The Flame Within — Pamela Griffin

Raised the only child of an influential patrician in first-century Rome, Moriah has been sheltered from the worst excesses of her world.

As Moriah mingles with the powerful elite, she hears whispers suggesting she is not her parents' child. Those who love her worry that her life may be in danger from political opportunists who will use the rumors to gain Nero's favor. To protect her from such a fate, her father may force her to marry a powerful man, twice her age, who is known for his hedonistic lifestyle.

One person offers Moriah both physical and emotional protection - while also winning her heart. But she knows she can have no future with Aidan, her father's slave, whose heart burns for a God she knows nothing about.