Page 102

Growling, he buries his face between my legs again.

Our previous round may as well have been an appetizer compared to this one. The same treatment he gave to my breasts he now applies to my pussy.

He uses his fingers, teeth, tongue, and even his beard to yank me back up to the precipice before throwing me off the cliff.

My orgasm rips through me so violently, I black out.

Just for a second. Maybe two. When I resurface, I find Agnar standing over me, breathing hard, that wild gleam burning in his eyes and his beard glistening.

For a long moment, we both stay still.

Though I’m not sure about Agnar, I couldn’t move if I tried.

“You have bruises.” His voice cracks on the words. “On your hips.”

I glance down. Sure enough, small dark marks form where his fingers dug in. The slight pain when I touch them elicits a shiver. “Good. Now I have something to mark the occasion.”

The lust on his face fades away, leaving him flat and empty. “Those will be the only ones. We’re never doing this again.”

Agnar spins and leaves the room, his shoulders tight as a boulder. The door closes behind him with a soft click.

I lie in the dim lamplight, naked, spent, and covered in sweat. Bruises and other marks bloom on my skin, but while I’m completely sated physically, a hollowness grows inside me.

Agnar never finished. He wouldn’t go all the way. I might not know a lot, but I know that. He never even took his clothes off.

He wasn’t making love to me. He was trying to get me out of his system. Or trying to give me enough to make me stop pushing him.

I roll onto my side, pull one of the quilts over my cooling skin, and start scheming. Because I know, deep in my bones, in that same place that demanded more just minutes ago, that it won’t work.

Not for him. Not for me.

This is just the beginning. We have so much further to go with each other.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Esme

By the time I wake, the fire of our campsite has burned down to coals. Agnar is already up, brewing tea and cooking breakfast. The morning after our tryst, we left the inn in silence. I expected him to bring up the previous evening’s events and was startled when he didn’t. I didn’t press the issue, though, following advice I read in a novel once about not being too available. As we traveled, Agnar softened, and now, I think the looks he aims at me by the fire are gentler than usual, but perhaps the incredible orgasms addled my brain and I’m just imagining things.

“We need to talk about the plan.”

I push back my hair and accept the cup he offers me. “What about it?”

Agnar stokes the fire and cracks two eggs onto a flat stone. “I enter the tournament as a combatant, which will get me access to the grounds, the castle, and the feasts where they’ll display the Everhand.” He adds two slabs of meat to the stone and whips out a loaf of bread we bought yesterday at the market. “But unless you want to wait in the stands while I do the actual work, you need a role too.”

My stomach growls, and I reach for a piece of bread before he’s done cutting it. “I’m not waiting anywhere.”

Agnar smacks my hand away. “Then you need a cover.”

I scowl at him and shake out my hand, but inside, I love this. He touches me more easily now. So casually. During meals, we sit next to each other rather than across the fire. His newfound familiarity is evident in how he talks to me, too, his overall tone softer and more patient.

As he gazes at me, mischief dances in his eyes. “You can be my squire.”

I shoot to my feet. “I most certainly will not!” I’ve never served anyone in my life. The order, yes, but not a person. I’m not about to start, not even for Agnar.

A wide grin slowly spreads across his face. He’s enjoying this. “Fine.” He adds some meat and an egg to each piece of bread and hands me one. “You’ll wait in the stands then. I’m sure you’ll have a lovely view of the tournament. You can sit on your ass and watch me fight with the rest of the populace while other people get close to the Everhand.”

I glare at him but take my breakfast, trying to hide the way his cooking makes me want to dance inside. We’ve been eating more the last few days. Agnar said it was important fuel for fighting. I’ve no idea, so I just go with it.