Written for Fandom For Storms.
Title: To Love Is To Live
Penname: Welcome2MyWorldxoxo
Characters/pairing: Edward (Antony) and Bella (Bellona)
Genre: romance
Rating: NC17
Story Tense: Past progressive
Summary: A Servant and her Master. Lovers behind the closed doors of Villa. But when a prophecy threatens to tear them apart will they be able to prove that what they have is more than just lust. ExB

Steam swirled and danced in the air, clinging and wrapping around my clammy skin. My bare feet moved silently across the marble floor, each step matching the loud thump of my heart. I knew why I was here and I knew what would happen, but it was all beyond my control. He wanted me and, as the lord and master of the villa where I worked, he had the right to take anything from me that he so choose.

I could hear the water lapping gently against the side of the pool and could see the reflection of the water flicker against the walls as I stopped at the edge. My throat constricted and I took a deep, shuddering breath as my eyes scanned the length of the pool until they fell on him. He was reclined at the far edge, his head resting back against the stone and his eyes closed.

Almost as if he could feel the weight of my gaze on him, his head rose and his eyes opened slowly. Jade eyes framed by long, thick eyelashes devoured me hungrily, running up and down my stilled body, clad in a hugging, white tunic. My once slightly curled waves of hair fell limply around my face due to the humidity.

No words were exchanged as he stood, causing water to cascade down his muscled, tanned chest. His shoulder length, auburn hair was pulled back in a thong and I watched as the water that once had reached his waist fall lower and lower until his powerful thighs and strong calves were revealed. But it wasn't that which caught my attention though. It was the thick, long, hard evidence of his want, his arousal that had my gaze transfixed.

Once he was fully out of the water and in front of me, he pulled me flush against him, pressing his arousal into my stomach as one hand lay in the small of my back and the other hunted up my neck and into my hair. His hand wound around the thick strands of my hair and pulled my head to the side, leaving my neck free for him to with what he pleased. He licked a lone trail along it and up to my ear.

"I was told that you would serve me in any way I desired," he murmured, his voice low and husky as his hot breath scorched my already heated flesh. "I was not mistaken?" I let out a breath I hadn't been aware I was holding and nodded cautiously.

He hummed in pleasure against my skin before using the hand that had been lying on my lower back to sneak up to the neckline and rip it away from my body. I gasped and flushed red in embarrassment of being naked before another human being. His eyes were wild as they roamed every inch of me and he ran his tongue along his full, bottom lip in appreciation of what he saw.

He tugged my hair back harshly, forcing me to arch my chest into him as a winch flashed across my features. Without warning, his lips wrapped themselves around the sensitive tip of my nipple and suckled enthusiastically. Heat coursed through me and I forgot all sense of my place and buried my hands into his hair as a whimper escaped my lips.

My eyelids fluttered as they threatened to close and I pressed myself more fully into him, wanton and unashamed. Was it not my goal to give myself to this man in whatever capacity that he deemed appropriate? Was it to be my fault that he found his own wife unworthy of his husbandry attentions? Nay, I could never let such guilt fall upon my shoulders. I was but a lowly slave sent to please her master.

His mouth switched to the neglected breast and he slowly started walking backwards into the pool. It was not until he reached the far side of the pool and sat down on the bench before roughly pulling me into his lap that I realized his intent. He had decided to take my maidenhead.

My legs rested on either side of his and I could feel his arousal pulsing against my skin as he pulled his head back and smashed his lips against mine. The kiss was forceful and demanding as he prised my lips open with his own and plundered my mouth with his tongue.

His hands palmed my breasts harshly, his long fingers only pausing to pluck and pinch the tips.

"Do you enjoy my touch?" he asked, his voice gravely as drew his lips away from mine long enough to speak. I nodded, panting heavily and he smirked, obviously proud of himself, before tugging my swollen, bottom lip between his teeth. He bit down right at the moment he plunged two fingers into my core. I let out a cry of pain as his finger invaded my most intimate parts. He licked and kissed me gently, hoping to sooth away some of the pain with his touch.

I knew he was preparing me for a much larger intrusion and I couldn't help but be thankful that he had taken something like that into consideration. He removed his fingers and positioned me correctly above him as he aligned himself with my entrance. His eyes bored right into mine as he guided me slowly down onto him. I sandwiched my lip between my teeth to keep myself from crying out and I squeezed my eyes shut.

By the time I had taken him fully into me, my breaths were escaping me in short pants and I prayed that the ache that had started between my thighs would lessen. His fingers dug into my hips as he lifted me up and brought my down as his hips lifted up and thrust deep into me.

Barely pausing to see if I was all right, he continued to take my body. His lips and teeth skimmed and nipped all over my skin, refusing to be left out in the effort to take every single part of me. Once he was certain that I could keep up with his thrusts, he moved his hands over my body, grasping my breasts and pulling me further into him.

It did not take too long for him to release inside of me with a groan and I fell against him, exhausted from moving over him for so long. I was not sure for how long we simply sat there in the water before he stood up with me still wrapped around him.

"Where are we going?" I asked timidly as he walked out of the bathhouse, only pausing to wrap us in fabric. "My quarters." he answered gruffly.

1 YEAR LATER

I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head and wrapped the rest around my body, hiding the small bump protruding from my stomach from prying eyes. It was bad enough that at the villa everyone knew that Lord Antony had planted his seed inside me and allowed it to take root, but out in the town I would be ridiculed and looked down upon more than if I was the dirt on their sandals.

I walked through the streets quickly, never pausing to look at the bright colored stalls or to listen to the sweet music played on the street corners. I fumbled with the smelling salts hooked onto my belt as I neared the meat stall. The heat that beat down on the market made the meat smell so much more pungent in the air than usual and I hastened my pace as I tried to breath as little as possible.

I could feel the sweat running down my skin and I felt faint underneath such heat. I pressed the salts to my nose and forced myself on onwards until I came to a little shop hidden under the shade of an apple tree.

I ducked through the beads that hung across the door. They tinkled as I moved past them and I pulled back my hood and moved further into the shop.

"I knew you would be back Bellona." I smiled softly at the old woman sitting comfortable on a pile of cushions in the corner. Her eyes were completely white from her blindness, but her ability to see went past what I could ever hope to achieve. She was an oracle and her company encouraged and soothed me more than anyone I knew.

I went to her side and settled down, folding my legs underneath me. Her cold, weathered hands clasped mine and started running over the lines and dips of it.

"Your worry for the child is unfounded. He will be strong and healthy..." I sucked in the information she gave like a thirsty man at an oasis, "...his father will give him a position as a household slave and all will be well for him." Relief flooded through me and Alicia's lips twitched down slightly as she continued looking on into the future.

"What? You must tell me what you have seen," I asked, curious. She lifted a hand shakily and placed it on my cheek as a small pucker appeared between her eyebrows. "The gods have looked upon you kindly Bellona, but beware my child; the Earth continues to evolve around us, but sometimes sacrifices must be made for new life to grow. Death is repaid with life, but if you love him enough, more than your own life, and if he reciprocates those feelings then the god's will spare you..."

I snatched my hands away from hers, not wanting to believe what she was telling me.

"No!" I cried out, my hands shaking as I grasped the edges of my cloak so that I could stand. "I refuse to believe this...its lies, all lies!" She looked over to where I was standing, a sad look on her face, "Have I ever led you wrong, child?" she asked quietly, but my only response was turn and run from the shop. My feet left trails of dust behind me as I darted between the stalls and ducked under archways.

I was at the edge of the town by the time my legs gave out underneath me and harsh sobs wracked through my body. I wrapped my arms around my stomach as I heaved, expelling the contents of my stomach. I wasn't sure for how long I stayed there before I pulled myself up and walked back to the villa. I knew that I would be in trouble for leaving by myself without telling any one of my whereabouts, but I had ceased to care.

I did my chores listlessly for the rest of the day, not reacting to anything around me. I tried to reassure myself, but it didn't stop the hollow feeling in chest from aching. There was no way that he could love a lowly servant like me. I was here at his disposal, to do with as he pleased. He could be rid of me by doing no more than flicking his wrist in my direction.

"Bellona?" A timid voice asked behind me, I turned to find another one of female slaves standing awkwardly behind me. "What is it?" I questioned tiredly. Her eyes darted around, never settling in one place as she murmured quietly, "Master Antony wishes to see you in his quarters." A surge of despair washed through me. I did not want to face him right now, let alone entertain him. I merely wanted to go back to my pallet and sleep. I closed my eyes minutely before forcing a smile on my face and nodding.

"Of course, thank you for telling me."

I straightened my back and shuffled through the many halls of the villa until I came upon Antony's rooms. I knocked quietly and after a short acknowledgement of entry, I stepped in. He stood on the balcony adjacent to his main living quarters. He turned when he saw that it was me who had entered and let his eyes trail over me, taking inventory of my body.

"You are well?" he questioned, one eyebrow raised. I nodded and let my gaze fall to the floor. "Yes, Master Antony," I murmured, not letting my gaze move from the ground. A groan rumbled in his chest and his bare feet slapped against the mosaic-patterned tiles as he stalked towards me. "Do you know what seeing you round with my babe does to me?" he growled

He took my hand and placed it on his hardened manhood to show me as his lips attacked the side of my neck. I closed my eyes and relaxed into him, shedding all the tension inside me, ready to forget about the events of the day and just be.

He dropped to his knees and helped me slip my sore feet out of my sandals, kneading the arch of them before dragging my garments up over my head so that I was bare. I still refused to look at him, embarrassed how my body was not slim and pretty. It seemed strange to me that once he had found out about my current state that he had not merely tossed me aside and found a new women to warm his bed and sate his desire.

He backed me up into his bedroom and lay me on his bed before disrobing and climbing on top of me. He took my lips up into a fierce kiss as he hovered on his hands and knees, his arousal bobbing against his stomach.

He leaned his weight on one hand as the other caressed my body, searching out the apex of my thighs to see if I was ready for his intrusion. He groaned as he found my entrance slick and pulled back.

"On your hands and knees," he ordered, his eyes blazing with lust. I scrambled to comply, turning over and carefully balancing on my hands and knees. He grasped my hips tightly and thrust his manhood against my rear, rubbing himself against my flesh.

"Do you want this?" he asked with a growl. "Do you want my desire, my lust, inside you?"

I whimpered and nodded vigorously, but he grabbed my hair and forced my head back so that I could look him in the eye. "Answer me!" he snarled menacingly, pushing his hips further forwards.

"Yes, Antony, please give me this," I begged and his top lip curled up into the beginning of a sneer.

"You think you deserve this?" he asked lowly, "You think that I'd just freely give you what you have begged for? Tell me who you will always belong to Bellona, tell me who's seed has taken fruit inside you," he demanded.

"Yours. It's only ever been you," I whimpered, my neck starting to ache from the position it was in.

He loosened his hold on my hair and massaged my scalp. "Good girl," he murmured soothingly before positioning himself at my entrance and thrusting into me in one smooth thrust. With one hand wrapped loosely in my hair and the other holding my hip with bruising force, he started to pound into me. His hips were relentless as they slammed against me, always taking yet also giving.

I tried to conceal my cries of pleasure, but Antony tightened his grip on my hair and yanked it back painfully. "I want to hear you," he snarled, "scream my name. Make sure everyone here knows what I'm doing to you, knows that it's my desire that you're sating with your body." I let out a strangled moan as his nails dug into the skin of my hip. I knew that by the time he was done with me, I would be bruised and raw, my body unable to make any more.

Wet heat enclosed on the juncture of my shoulder as his tongue and teeth attacked it heartlessly, marking me, forcing me to acknowledge the fact that I was his. I could hear him grunting and groaning in my ear as our skin slid over one another. "Antony," I groaned out loudly and he hissed appreciatively as my hips moved with his.

I could feel his thrusts becoming more erratic and less controlled as he neared his climax. His hips stilled as he moaned my name and I felt his seed enter me in three, long spurts.

He buried his head in my shoulder, breathing heavily before rolling off me and onto his back.

I fell on my side facing him and tried to catch my breath. It is in moments like this that I could observe him. His guard would be down and we were no longer servant and master, we were simply lovers. I let my fingers trace the plains of his face, along the bridge of his nose down to the line of his jaw.

His eyes were closed as a small, serene smile flittered across his face as he snaked an arm around me and drew me as close as possible. I knew deep down that somewhere along the time that I had been sharing his bed with him; I had fallen for him more deeply than I ever could have thought possible.

He buried his face in my hair, inhaling deeply as his slid one of his legs between mine. His desire had been calmed for the moment but I knew the insatiable beast that simmered just below the surface would need to take me at least three times before the fire would be extinguished tonight.

"I was not too rough with you?" he questioned and I shook my head. I knew how much he fought for control when he was inside of me. He had explained to me how the need to go harder, deeper, faster always pushed him to be rough, to take selfishly, to leave marks and bruises. It was also the reason-now that his wife had bore him a son-that he did not lay with her. She had not enjoyed his rougher tendencies, thus making their bed an unsatisfactory place.

I revelled in the fact that he felt no need to hold back with me. It was just me and him, raw and exposed.

"Where were you earlier?" he murmured quietly, his head still buried in my hair. My body froze, seizing up in panic, as my mind rushed to find an excuse plausible enough not to warrant me a punishment. "I-I-I-I'm sorry my Lord. I should not have left the villa without permission but I needed to see Alicia."

He pulled back to look at him, a furrow in his brow. "The old oracle?" I nodded, my eyes refusing to meet his. "Yes, I was requesting to know the health of the baby," I murmured quietly. He hummed in a low voice before asking, "And?"

"I will have a healthy baby son." He seemed pleased by this but still his eyes never felt my face. "What else did she tell you?" he asked and my eyes shot up to his in fright. "N-N-Nothing. That was it," I stuttered out. His eyes closed and his jaw tightened, silently telling me that he knew I was lying.

He reopened his eyes and I could tell he was not happy with me. "Why must you lie to me?" he asked, his voice subtly sliding into a growl. My heart thumped erratically against my chest as I opened and closed my mount, fruitlessly looking for a response. "I know you Bellona and as much as I hate to do it, I feel inclined to point out to you that your place is still below mine."

Tears welled up in my eyes and I squirmed away from his grip. "Is that all I am to you," I asked in as steady a voice I could muster. "A servant to warm your bed and keep your desire sated?" He sat up and turned away from me before standing up and walking away from me to look out over the grounds from his balcony.

"What do you want from me Bellona?" he asked in a quiet voice as his hands slid into his hair, raking through the thick locks of red hair. He turned back to me, his naked body even more majestic in the fading light as he gaze burned into me, probing me for an answer. "Just an answer," I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

He tilted his head and sighed heavily. "You know I can't give you one."

I nodded sadly and let the tears I had fought so hard to keep in fall down my cheeks. "I'm going to die Antony. My life will be taken to give my son life." He shook his head slowly, clearly in denial. He strode over to me and grasped my face in his hands. "You're not going to die," he said harshly. "Never say that again."

I let my eyes fall closed against the tears. "The gods have willed it Antony. There is nothing we can do."

"There must be," he replied stubbornly. "I need you to tell me exactly what she said to you Bellona." His voice was harsh and demanding and I opened my eyes to look at him. I raised a trembling hand and placed it on his cheek. "The only way for me to live is for you to love me more than your own life...and I-I can't ask you to do that."

He stared silently into my eyes for what could have been hours before he spoke. "You can ask Bellona...I can't promise you that I can or have the ability to love that deeply but I can spend everyday trying to...because...what I feel for you surpasses what I have ever felt for anyone."

My eye widened in disbelief at what he was saying. My mind refused to comprehend what he was saying, while my heart was already expanding to accept it. "But your wife-" He cut me off by placing a finger over my mouth. "Is free to do as she pleases now that has bore me a son. I did not marry her for love Bellona. My father picked her for me and I merely had to produce an heir. I know I do not show you my true feelings but you must understand that with the position I am in it is almost unfathomable for me to fall for you."

"H-How-For how long have you known?" I asked. He smiled wryly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I got my first inkling about six months ago, but I convinced myself that you would never reciprocate such feelings. I forced you into my bed and took selfishly again and again from you with no regard for your feelings. I was not gentle and even on your first time I took you roughly. The worst part of it was that I couldn't stop. Once I had you I had to have you again. I had to feel you wrapped around me as I touched every inch of your body. My lust hid my true feelings and once I finally did realize them I hid behind my lust for you. I was a coward, too scared of rejection to tell you and to treat the way you should treat the woman you love."

He looked slightly ashamed of himself as he slumped onto the bed beside me and I didn't hesitate to soothe him by climbing into his lap and wrapping myself around him.

"Do you think its possible," I asked, "to love someone more than your own life?" He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "I honestly have no clue. Until you were brought to me, I did not even understand the concept of love. I thought that it was just a myth created by the gods to make lust and procreation a better experience."

Without as much of a second thought, I molded my lips to his and kissed him slowly and deeply. He sighed gently into my mouth, sending his sweet breath through me as he reciprocated my actions. I could tell by the stiff set of his shoulders and jaw that he was holding back to be the man he thought he should be with me and I pulled back shaking my head.

"I want you just how you are Antony. I love you for the man you are, rough tendencies and all. It's you and that is all that matters to me. Don't change how you are for my benefit." He seemed surprised by my words and I felt bad for him that no one accepted him just the way he was, without wanting to change him.

He hesitated slightly before crashing his lips to mine and snaking his hands down my back to cup my buttocks. While most thought that him being rough with me was a sign that he did not care for me or my needs, I saw it as his lust and his passion, the everyday frustrations, and his emotions all pouring out of him and into me.

As long as I knew that I was loved-it had been the only thing I had wanted in this life-then I could take whatever was thrown at me. Life was fleeting, as quick as the fluttering of a butterflies wings, and we had to grasp onto what was important because in the end it is those you love that go with you into the next life, not your ambitions or money.

Maybe he could save me, maybe he couldn't, but as long as I knew he tried, that I had lived and loved for as long as I was meant to, then that was all that mattered. I could ask for no more and no less. The dye had been cast and only the gods knew my fate.

AN: So, what did you think? Its a little different from what I usually write, but I think its okay. Review!