from the panic constricting her throat. She should be snapping his neck right now, not imagining what it would be like to taste his lips again. She’d never hesitated like this before.
She needed to distract him until she managed to gather her wits and complete her job. The partially eaten meal caught her attention. “I, um, want to play a game with you.”
His head inclined in her direction, and a grin played on those lips, making her nipples tighten every time she looked at them. “A game?”
She grabbed an olive and removed the pit. “You have to promise not to cheat.”
“I promise,” he said with a laugh.
“Good.” She knelt at his feet and rested her free hand on his thigh. It warmed her palm like sun-drenched granite, and heat flowed through her blood. It produced a yearning in her that she’d never experienced before, one that made her wonder if there was more to sex than she’d known as a slave. The thought of lying naked next to him should make her skin crawl, not have her wanting to tear her stola from her body so she could savor his warmth everywhere. These strange emotions intrigued her to the point where she wanted to explore them, if only for a few moments before she ended his life. “You have to guess what I’m feeding you.”
“And what do I get if I’m right?”
She leaned closer so her lips brushed against his ear. “I’ll figure out a proper reward.”
He turned his head, his lips undoubtedly searching for her, and she slipped the olive in his mouth. He chewed it. “An olive.”
“That was too easy.”
“I still guessed correctly. And my reward?”
She nibbled on his earlobe. He inhaled sharply, much to her satisfaction, and cupped his fingers around her elbows. “Are you ready for the next round?”
He nodded and licked his lips, causing the knot in her stomach to tighten all the more. She was trying to work up enough courage to kill him, and instead found this little game increasing her desire for him threefold.
She searched for something sweet this time and plucked a ripe strawberry off the plate. “Open your mouth.” She inserted the fruit just past his teeth, and he bit down gently.
“One of the most delicious strawberries I’ve ever tasted.”
“Is that so?” Would it be delicious elsewhere? Enough to tempt him to kiss her again? She smeared the juices over her lips and pressed them against his. His tongue licked the sweetness from them, creating gooseflesh on her arms. One of them would cave if they continued this game much longer.
He finished removing all traces of the strawberry from her lips. “You taste better.”
Her cheeks burned like she’d spent too much time in the sun. “Are you enjoying this game, Titus?”
He guided her hand to his rock hard cock. “Does that answer your question?”
She wrapped her hands around it, and even though he sighed in pleasure from her touch, fear tempered her desire. Other men had forced her to touch them, to fondle their erections and stroke them until they purred in pleasure. Memories of the pain and humiliation she’d endured as a slave blurred her vision. She released him and searched the plate for something new, hoping this time she would find something that would distract from the emotions that warred inside her. “Are you ready for the next round?”
“Absolutely.”
She dipped a ripe fig into the pot of honey next to it and placed it in his open mouth. Some of the honey drizzled down his chin, and she leaned forward to catch it with her tongue.
He froze, and a strangled groan escaped his lips. “Please do that again.”
“You haven’t guessed yet.”
“By the gods, you know how to torture a man.”
Yes, she knew many ways to torture a man, to make him scream while she slowly snatched the life away from him. But she had never thought this would constitute torture. She glanced down at the swollen ridge under his tunic and wondered if he was experiencing the same sensations she was.
“No