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.“You know we cannot win.Let us flee to the north, my father and my brother live with Boudicca.We’ll be safe there.”Her nose wrinkled up in disgust then.“They let the Romans rule them.They live in harmony with the devil.Are you a coward, Eratos? I would rather die on the battlefield than live amongst the wolf in sheep’s clothing.”Wenna ran from him then.Her black braid bounced against her back as she rode away.Eratos took his place in the line and when the horn called, he unsheathed his sword and fought.After the battle was done, when he was searching the battlefield he found her broken body.She had been trampled by a chariot after she had fallen, pierced by an arrow through her chest.Her black eyes lifeless, staring up at the smoke-filled sky.He tried to give her a proper funeral, but that was when he had been caught by the Roman general, who deemed him a worthy slave.Eratos had shorn his hair then, in mourning for Wenna, and for his one moment of cowardice.It hurt him still that their last moment she thought him a coward instead of a warrior.“You look sad.”“I was just thinking about the last time I saw Wenna.”“You loved her.”“Yes, but I don’t know if she was my true soul mate.I did not have a chance to discover it.She would have made a good wife, a good mother.A lot of things transpired after the battle.I didn’t even get a chance to bury her properly.I escaped several times before I was shipped to the slave markets of Egypt.”“Where were you trying to go?”“To my father and brother in the north, but then Boudicca fell to the Romans.My father was killed and my brother was enslaved as well.”“This is the brother who aided your escape.”“Aye.Taranis is free.”Helena snuggled in closer to him.“As you are.”“I am not free until I dispatch Thelonius to the shades.”Even then he wasn’t sure if he would be free of the ghosts that plagued him, but all of that was quickly forgotten about with Helena in his arms.When he set on his mission of revenge and agreed to her conditions he never pictured himself falling in love with Helena, and it terrified him.He couldn’t lose her, because he needed her like air, like water.He would die without her.Eratos shifted and propped himself on his arms, staring down at her.Her brown hair cascaded around her head like a halo, her skin was like cream, she was the fairest Roman he had ever encountered and he could see why she was desired above all.Thelonius may not have been attracted to her, but he was a connoisseur of fine things and Helena was exquisite.Her brown eyes were shining in the moonlight.“I want you,” he whispered as he nuzzled her neck.“Help me forget about the spirits of the past.”“I want you as well, Eratos.Love me.”“Oh, anam cara.”“No words are needed.” A single tear traveled down her cheek as she caressed his cheek.“I wanted to save you, but I did not have the strength to pick up a sword.For that I am sorry.” She reached out and slipped her arms around his neck, kissing him tenderly.“Helena, you helped me more than anyone could.At nights, when I was alone, your face came to me out of the darkness—you made me forget about the revenge and death in my heart.You made me want to live again.” He returned her tender kiss, but soon the kiss deepened into something more urgent as the reality of what they had just escaped began to sink in.He had come to Antioch with one thing on his mind and death riding his tails, for he knew if he killed Thelonius he would not live much longer.Now, with Helena in his arms, death was a punishment.He did not want to leave her.Helena was strong, though she did not think so.She was true warrior and she truly was his anam cara, his soul mate, and he knew he could never live without her.There was no life worth living without Helena in it, and now that he had found her he had to go on.He had to kill Thelonius before Thelonius sold Helena to the slave traders as he threatened to do.“Helena, I will do everything in my power to protect you.I want you to feel safe with me.”“I do feel safe with you, Eratos.I do, I trust you with every fiber of my being.You have made me feel alive again.”“I will not let anything happen to you.If I do then I shall not be able to live with myself.”“Hush,” she whispered as she began to kiss his neck.“Be with me, Eratos.Please.”Pulling her tight against him, he laid her down against his makeshift bed and began to kiss her again—pressing her down into the sweet-smelling hay that enveloped them.He was hard and ready for her, and she was wet and willing as she parted her legs.He entered her slowly, a shudder of pleasure rippling through him as her tight, wet sheath surrounded him.He loved the feeling of being buried deep inside her.She wrapped her legs around his waist and he began to move in and out of her rhythmically.There were no words to say at that moment.He had said everything that he had been keeping inside.Right now, he just needed to love her.Her hands cupped his buttocks, keeping him tight against her as he moved faster.She undulated her hips in time with his thrusts.She was moaning in pleasure and arching her back.He could feel her inner muscles squeezing his shaft and he knew she was coming
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