Page 49 of To Save a Kingdom

By Abaddon, that was his favorite sound. “What do you want?” he whispered into her ear, his voice gravely with his own need.

“To feel alive,” she said, her words breathy. “After so much death, I want to live, El.”

A common response when faced with what they’d seen. He brushed his thumb over her hardened nipple, savoring how she tensed beneath his touch. “Can you be quiet?” he asked, sucking her earlobe into his mouth and pulling at it with his teeth.

“Okay,” she gasped as she bucked.

“Don’t do that,” he said, holding back a self-satisfied chuckle. He loved how responsive she was. “Or you’ll startle the horse.”

She pressed her lips together to stifle a moan.

Pinching her breast, he kissed down the column of her throat.

She tilted her head. “More, El. Please.”

“You never have to beg.” Undoing the laces on her pants, he slid a hand between her thighs and moaned at the moisture collected there. “Is this for me?”

Aliya nodded as he danced the fingers of his free hand down her neck and between her breasts.

“Spread your legs and roll your hips forward,” he paused as one side of his lips curled upward, “My Queen.”

Aliya adjusted her posture to give him better access, then groaned as he dragged one hand up her center to circle the sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs.

She moaned loud enough the horse’s ears twitched.

Sliding his other hand over her mouth, he tilted her head back until it rested against his shoulder as he flicked her clit. “Be quiet or you’ll spoil our fun.” He plunged a finger inside her, coating it in her arousal as his cock throbbed with its own pulse. Moving in and out as her muscles contracted around him, he bit back a groan of his own.

By Abaddon, if he could spend the rest of his days doing this, it wouldn’t be long enough. “What do you want, sweetheart? How can I make you come for me?”

Aliya whimpered beneath his hand, so he loosened his grip on her mouth.

“More, faster.” Her voice was breathy—just the way he liked it.

He smiled. “As my queen commands.” Adding a second finger, he curled them until he hit the spot she loved as he moved his fingers inside, circling her clit with his thumb.

She tensed, her entire body going taught with a muffled whimper.

A heady sense of pure male satisfaction filled him as she hovered on the edge. “Come alive for me, sweetheart.” He applied pressure with the palm of his hand.

With a final cry he managed to smother with a kiss, Aliya did.

She was the perfect mix of heat and satin as her muscles pulsed around his hand. What he wouldn’t give to be buried deep inside her right now. But this wasn’t about what he wanted. He was used to death, and to the cruelty of the realm. This was about Aliya and helping her balance the harsh realities of life with its highs.

She sighed, slumping against him.

“Better?” he asked.

Nodding, she swallowed. “Yes, but I also feel guilty.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Whatever for?”

“Brooks killed two hundred prisoners. People who suffered and, if I’d acted sooner, would’ve been freed before he got to Brisimin. And here I am, thinking of how much I want you.”

“Hmmm.” He mulled over his words, choosing them carefully. “Don’t let survivor’s guilt eat at you. Soldiers have the same instinct to affirm their lives, both ahead of and after a battle.” It was part of why so many camp followers trailed after armies, eager to relieve the troops of their coin in exchange for pleasure. “Don’t beat yourself up for a normal response. And regarding Brooks,” he paused, taking a breath as he adjusted to the shift in conversation, “you didn’t know about Brisimin three days ago. As I said, even if you’d jumped on a horse and come here straight from the council meeting, you’d have been caught up in his attack and killed, too.” He took her chin in his hand and turned her face until she met his eyes. “There was nothing you could have done for those prisoners. No doubt many of them yearned for the release death brought.”

She shuddered beneath his fingers. “It hurt, touching the goo that trapped them there.”

He nodded, remembering the terror that had sliced through his chest at her scream when he’d first entered that cursed space. If he hadn’t been there to pull her free… “I remember.”