Chapter 14

The train came to an abrupt stop and we traversed the station towards the boat docks. Sennia yawned sleepily and rubbed her eyes. The sun hadn't come up yet and wouldn't for another hour or so. The early morning air was fresh and crisp, like an apple.

I pulled Sennia towards me by the waist so she wouldn't run face first into a column with her eyes closed. "Love, you need to watch where you're going."

She laughed quietly. "I know. How much longer until we get home?"

She leaned into me and I kissed the top of her head. "About an hour. You can sleep on the boat."

She groaned inwardly and wiped her face to wake up more. "What's on the agenda for today?"

The water sloshing against the rocks was almost melodic. The wood dock creaked loudly under our feet as we made our way to the boat, Lucullus waiting patiently for us. "I have to see about the barracks for the women who chose to stay."

"Ave, Vulpes," Lucullus waved from the boat.

The three of us stepped onto the small boat and he untied it from the docks. "Ave, friend."

We took our eats and Sennia immediately fell back asleep with her head in my lap. Lucullus smiled at her sleeping form, small snores here and there escaped her.

"I think I may have met a girl, Vulpes."

A smile tugged at my lips. "Really?"

He grinned widely and nodded. "Yes, her name is Josephine."

I motioned for him to go on and he gladly did.

"She has short blonde hair, a button nose, blue eyes, and an ass to die for."

We chuckled and I patted him on the back. "Nice."

"She's a singer at the Tops. I met her while you were gone and she seems to really like me. Like, really like me. Me!" He was practically beaming.

The poor boy had never had that much luck with women. He was painfully awkward and tended to be used even by the slaves. It didn't help that he had a tendency to fall in love very easily.

"What's she like?"

He shrugged. "I'm not too sure. We only met once but we talked for hours after her shift. She was really pretty and she didn't wave me off as some weirdo when I choked up at introductions." He laughed nervously. "I know it sounds crazy but I really think there was something between us. She didn't even look at any of the other men there and she didn't go away when I didn't have the money for a drink. She bought herself a drink!"

I shushed him as not to wake up Sennia and he nodded. "Trust me, you do not want to wake her."

"Alright. Anyway, we were talking and drinking and we went to her hotel room... I know what you're thinking, but we didn't even do anything. She just wanted me o hold her and she started crying. I didn't know what to do."

I clasped my hands together and waited for him to continue. I wouldn't even be surprised if he got engaged to her because she was crying. Pissed off, but not surprised. My suspicions grew the longer he waited to speak up.

"Lucullus, what did you do?"

His hands were clammy and blistered from the ores. "I'm meeting her again tonight. I told her I would so she would stop being sad and then she fell asleep in my arms and I woke up in her bed the next day. And by some weird stroke of luck, she was still there when I woke up."

We were quiet for a moment, listening to the sound of the waves gently tip the the boat back and forth. "Did you leave before she woke up?"

He shook his head with an exasperated expression. "Are you insane? I want to keep her. Not use her."

I nodded, wisely like an old man. "Good. Never leave a woman when she's asleep unless you plan on never seeing her again and you're sure she would rather it that way."

Lucullus sighed heavily. "I know. You've told me this a million times. I've never left a woman. The bitches always leave me and I don't even know it until I see them with other men. The same men they told me not to worry about."

"Stop pitying yourself, Lucullus. This girl seems like a fresh start from all the other whores... And do not tell me they weren't whores. I knew a lot of them personally to some extent. Trust me, they were whores and I think you should make sure none of them gave you something before you ruin this poor girl."

He slouched in his seat, lazily rowing the boat. We were almost halfway across the river now and this conversation was going to turn into a pity party or a lecture. Sennia hadn't even budged since she first laid down.

"I know, Vulpes. I need to see a doctor or something. A lot of those women had... that look. The glassy eyes, cigarette teeth and smell, scabs. That kind of thing going on."

That lot of women were Gomorrah's goods. They had fucked everyone this side of the river, and more. I had spent some of my lonelier nights there and regretted it the next morning when I started getting itchy. "Don't subject that girl to your past mistakes. She shouldn't have to pay for all your one night stands."

"Sheesh," he grumbled. "I won't. Can we stop talking about where and what my dick has been in?"

I tossed my hands up quickly. "Just bringing it up. Something you need to think about with this girl."

Sennia stirred from the commotion. She grunted when I moved my knee, jostling her head. "Stop your bitching, guys. Let this pregnant woman sleep."

She had been more grouchy lately, and I think she was using the pregnancy card to get away with small fits. I wasn't going to address it unless it was getting ridiculous. She fell back asleep quickly and I ran my fingers through her hair.

"I want what you and Sennia have," Lucullus muttered.

I looked up from Sennia to see him slouched over himself and looking at his feet. He bit his lip and avoided my gaze. Lucullus was always a hopeless romantic, but women never returned the affection. If they did, they didn't stay very long. Even in the dark morning, I could see the years of pain wearing down on him.

"You will eventually. And when you do, you will thank Mars every night when you go to bed next to her every night."