But I chose to follow his lead. “Like I could ever do that,” I said. “Dude, I’ve put so much work into you, you have no idea. The idea of starting over with someone else just sounds exhausting.”
He made a face at that. “Good to know.”
“Where did you sleep the last couple of days?”
“Down in the barracks with the boys. I told them it was for morale. They didn’t believe me and were convinced you’d kicked me out because I’d pissed you off somehow. It was an uncomfortable time for everyone.”
“Did they try and shave your eyebrows again?”
“They weren’t even subtle about it.”
I shrugged. “What can I say? They love me. If you ever leave me, they’ll make your life a living hell.”
He rolled his eyes even as he leaned forward to kiss me again. “All the incentive I’ll ever need.”
“Okay, so are we gonna sit here and continue talking about feelings and junk, or are we going to get to the boning? I have needs.”
He leveled me with a flat look. “Boning, Sam? Really?”
I leaned forward and kissed his cheeks and nose and chin. “Sorry, baby. Are you going to let me make sweet, sweet love to your mouth and butt holes with my throbbing member?”
He laughed as he shoved my face away. “That’s it. You are not allowed to dirty talk ever again. I have never been more turned off in my life.”
But his eyes were darkening, the green going from spring to a summer storm. He was still sweaty, little goose bumps on his shoulders. I didn’t move, just let my gaze crawl all over him, starting from his bare feet and moving slowly up. He swallowed with an audible click, flexing his hands at his sides.
“Here’s what I think we should do,” I said, taking a step toward him, closing the distance between us. My knees knocked against his. We were almost chest to chest. He was breathing a little heavier, gaze never leaving my face. “I think we should go back to our room.” I leaned forward and kissed him softly. “And I think you should remove the rest of your clothes.” I trailed my hands up his arms. His breath hitched in his chest. “And you can get yourself ready while I watch. And when you’ve gotten three fingers in you, I’ll come take care of the rest. That sound all right?”
He nodded once, sharp and quick.
“Good,” I said. “Go.”
He went, glancing back at me to make sure I was following.
I did, because it’s what he expected of me.
We learned this about us as we navigated our relationship. Out there in the real world, Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart was in charge. He carried the weight of his knights and the Crown on his shoulders. He did it well. People respected him. They feared him. They mocked him mercilessly for almost fucking up our relationship before it even started. He took all of it with a cocked eyebrow and regal stance. He was dashing an
d immaculate. He was of the people, by the people, for the people. Verania loved him. The women wanted to sleep with him. The men wanted to be him (and some wanted to sleep with him too). The children wanted to grow up to be him. He was everything anybody could ever want.
And that was all well and good. He didn’t let it go to his head (well, not too much, anyway—he was still a cocky bastard, after all). He’d worked hard to get where he was, gave up a lot to become a Knight Commander. And it’d almost doomed us, given the oaths he’d made.
But a funny thing happened after all that was said and done.
I learned that I, Sam of Wilds, was a sex god.
And that’s meant to be as humble as possible. You see, Ryan was in charge in most things of his life. As the Knight Commander for the Eighth Battalion, he oversaw a hundred knights as part of the Castle Guard. He ran their training sessions. He was their teacher, their instructor, their therapist, their punching bag, their bro, their dude, the man. He was calm, assertive.
He was also a big fucking bottom who liked it when I took charge in the bedroom.
“Holy shit,” I’d said after the fourth time we’d had sex (which turned out to be the day after he was an asshole and almost got married but waited until the last second to confess his undying love for me). “I’m a sex god.”
“Oh my gods,” he’d muttered. “That’s not—”
“I’m so good at this. You like it when I tell you what to do, and I’m so good at that.”
“It’s good, yeah, but we have to—”
“And I’m just a natural at being in charge. Right? Like, you’re all grr rawr swinging dick when you’re with the knights, but in here, you’re all, take me up against the wall, you savage brute.”