her lips brushed his jaw, inhaling his scent, her senses swimming with him. The memory of Sirrus's abuse began to fade as she replaced it with the strong play of muscle in Marcus's body and the clean scent of his skin.

All she had was tonight and her choice had been made. With what sounded almost like a sigh, she sank into his body, pulling his arms around her. "What happened was not your fault... to me or to her." Her hand gently stroked along his jaw, fingers feathering across his lips. "Tonight is for us both...a chance to forget for just a few moments that the world is not what we want it to be. Please," she murmured against his mouth. "I trust you Lord Aurelius. Do not allow your sense of guilt deny me what I have wanted all of my life."

Marcus inhaled deeply as she settled into him. Her body had warmed and she felt soft and desirable in his arms, a woman who was willing not beaten. Yet he still hesitated until she guided his hand slowly down her body to rest just above her heart. She lingered for a moment, watching his expression before she guided his hand lower. She helped him slide down the straps of her shift so it joined her veil on the floor in a swish of silk.

Marcus's gaze slid over her body, darkening at the bloom of bruises on her upper inner thighs from thoughtless hands. Gemella saw his nostril flare, anger for her mistreatment lurking in the depths of his eyes. Her expression softened, her touch lifting his gaze back to her face.

"I trust you," she repeated. She kissed him lightly on the lips intending to distract him. It started as a light brush, but when his hand slipped down her back to press her closer, she clung to him, molding her body to his.

She sank into heat as he lowered her slowly to the mattress, his robes an erotic play of tactile sensation whispering over her nude body when he rolled her body beneath him, bracing himself over her. His eyes were burning dark as she met them, his lips brushing her knuckles before he wound her arm around his neck.

"Marcus..."

"My lord?"

"While you share my bed, address me by name, Gemella. When two bodies come together for passion, there are no titles or hierarchy. My body is as much yours tonight as yours is mine. My name is Marcus...Say it," he demanded quietly, his hand stroking down the length of her body in gentle possession.

Gemella moaned, her hands curving behind his dark head, slender fingers sliding over the soft fuzz that covered it. He was a complex man, strong and powerful, yet gentle and considerate as his lips teased the long line of her throat, making her pulse skip. He could have prostrated her beneath him, taking her hard at his will, but instead he gave her the choice, coaxing her body's reactions like a master musician.

"Lord Aurelius, I..."

"Marcus," he interrupted, his teeth nipping harder, sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine as he teased the lobe of her ear with his tongue, learning every minute curve and crevice. Gemella's body arched into his hands, slender fingers dug into his shoulders as he nuzzled between her breasts, sending waves of heat through her. This was what should have been, pleasure spiraling through her, her body growing wet, swelling and aching with a need that pushed back the memory of resistant flesh being torn.

"Marcus!"

He smiled, his hands stroking over her waist slowly, slipping up her sides to curve under the heavy weight of her breasts. He lifted them gently, squeezing and kneading her soft flesh, enjoying the way her nipples peeked out between his splayed fingers with a tease of rosy color. He leaned down, taking one in his mouth, using his tongue as sweet torment, her cries of pleasure erasing the ones she had uttered earlier in pain.

With every touch, Marcus felt her body grow more pliant, willingly molding into his hands and allowing him to teach her about the pleasure between a man and a woman. His teeth grazed the underside of her breast, his hand curling confidently around her ankle to bend her leg so she was exposed to his view in the most intimate of ways. Gemella's breath caught, a small sound of protest easing from her lips as she attempted to press her thighs together to hide herself from his hungry gaze. Her shame returned in an overwhelming wave.

He would see how her flesh was torn and swollen where Sirrus had violated her. She tensed, struggling beneath him and he stilled his explorations. Placing a hand along her face, he turned her head gently to see her face.

"Shhh. I am not going to hurt you."

"I...I am afraid," she whispered.

"I know. Trust me, Gemella. I will not harm you. All I want is to bring you joy, not shame," Marcus said softly, his eyes fastened on hers. "Allow me to look at you, to touch you and make you cry out my name with pleasure. I want to watch you arch beneath me; your body welcoming and wet when I take you, feeling you bear down around me. Will you allow me?"

Gemella couldn't seem to find her voice, but she nodded and allowed him to arrange her on the pillows with her knees pushed up and her thighs pressed wide apart. Her eyes closed, cheeks burning with shame as his hands traveled over the long muscle of her thigh, barely touching as he made his way to his destination.

Gemella released her breath heavily, moving restlessly beneath his touch as he stroked her desire with gentle patience, allowing her body to adjust to every new sensation. She moaned when she felt his breath across her thigh, her eyes fluttering open to see the broad, bare curve of his scarred and hardened shoulders as he settled between her thighs, the tip of his fingers drawing a path of desire along her skin.