"He was a prince?"
Mian nodded. "And he was truly fearless. Barely twenty, he would charge into battle or fights half-cocked, daring anyone to hurt him. It seemed every time I turned around, I was hauling him out of some bizarre mishap. But he was a hard man to hate. In spite of his hot-headed ways, he had a great sense of humor and was loyal to a fault."
He ran his hand over his shield. "I just wish I'd been there to save him from the Romans."
Grace rubbed his arm in sympathy. "I'm sure the two of you could have battled your way out of anything."
A spark came to his eyes at her words. "When we marched our armies together, we were invincible." His jaw flexed as he looked at her. "It was just a matter of time before Rome would have been ours."
"Why did the two of you want Rome so badly?"
"I vowed to destroy Rome after they took Prymaria. Kyrian and I had been sent for, but by the time we arrived, it was too late. The Romans had cold-bloodedly rounded up and murdered every woman and child in the city. I'd never seen such carnage." His eyes darkened. "While we were trying to bury the dead, the Romans ambushed us."
Grace went cold at the words. "What happened?"
"I had Livius routed and was about to kill him when Priapus intervened. He sent a lightning bolt into my horse and I was thrown to the Romans. I was sure I was dead; then out of nowhere Kyrian appeared. He drove Livius back until I was able to regain my feet. Livius called for a retreat and vanished before we could kill him."
Grace realized Julian stood directly behind her, his body so close to hers that she could feel his body heat. He placed his arms on each side of her, braced against the mattress, before he pressed his chest against her back.
Grace clenched her teeth at the ferocity of the desire that swept through her. He didn't hold her, but the devastation to her senses was just as profound. He bent his head down and nuzzled her neck.
His tongue on her skin fired every hormone in her body. Grace arched her back as her breasts tingled. If she didn't stop him...
"Julian," she breathed, but her voice was far from carrying the warning note she intended.
"I know," he whispered. "I'm on my way to take a cold shower." As he left the room, she heard him snarl an angry word under his breath. "Alone."
After they had breakfast, Grace decided to teach Julian to drive.
"This is ridiculous," he said as she pulled into the high school's parking lot.
"Oh, come on," she teased, "aren't you curious?"
"No."
"No?"
He sighed. "Okay, a little."
"Well, then, just imagine the stories you can tell your men when you get back to Macedonia about the great steel beast you drove... around a parking lot."
He gave her a puzzled stare. "Does this mean you're okay with my leaving?"
No, she wanted to shout. But instead she sighed. In her heart, she knew she could never ask him to give up all he'd been to stay here with her.
Julian of Macedon was a hero. A legend.
He would never be a mild-mannered twenty-first-century man.
"I know I can't keep you. You're not some lost puppy who followed me home."
Julian tensed at her words. How true to form they were. It was what made leaving her so damn difficult. How could he give up the only person who had ever seen him as a man?
He didn't know why she wanted to teach him to drive, but then, sharing her world with him seemed to please her. And for some reason that didn't bear thinking about, he liked making her happy. "All right, then, show me how to tame this beast."
Grace parked the car and they traded seats.
As soon as Julian got in, she cringed at the sight of a six-foot-three man wedged into a space meant to accommodate a five-two woman. "I forgot to move the seat back. Sorry."
"I can neither breathe nor move, but that's okay."
She laughed. "There's a lever under the seat. Pull it out and you can move the seat back."
He tried, but he was crammed in so tightly that he couldn't reach it.
"Here," Grace said. "I got it."
Julian threw his head back as she leaned over his thigh, pressing her breasts to his leg while she reached between his knees. His body snapped to attention, instantly hot and hard.
When she put her cheek against his groin as she struggled with the release, he thought he would die from it.
"You know, you're in the perfect position to-"
"Julian!" she snapped. She pulled back and saw the bulge in his jeans. Her face turned bright red. "Sorry."
"Me, too," he breathed.
Unfortunately, she had yet to move the seat, so he was forced to endure the position one more time.
Grinding his teeth, Julian reached one arm over his head to grab the headrest and clench it tightly. It was all he could do not to yield to the fiery lust inside his body.
"You okay?" she asked once she released the seat and returned to her own.
"Oh, yeah," he said sarcastically. "I'm just fine considering the fact I've walked through burning fires that hurt less than my groin does right now."
"I said I was sorry."
He just looked at her.
She patted his arm tenderly. "Okay, can you reach the pedals?"
"I'd like to reach your pedals..."
"Julian!" Grace snapped again. The man was truly lecherous. "Would you concentrate?"
"All right, I'm concentrating."
"I don't mean on my breasts."
He dropped his hungry gaze to her lap.
"Or there, either."
To her amazement, he playfully poked his bottom lip out like a pouting child. The look was so uncharacteristic of him that she laughed again.
"Okay," she said. "The pedal on the far left is your clutch, the middle is the brake and the one on the far right is the gas. You remember what I told you about them?"
"I remember."
"Good. Now the first thing you do is press in the clutch and slide the gear into reverse." She placed his hand on the gear shift in the center of her car, and showed him how to move it up and down.
"You know, you really shouldn't fondle that in front of me, Grace. It's cruel."
"Julian! Do you mind? I'm only trying to show you how to shift my gears."
He snorted. "I wish you'd shift my gear like that."
Grace growled at him.
With a devilish gleam in his eyes, he looked totally unrepentant.
Then he attempted to back up, but he released the clutch too soon and stalled the car.
"It's not supposed to do that, is it?" he asked.
"Not unless you want to have a wreck."
He sighed and tried again.
An hour later, after Julian still hadn't managed to drive around the parking lot without hitting a curb or stalling the car, Grace conceded failure.
"It's a good thing you were a better general than you are a driver."
"Ha, ha," he said sarcastically, but there was a glint in his eye that let her know he wasn't truly offended. "All I have to say in my defense is that my first car was a war chariot."
Grace smiled at him. "Well, we're not at war on these streets."
Looking skeptical, he retorted, "I wouldn't say that. You forget, I've seen your late-night news."
Julian turned the engine off. "I think I'll let you drive for a while."
"Probably wise. I can't really afford a new car right now anyway."
She got out to exchange sides with him again. But as they crossed paths at the trunk, Julian grabbed her for a hot kiss that made her dizzy. He took her hands in his and held them tightly against his lean hips as he nibbled her lips.
Goodness, a woman could get used to this. Really, really used to it.
Julian pulled back. "Want to take me home and let me nibble on other things?"
Yes, she did, which was why she didn't dare. In fact, she was so delirious from that one kiss that she couldn't even speak.
Julian smiled at the dazed, hungry look on her face. She stared at his lips as if she were still tasting them. In that moment, he wanted her more than he ever had before. Most of all, he wanted to take the band from her ponytail and let her hair spill over his chest.
How he wished they were back at her house where he could peel the short set from her and listen to her sweet murmurs of pleasure as he...
"The car," she said, blinking her eyes as if awaking from a dream. "We were getting into the car."
Julian kissed her lightly on the cheek.
After they both got in, and were buckled up, Grace looked sideways at him. "You know, it seems to me there are two things in New Orleans that you have yet to experience."
"Number one, I have yet to take you on a-"
"Would you stop!"
He cleared his throat. "Okay, what's your list?"
"Bourbon Street and modern music. One of which I can take care of right now." Grace switched on the radio.
She laughed as she recognized "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner. How apropos, given her passenger.
Julian listened, but didn't appear impressed.