"Just yes?"
I nodded and pressed my lips to his.
For a moment, Juba stood stunned at my kiss and just as I began to wonder if I had come to a wrong conclusion about his feelings, his mouth crushed mine with the intensity of his emotion. His one arm circled my waist as the other tenderly stroked my hair. My body was on fire. Every bit of skin he touched left a blazing trail in its wake.
Eventually, we pulled apart, breathing heavily but neither letting go of the other. As he rested his forehead against mine, my hands (which had circled around his neck without my awareness) ran through his hair, stroking it and admiring its rich color.
I was the first to break the silence. "How long have you known about this? About us?"
He hesitated a little and then answered, "Since Marcellus and Julia's wedding announcement. It wasn't formally told to me, of course, but it was evident that you and I would end up married. Augustus is too fond of power to risk marrying you to anyone based in Rome."
"Then why did you not tell me earlier?" I demanded.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Would you have believed me?"
"…No." My voice was small. I was ashamed at my earlier behavior towards Juba, for having thought of him as an enemy when he'd been our benefactor all along. I stared down at my sandals, racked with guilt.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
Ever so gently, a finger lifted my chin up to face Juba's onyx eyes. "What for, princess? You never did me wrong."
I shook my head, tears falling down my face as I thought of the times he had seen me grieving over Marcellus, all the times I had snapped at him, the time I screamed at him and accused him of killing Alexander.
"I did you more wrong than anyone. I broke your heart when you had nothing but love for me. For someone who was rude to you from the time she met you." The tears came more freely now, rolling down my cheeks and staining my tunic.
"Oh, Selene." His hands wiped my face even as I continued to cry. "I never made it easy for you either. Remember?" he smiled, trying to lighten the mood. Despite myself, my mouth curved upwards. He had a beautiful smile- it lit up the room like a beacon. I wondered how I'd never noticed it before. As a matter of fact, I'd never noticed anything about Juba before. His eyes, the way they shone with kindness…and now, love.
"I love you."
I didn't realize I said that out loud until I met Juba's gaze. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine again- this time, the kiss was slower, more lingering. My eyes were still closed from the kiss when I heard him speak.
"I love you, Kleopatra Selene. My princess."