Page 87 of Axios

There was no smile on his face that time, only the intensity of his desires. He pulled out of me before flipping me to my stomach.

“Get on your knees,” he demanded.

I did as he said and lifted myself up.

He pressed himself against me, teasing my backside with the tip of his cock before positioning it at my entrance. He drove himself into me from behind, gripping my hips and pulling them backward as he thrust forward.

The new angle caused him to touch a sensitive area within me that had me shuddering with need of release. He reached and took hold of my aching cock and worked his hand down my slick length as he continued pounding himself into me.

“Eryx! Please.”

And he did not deny me.

I hit my orgasm and whimpered, digging my fingers into the hay and arching my back. Pleasure rippled from the tips of my toes to the top of my head, and I coated his hand as streams of white shot from my quivering member.

As he reached his own peak, his body quaked. His thrusts faltered, the rhythm erratic, and heat filled me.

Afterward, he lay on his back and I snuggled against his side, resting my head on his chest. He had one arm placed behind his head, and the other was around me as he traced designs up and down my back with his fingertips.

“What was it you and Nikias were discussing today during training?” he asked after we’d caught our breaths. “I did not favor the look upon your face. Your eyes were troubled. If he said something to upset you, I have no problem cutting out his tongue.”

I opened my eyes and peered up at him, fighting the cloud of sleep enveloping me. “He did not upset me. Keep your blade away from the poor man. He…”

I did not know how to speak the words. The situation continued to confuse me when I thought upon it.

“He did what?” Eryx pressed. His eyes were shut, but from the hardened expression on his face, I knew he was intently waiting for my response.

“He told me a story,” I answered, not knowing how else to explain it. “One of his time in the war.”

Eryx gave a small smile. “You fancy stories.”

No longer feeling sleep’s clutches, I flipped more on my stomach and rested my chin on his chest. “This was unlike the stories you tell me. It was… unsettling. And he did not tell me all of it. He spoke of an oracle who gave him disturbing visions, ones of death and of a war not yet fought.”

“Enough.” He opened his eyes and regarded me. “Do not worry your mind over it, Ax. I am certain he was only trying to frighten you. Men who lose so much—as he has lost his purpose as a Spartan—look for ways to give themselves other advantages. And you, my warrior, scare too easy.”

His disregard told me that no matter what I said, he would not take me seriously. Once his mind was set, it was difficult to make him think differently.

“You are right,” I said, not fully believing the words, but saying them anyway. “He was probably just weaving tales to unnerve me.”

But Eryx had not seen how pale Nikias’ face had gone when telling the story. That was not the look of a deceiving man.

Perhaps Iamtoo easily frightened.

Once we pulled ourselves up from the hay and cleaned up a bit, we walked back to our quarters. The night was cold and bumps formed on my skin. Eryx moved closer to me and added his body heat to mine, but said nothing. Warmth spread in my chest at his behavior.

He might not have said he loved me often, but his actions said it for him.

Nearing the barracks, I heard voices in the courtyard and stopped to listen.

Eryx stilled at my side and gave me a droll look. “It is not our place to eavesdrop.”

I rolled my eyes at him and listened anyway, concealing myself behind one of the pillars. When I peeked out from the edge, I saw Quill and Theon standing close together near one of archways.

“What do you wish me to say?” Theon asked, leaning against the arch.

Quill leaned closer to him. “Speak the truth! That is what I wish for you to say. Why do you become so enraged when I am intimate with others?”

Theon tried to walk away, but Quill grabbed his arm and slammed him back in place.