Page 53 of Thawed Gladiator: Quintus
Her hand slips into mine—warm, certain. That alone makes the wheel feel less like a threat and more like a promise.
“Lead the way.”
The little box rocks as we settle in. I grip the rail, striving for calm. Nicole covers my hand with hers, anchoring me.
“Don’t look down. Look at me,” she says softly.
So I do. Her green eyes shine in the fading light, her smile radiant enough to eclipse the city falling away beneath us.
“Better?” she asks.
“Much.” And it is true. With her, even the air feels steady.
At the crest, Lake Michigan spreads like an endless horizon. Nicole leans into me, voice quiet but certain. “You faced your fear because I asked you to. That’s love—the kind where happiness matters more than comfort.”
I cup her face, reverent. “Then it is love. Because I’ve never wanted someone else’s happiness more than I want yours.”
Her kiss tastes of daring and forever. When our feet touch solid ground again, I know it isn’t only the wheel that has turned tonight—something inside us has shifted too, toward permanence.
“Fortuna has smiled on us both. In my time, we said the goddess reserves her greatest blessings for those brave enough to choose growth over fear.”
She draws back slightly, her eyes wide and luminous in the lights of Navy Pier. “Speaking of Fortuna…” Her voice trembles with awe. “I should have told you sooner. Last night in Grant Park… I saw her. She called me ‘daughter of courage’ and told me our love was blessed. That I can choose you—and still choose myself.”
For a moment, I can only stare at her. Then the wonder floods me, the kind of awe I thought I’d left behind in Rome’s temples. “You saw her? Spoke to her?” My voice is reverent. “Fortuna herself?”
Nicole nods, a hand pressed to her chest as though she can still feel the goddess’s presence there. “It wasn’t a dream. She was real. And she gave us her blessing.”
Emotion surges through me so fiercely I have to ground myself by taking her face in my hands. “Then even the gods witness what I already knew: that you are myfate.”
Her answering smile is radiant, and when I kiss her again, it feels like sealing a vow written across centuries.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Quintus
Our hotel room feels like a sanctuary as the door closes behind us, shutting out the noise and energy of the city. Nicole kicks off her shoes and stretches, her satisfied sigh making me smile.
“Tired?” I ask, though I’m hoping the answer is no.
“Pleasantly exhausted. Good tired.” She turns to face me, and something in her expression makes my pulse quicken. “But I know exactly what would energize me.”
“Good. Because I’ve hungered for you since dawn.”
“Have you?” Her voice carries that sultry note that never fails to affect me. “While we were touring architecture?”
“Especially then. Watching you explain complex concepts, seeing how passionate you get about things you love.” I close the distance between us slowly, savoring the anticipation. “Your mind stirs me more than any trumpet announcing the opening of the games.”
“It does?” She steps closer, her hands settling on my chest. “What else do you find attractive?”
“The way your eyes sharpen when you challenge. How you stand tall against those who would diminish you. The sounds you make when I touch you just right.” My hands find her waist, pulling her against me. “Shall I go on?”
“Mmm, please do.”
Instead of answering with words, I lower my mouth to hers. The kiss begins soft, exploratory, but heat builds quickly—months of restraint and trust and longing distilled into this moment.
She pulls back just enough to whisper, “I love you.”
The words spear through me with more force than any blade. “Let me feel it,” I breathe.
