The beautiful valleys and rolling hills of Switzerland and France soon gave way to rich coastal flatlands once we neared the ocean. We passed several farms and a web of communities before hitting the sea. I could never get enough of the breathtaking views of mountainous terrains dramatically spilling into the sapphire blue waters. It was my favorite part even when going to the fortress with my family. And I was so glad we weren't going to go through the caverns this time.
"Caverns? Who the hell dares to attack us??" Marcus asked me arrogantly when I mentioned it to him.
"What's so great about sunsets? Why do you love them so much?" Marcus asked me warmly, staring at the evening sky. He saw me get excited every day of this week around this time. Today's sunset was extra special. Rain clouds cleared out and the sky was painted in bold and fiery hues. Also, it was the first sunset that we were watching together, without sulking or ignoring each other. "It's not just about the sunsets," I told him, unable to express myself any better than that. We were huddled together in the corner of the boat. We had an early dinner and Marcus refused to stay away from me the entire time. He said it was to make up for all the lost time. I have been sitting on his lap all evening because he wouldn't have it any other way. Everyone, especially Rhea and Max, looked at us whenever they were bored and mocked us for being so extreme. We got on their nerves every day with our petty squabbles until this noon. "You two apparently like to do it everywhere except
Marcus gave me a totally unexpected and wonderful surprise when we were about half a mile away from his home. We were riding down a hill, and his house was situated in a valley below. It was surrounded by trees and a few other houses. What looked like the garden side of the house with a fountain was overlooking the river. I was straining my eyes hard to see the house more clearly when my family appeared out of nowhere. Marcus invited them the day they were leaving. He just never told me. The Romans did a ceremony to take the new wife into the house, similar to modern-day but in a slightly different style. "Aaahhh...!" I was super thrilled and climbed down my horse to run to them. "Where's the sex glow??" That was Selma's first question. "She's tired. Don't bother her already." My mom said happily, crushing me into a warm hug. Marcus and Max both talked to my brothers without being rude for the first time. Aiden was taken aback by their niceness, in fact, he looked disa
"This should be made illegal! It's totally unacceptable!" Marcus protested. I was with him on this one. After sacrificing a pig and throwing nuts and what not at me saying fertility a hundred times, these people won't let us sleep together now. We both looked at our parents in disapproval. "Avia says today is not an auspicious day. The propitious time for it passed mid-afternoon." Maia tried to explain and Marcus looked at his grandmother threateningly. "Why didn't you tell me then, Avia? What can be more auspicious than the fact that we two are willing? You know how long it took for us to get here." "Ahem! Not long at all." Quintus chuckled. "Considering how you felt about her less than two fortnights back, I have to say this is going too fast!" "I know what I felt, and I was a piece of shit then. I am glad you aren't the in charge here, Quintus." Marcus scoffed at him and turned to my family. "Let's go with the rules of Allena's culture this time." He looked at m
"Oh my god, Marcus! Thank goodness it's you. I was worried that it was your mother." I said, trying to block him from entering the kitchen.His nose crinkled up before he coughed and sneezed several times."Did something catch fire here? I can smell it from the garden."I took up the herculean task of preparing lunch for everyone in Marcus's family. I was quite confident about my cooking skills and was feeling like a domesticated wife, trying to impress Marcus. It started out all good during the first five minutes, and I never experienced so much joy in cooking for someone.But I guess I was too anxious to please. I got nervous once I started worrying about if he was going to hate what I made. He loved eating all those weird brains and extreme foods that I didn't know the recipes for. I should blame Allena and her clumsy hands. These clumsy hands plus my nerves were the perfect recipe for disaster. Never had anything that I made come out so gross be
I stood by the edge of the hill to get a good look while Marcus went down, relieved to see that Neill was already on his horse. I slowly climbed down after asking the servant to leave from the other side so that Marcus didn't fire her for helping me.He waited for me with his horse. I was so tempted to leave from the other side of the hill like the servant did to avoid his wrath but decided against it to not get him anymore riled up than he already was. I braced myself for his ranting and was surprised when he just offered me his hand to climb up his horse.He was riding extremely fast, just like the guy from my dream. He ignored my words and looked straight ahead, trying to focus on the rocky terrain."Marcus, slow down please."No response."Don't misunderstand this meeting. I don't feel anything for him, and I can't remember him, at all."Even his horse would have responded better if I talked to him instead. Marcus went deaf."You
I was staring at the portrait, shell shocked."Allena? Are you okay??"I was walking with Maia from the hallway to the atrium after eating breakfast when one of the paintings on the wall caught my eye. It was a painting of me... a nine-year-old me. I was standing by the window looking slightly up. There was a reflection of fireworks in the glass pane and my eyes.I remember very well when this happened. It was the first New Year's Eve that I spent alone. That blue frock was my dad's birthday present to me. I watched the fireworks from my bedroom window while waiting for my mom."This... this picture? How, I mean what..." I didn't know what my question should be.Maia looked at me curiously before responding."This is a girl that used to haunt Marcus's dreams when he was around ten. Do you know her?""No, I mean no. Um... Those reflections on the window are strange.""There are a lot of things that are strange about this picture
With his eyes fixated on me, he slammed me on over the bed and undid my shirt. Excitement surged through my body with anticipation. Was this really happening? Finally?!"Shouldn't you be drying off your hair first?""No, it can wait." He pulled my clothes off and threw them across the floor.I tried to move to grab a towel saying, "You will catch cold, it will only take a...""Shut up!"He wrapped a solid arm around my midriff and gave my hair a ruthless pull before crashing his lips into mine. A shuddering moan left my lips when he left a trail of passionate wet kisses all over my breasts and stomach."Oh, Marcus""Mhm...""I missed you."He got hold of my neck and his kisses turned violent. His rough hands grasped onto my hips aggressively. My heart lurched in my chest when his eyes met mine. I tried to keep up with his passion and roughness. His tongue swept and teased me in all the right spots, and a sharp sensation of pleasure was rising between my legs. He rubbed his length a
"Achooo!!"That was the seventh time I heard Marcus sneeze in the last one hour or so. He was in the meeting room with the other men of the house, and I was all over the courtyard, trying to get a glimpse of him. I walked by the room several times, missing him.I went into the kitchen to help with the stew for dinner. I was careful to simmer it on the lowest possible heat but used the wrong size vessel. Marcus snuck up on me while I was in the tedious process of transferring the excess hot liquid off the ginormous pot into another vessel.I almost dropped the ladle and screamed at him in a much shriller voice than I intended to, "Ah, go away!!"I was feeling hot in the kitchen and annoyed with the men that they don't let the women of the house participate in their so called important meetings."Shh! The entire house doesn't need to know that I am here."He told the servants to leave."Are you mad at me?" He asked while moving st