Gladiator's Touch: an Ancient Roman historical romance - Paperback

She freed him with a single touch. His touch might be her undoing.

Jason's life should have ended in the arena-until one of Rome's most exalted priestesses declared him blessed by the goddess Vesta, freeing him with a single touch. Forced to abandon the home and friends he's cherished among the gladiators, he starts over as a sculptor's assistant...feeling anything but blessed.

Aemilia, the elite priestess divinely moved to save him, has finally completed her thirty years of holy service. Marriage is her next duty, yet after a lifetime of sacred chastity, the thought of intimacy turns her stomach. Before facing that future, she embarks upon one final act of devotion: building a shrine to Vesta.

When Aemilia walks into Jason's workshop seeking a sculptor, their reunion is far from divine. She expects gratitude, but he offers only resentment. Still, he needs the money...and can't deny his attraction to the icy, untouchable former priestess.

In Aemilia, the rugged ex-gladiator sparks a potent, unfamiliar longing, tempting her to abandon her carefully-guarded chastity. She still intends to marry, but refuses to enter the marriage bed blind. So she turns to Jason to teach her, and soon a patrician marriage becomes less and less appealing.

But Aemilia harbors a secret about the day she freed Jason which could shatter everything they're building. With their future at stake, even a goddess's blessing may not be enough to save them.

Gladiator's Touch is Book 3 in the Imperial Games series but can be read as a standalone. It features an older woman/younger man pairing, class difference, virgin heroine, reluctant girl dad hero, plenty of spice, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.