“Seas!” she whispered as his hot mouth enveloped her sensitive skin. She grasped his head and arched her back. Aerity needed more.
She reached for the bottom of his tunic and lifted it. He raised his arms and let her pull it up, tossing it into the open chest. Her hands roamed over his shoulders, down the front of him where the daggers were strapped. He stripped the blades and set them on the floor. She relished the way his breathingquickened as he watched her touching him, her hands moving down his taut stomach.
Her eyes landed on his hands on her thighs. The tops of his nails still had a bit of flesh tone, but the bottom sections of his nails were all purple. A quaver worked its way through her at the power that lived inside this man.
She slowly inched back on his lap and felt for the ties of his breeches at his waist. Her hands trembled as she undid them and pulled them down. Her heart gave a bang. Their gazes struck like flashes of lightning, causing a wave of pounding heat to rise between them.
Paxton shifted beneath her and raised Aerity up by her waist, taking her mouth with his as he lowered her slowly back down onto himself. She clung to his shoulders. He caught her quiet cry in his own throat and held her tightly as they became one.
She was Paxton’s, come what may. Not Lord Alvi’s. And never Prince Vito’s. Only Paxton Seabolt’s, and nobody could take that from them.
Chapter
42
The news that reached the local town of Dovedell at daybreak had not been good. Tiern had been on edge, pacing the local tavern all night since they’d heard sounds of explosions from a distance. He’d wanted to return to royal lands that very instant, but the soldiers he was with said it’d be suicide.
They had only planned to amass willing fighters from Dovedell and be back in time for battle, three hours at the most. And now . . .Seas alive, what the curses had happened?One moment he’d eagerly offered to help on a quick mission, hoping to erase from his mind the look of fear and betrayal that Vixie had given him. And the next thing he knew, royal lands were infested with Kalorians.
He’d run when he should have stayed. He should have been there. What had happened to Vixie and Paxton? It was driving him mad not to know.
When news spread through the night, hundreds of commoners from local towns had shown up to see what could be done.
“Are the princesses safe?” They had no way of knowing.
“How many are there?” A bloody lot.
Nearly a hundred soldiers who’d been patrolling and doing border duty now massed in the town square. Tiern joined them, hearing shouts of “Reorganize and regroup!” “Rearm!” “Reestablish leadership!” “Plan and execute!” Big words, but laughable compared to what they were up against. The Kalorians had smashed their ground troops like a tiny anthill and taken over royal lands.
“Our navy moved north,” said the highest-ranking soldier there. “If we can get word to them in the bay—”
“That will take days!” another shouted.
“Not if we send a single fast rider.”
Tiern rubbed his face. The kingdom was doomed. It was only a matter of time before Prince Vito settled in the royal lands and began to send his people out to crush the towns. They didn’t have the men or resources.
Horses, carts, and caravans filled with women and crying children set off, shouting their good-byes and sending kisses to the men they’d leave as they fled north. Tiern walked away from them and toward a large tent some way from thetown center. When he got to it, he realized it was one of the Lashed infirmaries. He peeked inside and saw three women and two men sitting, discussing in earnest. Their heads spun toward him.
“Very sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Wait,” called one of the men, standing. “Is there a plan?”
Tiern shook his head. “Not yet. We’re still trying to decide and hoping for more men from other towns to arrive once people start to get word.”
“We want to help,” said one of the women in a strong voice. “They have Lashed among them . . . bad ones. Lochlanach will need Lashed fighting on our side as well.”
“Aye,” Tiern said. “But are you willing to kill with your hands?”
They looked around at one another forlornly, and nodded.
“I’ll let the soldiers know.”
When he left the tent he saw a trail of dust rising from afar on the path. He squinted to see many bodies, all wearing the pale colors of Lochlan clothing. Tiern broke into a run until he got to the town center.
“More men are coming.”
Tiern and the others rushed to meet them. There looked to be close to fifty extra men. This was good. Now they only needed about a thousand more.
