Marc Antony’s Woman: Now or Never

Marc Antony’s Woman
By Misha

Disclaimer- Not mine.
Author’s Notes- So Chapter 17 is actually about 3500 words of dialogue/descriptions (compared to 600ish for Chapter 16) and I knew that if I tried to do it all at once it would end up like 10,000 words, so instead I decided to split the chapter into 3 parts.
Pairing- Marc Antony/MC
Rating- Mature
Summary- With the stakes higher than ever, Portia knows that the time has come to bring her relationship with Antony to the next level.

Chapter Three: Now or Never

Sleep was elusive that night and yet, I dreaded the dawn because it meant facing the day and the reality that my father and Syphax would be meeting in the arena. Had it been chance or some machination of Antony’s to punish me?

I refused to believe that last, that he could be that cruel. At least without purpose. Antony had a reason for everything he did, but how could he benefit from this?

Or perhaps it really was just chance. Antony was the head of the games, but it was the ludus owners who set the matches, right? Perhaps, it was just a horrible coincidence, or a desire to match two high-quality fighters and give the crowd an entertaining match.

Whatever the reason, the result was the same, my father and Syphax were going to face each other and I had no idea how I would cope. I finally gave up trying to even attempt sleep and slid from my room, Aqui and Artemis at my side.

I tried to be quiet, but as I entered the front room, Lena’s door opened and she slipped out to join me.

“I’m sorry,” I told her, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Lena moved closer, watching me with an expression of concern. “What is troubling you?” She spared a look for the cracked tile, a permanent reminder of what Aquila had done, and clarified, “beyond the obvious.”

“I found out my father will be fighting Syphax today,” I confided. I had told Lena of my father’s fate when I’d learned it, trusting her to be discreet and knowing, that unlike some, she would never use the information against me.

Lena’s face softened into a sympathetic expression. “Oh, Portia.”

“I cannot bear the thought that one of them may have to kill the other,” I whispered, pacing around the front room restlessly. Artemis and Aqui both made sympathetic noises, curling in close to try and comfort me and I smiled at their antics, but the smile immediately faded as I thought about the upcoming fight. “All I’ve wanted for years is my father back, but how could I live with him knowing he had Syphax’s blood on his hands?”

Especially when it was my fault that Syphax was a gladiator in the first place. He had done this for me and it could cost him his life at the hands of my father. How could I live with that?

“And how can I feel the same way about Syphax if he is made it murder my father?” I cried, unable to even contemplate it. I owed Syphax everything, but if he killed my father… I wasn’t sure I’d be able to even look at him again.

“Not every fight ends in death,” Lena reminded me.

I knew that, I did, and yet, I was not claimed by the thought. “But it is at Antony’s discretion if they do.” I reminded her. A week ago, I would have been confident in that decision, secure in the knowledge that I held Antony’s favor but now… “How can I trust he won’t be capricious today?”

Lena sighed, then looked me directly in the eye. “He is the one you just appeal to,” she told me, “he’s the only one who can ensure that bout Syphax and your father will survive.”

I knew that, but the question was how did I secure his favor once more? Delivering Aquila to him hadn’t worked, he had dismissed me from his box and then sent for Xanthe last night. But there had to be some way to convince him.

I spoke the thought out loud and Lena nodded consideringly, “I believe there is…”

She took my hand, guiding me over to the bathing pool. She dipped a soft cloth in the water and applied it to my face gently, the way my mother used to do when I was a child. Of course, then it had been from a stream not the luxury of a bathing pool, but the gesture had the same kind of comforting feel to it, even if the water was a lot warmer now.

“There is only one thing in all of Rome that Antony wants now and cannot have,” Lena told me as she ran the cloth over my face, “You.”

My heart sped up at her words. How I wanted them to be true.

Artemis barked in agreement with Lena and she smiled, “hah. I know your old master well, huh, Artemis?”

Another bark.

Lena turned her attention back to me, her expression grave, “Portia, I told you once that I would never ask you to do anything with a man against your will. And I stand by that promise. But you have a power over Antony that you could use if you want to.  You’ve done well not give into him before now,” she praised, “You have driven him nearly mad with desire.”

That was an interesting interpretation, especially given the way he had stormed out of the scholae and the fact that he had summoned Xanthe. But at the same time, Lena had been in this business longer than I had, surely I could trust her judgment? And I knew Antony desired me, I could see it from the way he watched me, and yet… He always seemed to hold back.

Lena lifted my hair off my neck, gently washing the skin there as she continued to speak, “He may resist at first, or try to tell you it means nothing. But I have no doubt that, if you wish, you can seduce a man as ripe for seduction as Marc Antony.”

The very idea sent a thrill through me.

“I can honestly I want nothing more,” I admitted with a blush, remembering the night I spent with Antony at the Senate basilica. I remembered the way his hands and lips had felt on my skin, how badly I had ached for his touch. Would things be different between us now if we hadn’t been interrupted that night? Would he still have believed Xanthe if he and I had been lovers? There was no way to know, we could only move forward and I had no shame in admitting that I wanted Antony and not just for Father and Syphax’s sakes.

“If it will convince him to help Father and Syphax, all the better,” I added, “But I want him.”

Lena met my eyes and I thought I saw a hint of wariness there still, but she smiled. “Then I have no doubt that you will have him.” She put the cloth down and moved towards her room, beckoning for me to follow. “Come. There is a dress I once wore to seduce the dictator Sulla. I believe it would fit you perfectly.”

My eyes widened. Lena had seduced Sulla? I wondered if that was where all the warnings about Antony came from, her own experience, but as curious as I was, now wasn’t the time for those kinds of questions.

Instead, I followed her into her room, Artemis and Aqui trailing behind me, and watched as she took out a dress made of thin straps of blue silk and held together by delicate gold chains. She held it up against my body, surveying me critically and then going to her jewelry box and adding a gold armband and a heavy garnet necklace.

I smiled at the sight of the garnets, remembering my Vulcanalia gown and the way Antony had looked at me, the gentleness of his touch, the passion in his kiss. Hopefully, this necklace would remind him of that, of how proud he’d been to have me at his side.

“This brought me luck,” Lena told me, as she handed me the gown to try on, “perhaps it will do the same for you.”

I dressed carefully and then looked at the final result. It was perfect. There was nothing subtle about it, this was a dress that begged a man to take it off, which was exactly the look I was going for.

“It certainly looks like Antony’s taste,” I commented, remembering the red dress I had worn the night we’d broken into the Senate and how he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off of me. I could still remember the heat of his mouth and the coldness of the chains against my skin and how I’d felt like I was going to combust from the combination. Hopefully, this dress had the same effect.

“Antony will promise me anything if I come to him like this,” I said confidently, hoping it was true.

Artemis barked in encouragement, from her place on the floor by Lena’s feet.

Lena patted her head fondly. “That’s exactly right, Artemis.” She turned her attention back to me. “When I wore that dress, Sulla marched on Rome for me”

I stared at her. Lena was the reason that Sulla had marched on Rome? Ok, I definitely had questions.

Lena caught me staring and shrugged delicately. “I had a… score to settle.” Before I could ask any more questions, she took out a powder of crushed mulberries and vermillion and brushed it over my lips. She looked me over and then nodded, obviously satisfied with the result.

“You look gorgeous,” she assured me, “just remember Antony will want to think you are there for him, not for a favor. Do what you have to win him first. Don’t make him see you as just another petitioner.”

I nodded, knowing she was right. I remembered how angry Antony had gotten when he’d thought I’d be playing him, I wouldn’t risk that reaction again. “My father’s life and Syphax’s are on the line,” I reminded her, “I won’t give Antony a reason to turn me down.”

I moved towards the door and then paused, about to ask Lena if Xanthe had returned yet, but I thought better of it. It was better I didn’t know because I didn’t know if I could bring myself to go to Antony if I knew she was there. It was better I faced that obstacle when I came to it.

“Lena, thank you,” I said instead, “for everything.” She had given me her own gown, her own jewels, and this had nothing to do with my reputation or the reputation of the scholae, this was to help me personally, and I was grateful for it.

“Thank me later,” she told me, “But first go get your man.”

I nodded and slipped out the door, thoughts of Lena quickly replaced with thoughts of Antony. This was it. Now or never. It was time to find out if Antony wanted me as much as Lena thought he did and I refused to consider the possibility that he didn’t. I couldn’t.

Not just because it would mean doom for my father and Syphax, but because it would break my heart.

**

Later that morning, I stood outside the address Lena had directed me to, the grand estate Antony had claimed as his own.

I took a deep breath, mentally rehearsing what I was I going to say, and then reached the door, only to have it rip open under my fingertips. I took a step back as Xanthe stormed out.

“If you didn’t want me here, you should never have sent for me in the first place!” She shouted at someone I couldn’t see.

The sight of her was enough to stop me short and there was a pang of jealousy, though her words and the fury on her face eased it a little. If the night had gone as she’d hoped, I doubted she’d be reacting like this and accusing him of not wanting her.

She stopped when she saw me. “Of course,” she muttered, “you would show up.”

What did that mean? “Xanthe, what are you doing here?” I asked instead, curious as to what answer she would give.

She glared at me. “Apparently wasting my time. Thanks to you.” She angrily brushed past me just as Antony came to the door.

“Portia,” he commented with a surprised smile, “and in… quite an interesting gown for this time of day.” His eyes swept my body, lingering on every curve and I could see the hunger in his eyes.

“Do you like it?” I asked, licking my lips slightly.

Antony ran his eyes over me again, lingering at the swell of my breasts, barely contained by the strips of fabric. “What’s not to like?”

“I wore it for you,” I told him. His eyes darkened slightly and he took a deep breath as if trying to steady himself… I decided to press my advantage. “Xanthe didn’t look happy.”

“No,” he agreed, “no she wasn’t.”

He held the door open, ushering me into a hall that was so ornate and gilded that my eyes were dazzled. It was incredible and yet, it felt wrong, it didn’t feel like Antony at all. But I kept that thought to myself. I looked back at Antony, to find that he was watching me with an oddly pensive gaze.

“It was strange really,” he told me, “I had a beautiful woman in my house, in my arms, throwing herself at me… and I really wanted to go ahead and have a quick tumble, but… I couldn’t stop thinking of you.”

My heart sped up at his words. He hadn’t slept with Xanthe and because of me. It was a small thing and yet… It wasn’t. Marc Antony, notorious womanizer, hadn’t been able to take another woman to his bed because he wanted me.

“Do you expect an apology?” I teased, his confession making me more confident.

Antony gave me a wry smile as he brought my hand to his lips. “It might be nice. You are ruining my good time. No woman has had such an effect on me before.”

I was the one who was here to seduce him and yet, here he was, telling me all the things I wanted to hear.

“I hope to always be the first woman in your heart,” I told him sincerely.

He cocked an eyebrow. “The first? Not the only?”

I’d love to be the only woman in his heart, but I knew who he was and who I was. All I could hope for was to be the one he always returned to because I already knew I wanted more than today. Lena might have suggested seducing Antony today to secure my father and Syphax’s fate, but I wanted more than that.

However, I kept that thought to myself and instead grinned at him, “I like you, Antony. But I also know you.”

He laughed. “Hah.” Then his laughter faded and he dropped my hand. I missed his touch immediately. “So… Why are you here?”

I took a step forward, close enough to smell the spice of the dried laurel leaves in his hair, and for his nearness to send that familiar thrill down my body. “I want you,” I told him, gazing up at him from beneath my lashes, “I can’t stop thinking of that night at the Senate. I’ve been imagining your hands on me ever since. Your lips. Your body.”

That was the part we’d missed out on. I knew what his lips and hands felt like, enough to know that I wanted more, but I could only imagine what his body would feel like against mine. The way it would feel when he was inside of me, claiming me, making me his. It was one of my favorite fantasies and I was ready for it to become reality.

I reached out to touch Antony’s chest, but he took my hand between his instead, his gaze intent but controlled.

“What an odd coincidence, I’ve had the same thoughts…” But before I could respond to his words, his gaze hardened and he stepped back, holding me at arm’s length. “Why are you really here?”

“I told you–” I began, but he cut me off with a humorless laugh.

“We both know that you don’t work for free,” he pointed out, the coldness in his voice out of place with the previous warmth of his gaze, and it dimmed some of my confidence, “So tell me your price and I’ll tell if I’m buying.”

I remembered Lena’s warning… “Just remember, Antony will want to think you are there for him, not a favor. Don’t let him see you as just another petitioner.”

I knew that I only had one chance at this. If I wanted Antony, and I did, it had to be now. But I also had to get through the defenses he seemed determined to put up and convince him that I was there for him and only him.

“What is it that you want from me?” Antony continued, his gaze hard and yet there was something more there, something that gave me the confidence to smile warmly at him, letting him see my desire and affection in my gaze.

“You,” I answered softly, “All I want is you.”

**