"Well, Vorenus, what are you going to do with Aurora?" Pullo and Vorenus sat in the shade of some trees, watching Eirene and Aurora as they playfully scrambled around the banks of a nearby creek, splashing water at each other. Both men enjoyed the laughter and carefree gaiety of the women.
"I don't know, Pullo. "
"You could marry the girl, Vorenus. That way she had the protection of your name. It's not good for her reputation, to keep things the way they are."
"I know, Pullo. She is of noble blood however, though she is illegitimate. I am not worthy of her. She deserves better."
"Man, you are too thickheaded to see the forest for the trees. You two need each other, and I have seen the way you are together."
"Maybe you are right, Pullo. I've seen the way other men look at her and it'll will keep them at bay if they know she belongs to me. Perhaps it is time I take a new wife." Pullo clapped his friend on the back and as the two started toward where the women were.
Aurora walked at Vorenus' side upstream along the creek, and she wondered at what lay behind his serious facade. She had learned to trust and feel tenderly for this stern man who had taken her under his protection and treated her with such kindness. She had been raised in a tiny villa out in the country with her mother who had been a minor nobleman's daughter. Her father had come on occasional visits and she had remembered him as a kind if distant man. Antony had come with him and had always been warm with her, though he had deserted her after delivering her into Lucius Vorenus' hands. Vorenus, Pullo and Eirene were the only constants in her life now. She and Eirene had become good friends, and she envied the relationship between Eirene and her husband. Vorenus stopped and pulled her down beside him on the ground. "Aurora, I need to talk to you."
She laid her hand on his. "What is it, Lucius?"
"We can't keep going on as we are. It isn't good for your reputation as a noble lady."
Fear coursed through her veins as she thought he was washing his hands of her and also the thought that she might never see him again. Seeing the alarm in her eyes, Vorenus drew her into the curve of his body.
"Aurora, I am asking you to marry me. I am not worthy of you but I will strive to be a good husband to you."
Tears blurred her vision and she leaned into his embrace. "Lucius, I would be proud to be your wife. Relief filled his heart as Lucius realized she had accepted him, and he captured her lips with his own.
After the traditional Roman wedding ceremony, and exchanging of formal vows, with only Pullo and Eirene present, Lucius and Aurora shared a dinner with their friends. Shortly after, Eirene and Aurora went upstairs, to prepare her for her wedding night. Eirene kissed Aurora reassuringly on the cheek and Aurora waited nervously for her husband to come and claim his right to her. Clearing his throat, Lucius waited for her to acknowledge him, as he entered the room. He felt his desire rise as he could see her firm young curves under the scanty linen garment she wore. However, he would not force himself on her.
"Aurora, we don't have to do this. There is no hurry. We can wait until you are ready."
Her heart filled to see this man so feared by others, willing to be patient with her, when she could see his evident need of physical satisfaction. She rose and went over to him and pressed her body up against his. "My love, I want to be with you."
"Are you sure, Aurora?" She could feel the tenseness of his body as he tried to keep control of himself, a battle he was swiftly losing. She answered him by touching his lips with her finger. "I'll be as gentle as I can, Aurora. " He seized her in his arms and carried her to the bed where he divested them both of their clothing. He proceeded to spend the next several hours proving to her how tender the man rumored to be from Hades could be.
