Page 123 of Eryx

“You are too impatient,” Quill told him as we walked along the shore toward the hill. A stone path then wound up toward the grand hall where the feast would be held.

“Impatient?” Theon scoffed and hastily brushed his dark bangs from his eyes, as his hair had grown longer during our time in the city. “I believe I have been most patient… in certain regards.”

Quill shot him a look before lowering his gaze.

Conversation ceased when we entered the hall. A large feasting table was placed in the center of the room, and the king sat at the head of it. His dark eyes instantly landed on Axios, and it took all my self-control not to take the blade from my hip and jab it into his neck.

Felix waved us over, and the contents of his goblet sloshed over the rim as he plopped back down in his seat. We joined him and were soon introduced to the extravagance of Aphytis feasts. Music, dance, platters overflowing with food, and a seemingly endless supply of wine; it was a celebration unlike any I’d ever seen.

Axios accepted another goblet of wine when the serving girl offered it. I shook my head and asked for water instead. The wine wasn’t as potent as that in Sparta, yet I preferred to keep a sound mind. To stay on alert. The people of Aphytis had shown us nothing but kindness, however, enemies could be lurking anywhere.

Some might even be in plain sight.

As the thought went through my head, I glanced at King Agesipolis. He was no enemy of the state. But he was one of my heart. I trusted Axios when he said he felt nothing for the king, but the sense of rivalry refused to die.

Careful not to overindulge, I ate fish and bread before having my fill of fruit. Axios sat close to me, often touching my thigh before continuing his meal. I breathed out, sending away my anger, and attempted to relax.

The effort was wasted when I caught Axios looking at the king. The look was not filled with desire, only curiosity, as if he were recalling a memory. I followed his gaze, trying to see what he saw. It was then I noticed that the king appeared a bit pale, as if he hadn’t been exposed to the sun in weeks. It had no bearing on his sexual appetites, however.

Once the food was taken away and only wine remained, Agesipolis called over two serving boys, one with dark hair and one blond. The brunet sat in his lap and sucked on his earlobe as the blond sat on his other side, rubbing his chest and kissing his throat. The king smirked and put his arms around them, spreading his legs wider as one of their hands wandered down his stomach.

Axios sucked in a breath and averted his eyes.

“Now see who is jealous,” I said bitterly. His behavior stung me deep. More than he’d ever know.

“I am not jealous,” he snapped.

I tilted my head at him, seeing the color in his cheeks and the twitching tendon in his neck. His breaths came quicker and his body sat rigid. That’s when I realized he wasn’t jealous. He was aroused.

I growled low and placed a hand on his thigh, desiring nothing more than to appease his lust. But the feast wasn’t over.

The sound of drums filled the air, followed by the strumming of lutes. Women entered the hall and neared the center of the room where they began to dance to the music. The dance was sensual. Erotic. They caressed their bare stomachs and shook their hips, causing the jewelry on their bodies to jingle.

Soldiers at our table gave them lustful smiles. But not all of the men did. Felix watched them a moment before returning to his wine. Haden turned his back to them, and both Quill and Theon seemed more interested in each other than the scantily clad women.

My pulse pounded in my veins as a deep ache formed in my groin. Still with my hand on Axios’ thigh, I trailed it higher and traced the outline of his cock through the thin material of his clothing. He breathed heavily but seemed otherwise unaffected. A challenge I would certainly overcome. I moved my fingers down the length of his twitching cock, resting them at the tip.

He lifted a hand and bit the side of his fist, tightly closing his eyes before opening them again. I smiled.

After the dance, men approached the women, speaking softly in their ears and caressing their curves. Axios surprised me by standing from the table and tugging me to my feet. We moved toward the exit, but before we reached it, he glanced back over his shoulder. At the king.

And the king was watching him too. The servants continued touching his body, yet he only had eyes for the one man he couldn’t have.

Mad with both lust and rage, I pulled Axios from the room and led him down the corridor before slamming him against the stone wall and kissing him. I put everything into the kiss: my hurt, my love, and my lust. I rolled my hips forward, grinding my hard cock against his.

He moaned and tore away from my lips, leaning his head back and exposing his beautiful throat. I dug my fingers into his side and licked up his neck, feeling as though I would burst apart if I didn’t claim him as mine. I softly blew on his neck and reveled in the way he shuddered.

While I would take great pleasure in taking him right there in the corridor, I had another idea. Axios grumbled as I pulled away from him.

“Do not pout that lip at me, my warrior,” I said before leaning in to bite his bottom lip. He sighed and gripped my lower back, holding me close. “The things I wish to do to you are not things I wish others to see. Or hear. And I wish to make you scream with pleasure in ways you never have before.”

He stared at me with lustful eyes as I grabbed his hand and led him toward the patio. Once we were outside, the moon greeted us with its pale light and lit our path through the garden. All types of flowers sprang from the ground, and I had stories for most of them. The iris and the rose and the white lily.

The shoreline came into view, and I led him toward the water’s edge. Waves rippled to the shore before drawing back. The sound of the feast faded in the night, and all that was left was our steps in the sand.

Axios lightly chuckled as he moved his gaze from the sea to my face.

I lifted a brow. “You wished to make love by the sea, did you not?”