Chapter 62
Emmeric
As Iyana walked angrily down the hallway towards the training arena, Emmeric had to mentally shake himself before jogging to catch up with her.
Watching her take on royalty like that, without backing down or showing any of the nerves he knew she was feeling, was awe-inspiring. Emmeric couldn’t believe that out of everybody, Iyana had chosen him. He would cherish this amazing woman for the rest of her life if she’d let him.
He had wanted to take her right there in the throne room, not caring who would have seen or what they would have thought.
That desire still coursed through him, and there was no way he’d be able to focus on training.
While he knew that Iyana was frustrated and wanted to work it out with exercise (something he never thought would happen) there was more than one way to drive out that aggression.
And there just so happened to be a perfect little alcove ahead that was obstructed by a potted plant with large green leaves. Emmeric finally caught up to her and, grabbing her upper arm, hauled her into the private space.
“What—” she started, but he had her backed against the wall as he kissed her, claiming her lips.
Emmeric couldn’t help himself after the way she had stood up for herself, and then she had the audacity to be gorgeous on top of it.
Her lips were insanely bitable, so he did just that, pulling her lower lip between his teeth.
“Em,” she panted. “We’re in the middle of a godsdamn hallway.”
“Nobody can see us,” he murmured, spinning her around so her front was pressed against the cool wood of the wall.
He lifted her arms above her head and pinned them there with one hand, trailing the other hand down her breast until he could splay his hand across her abdomen.
Trailing his lips up her neck, Emmeric stopped at her ear, nipping at the lobe.
“I need you,” he groaned. Iyana whimpered in reply, but she didn’t voice any more objections. “Remember plantains.” She nodded, and that was the permission Emmeric needed to continue.
His hand on her stomach wandered lower, delving underneath her trousers.
Emmeric moaned when he found her soaking and ready for him.
He circled her sensitive clit a couple of times before inserting two fingers, readying her for his body.
Because this wasn’t going to be slow and loving.
No, Emmeric needed to take her fast and hard—make her come so forcefully that the only thing she’d be able to think about during training would be him.
His fingers, his tongue, his cock. He’d worship her body properly later.
Letting go of her hands, he shoved her pants down first, then his own, and fisted his hard cock at the base. Iyana moaned and pressed her ass back into him, begging for more. She didn’t have to ask; he’d give her anything she wanted.
Emmeric rubbed himself over her entrance until she was practically writhing beneath him.
Then, with one smooth thrust, he filled her completely.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he tugged Iyana closer to him so that she was on her tiptoes.
But, gods, that angle was so right. Emmeric bit down on her shoulder to keep himself from moaning too loud and alerting anyone else to what they were doing.
As he slid himself inside of her warm, tight pussy, Emmeric used his other hand to push on that sensitive bundle of nerves.
Iyana was panting, meeting his every movement with one of her own.
The pleasure built in the base of his spine, and he picked up his pace.
He wasn’t going to last, but this wasn’t about time.
This was about proving to Iyana that he loved all the little pieces of her—even the ones that she didn’t love within herself, like her stubbornness and anger. He wanted all of her.
Emmeric increased the pressure on her clit, and when Iyana bit her own lip as she came, her walls tightening and spasming around him, he followed her off that cliff.
When they came down from their orgasm, Emmeric took a minute to simply hold her in his arms and keep her close.
With everything that needed to happen to prepare for the war and the uncertainty of their future, he didn’t know how many quiet moments he’d be able to have with her.
Eventually, they couldn’t wait any longer.
Emmeric pulled both of their trousers up and made sure Iyana was steady on her feet.
He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, then rested his brow on hers, closing his eyes.
“I love you,” he whispered, placing another ghost of a kiss on her forehead.
Now that he had said it once, he found himself wanting to tell her all the time.
Before she could say anything back, Emmeric grabbed her hand and interwove their fingers together, leading her towards where they would be training.
He sensed she still was wary about voicing her feelings for him, but that was okay.
Because he could feel it. It was impossible for Iyana to hide everything from him, and there was no doubting the love flowing from her.
“Godsdamn, what took you two so long?” Talon asked when they finally walked into the training arena. “We’ve been waiting for ages.”
“They were fucking in the hallway,” Kaz said, balancing a dagger on her fingertip.
“Kaz!” Emmeric yelled. Iyana blushed next to him and covered her face with her hands. Kaz tossed the dagger up and caught it by the hilt.
“Oh, was that supposed to be a secret? Because you were very obviously fucking in that alcove when I walked past. Other people noticed, too.”
“Phaedros take me now,” Iyana murmured.
“So maybe if you want it to be a secret next time, you should take it somewhere less public.” The shifter raised her hands. “But please don’t do it for my benefit. It’s only sweetcheeks there looks like she wants to melt out of her skin.”
Iyana choked. “Can we just train, please?”
“You sure you’re not too tired?” Talon teased with a wink.
“For the love of the old gods…” Iyana walked past Tal, bumping into his shoulder. “Come on, you’re teaching me more with the daggers today.”
You said nobody could see us, she sent down their bond.
I honestly thought nobody could. Sorry.
You’re not sorry, but you are going to make this up to me later.
A crooked grin spread over Emmeric’s face. Whatever you want, Iyana, it’s yours. He pushed her an image of his tongue licking up her center and chuckled when she stumbled. Focus, Mouse.
Fuck you.
Later, love.
Iyana glared at him from across the arena, only making his smile widen as he began stretching for his own sparring session with Zane.
There was something about swinging his sword around, sweating, and the ache in his muscles that always seemed to center him.
Zane was a fantastic opponent, too. Emmeric knew his victory was not guaranteed, like it usually was within the guards.
A lifetime ago, Emmeric and Talon were always the best swordsmen among their peers.
When they sparred each other, it usually would end in a draw because they were so aware of the other’s movements and style.
The only ones who could offer them any sort of real challenge were Geoff and Gordon—Zane never sparred with the army.
Emmeric’s heart panged at the thought of his lost friends, followed immediately by guilt that he hadn’t been able to mourn them properly.
The twins had always been a joy to be around, and his only friends outside of Talon.
They’d had to flee the library so quickly too, Emmeric doubted that their heads had been buried.
Rage at what Uther had done to them filled him, and he wished he could kill the dead emperor all over again.
He felt Iyana look his way in response to his emotions as he blocked a particularly hard swing from Zane.
Shoving the new emperor off him, Emmeric gave her a small shake of his head.
She understood he didn’t want to talk about it right then, and she resumed sparring with Talon.
About an hour later, Emmeric watched as Kaz helped to teach Iyana hand-to-hand combat.
His Aztia was pushing herself too hard; he could feel the pain in her muscles and lungs.
Yet she still told Kaz she wanted to do another round.
The shifter glanced at him, and he shrugged.
Sometimes people needed to learn their limits the hard way.
But after her movements slowed considerably and Kaz had dropped Iyana onto her back three times in five minutes, he decided she’d done enough. Emmeric strode over to them and lifted her off the ground and into his arms. She squirmed in his grip, but he only held her tighter.
“Put me down. I need to keep going.”
He shook his head. “You’re done for today.
If you push yourself too hard, Mouse, then you’ll be recovering from this one training session for days.
You’re better off spreading things out. You’ll notice more results that way.
So we’re going back to our room and you’re taking the rest of the night off. ”
“You could still put me down. I am capable of walking,” Iyana grumbled.
Let me take care of you, Mouse. She sighed and rolled her eyes, but didn’t fight him on it again.
Nodding to their friends in a goodbye, Emmeric walked the both of them back to their rooms. He marched them right into the bathing room and ran a hot bath, only putting Iyana down when she began to squirm in his arms again.
She allowed him to undress her, shivering when his fingertips brushed her skin.
Once she was naked, he indicated for her to get into the water.
Emmeric kneeled behind the tub with a variety of soaps and shampoos.
First, he wetted her hair, then applied a lilac-scented shampoo, lathering it while giving her a scalp massage.
Iyana moaned at the sensation, making Emmeric chuckle.
He picked a soap that smelled faintly of lemons and used a cloth to clean the sweat and dirt from her body.
“Mm, it smells like you,” Iyana murmured, which warmed his heart.
He almost felt bad making her get out of the water, but she was about to fall asleep, and Emmeric wanted to get her into the bed first. Wrapping her in a fluffy towel, he dried her off and pulled one of his own clean tunics over her head.
He guided her to the bed and drew back the covers so she could climb in.
She squeaked a bit when he flipped her onto her stomach, and although her back arched in the most delicious angle, showing off the edges of her gorgeous ass underneath his shirt, that wasn’t what he was here for.
Emmeric gently tugged the hem down so she was fully covered, then massaged all the aches out of her neck and back, then her arms and legs.
The heat from the bath followed by the massage would ensure she’d recover faster and allow her to do more tomorrow.
Plus, it made Emmeric feel good, being able to take care of her in this way.
Iyana hummed happily as sleep tugged on the edges of her consciousness. “Em?” she mumbled.
“Yeah, Mouse?” This was the most content Emmeric could remember feeling in quite some time. Even being buried within her was nothing compared to this comfortable domesticity.
“I love you,” she whispered. And while shock roiled through Emmeric at her words, Iyana fell asleep, leaving him sitting on the bed and feeling as if his entire world had been turned on its axis.