Page 52 of Laverna

Laverna's power raced out of her in golden flames and covered the mound of bodies. When everything was burning hot and turning to ash, she joined Rom and took his hand. Together, they watched until there was nothing left but ashes blowing out over the city.

When it was done, Romulus bent down and kissed Laverna. He could feel the city inside of her and the mating bond that was filled with so much love.

Laverna nibbled his lip before sighing against his mouth. "Take me home, baby."

Rom had never heard a better plan in his life.

32

Three days after the showdown at the Colosseum, Laverna had a Peroni in one hand and was shooting a glass of catacombs moonshine with the other. She had started it, calling it 'The Crypt Keeper' a few years ago, and the name had stuck.

"Dear gods, that stuff is toxic," Claudius coughed.

Laverna had a mouthful of Peroni and said, "You're supposed to chase it so you don't taste it." Roberto laughed and poured out another round.

The music was loud and the gardens around Rom's villa were packed with her people and his. They decided to have a wake for the dead and a celebration that they all survived at the same time.

"They better not fucking steal anything," Romulus complained half-heartedly. He had no choice in the party, and neither had Laverna. People had begun to turn up on their own, and a party kind of happened around them.

"I told them not to, but they might not listen," Laverna said, and really, Romulus had enough stuff. If a few smaller pieces went missing here and there, it wouldn't matter. They would just be replaced by something equally as pretty and valuable.

It was that exact reasoning that had Laverna moving through the smiling groups of people and making her way to Romulus's garage. Some traditions didn't need to die just because they were mated. She pulled two pins from her braid and picked the lock to the garage. It was the first place Romulus had locked as soon as people started turning up.

Humming happily to herself, Laverna opened the door and stepped inside. She let out a huff of surprised laughter when she saw the state of her favorite Ferrari. The driver's side door was all bent out of shape, and the front and back seats had been pulled out of it. One of them had been shredded by claws as had the dashboard.

"What the hell…" she murmured.

"You tell me," Romulus said from behind her, and she let out a startled yelp.

Laverna plastered an innocent look on her face. "Hey, baby, what's up?"

"You are so busted. I can't believe you were going to steal a car and leave me alone with all of these people," Romulus said and crossed his arms.

"Would I do that?" she replied and fluttered her lashes at him. His eyes narrowed. "What happened to the Ferarri? It wasn't in this state when I last saw it."

Romulus looked embarrassed. "It smelled like you, and I lost my temper."

Laverna burst out laughing, wild and wicked. "Oh, my love," she said fondly and picked up a flathead screwdriver. She walked over to the car and leaned into the driver's side door. She didn't bother to worry about flashing him because she had worn her red dress that afternoon for precisely the purpose of driving him crazy. She used the screwdriver to pop open the casing on the steering wheel shaft and pulled out her pair of lacy panties.

"Ta-da!" she said and waved them at him.

Romulus's eyes flared gold. "You…did that on purpose?"

"Well, you should learn to turn up to appointments on time," she replied.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson about being a menace," Romulus growled.

Laverna cackled and tried to run, but he caught her and bent her over the bonnet of the Ferrari.

"Don't you dare move," he said, his breath hot in her ear.

Laverna's toes curled as he pushed the skirt of her dress up and tugged her panties down. His hand dipped between her thighs and hummed in approval.

"Already wet for me. So you can be a good girl when you want to be," he growled and pressed a finger into her. Laverna gasped in pleasure, loving the rough treatment just like she always did. There was nothing sexier than Romulus all fired up and in alpha mode.

"Almost…like it was part of a plan," she panted.

Romulus made a sound of disbelief. "Of course it was. You just can't help driving me crazy." He pulled his fingers free from her and replaced them with his cock. Laverna's nails scratched the Ferrari's shiny paint, but it was worth it.