Page 134 of Eryx

I admired his rippling abs and toned chest, now wet and even more mouthwatering as he stood waist-deep in the water. “You being wet is an improvement. I—”

He grabbed my arm and pulled me in with him.

As the cool water hit my skin, I flung around and cursed. The day was hot, but the sun had only heated the surface of the water, leaving the depths cold. Chills spread down my arms and prickled down my spine. Axios laughed, and when I turned to him, he flashed a mischievous grin.

I pushed down on his shoulders and dunked him.

A lighthearted brawl followed as we wrestled in the river, shoving each other beneath the surface and laughing as we did. Soon, my competitive nature left me. As Axios hitched a leg around my waist and tried to twist me to the side, I gripped his sides and pressed our lips together.

He stopped his attack and melted against my mouth. With him in my arms, I guided him toward a rock jutting from the river. He moaned when I pressed his back against it and grinded my body against his.

Everything I felt but couldn’t say was put into the way I kissed him. That I yearned to mend his fractured heart, that I wasn’t angry he had loved the king, and that I would forever be by his side, just as I hoped he’d be by mine.

I skimmed my fingers down his chest as they traveled to his backside. As he tilted his head, I kissed down his neck. When he begged me to slip another finger inside him, I did. I took my time opening him, ensuring the muscles were relaxed. He panted, and his stiff cock nudged mine as I slid against him chest to chest.

When I entered him, we both groaned. Being in the water made it more difficult, but we managed well enough. His body welcomed me in deeper, and I pressed my forehead to his, rocking into him.

My feelings became too much for me to hold back. I needed him to know how much he meant to me. How much I needed him.

“Do not ever leave me, Ax,” I said, gripping the side of his neck as I moved inside of him. “By the gods, I could not bear it. My whole world is right here in my hands. Without you, I am nothing.”

“I shall not leave you,” he vowed, his breaths ragged as he regarded me with watery eyes. He trembled as his orgasm neared, little by little. “I swear it.”

My rhythm faltered as pleasure crept down my spine, but I refused to surrender to it until he joined me there. Capturing his lips again, I slid my hand between our bodies and took hold of his cock, stroking him beneath the water. Axios groaned as he unraveled in my arms, moaning through his release. I kissed along his jaw, thrusting in and out of him faster as he shuddered around me.

He dropped his head back against the rock and stared at me through long dark lashes, his body still trembling. Waves of pleasure crashed down on me then, and I slapped a hand against the rock for leverage as I came undone.

Afterward, I laid my head on his shoulder, slipping my arms around his waist and holding him as close as I could. His heart wasn’t the only one that’d needed mending. Having him against me helped my fractured pieces weld back together, as if he was the metalsmith and I was the blade.

***

“Does Axios still mourn our king?” Haden asked days later.

He had just finished training his herd, while Axios and I had done the same. My lover had gone to see Gaius while I’d come to the barracks. Felix still fought with the forces in Olynthus, and Axios worried that Gaius was upset over his companion’s absence. Gaius had been nothing but cruel to us as children, and yet my warrior still found compassion for him.

“He does,” I finally answered, sharpening my dagger. “Though, he seems like his old self again.”

“Will you ever tell me what transpired between them?” Haden sat beside me, holding a worn, leather ball in his hands. The same one we’d played with countless times when we were younger.

“No.” I placed the dagger back on my hip and stared at the tree before us, watching the branches sway with the summer breeze.

Haden tossed the ball in the air before catching it. “I say we play a game.”

“Are we not too old for such things?” I asked.

“I think not.” He cocked his head at me. “We might be men, Eryx, but we will always be brothers. It is my wish that Leonidas find companions such as the ones I’ve found in you, Axios, and the two imps.”

“Imps,” I said with a light laugh. “Suits them.”

Haden then stood and faced me, tossing the ball up again. “Come. Let us remind the men how unstoppable we are.”

“They will not like that we are on the same team again,” I said, rising to my feet. Playing ball was childish, perhaps, but it had a way of reminding us what mattered most in this life—each other.

Haden smirked before saying he was going to find Axios and leaving the courtyard. Theon and Quill joined me as I walked behind him. Quill had a mark on his neck, the kind I had become very familiar with because I left them on Axios, and Theon walked in a strange way—also, familiar.

I hid my smile behind my hand as I faked a yawn.

When Haden reached Axios, I saw Axios steal the ball from him and take off running with it. I was still too far away to hear what they were saying, but the sight of his playfulness pleased me. The veil of his grief was lifting more and more each day. As Haden got closer to him, Axios looked over his shoulder and slammed into Theon, knocking them both to the ground.