Breaking the Gladiator Read online

  My whole body stiffens. “This is just the beginning, Domina, but I will always protect you. I’m sworn to serve you, forever,” Cassian whispers and shifts away, ready for confrontation.

  “No.” I take his hand. “You do not serve me. Not anymore. We stand equal. Together—”

  The voices outside become louder, more agitated.

  “What’s in the cart?” A gruff voice asks.

  I peek through a gap in the wood and see the cohorts reaching for their weapons.

  It takes mere seconds for Cassian to burst from the cart and end their lives.

  I watch him in complete awe. This man will never be content with a life in hiding. He’s not made to cower, he’s made to fight. He might have escaped the ludus, the arena… but the battles are only just beginning.

  He hops back into the cart and we continue down the road, leaving another three bodies in our wake.

  “Livia,” he smiles, reaching out a hand to pull me into his safe embrace once more.

  Livia.

  He has never said that before.

  I’ve always revelled in the way ‘Domina’ fell from his lips in an obedient mumble, but now, hearing him say my actual name…

  “Livia,” he says again, testing it out on his tongue.

  I pounce on him and delight in his touch, in his kiss – until he groans my name again and again and again.

  53

  Cassian

  When she’s eventually satiated from my kisses, Livia nestles down in the cart with her head in my lap and I stroke absently at her fiery hair.

  Livia.

  Words can barely even describe the feeling of speaking that name to her face without fear of reprisal. To groan her name and have her respond with love in her eyes.

  The amount of times I wanted to ask her to run with me. Every time she appeared on the courtyard with a fresh bruise on her face, or with extra sorrow to her step – those days, I so badly wanted to scoop her up and run. But I didn’t want her to have to experience poverty, not even for one day, let alone the rest of her life.

  So I stayed. I buried those urges because at least there, at the ludus, I had a roof over my head and food in my belly, and she was safe.

  Safe.

  Wrong. You failed her. You let them abuse her too many times.

  Never again.

  I will never allow another man to touch her again. She belongs to me, and only me.

  I can’t remember when it changed. When I stopped hating her demands quite so much and started needing them. Somehow she worked her way under my armour and made me crave the very woman that I also wanted to kill.

  It would have been so easy, on so many occasions. I could have put my hands around her throat and squeezed the life from her. Watched her face as she faded out of existence like so many others have done by my hands.

  But looking at her now I see the real woman. Not the one living in her husband’s shadow. Gone is the woman who was terrified by society’s demands, who took pleasure in the suffering of others.

  No, that’s not true… I think she’ll still enjoy a little suffering, but her targets have changed. Together we will fight for each other, and we will fight for them… for all the slaves, the gladiators, the abused women, the oppressed.

  Perhaps we shall even bring Rome to its knees.

  Because I was Death.

  But together we are Hope.

  Also by Nicola Rose

  Taste the Dark (Elwood Legacy 1)

  Available for pre-order now - releases 30th April 2018

  Amazon

  One reckless girl and two vampire brothers – battling forces of love over lust, and light over dark…

  Jess

  I was 15 years old when our family home exploded in an atomic fashion, killing my parents. Thanks to convenient amnesia, I was left wondering what the hell happened, but without any doubt that I somehow caused it.

  Cue years of flitting from one disaster to another, generally involving alcohol, drugs and bad boys. My new job on South Padre signified a turning point – time to sort myself out. Problem is, they don’t call this place Carnage Island without good reason. It would be rude not to partake in the spring break frenzy first, right?

  What I hadn’t anticipated was the 6ft package of brooding, inked-up perfection who started stalking me. And don’t even mention the equally hot brother crawling under my skin…

  They radiate danger, it flows around them like a seductive spell; and danger is my favourite word.

  Zac

  I was doing a pretty good job at balancing on the fine line between light and dark, blurring the edges and living in the grey. But then dead vampires started piling up around me and the Bael gave me a ticking countdown to fix it.

  Now she’s arrived. Four seconds – the moment I saw her – that’s how long it took to know that she’d simultaneously bring heaven and hell to my door. I don’t even know what she is, but I know I crave her.

  Falling for a human girl has left me teetering on the verge of collapse. This could be just the ammo my brother needs to nudge me over the edge and into oblivion.

  Taste the Dark is a full-length, slow-burn paranormal romance, intended for adult audiences. Expect a lot of heat, and a little darkness. Because romance isn’t always sweet…

  Book one in the Elwood Legacy series.

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  Acknowledgments

  Thank you for reading Breaking the Gladiator.

  I hope you enjoyed your time with Cassian! He’s been stalking my thoughts for years now, so it feels wonderful to finally release him into the world!

  Reviews are like gold to authors! Each one really does mean the world. If you enjoyed reading, I hope you will consider leaving an honest rating on Amazon or Goodreads. Thank you!

  About the Author

  Nicola Rose is from the UK, where she lives with her husband and two boys.

  When she's not writing or reading, she can probably be found walking in the countryside, faffing in Photoshop, and playing boardgames (with varying degrees of aggression).

  You may also find her obsessing over vampires and bad boys...

  Find Nicola on the links below:

  Instagram

  Goodreads

  www.nicolarose-author.com

  [email protected]