Page 36 of The Iron Dagger
“Hara,” he whispered roughly. Hara felt a pleasurable jolt as he dipped his finger just within her, drawing up some wetness before replacing her own fingers over her clitoris. He took over her rhythm, his strange, strong hands making her burn with desire the way her own touch could not.
“Do you miss him?” he whispered against her neck.
It was difficult to comprehend who he meant at first. When she did not answer, he slid his finger just inside of her again, teasing her. A needy whimper escaped her lips as he returned his attention to her clitoris, rubbing in long circles at the sweet place just below. All the while, his hot whisper was released against her neck.
“Do you dream of him? All these nights in our separate rooms, have you touched yourself to the thought of him?” he said.
Hara wanted to tell him that it was not Samwell Thorn who made her wake in a desperate sweat with her sex aching, but it was difficult to form words when he was burning such a heavenly trail between her thighs. He did not wait for her to find her voice, and his words spilled forth like a confession.
“I’ve laid awake all these nights imagining you with him. I’ve stroked myself thinking about this—about you. Would you be loud, or soft? Do you tremble, or do you stiffen when you come? I want to know. I’ve burned to know, for weeks.”
Hara let out a low, keening moan, and he let out a triumphant breath against her neck that was nearly a laugh.
“Now I know what I was so envious of. What I’ve yearned for,” he whispered against the skin at her nape. “This.”He slipped one finger inside of her, and she felt her muscles immediately grasp him. His breathing quickened as he felt it, and then he added another finger. Slowly, gently, he began to enter her, going deep with each plunge and pressing upwards along the pleasurable seam inside of her.
Hara let her body take over the rhythm, her hips moving with his hand, meeting him with each penetration. Her breathing came out as soft moans now, and her back arched with pleasure. He seemed to feed on it, urging her on with the sinuous movements of his body. Her rear rubbed against his erection, and she felt the heat of him through her shift. The hot breaths on the back of her neck made her skin come alight with sensation, and she spread her legs wider, inviting him.
“Yes,” he growled, harsh and urging.
“Gideon,” she breathed. “I’m going to—”
“I can feel it,” he panted, keeping his pace slow and strong.
She reached behind her, grasping his hair as she arched her back and let out a cry. His fingers kept moving, drawing out the mounting peak with endless patience.
With a great shudder she curled in on herself, gasping as her heartbeat pounded. Waves of release burst from his touch within, and it took several moments before the waning surges of pleasure were wrung from her. Finally, as the last shudders abated and her breathing slowed, he removed his fingers from her.
She heard a soft sound, almost like a kiss, as she realized he was sucking them.
“I didn’t need to use my lips after all,” he said, his voice low in the darkness.
Hara turned onto her back, but he had already turned away. With a long sigh, she adjusted her shift and wondered what this would mean in the morning.
EIGHT
Angharad
Cold mist had settled over the field during the night, and Hara couldn’t feel the tip of her nose. She should have been chilled to the bone here on the frozen ground, but the rest of her body felt deliciously warm under the blanket.
Then she became aware of the heavy presence of Gideon, entwined along her back like a drowning man. Their legs were tangled, and his arm curled possessively under her ribs. As she wriggled to shift positions, her backside nudged against his semi-firm member, and the night before came rushing back to her.
He had made love to her with his fingers, and she’d let him.
Enjoyed it.
She could not blame him for what had happened last night; one could argue she was the one who started it.
Had he meant any of the insane things he had said? That he’d stroked himself to her and yearned for her for weeks? It all sounded like honeyed lovers’ talk, she thought.
Hara closed her eyes again, basking in these quiet moments before daylight crested the hill and exposed them where they lay entwined together.
When the first shards of sunlight warmed her face, Hara distangled herself and sat up, shimmying free and slipping from the bedding.
Gideon moaned softly when she began to sort through her satchel, looking for tooth powder. He did not speak when sheleft to fill their small pot at the stream nearby and returned to the fireside, stirring the coals. When she began to scrub her teeth with a reed, she heard his sigh as he gained his feet, and then he came to her side.
They scrubbed their teeth in silence, performing their morning ablutions with mute efficiency. Hara was fine with this. Until she had mastered her own mind, she would rather they kept their own thoughts to themselves. She was not interested in declarations of love or rejection.
Gideon stuffed the disguise he’d been traveling in onto the fire, where it smoked and caught alight quickly.
