Aurelia || SERIES ROMANA I

Chapter 41 ~ Rome's Helen

When Gaius opened his eyes, he felt carefree. He blinked happily into the peacefully sleeping face of his wife, whose soft blanket had slipped slightly. The sight of her body brought back memories of how she had lain in his arms. The previous night had been the best of his entire life. He had already slept with many women - partly voluntarily to satisfy his body's needs, partly under duress as proof of his manhood - but none of them had released even a fraction of the feelings in him like his Aurelia. Never before had he been so satisfied. She was truly a goddess among all women. Now he was glad they had waited until after their wedding. She filled him, she intoxicated him, she drove the darkness from his heart. They were two parts of a whole and now that he had tasted of her, he would not be able to keep his hands off her. If they had taken this step before they were married, both their reputations would have been ruined - it might even have prevented their marriage. But now this beautiful little goddess was all his and he would never give her away again. Because through her he knew what true love meant.
Tenderly, he stroked a stray strand of hair from her face. At his touch, Aurelia sighed softly in her sleep and snuggled closer to him. Carefully, Gaius let his hand trail from her cheek down her neck and her lips twisted into a comforting smile. Grinning, Gaius littered her neck and delicate shoulders with kisses. Just as he was at the crook of her neck, a tremor ran through her body. Suddenly her hands were in his hair.
"I could get used to waking up like this," her voice whispered seductively in his ear. Playfully indignant, he looked into her sea-blue eyes, which returned his gaze full of love.
"I should hope so!" he murmured back, and she laughed happily. He loved the sound of her laughter. But almost more, he loved the little sounds she made when they melted together.
"But maybe it will take more to convince you that you're not dreaming anymore," he said elatedly, rolling on top of her and propping himself up on his elbows beside her so as not to crush her with his weight. Her body reacted immediately. Her eyes darkened with desire and her breathing quickened.
"Maybe this isn't such a bad idea," she breathed, wrapping her legs around his hips, pulling him against her and pressing her mouth to his in a demanding manner.

With her delicate fingers, Aurelia absentmindedly traced patterns on his bare chest. Suddenly she propped herself up on her elbow, straightened slightly and turned her body so that she could look into his eyes. Questioningly, Gaius raised his eyebrow. Embarrassed, she gnawed on her lower lip.
"What's bothering you?" he asked gently, and she ran a hand through her tangled hair, which still had remnants of the woollen strands in it.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying our time together," she began, "but am I not keeping you from your duties?"
Embarrassed, she avoided his gaze and unconsciously continued caressing his chest. Gaius half straightened, embraced her beautiful face tenderly and forced her to look him in the eye.
"In this world, nothing has greater meaning to me than you, Aurelia," he declared gravely. "I may be Rome's first servant, but Rome has more servants to work for her. This morning I do not wish to attend to any duties except my marital ones. Let us just enjoy this moment before we have to leave our little world"
At that moment her stomach growled, and Gaius could not suppress a small laugh. Food first then. He pressed a fleeting kiss to the tip of her nose, jumped out of bed, quickly threw on a tunic and put on his belt.
"Don't run away!" he said, and Aurelia raised her hands in surrender. Quickly he crossed the various rooms and opened the heavy door, through which not the slightest whisper penetrated to the outside. In front of it, Clemens stood at his post and eyed him with amusement.
"Haven't you forgotten a little something?" his friend teased him with a grin, pointing to his feet. When Gaius followed his gaze, he calmly noted that they were not in sandals.
"Don't you have a job to do?" returned Gaius, relaxed, and Clemens took his stance. Gaius nodded curtly at him and went in search of one of his slaves. He met the first slave, a boy, after far too long for his liking.
"Run to the kitchen and see that food is brought to the Princeps' chambers," he ordered, and the boy ran off. Hastily, Gaius turned on his heel and made his way back. At the door he disregarded Clemens, who had difficulty controlling his expression, and found his wife dressed in a simple silk tunic in front of the mirror in their bedroom. She had used the time to put her hair in order and on the table in front of her lay the strands of wool in an orderly fashion. When she saw him, she put her brush aside and turned to him.
"Weren't you going to get breakfast?" she asked, irritated. Before he could reply, the door opened and two servants entered with fully loaded trays, which they placed on the bed without lifting their eyes and immediately left the chambers. Frowning, Gaius examined the food and lowered himself back onto the bed. Aurelia giggled and joined him. With a wink, she snatched a piece of cheese from him, which he had just cut off. Dismayed, Gaius watched her chew.
"You'll have to be quicker than that, booty boy," she returned, reaching unblinkingly for a grape. Grinning, he grabbed her wrist and dropped the grape into his mouth. Amused, he returned her gaze.
"Is that what you meant?" he asked innocently. Aurelia shook her pretty head with a grin and declared that they should stop. They ate in silence for a while, then Gaius nudged her and asked quietly what a booty boy was. Aurelia choked on her grape juice. Gasping for air, she eyed him.
"Booty boy," she returned dryly, and Gaius' mouth dropped open. Groaning, he buried his face in her back, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and shook his head in bewilderment. Deeply he sucked in her glorious scent, then rested his chin on her shoulder and whispered in her ear that this nickname was even more unmanly than Caligula. Aurelia laughed softly.
"In my opinion, you have proven your manliness time and again enough in the past hours," she said seriously and gently stroked his cheek. Gaius delicately kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear and smiled to himself as she shivered.
"As much as I would like to remind you again, we are expected at a play," he said regretfully, reluctantly letting go of her and lying down on his back beside her. She looked down at him with shining eyes and bombarded him with questions. Amused, Gaius grinned at her and remained silent. Soon she would find out the answers for herself.