Page 70 of The Iron Hex

He slid in, a groan escaping his lips as he filled her. Any humanity she’d seen in Hugo left him in that moment, nothing left of him but animalistic lust and raw attraction. “You’re all I’ve ever fucking wanted,” he growled as he moved inside her, one hand holding hers and the other caressing her exposed, soft belly.

“Your curves are perfect,” he rumbled, his hand grasping Eira’s thigh for leverage as he thrust into her before pulling himself out, the difficulty of holding his pleasure etched all over his face as he devoured her body with his eyes. “Handfuls and handfuls for me to hold.” His fingers gently caressed her still-sensitive folds, fingers circling around her.

“I want you to come with me inside of you,” he leaned down and whispered in Eira’s ear. “And then we’ll see what else you have energy for.”

Eira pulled his face to hers, their tongues dancing for a moment before he pulled away to look at her, one hand working at her, bringing her to the edge again. “You’re so good at that,” she breathed, a hand resting on his hard chest in front of her as her hips moved to match his rhythm.

“Just wait,” he whispered, entering her again in one swift motion.

Eira could feel, despite this never having happened to her before, her climax approaching for a second time. It was as if Hugo had the key that opened the door to Eira’s pleasure. She could feel him adjusting subtly each time she moaned, correcting himself to make sure he was getting her exactly where he wanted her. “Come for me,” he whispered as Eira’s hands shot into his lusciously soft hair, the wave about to take her for the second time. Hugo didn’t stop as it crashed into her, even harder than the first, his thrusts keeping her afloat for longer than shehad thought possible. “Good.” he smiled, hands wrapped around her waist. “Now I’m going to take you the way I’ve wanted to for years.”

“Yes, please.” Eira smiled through the final ripples of her orgasm.

Hugo smirked, an animal behind his eyes as his thrusting picked up pace, his motions more and more passionate, heavier and faster and harder as he continued until he pulled out and came, hard, on her soft stomach.

Once their breathing was back under control and they were both in the fuzzy warmth of the afterglow, Eira let him gently clean her and climb under the blanket she’d covered herself with. “Will you stay here with me tonight?” he asked as Eira stroked the hair on his chest, fingers tracing over the scars. They would be something to discuss, but not tonight.

“Yes,” she whispered, burying her head into his fully healed shoulder.

He kissed her forehead and sighed, his hand on her back.

Within moments Eira could hear the soft change in Hugo’s breathing as he drifted off to sleep. She smiled to herself. Sometimes all it took was the gentle touch of a woman to fix a man’s sleep.

35

Rhona

“Sir Rhona!” the guard yelled from the top of the parapet in the training ground. “An attack!”

Rhona’s senses piqued as she realized that this wasn’t a drill, and she quickly looked to the other knights training with her. Their eyes told her they hadn’t heard about an attack drill today either. Which meant Astrad really was under attack. She and the other knights moved in unison, sprinting to the gates of the castle to assess the situation. What met them was pure chaos. An attack on the capital hadn’t happened since the uprising—not sincethey’dbeen the attackers on the capital.

Adrenaline pushed her through the winding hallways to the gates of the city, a ten-minute journey taking less than half the time, even in her heavy plate armor. She saw smoke in the distance, billowing from the castle gates.

“What’s going on?” she yelled to one of the soldiers running past her.

“Corisia is attacking!” he yelled, and Rhona wondered how he knew, or if he was making assumptions.

She set off toward the gate, unsheathing her sword and looking for anyone not in Iron Retinue plate.

Smoke poured from the city guard barracks just outside of the castle grounds, men screaming as they ran out of the burning building. Rhona watched as soldiers clad in black leather attacked the soldiers fleeing the burning barracks, and she moved without thinking. Four steps with her long legs had her in front of one of the attackers. She swung, her massive sword cleaving the man in two as she searched for her second target.

Sir Jack fought just a few meters away from her, surrounded by several of their enemies. Rhona leaped in his direction, knocking two of them down.

“Sir Rhona,” Jack exclaimed, his sword clanging against one of the attacker’s swords. “I’m glad to see you!”

Smoke billowed, and the acrid scent of burning bodies filled Rhona’s nostrils. She could taste it too—it was all-encompassing. Rhona heard the screams of civilians as they fled the area. She swung her sword relentlessly, an enemy screaming in pain as she cracked his knee and knocked him to the ground. She looked around, searching for the source of the soldiers or what their target was before she spotted them: a group of five people slinking through the castle gates and running up the path to the castle. They’d be going for Iron Empire secrets, for the lord general.

“I have to go, Sir Jack!” she yelled, already sprinting after them, barreling through allies and enemies alike.

“HALT!” Rhona yelled, three of the black-clad figures turning as the other two kept running toward the castle.

They lunged, daggers out, toward her. It was clear they hadn’t expected to be noticed. They were obviously the real reason the attack was happening. It was nothing but a distraction tactic.

Fighting was like a meditative trance for Rhona; the movements and rhythm brought her peace, even in the most violent of moments. All three attackers had a sword strapped to theirbelts but were choosing not to use them, a curious decision that Rhona knew she’d need to keep an eye on.

They lunged in unison, and Rhona was almost certain they had some way of silently communicating with each other. She swung her sword in return, hitting the dagger-wielding hands of two of the fighters and turning to the side to dodge the third.

“If you stop now I will not have to execute you, and we will take you as prisoners of war,” Rhona called, hoping some of them would back down from the fight.