Games That We Play

Games That We Play
By Misha

Disclaimer- Not mine.

Author’s Notes- My first ACoR fic! I was super inspired by the first two chapters. In a way I haven’t felt since TC&TF. Warning- This is Marc Antony/MC. Yeah, I know there is some debate about Antony as an LI but I don’t care. This isn’t a fluffy romantic piece, he doesn’t magically become a nice guy, and most importantly this has nothing to do with the real Marc Antony. If you don’t like the paring don’t read, but I was fascinated by the dynamic and wanted to test it out. My MC is Portia of the Síocháin.
Rating- PG-13
Pairing- Marc Antony/MC
Summary- Portia embarks on a dangerous path: a dalliance with Marc Antony.
Words- 998

I pasted on my smile as I listened to the small talk, doing my best to be as charming as possible. Though, at least tonight I wasn’t the only courtesan present.

Just the most desirable.

Because I was new and shiny and because I needed to be. It was the only way I’d succeed. I had to make them all want me.

No, that wasn’t true, I didn’t need every man in the room to want me, only a select few. Almost involuntarily, my eyes met Antony’s across the room. It wasn’t hard, after all, his eyes had been on me all evening.

I gave a half smile and then made my discreet exit, I knew Syphax was close by even as I stood alone in the night’s air, soaking up the cool breeze, but I’d asked him to be discreet. I would not be alone for long.

Indeed, it was only moments before I felt the heat of a body at my back, not quite touching but close enough that I was achingly aware of him.

“I went by the scholae, they told me you that Cassius had offered you extended patronage,” ” a low voice whispered in my ear, “not just for one night, but indefinitely.”

“Yes,” I agreed lightly, still facing away from him. “He has.”

“And have you accepted?” He asked, his lips hovering just above my ear.

“Is there any reason I should not?” I asked lightly. “He is a senator, he is handsome and agreeable, why would I not accept his patronage?”

“He is weak,” Antony said the word with disgust, “his disdain for Ceasar is well known and that is a dangerous thing. He can offer you many things now, but can he keep offering them?”

It was a question, I’d asked myself. Not about the things, material possessions mattered nought, but whether Cassius had the kind of influence and access I needed. The kind of access that Antony could grant me.

“I haven’t received any other offers,” I countered demurely, though it was a lie. Lena had received many, many offers for me based only on the strength of my debut. But it wasn’t the number of offers that mattered, it was about who was offering and what I could gain from them.

“I told you I’d double his price,” Antony reminded me, his arm encircling me. He stepped closer, pressing his chest against my back. It took all my whits and training not to sigh at the feel of him.

“For one night,” I reminded him, my hands resting on the rail, partially to give myself a little distance from the heat of his body, “I would be foolish to turn down the security Cassius offers me for a mere night, no matter who offers it.”

It was the truth, but it was also a gambit. I had a feeling that Antony wasn’t told no very often and that not being able to have something just made him want it more. And I needed him to want me more than anything.

“A mere night won’t be enough. A hundred nights, a thousand nights, it wouldn’t be enough,” he told me roughly, pulling me even closer to him, his lips trailing up my neck to my ear, “if I have to pay for that privilege, so be it.”

He moved suddenly, turning me in his arms so I was facing him, my body pulled flush against his. “However, I want a taste first,” he told me and then his mouth was on mine. There was nothing gentle about his kiss, but I hadn’t expected there to be. I didn’t need gentleness from Marc Antony and wouldn’t want it even if it was offered.

However, I’d take his lust and if it managed to stir some of my own… Well… I would deal with that and remember not to get distracted. My pleasure wasn’t a concern.

I opened my mouth to him, molding my body against his. He took what I offered, his tongue plundering my willing mouth as one arm wrapped around me anchoring me to him while the other dug into my hair.

I could feel my blood racing and heart pounding when he finally pulled back, though he kept his arm around me. “If that is a taste of what you offer, then I have confidence you will be worth every penny,” he told me with a slow smile. “Should I talk to the head of your scholae?”

“Yes,” I agreed, a little weakly. I hadn’t expected to feel so much. Hadn’t wanted to feel so much. Which was why I added, “for the night”

Antony raised an eyebrow. “What happened to security?” He studied me carefully as he released me.

I couldn’t tell the truth, that I was unsettled by the feelings he aroused in me, enough to question this course of action.

“I want to make sure we suit each other,” I declared lightly. I smirked. “I am confident that I can prove my worth, are you less so?”

My words were a challenge and he responded by pulling me back into his arms and kissing me again, his mouth brutal and demanding against mine but in a way that felt strangely pleasurable. “I am going to make it so that you forget every other man,” he whispered in my ear, “that you never want to get out of my bed, and you will be begging me to keep you.”

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. “I don’t beg.”

He simply smirked. “Neither do I.”

It was a warning. This would not be easy. He wanted my body, but he was used to calling the shots and this would be no different. I would be his. I just had to hope that my body and the arts I had been taught would be enough to make me the victor.

One of us was going to meet our downfall because of this arrangement and I could only pray to the gods that it would be him.

• End