Page 50 of Eryx

The only sound was the wind rustling through the branches of the olive trees and the faint tinkle of bells from the sheep nearby. Axios stepped closer, his lips parting as his hand grazed my side. The sun hit his eyes, igniting them in a burst of gold. He was both beautiful and devastating in that moment.

Our mouths reunited then, our lips meeting soft and slow. His skin smelled of sweat and earth, and I craved more of it. The salty taste of him as I licked up his neck had my cock aching. My heart thrashed in my chest, each beat meant for him.

“I am certain that is how babes are conceived.”

Haden’s voice penetrated through the fog of lust, causing us to break our embrace. The muscled youth stood two feet away and smirked.

“Such a shame you were born a Spartan,” Axios spoke, narrowing his eyes. “You would’ve made a fine ass.”

Not having expected his words, I snorted a laugh. Haden stared in astonishment. Axios glanced between the two of us before erupting in a laugh. And gods, the sound was like a blanket over my heart.

“Well, of course one of you must be the woman,” Haden said, rubbing his chin as his smile widened. “Axalina, possibly? Although, you two would make horrendous-looking offspring.”

On the contrary. I believed any child of Axios’ would be a treasure unlike any other.

“Speaking of women,” I said, scrutinizing Haden. He had a bruise beneath his eye and a busted lip. “I take it your conversation with Leanna did not go as planned?”

Axios laughed harder.

With an awed expression, Haden touched the bruise beneath his eye and shrugged. It was as though he was proud to carry her mark. “She struck me before I could even finish my ode to her, but I will not surrender until she is mine. My heart is hers, for she is as beautiful as she is strong.”

“And you are as strong as you are dumb,” Axios teased.

Haden charged at Axios and tackled him to the ground. I stepped aside and let them go at it, grinning as Axios struggled beneath the bigger boy’s weight. They thrashed around, and when Axios couldn’t overpower Haden with strength alone, he grabbed a handful of dirt and wiped it across Haden’s face.

Haden choked and spit out the dirt before letting loose a string of curses and shoving Axios’ face into a puddle. I quietly chuckled when I noticed the goat beside them. It drank from a basin of water, and the puddle Axios had been dunked in came from the same water. Axios noticed it, too, and cringed with disgust.

Axios shoved Haden off and pinned him to the ground, but he struggled to keep hold of Haden’s muscled arms. Haden easily knocked Axios aside and held my lover’s arms behind his back. Axios, on his stomach, wiggled and fought to break free to no avail.

A laugh escaped me, and once I started I couldn’t stop.

“You cannot win this fight, my small friend,” Haden said.

“Axios, I have faith in you,” I managed to say through my laughs.

Theon and Quill came running from the left, screaming at the top of their lungs like they were joining a great battle. They jumped on Haden’s back, and poor Axios gasped as their added weight bore down on him.

I laughed so hard that my eyes watered. The four of them were my brothers, and I’d truly be lost in this life without them by my side.

Once they were too exhausted, they rolled to the grass and fought to catch their breaths. Axios, now free, stood and wiped the grass from his legs before lifting his gaze to mine. We shared a smile before he limped over to me. He stood at my side and regarded our friends again.

Haden’s hair jutted in all directions and dirt smeared on his cheek. He jabbed Quill in the stomach, and Theon growled and attacked him in a two-against-one fight.

Axios placed his hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention to him. He nodded. A simple gesture, but the meaning was great. Finally, he understood.

“They’re our brothers,” I whispered. “And we do not abandon our family.”

He cupped my nape and pulled me to his lips, kissing me openly and without fear. The pressure of his mouth grounded me in a way nothing else could.

“Charge!”

Just as I looked to the right, Theon crashed into me and knocked me off balance. Quill wasn’t far behind and tackled Axios. Haden joined the fray, and within seconds, the five of us were rolling around on the grass like children, laughing and forgetting for just a moment how serious our lives truly were.

Chapter Ten

“Shh, Ax,” I whispered in his ear as I took him from behind.

He had a habit of vocalizing his pleasureveryloudly. And while I enjoyed his moans and gasps, I doubted the other boys in the barracks felt the same.