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A Roman Socialite and Her Tamer (Nurse x Houdini)

Adonna yelped when he twisted and pinched her nipple, swatting at his hand playfully. She really didn't mind him pinching her nipple and even if she did, it didn't matter. Justus would do to her what he pleased and she knew that. She sat up and scooted out of the bed. "I'll serve you." she said with a sense of finality. She picked up a day tunic from her trunk and slipped it over her head. She padded back over to the bed and gave Justus another light peck, watching his face for an extra second. She was beginning to think that she was starting to...love him. She wouldn't tell him that though, not until she was sure. And she didn't think she'd be sure for a long time.

She left the room and went into the kitchen where Flavia had dinner ready. "Justus wants me to serve him." she said simply as she picked up the tray with the plate full of meat and bread and the large goblet of wine. "In bed," she added on her way out, walking back to their bedroom. She grinned at Justus and set the tray down in front of him, on his legs. She ran around the bed and climbed up into it, keeping her tunic on until he told her to take it off.
 
Justus scratched her back with his fingernails as she alighted from the bed, closing his eyes and resting his tired eyelids for just a moment. He opened them just in time to catch a last glimpse of that soft body he loved so much, before she put on the tunic. Closing them again, he opened them just in time to kiss her before she left the room. "Thank you, Adonna," he mumbled. "I know it's because you care for me." He closed his eyes and was almost asleep when she got back. He could have slept without eating, he was so tired. But he thought he'd stay up a bit with Adonna, and if he did, he'd be hungry.

Sitting up when she returned, he accepted the wine and took a long, slow sip of it, draining half the glass. Next, he took the bread and ate a large section. "Come on, sit up next to me," he told her with a smile, pulling her over by the hip until they were side by side giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I had a wonderful time with you, Adonna. To be honest, I wish I didn't have to leave you again. Hopefully, it will be some time before I do. But eventually, duty will call."
 
She sat right next to him in the bed, her side pressed up against his as he ate his dinner. She snuck a couple of pieces of meat, but she'd eaten before he came home. She sighed when he mentioned having to leave again. She didn't like the sound of that, especially when she knew that he could be gone for an extremely long time. "I know," she said dejectedly, resting her head against her shoulder. "I will miss you when you leave," she said softly, admitting another weakness. "But I will pray to the gods every day, for your safety and your return," she never thought that she would say that to a husband. She thought she would hate her husband always. But here she was, a month into her marriage and she was beginning to entertain thoughts of love.
 
Justus smiled at her, pleasantly surprised that she'd say something so nice. His senses told him that she seemed to actually mean it, too. At this point, she'd already been loyal enough that she didn't have to be nice to him just to ingratiate herself to him. She knew that. "That's very kind, Adonna," he said after he'd finished chewing his meat, touching her cheek lightly. "But we have to enjoy every day we have together," he reminded her. "Because I can be called off at a moment's notice. Of course, I don't intend to ever leave you behind for good, dear. But sometimes it's the will of the gods that a man doesn't... come back," he said, reminding her of the realities of being married to a soldier. "So let's enjoy tonight, and every night we're together here," he continued, placing his plate and glass on the table next to the bed, and running his hand delicately under the hem of her gown. "Okay?" he whispered, giving her a little bite on the neck as he squeezed her thigh.
 
"Okay," she agreed, smiling widely at him when he bit her neck despite the gravity of what he'd just said. It was true. One day he might not come back. One day she might be a widow. She might have been a widow for a month and she wouldn't know. And then what would she do? Widows hardly ever remarried. No man wanted them, and those who might were still married. She would be alone, a spinster. But now wasn't the time to think about that. Justus was alive and more than well and he was right here next to her in the bed. She rolled over onto her side and pressed her body against his, sighing a little bit. She kissed his bare chest gently over and over again. She didn't really want to have sex again, but she wouldn't say no if that was what he wanted.
 
"Adonna," he mumbled, holding her so their two bodies clung together. "I'm starting to trust you. I think the next time I go away, I might consider appointing you over the household." He look at her unblinkingly, searching for her first reaction, something that he considered important in deciding whether something was meant to be. He let his body relax against hers, enjoying her warmth. Normally, he would have liked to fool around some more, but after already being tired, the sex and wine had worn out the normally vigorous Justus. "That means you'd be over everything and everyone here," he explained, holding her head in his chest. "All my possessions, my servants, you'd be responsible for our finances, everything. Can I trust you with that? Can I trust you to act like a woman, like I think you are, and not the girl I knew a month ago?" He could just imagine her beating the crap out of Flavia every day just because she wanted to, and needed some assurance she wouldn't do anything like that.
 
Her eyes widened and her face filled with joy when he brought up her being ruler over the household. "Oh, Justus." she said, her voice almost breathless. "I would love that! Of course, I would be a woman." her heart rate sped up a little and she sat up more, placing her hand on his chest in her excitement. "I would be completely responsible. I had schooling up until we married, I am skilled in mathematics and am I very good reader. I know Latin and Greek very well, and even some Arabic," she surprised herself by listing some of her qualifications to him, things she had never planned on him knowing. Most husbands didn't give two shits whether or not their wives knew how to read. "That would help me greatly while you were away. To have a focus, something to do."
 
Justus smiled at his wife's eager acceptance of this responsibility. He hadn't known the extent of schooling that she'd been through, but wasn't entirely surprised. He'd already learned that she could handle herself mentally, and her father could afford all those tutors. Frowning a little, he thought of the other men he known who'd allowed their wives domain of the house. Most were older men who'd been married many years. It was quite a leap of faith to allow these things to Adonna. But times were changing, and so must he, Justus reasoned.

"Those things are all very nice," he told her, cupping her cheek in one big hand and stroking it. "I'm proud to have such a learned wife. However, you will find the things needed to run a household are common sense and a level head." He leaned in and kissed her once on the lips before laying his head back on the pillow. "Then it's settled, Adonna. This home shall be yours next time I go abroad. I know you can handle it. I should let you know, however, that I'll be very unhappy should you use this to satisfy your own whims instead of the good of the home," he told her as a final caveat. "I think I need to sleep now, Adonna. You can stay up if you'd like."
 
"I know, I know." she said, just as excitedly after he told her she needed common sense and a level head. She had those things, most of the time. She'd planned a hundred parties at her father's house completely by herself. She'd ordered the food, hired the extra help, ordered the decorations, helped hang them, gotten the gardeners, sent out invitations, everything. She knew how to organize and execute, much like her father did in politics.

"There is no point in staying up if my husband is asleep," she murmured to herself quietly. She didn't think he'd heard it as he didn't move after she said anything. She was glad of that, she didn't want him to know that he was really growing on her. She didn't want him to know that he was all she thought about while he was gone. She laid down next to him and for the first time in their entire marriage, she actually slept snuggled up to him. She usually slept near him, but never against him, until now.
 
Justus fell asleep almost immediately after he'd finished talking to his wife. He just needed sleep, and couldn't even focus on how he slept. But he stirred half awake in the middle of the night to the nice surprise of his wife, cuddled up with him, her arms around him. It really did feel nice. Maybe it was just the weeks of sleeping in an empty bed that changed her habits, but it was nice to feel her body against his in the night. He wondered if the feeling for her when he thought these things was love. He wasn't sure, only sure that he'd never loved a woman before. So maybe this was what it was like.

The next morning, he got up early as usual, and crept out of bed, careful not to wake Adonna. He spoke to her 'shadow' for the last three weeks, and found that she hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, just visit family, shop, and so on. That only reinforced the feeling that he'd been wise in giving Adonna more responsibility. Returning home after the brief trip, he found a messenger at the door, who wordlessly handed him a small scroll. "Report for duty at the marching green tonight at the ninth hour. Be prepared for an extended tour," the words said. Frowning, he marched back inside towards his bedroom, where he crawled back into bed, kissing his sleeping wife on the neck softly.
 
Adonna woke when she felt soft lips against her neck. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Justus there next to her. She grinned when she saw him and sat up, crawling up closer to him so that she was looking down at him. "Hiiii," she said cheerfully. It felt so nice to wake up next to him after three weeks of being alone in a cold bed. "So," she started excitedly, stroking his cheek as she spoke, "I was thinking that we could go to the theatre tonight. And then tomorrow we could go to the market again. And then maybe we could host a party later in the week, and then we could decorate together for the festival of Strenua." but she realized that he wasn't beaming back at her, he didn't seem to be interested in her enthusiasm. She frowned, "What's wrong?"
 
Justus hadn't planned to tell her the bad news until after breakfast. But she had the week planned out for him already, and he couldn't just go along with it. Besides, he was terrible at not letting his feelings show all over his face, and he'd probably already given it away. "Adonna," he said, his voice a little troubled, before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. "I've been called away to serve the Caesar and the will of the gods again."

"But, Adonna," he started again, trying to placate her a little. "I'll take you to a play in the afternoon before I have to leave tonight. And if things go well, maybe I'll be back for the festival of Strenua. Or if not, I'll certainly be back for Vulcanalia. Let's have some breakfast, and not think about it for now. Like I said, enjoy the time together," he proposed, rubbing her soft upper arm.
 
"What?" she asked in disbelief, her voice making it obvious that she was completely crushed. "Already? But you've only been here one day. Not even a day! You've...you've...you just got here yesterday!" she was getting choked up, her words were coming out sloppily and her voice was cracking as tears welled up in her eyes. She pulled away from him and shook her head, scooting away from him across the bed as if if she wasn't near him then he couldn't possibly leave, he'd have to chase her and that would keep her here.

"No. No! No, no, no, no. You can't leave me already! You can't, Justus. You just got here!" she was starting to get frantic, her heart rate was speeding up quickly and she had a million thoughts running through her head.
 
Justus felt for her. He really did. Her life couldn't be very interesting while he was away. To be honest, that was one reason he didn't mind marrying a woman who didn't care for him. Before they'd wed, he didn't think Adonna would ever complain much when he went away. When he was in town, she'd be his arm candy, and neither of them would mind when they were apart. But what he hadn't counted on was the intense feelings they were quickly developing for each other.

Chasing her across the bed, he grabbed a hold of her hips before she could leave their bed. "I don't want to leave, either, Adonna," he said to her after he'd tackled her down as gently as he could. "But the gods to not approve of disloyalty to the Emperor," he reminded her, remembering her devotion to these. "This is why we have the best nation in the world, the finest city, to live, love, and learn in. Because men are willing to go and fight." He leaned his weight up from her, hoping she wouldn't run away now that he'd explained a little more. "We'll have a nice today together, and maybe I won't be gone long," he finished, sitting down on the bed.
 
She bucked and resisted when he tackled her down, punching his chest over and over again as she tried to hold back tears. Then he brought up the gods. She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes and tried to think. The gods wanted him to leave. It was the gods will, and the gods did not look kindly on those who refused sanctions. She was still extremely upset. She blinked away her tears and looked at him, really looked at him, really scrutinized what his face said to her.

"Okay," she said weakly, realizing that nothing she could say would change anything. He had to go, no matter what she said. No matter how upset she was, he had to go. "You can get off me now," she said, pushing at him a little bit. Suddenly she didn't want to be close to him. She didn't want intimacy. He was leaving her.
 
As Adonna punched at him, he wondered again if it had been wise to appoint her over the household. But he had promised it, and he wouldn't go back on his word. He did move away from her as she asked him to, watching her leave his presence. Walking to breakfast without a word, he hoped that she'd follow him in, but wasn't going to force her. He didn't have it in him this morning. Spotting Flavia in the hall as he went to breakfast, he spoke to her for the first time since he returned. "Hello, Flavia," he greeted her with a fake smile. "If you could bring enough breakfast for two, it would be appreciated," he asked. "Yes, master," came the reply. "It's nice to see you back home." Justus simply nodded and continued to the dining hall.
 
She stayed in the bedroom for a few minutes. A large part of her didn't want to go eat with him. She wanted to swear him off since he was leaving her, but she knew that wasn't the right thing to do. She slid out of the bed and went to her mirror, wiping her eyes off and trying to arrange her hair. She fixed the day gown that she'd fallen asleep in and walked to the dining hall. She saw him sitting there by himself and she sat in her usual seat. She placed her hand on top of his and squeezed gently, "Do...do you know how long you're going to be gone, husband?" she asked carefully, still trying to control her emotions.
 
While he was there alone, Flavia brought over the first round of breakfast items, before heading back for the rest. Justus looked up when Adonna entered, and didn’t say a word when she sat down. He squeezed her hand back when she took his. “Adonna, I understand that it’s not easy when we’ve just been apart for three weeks. But you must get used to this. You can’t do this every time I have to leave.” He slid the cup of water over to her that Flavia had brought, nodding for her to take a drink. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, Adonna. I don’t even know yet myself where I’m to go. But today may be the last memory we have of each other for a while. Why ruin it, my lovely wife?”
 
She picked up the small brass cup and liftted it to her lips, drinking about half of the water. She set it down again and rested her head in her hand, elbow on the table. Justus was always logical and reasonable. Adonna was the emotional one in their relationship, it seemed. "I know," she said quietly, resignation obvious in her voice. "I...I just didn't expect so soon. I thought you'd be home for awhile, at least a week. It was just...just...a shock," Adonna was trying very hard to be supportive. She was trying very hard to let go the feelings of betrayal and abandonment she felt. She hadn't, after all, chosen to marry a soldier. She hadn't accepted that as part of her love for him because she still wasn't sure she had love for him. Adonna was pushed into this marriage and now when she was starting to enjoy it, she had to deal with this.
 
Justus mulled over her words for several moments, taking some bread once Flavia had laid it on the table before them, along with other provisions. Dipping it in some oil, he took a generous bite of the warm loaf. He reached over and touched the wrist which supported her head, grasping it lightly. “I know, Adonna. I thought I’d be home at least that long as well.” Justus never thought he’d have regrets for anything he did for his beloved homeland, but he felt just a tinge of remorse at the sight of Adonna, the thought of leaving her. He knew that she’d miss him, just as he’d miss her, and while he’d have plenty to occupy him, she’d be left wallowing in boredom alone. “Let’s eat up,” he said with a smile. “And then see if we can’t cram a couple of weeks worth of time together into this one day we have. Instead of just wishing things were different. We’ll dress in our finest garments and leave for the center of the city immediately. Okay?” He searched her pretty sad eyes for some agreement to his proposal.
 
She tried her best to smile for him. He was doing his best for her, and he was the one leaving to risk his life for their country. He was going to serve the Caesar and the will of the gods, something that Adonna had always been a strong supporter of. "Okay," she said as she moved her hand away from her hand and took the hand that was squeezing her wrist. She squeezed his hand and leaned across the table to press her lips to his. She could taste some of the oil there and thought that was funny. She pulled away and licked at his lips, a genuine smile coming to her face then. She pulled away and sat back in her seat, "Actually. I don't think we should wear our finest garments, that will draw attention to us. I think we should dress simply and disappear into the crowds so no one will bother us."
 
Justus laughed as Adonna showed her playful side again, giving her a little lick back. He'd assumed that Adonna would want to wear her finest garb, but maybe she was changing, just like he was. "That sounds wonderful," he nodded in agreement. "I'd love nothing more that to blend into the masses with you all day long, Adonna," he said with a big smile.

When Flavia came back to clear the dishes, Justus grabbed her wrist gently. "Flavia," he said. "Yes, sir?" she rasped at him, a little smile flashing over her face. "I'll be leaving again tonight," Justus revealed to her. "And I want to let you know that Adonna," he began, nodding to his wife, "will be in charge of the house this time while I'm gone. You'll need to give her the same obedience you normally would to me." An initial frown on Flavia's face quickly turned to a smile. "Yes, sir," she agreed, flashing a big white smile at Adonna as well. "I'll be at your constant call, my lady," she cooed. Justus dismissed her with a wave of his hand and looked back at Adonna. "Let's get ready, dear."
 
"Okay," she beamed at Justus, rising from her seat and taking hold of his hand again. She began to walk with him towards his changing room. Usually she would leave him there and go to her own, but she suddenly had a thought. It was still early morning. The markets wouldn't be open until mid day and there wouldn't be any theatre performances until mid afternoon. She glanced up at him and smiled and then tugged him into his dressing room where she knew there was a small lounging couch, meant for one person to lie on. But if they were one of top of the other...it was like one person.

Once he was inside she shut the door and pressed herself up against him, looking up into his eyes devilishly. She went up on tip toes and kissed his lips longingly, "I think..." she said as she stroked his cheek, "that if you're going to leave again...that certain hungers of mine are going to grow very quickly. We might have to try to do something about that today,"
 
Justus was taken a little by surprise when Adonna began pulling him into the dressing room. He'd thought maybe she'd dress him now that she was in a better mood, but... this seemed like something else. Not something he'd complain about, though. He looked into Adonna's eyes, but didn't put his hands on her body yet, content to let her make the advance this time. He did kiss her back, though, and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I didn't know I'd married such an irresistable seductress," he teased. Kissing her on the ear repeatedly, he took her earlobe into his mouth and bit it gently for a moment. "I think I know the hungers you speak of," he whispered, begging to walk her back towards the little couch. "Why don't we feed all of them. Maybe you can even have one of my trademark rewards," he suggested with a sly smile, finally reaching around behind Adonna and pinching her soft ass.
 
She squealed in delight when he pinched her ass, incredibly glad that he was playing along with her. She'd briefly thought that he might refuse her, or not be as willing or playful, but it seemed that he was just as wanting as she was. She walked backwards towards the couch, running her hands down over his simple tunic and then to his own hands. She grabbed them and tugged him eagerly towards the couch until she was right up against it. Then she let go of him and did something that she'd never been brave enough to do. She reached down and grabbed the hem of her own day tunic/ Adonna slowly lifted it up, revealing her womanhood then her stomach, her breasts, her collarbone, and then finally she lifted it all the way off of her head and tossed it to the ground. She kept eye contact with him now as she laid back against the couch and held her arms out to him.
 
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