Seduced by the Gladiator(15)

His smile took me back to my earliest days in the ludus, when I had tried to fight his advances, and those of the other men. I shuddered as those thoughts led to ones of the days when I hadn’t had the strength left to fight.

Those days were in the past, I thought as I snapped a strong rod in place in my spine. No matter what impression he was currently under, I was no longer weak, nor was I one of the whores who were brought into the ludus on occasion to satisfy urges that could no longer be postponed.

I had never understood his fascination with me, not when the dominus turned such a blind eye to the whores.

It was well known that spilling his seed weakened a man. A gladiator needed all of his strength for the arena, and was expected to remain chaste. Not that that knowledge had ever been a protection to me.

I felt certain that other ludi were much the same, allowing their men to have women and wine from time to time to calm thoughts of revolt. I wondered if Christus had ever indulged in one of these women, if he had ever tasted their perfumed flesh, had ever sunk deep between the thighs of a woman who was there only because of the coin that she would earn.

I did not doubt this with Bavarius. I knew that, though Darius found his own ways the night before, Bavarius was usually the man responsible for arranging the visits from the prostitutes . . . and also that he would arrange for himself the women who would cater to his own strange perversions. The fact that I had intimate knowledge of these perversions did not endear the man to me, nor did the slow, leisurely manner in which the gladiator raked his gaze from my tightly braided, flaxen hair over my breasts, into the valley between my thighs, and down over the length of my legs.

I always made certain to cover my breasts and behind fully with the leather costume provided to us in the ludus—I did not wish to display any part of my body that I considered private. But there were still great swathes of my skin visible to the naked eye—my shoulders, my abdomen, my legs. It had to be so, for layers of clothing hindered my ability to fight in the arena.

I was not sure that more clothing would have mattered, regardless. The man made me feel naked anyway, and in a manner that made me feel ill.

Though the glint in Bavarius’ eyes caused nerves to skitter frantically through my belly, I raised my chin with an air of contempt that I did not feel and painted the smallest of sneers on my lips.

“I know where my place is.” I wanted to say more, but did not want to provoke the man, though I was strangely reassured of my safety after a night with Christus in my chambers. “I train to win. To win honor, to win coin, for this house.”

Bavarius’ eyes narrowed in irritation when he realized that I would not be offput, and he took a step toward me, arm outstretched. Though I did not admire it in the way that I did Christus’, I knew that that arm was roped with cords of muscle, and was capable of inflicting real harm.

I scuttled back, but I did not move fast enough. Bavarius caught my elbow and pinched, hard, before yanking me against his body.

I knew that he liked it when I fought, so I forced myself to stay still, though every fiber of my being wanted to beat him to a pulpy mess.

“This house needs a real champion.” His breath stank of stale mulberry wine and even staler barley grains, and the odor emanating from his body told me that he had not recently made use of the heated salt baths that were available to us. “You might fool some—might even fool the dominus—but you’re still just a woman. Just a set of tits and a cunt, here for a man’s pleasure.”

Fury surged through me, and I raised a knee, kicking my foot back to slam it into his groin, the only thing that I could think of, since I was now wrapped tightly in arms that were slick with sweat. Blocking the movement, the man squeezed me even more tightly, my back to his chest, and pulled me farther into the shadows behind one of the arched pillars that supported the upstairs balcony.

Fear suddenly coated my tongue with its metallic taste. He was stronger than I remembered.

Bavarius raised a hand, covered my full breast, and squeezed. Revulsion roiled in my stomach, and unable to hold still any longer, I began to struggle fiercely, trying to escape the iron bands that held me tightly.

“You will soon be put in your place.” The odor of rotting food from the man’s mouth was overwhelming, and he pinched my nipple through my strophium, the thin leather that banded over my breasts as he spoke, the edges of his overly long nails drawing blood. “A woman is not meant for greatness, and you overreach. Don’t you remember how it was, Lilia? You were my favorite whore. And you had best be careful, because the men love a good whore. Especially men who have never lived with a cunt before, like your new friend. And I’ve heard rumors about him, about how much he loves a good fuck.” With these words hanging pregnant in the air, Bavarius released me, and I stumbled forward, nearly falling. Catching myself, I all but leapt out of the bruised shadows behind the pillar, sour bile rising in my throat.