Page 134 of Axios

“Do you recall during our first syssition, when you drank too much wine and the older man, Belos, made a fool of you?” he asked Quill with amusement ringing in his deep voice. “And then Nikias roughed you up a bit to teach you a lesson.”

Quill groaned and buried his face in his hands. “I have tried putting that from my mind. Thank you for the reminder.”

“You have embarrassment of your own, Haden,” Eryx spoke. “Or have you forgotten about your ode to the girl at the festival of spring? The birds and theirfur.”

I stifled a laugh. “Oh! Do not forget about how Leanna punched him and left a bruise beneath his eye.”

Haden scoffed, but then he smiled as he looked toward the fire, clearly lost in his thoughts. “I fell in love with her that night. All of that aggression and beauty. She truly is the perfect woman, and I thank the gods every day for blessing me with her.” His face turned solemn then, and he looked to us. “If I die on the morrow, swear to me you will take care of my family. Icarius is so young. So small. Both of his tiny hands fit in my palm. Leo is older, but he is sensitive, although he tries to hide it. And Leanna is strong, but she is not as tough as she pretends to be.”

I had made a promise long ago to ensure Haden made it home alive, and I still held onto that oath. I’d do everything in my power to make it so.

“Dying for Sparta is the greatest of honors,” he added, nodding. “And I am not afraid to die. However, I worry over them for when I’m gone.”

“You are not going to die,” I said, meeting his apprehensive stare. “We will all return home and look back on this night years from now. You’ll see both Leo and Icarius grow into men, and we will be happy. Finally free from war and all the anguish that comes with it.”

Eryx looked at me. His forehead was creased, and his eyes were unreadable.

Conversation continued around us, but we still locked gazes, as if we were frozen in a moment and the rest of the men faded away.

When we lay down later on, he instantly pulled me against him. No words were spoken.

His lips found mine and his hands explored my body, caressing the hard ridges of my muscled stomach and traveling lower. Soft moans turned to gasps. Kisses deepened and became more desperate, as if it were our first time.

Or our last.

“Make love to me, Ery,” I asked, grabbing the side of his face and staring up into the eyes I loved more than anything in the world—eyes that had always seen the real me and loved me anyway.

He regarded me, running his fingers through my hair, and then his lips pressed to mine. Gently. His hand moved from my hair to between our bodies where he stroked me. Once. Twice. He started a slow rhythm that had me grunting and arching my back, begging for more pressure. Moresomething.

Eryx knew precisely what I needed.

He kissed down my neck and to my stomach, leaving a wet trail behind that caused chills to prickle my skin in the cooler night air.

When the heat of his mouth engulfed my stiffening cock, I gasped, my heart pounding so heavily I thought it might shoot from my chest.

His tongue flicked the sensitive head as his hand continued to stroke my length.

I opened my eyes and looked up at the brilliant sky, feeling like I was soaring amongst the stars as Eryx glided his plump, wet lips up and down my throbbing manhood.

When his fingers slid along my entrance, I pressed down against him, encouraging him to continue. And he did.

He worked on opening me and relaxing the muscles before he placed himself between my legs and slowly pushed forward.

I hissed between my teeth at the sting, but then Eryx kissed me, gliding his tongue along mine as he filled me even more. After the brief twinge of discomfort, it was incredible—the feel of him moving inside me.

Eryx did not rush the moment, though, and we stayed joined longer than usual. When I came close to orgasm, he pulled out until I calmed and then slammed back into me.

I had no complaints for his desire to prolong the act, but soon, my cock was begging for release, already beading with semen, and I gritted my teeth.

He peered down at me through heavy lidded eyes. Detecting my need, his thrusts intensified, becoming harder. Faster. Skin slapping skin and our pleasured moans were all I heard.

I finally came apart when he gripped my cock, giving it several pulls as he hit the sensitive knot inside my body. Just as I shuddered, he did too, and I felt his warmth fill me as his orgasm took over.

And then everything became quiet.

He rolled off me, and stared up at the sky, trying to catch his breath. I turned to face him and cuddled against his side.

“Do you think the men heard us?” I asked in a gruff, exhausted tone.