Robert’s sweet lips brushed against his, and his husband’s soft dick slipped out of him, drawing him from his thoughts. Their bodies were no longer connected physically, but their souls were and would be forever. He loved his man. He loved the life they shared and the future they were building. His heart filled with joy as he thought about the journey they were about to begin.
Chapter 45
Three weeks later
This shit was unbelievable! Robert loved him and clearly intended on spoiling him. How had he never recognized the greatness of being pampered? After spending ten days on the Mediterranean coast and touring the breathtaking Tuscany area where he wasn’t sure anything could beat the beauty of Florence, they were now in Rome, and Landon’s inner warrior couldn’t be happier. Of course, his legs were sore from all the walking they had done, but he had found his promised land—if Rome could be such a thing. Landon had taken a thousand pictures already, marking every inch of the landscape they’d covered.
From the quaint hotel Robert had booked for them close to the Piazza Navona, to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and all the steps up the Spanish Steps, he had lived in the moment, wanting to experience it all. The food, the smells, the sounds, and energy—it was so damn amazing just being there in the first place, let alone physically standing in the same spots he’d read about in history books. Today might have hit an all-time best day of his life, well except his wedding day and the day he met Robert. Today garnered the third spot as they toured the Colosseum and Roman Forum. What he wouldn’t give to throw Robert over his shoulder and hop back in time to when the Roman Empire was at its prime.
Landon had assigned picture duty to Robert, and he had spent the entire tour filming their tour guide, Marcelo, from What a Life Tours, who had also been born in Houston, Texas. Ironically, his and Marcelo’s parents knew one another as both were transplants from Italy. All Landon could say was that he wished he’d paid better attention to learning Italian. He could see himself living in this country someday.
“What’re you thinking?” Robert asked quietly, passing him as they moved forward with the group. The crumbled white marble pillars of the once beautiful structures surrounded them like skeletons of the past, each with its own story to tell.
“I’m thinking I can’t wait to watch this video tonight and see everything I missed.”
Robert must have taken his words to mean a job well done on his part, because he kissed Landon’s shoulder before he moved around him to walk as close as they could to the ancient Roman ruins. Robert looked over the map while Landon stood there soaking in the history, letting his soul fill with the idea of his ancestry on this very land thousands of years ago. Of course, he had no idea of the truth of what they did, but he wanted to believe he’d fulfilled his destiny, serving in the military even if it wasn’t for this country.
“There’s the Arco di Settimio Servero. It’s made of marble, and I believe it commemorates the victory of something,” Robert said the names of the locations with what sounded like perfect Italian as he pointed Landon in one direction. “Then there, I believe that’s the Curia Julia, the senate house. I love how sea levels have affected the entrances over the years.”
“You’ve never mentioned you speak Italian.” He was impressed.
“You never asked,” Robert replied smugly, giving him a wink.
“How fluent are you?” Landon had the camera now trained on Robert’s retreating back and, of course, that gorgeous ass was framed perfectly in the shot.
Robert turned, looking over his shoulder and lifted two fingers, indicating a little. “Poco, very poco since I can’t remember at all how to say a little bit in Italian.”
“Hmmm,” he said, cocking his brow as he thought about how he wanted Robert to mutter whatever Italian phrases when they played gladiator and naughty roman emperor tonight.
“Are you hungry?” Robert asked, coming to a stop and waiting for him to catch up.
“I could eat. I think I’m losing weight here.” His waistband rode low on his hips and he’d had to tighten his belt buckle a notch. Robert walked at his side, heading to the main road.
“We can walk over and see the Theatre of Pompey, the place where Caesar was assassinated in the Curia. I believe there’s something about a historic cat colony living there now too.” Everything halted as Landon hurriedly started the video on his phone again.
“Say that again for the camera,” he said, taking a step backward to get Robert in the shot. “This is the senate house, right?”
“The Curia Julia… Caesar was having this remodeled at the time of his demise. The senate had been meeting in the Theatre of Pompey. I can’t remember how to pronounce Pompey correctly. Anyway, Caesar never got to see the end result. He was killed in the Curia at the Theatre of Pompey on March fifteenth, in forty-something BC.” Robert stepped out of the frame to give him a minute to record all he could before they started the trek toward the spot where Caesar was killed.