Chapter 32

32

T hree days after the showdown at the Colosseum, Laverna had a Peroni in one hand and was shooting a glass of catacombs moonshine with the other. She had started it, calling it 'The Crypt Keeper' a few years ago, and the name had stuck.

"Dear gods, that stuff is toxic," Claudius coughed.

Laverna had a mouthful of Peroni and said, "You're supposed to chase it so you don't taste it." Roberto laughed and poured out another round.

The music was loud and the gardens around Rom's villa were packed with her people and his. They decided to have a wake for the dead and a celebration that they all survived at the same time.

"They better not fucking steal anything," Romulus complained half-heartedly. He had no choice in the party, and neither had Laverna. People had begun to turn up on their own, and a party kind of happened around them.

"I told them not to, but they might not listen," Laverna said, and really, Romulus had enough stuff. If a few smaller pieces went missing here and there, it wouldn't matter. They would just be replaced by something equally as pretty and valuable.

It was that exact reasoning that had Laverna moving through the smiling groups of people and making her way to Romulus's garage. Some traditions didn't need to die just because they were mated. She pulled two pins from her braid and picked the lock to the garage. It was the first place Romulus had locked as soon as people started turning up.

Humming happily to herself, Laverna opened the door and stepped inside. She let out a huff of surprised laughter when she saw the state of her favorite Ferrari. The driver's side door was all bent out of shape, and the front and back seats had been pulled out of it. One of them had been shredded by claws as had the dashboard.

"What the hell…" she murmured.

"You tell me," Romulus said from behind her, and she let out a startled yelp.

Laverna plastered an innocent look on her face. "Hey, baby, what's up?"

"You are so busted. I can't believe you were going to steal a car and leave me alone with all of these people," Romulus said and crossed his arms.

"Would I do that?" she replied and fluttered her lashes at him. His eyes narrowed. "What happened to the Ferarri? It wasn't in this state when I last saw it."

Romulus looked embarrassed. "It smelled like you, and I lost my temper."

Laverna burst out laughing, wild and wicked. "Oh, my love," she said fondly and picked up a flathead screwdriver. She walked over to the car and leaned into the driver's side door. She didn't bother to worry about flashing him because she had worn her red dress that afternoon for precisely the purpose of driving him crazy. She used the screwdriver to pop open the casing on the steering wheel shaft and pulled out her pair of lacy panties.

"Ta-da!" she said and waved them at him.

Romulus's eyes flared gold. "You…did that on purpose?"

"Well, you should learn to turn up to appointments on time," she replied.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson about being a menace," Romulus growled.

Laverna cackled and tried to run, but he caught her and bent her over the bonnet of the Ferrari.

"Don't you dare move," he said, his breath hot in her ear.

Laverna's toes curled as he pushed the skirt of her dress up and tugged her panties down. His hand dipped between her thighs and hummed in approval.

"Already wet for me. So you can be a good girl when you want to be," he growled and pressed a finger into her. Laverna gasped in pleasure, loving the rough treatment just like she always did. There was nothing sexier than Romulus all fired up and in alpha mode.

"Almost…like it was part of a plan," she panted.

Romulus made a sound of disbelief. "Of course it was. You just can't help driving me crazy." He pulled his fingers free from her and replaced them with his cock. Laverna's nails scratched the Ferrari's shiny paint, but it was worth it.

"Fuck, yes," she gasped, pushing back on his cock, meeting him thrust for thrust. He wrapped her braid around his hand and gave it just the right amount of pull, sending her hurtling through an orgasm that had her rising up on her tiptoes and screaming his name loud enough that she was sure half the party heard it. Romulus groaned, his hands dropping to her hips to lift her up off her feet and fuck her harder. He came a moment later, her name on his lips, and lay on top of her, pinning her to the car.

"Fuck, Laverna. I've wanted to do that since you walked out in this dress," he said breathlessly and kissed her bare neck.

"As I said, almost like I had a plan," she laughed under him.

Romulus eased off her. "You stay there."

"Don't worry. I can't feel my legs yet."

Romulus went to a cabinet, took out a clean rag, and wet it in the sink before coming back over and cleaning up the come that was running down her legs. He slid her panties back in place before lifting her up and carrying her over to the back seat of the Ferrari that was sitting beside it. Laverna was still too come drunk to move, so she watched him go to a fridge and come back with beers. Because, of course, he had a beer fridge in his amazing garage.

Romulus passed her a beer and sat down beside her. "To killing witches."

"Hear! Hear!" Laverna tapped the neck of her beer against his and drank.

Romulus put an arm around her. "How long do you think it will take for people to notice we are missing?"

"They probably already have but are too afraid I'll smite them if they interrupt us," Laverna said and had another sip of her beer. "And they would be correct. I really needed that."

"Insatiable as well as a menace," he said with a laugh.

Laverna poked his side. "Right? How did a guy like you get so lucky?"

"I have no idea." Romulus kissed the top of her head. "How are the bonds feeling?"

Laverna closed her eyes, and the spirit of the city hummed through her. She was getting used to it and could block it out when she needed to. It was similar to how she kept her divinity locked up, and she was teaching it to Romulus so he could sleep better at night. Their mating bond glowed bright and strong as always.

"Good on both fronts. You can stop worrying, Rom. The city has always belonged to both of us. It's just official now," she said. It was a discussion they had more than once over the past few days.

"I still can't believe you did that," Romulus replied, shaking his head before having another mouthful of beer.

Laverna put her bottle down and slipped into his lap to straddle him.

"Yes, you can. I even did it with your sword," she said, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"I noticed that. I'm waiting for the right moment to steal it back."

Laverna tilted her head back and laughed. "That's the spirit."

Romulus sighed and rested his forehead against hers. "My mate."

Laverna smiled, her eyes lighting with her divine power. "My consort. Finally, you're all mine." She kissed him, and both bonds between them flared.

All of Rome smiled at their union, and the constant turbulent energy that had always infused the city was finally stopped. Its king and queen were united for the first time, and around the city, flowers bloomed out of season, the traffic cleared, and all the church bells began to chime at once to celebrate the peace.

Thank you so much for reading!