Rome: Marriage Pact

Chapter Seventeen: Pleasures

"This is your idea of helping me relax?" I nearly stammer, flicking my gaze up as we walk through the busy streets in ragged clothing to blend in. "Taking me to a..." I find I cannot even finish the word.

"A pleasure house?" Antony finishes with an easy laugh. He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze as he guides me like he's walked these streets a thousand times. Perhaps he has. Antony seems to know the way like the back of his hand.

"This will be good for you," he promises, pausing in front of what must be the pleasure house, judging by the smell of lavender and rose oil flowing out into the streets. "Besides, this will make you get over your fear of penetrating someone."
I feel my face pale at Antony's crass language, nearly wanting to laugh.

"Penetrating..." I blanch, almost gagging and feeling the butterflies in my stomach fluttering in a frenzy. "Oh, you'll be fine," Antony states, opening the door to the building. The rose oil and lavender scent nearly makes me sneeze.

The room we enter is somewhat small, with only a front desk and a few chairs against the stone walls. The woman behind the desk looks up from her wax tablet and looks a little annoyed at seeing Antony. I guess he has been here more often that I realize.

"Let me guess, Antonius, the usual?" she sighs. She looks to be around Antony's age, mid-forties, perhaps. Antony shakes his head with a laugh. "I'm not here to release some stress, Gaia. It's my husband Octavius here," he says, leaning against the desk and drumming his fingers on the wood.

"It's his first time," he adds in a lower voice, glancing back at me and winking while I stand like a fool in the middle of the room. Gaia looks over and scans me up and down, then walks out from behind the desk.
"Ah, it's an honor to have you here, young master. Being nervous is normal, don't you worry."

She says this with an easy smile, and I smile back in return. "So, which do you prefer, men or women? I have both. Unless you want something a bit more exotic."
"Exotic?" I echo nervously, my smile wavering in blind panic.
"You could sleep with both a man and woman if you'd like, but it will cost more," she says with a shrug.
"We do have the funds for that," Antony states. I can tell by his tone of voice that he's been smiling this whole time.

"Am I allowed to choose?" I ask, wringing my hands. Gaia nods and whistles in the direction of a curtained off doorway. Two men and two women walk out, ranging in ages, height, and skin tone.
I'm surprised to see one of the men looks to be from Egypt, wearing the more colorful skirt seen on a Pharaoh. His eyes are lined with kohl.

The other man looks to be from here in Rome, with brown hair and light blue eyes, wearing what looks like a simple slave's tunic. I glance at the two women.
One of them looks to be my age, early twenties, with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. Possibly a woman from Gaul. The last woman looks like a female version of Antony, clearly bigger in terms of bone structure, with long curly hair and brown eyes.

She looks more like a female gladiator than a prostitute. "We do have other options if these do not satisfy you," Gaia informs me. "Uh, I-I'll go with her," I motion to the last woman on the right. I hear Antony chuckle of amusement in the corner of the room.

Gaia nods as the others walk off to the back of the building. "Very well. The usual session lasts an hour. Go down the hall and into any empty room you see. We're pretty busy during this time of day."
I nod, swallowing nervously, trying to ignore Antony's playful growl as the sex worker and I walk down the hallway.

Much like the main room, the hall smells like flower scented oil. But the noises, oh by Apollo, the noises. Behind every closed door I hear gasps, moans, the sound of flesh hitting flesh, light screams, laughter. I find myself becoming dizzy and stumble into the closest empty room.

"What is your name?" I ask shakily as she walks in as well, closing the door with a little more force than necessary. "The people and Gaia call me Lupa. I have no use for my real name here."
"Lupa," I repeat. She-wolf, how fitting. I sigh and lean against the wooden door, letting out a shaky breath.

The room we're in is also small, with only a bed covered in silk sheets, exotic rugs possibly from India on the floor, and a shelf filled with what looks like jars of scented oils. Lupa sits on the bed, clearly used to clients taking their time, it seems. "Who is Antonius in relation to you?" she asks.

I blink in surprise. "Ah, he is my husband. We've been married for the better part of two years," I answer.
Lupa nods, smiling a little. "I can tell by the way he looks at you. I was always his favorite among the workers here. He would come here often, usually after drinking."

"That explains why he sounded so amused when I chose you," I sigh, walking over and sitting next to her. "Well, you know him sexually better than I do. What...can I do to please him?" I murmur, glancing at her. Lupa thinks for a few moments.

"He likes having sex with a person who he sees as an equal. Look him in the eyes, caress his body, show him you're not afraid. He's a bit more reckless when drunk, just to let you know. But there is one thing he loves to see above all else."
"Yes?" I tilt my head.
She smirks. "At the end of the day, he wants his partner's satisfaction. Make noise, moan. Arch your back off the mattress and gasp out his name. He always gets a bit feral when he hears that," she states, leaning back in the bed.

"Ah," I can feel my face burning. "Thank you for the advice, Lupa." She snorts, nodding and taking a medium sized bottle off the shelf. "Here, take this. It's rose oil, Antonius loves the scent. Rub some on yourself the first time you lay with him."

I take the bottle, then open it and take a small sniff. Instantly, my sense of smell is overwhelmed and I cough, quickly capping it again. Lupa laughs at my sexual naivety. "I never got your name, little Apollo."
"Gaius," I cough, the rose oil scent seeming to have burned into my nostrils, "Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. Or just Octavius."

"Octavius," she repeats my name in her deep voice and I feel my nervousness suddenly vanish. Is this how Antony feels whenever she says his name? She leans forward and my eyes widen, feeling her suddenly kiss me. Like Antony, she is gentle, clearly not wanting to hurt someone so inexperienced.
"Well, then, Octavius," she smiles and I feel myself warming up to her already, "Shall we get started?"
****
The hour seems to go by faster than I anticipated. I jump when there is a knock on the door. "Octavius, Lupa, the hour's almost over." Gaia's voice calls through the door, then her footsteps as she walks away.

"I say you did well," Lupa muses, placing one last kiss on my swollen, red lips. I sigh more out of relief, still feeling overheated but with goosebumps on my skin.
"Come back anytime, if you want," she states, her hair wild as she rolls out of bed. "I'll need to bathe before my next customer comes. Hurry and get dressed."

I snap out of my lustful state and scramble to put my clothing back on, then grab the rose oil. "Thank you," I gasp, wiping at my wet lips, hoping I don't appear too disheveled for Antony. Lupa nods, getting back into her dark blue tunic.
She guides me back to the main room where Antony and Gaia are.

Antony grins when he sees me, rising from his chair. "There you are, my Gaius. So, how was he, Lupa?"
Lupa leans against the doorway, almost as tall as Antony. "Shy at first but like a bull," she muses. Gaia laughs softly from behind the counter, not looking up from counting coins.
"That's what I like to hear," Antony muses, placing a small bag of coins on the counter. His smile only widens when he sees the bottle still in my hand.

"Come along, love," Antony murmurs, jerking his head to the entrance of the brothel. "Let's go home, nay?"