Page 70 of The Iron Dagger
He did not know how they’d gone from talking about boxing matches to having her hand on his cock, but he would not question this dizzying turn of events.
Too soon, she broke away from him and moved off of his lap, but before Gideon could pull her back she was traveling down his chest and kneeling on the carpet between his legs. His heart beat hard and fast as she unbuttoned his trousers and began to pull them down. He shifted his hips to help her, and when he was finally free, he got some carnal satisfaction at her expression.
Her eyes roamed over him as she took him in hand, and before the desire could formulate in his mind, she lowered her head and took him into her mouth. He couldn’t hold back the startled cry that escaped him, and he quickly put the back of his fist over his mouth.
Hara knew exactly what she was doing, and she was glorious. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he forced himself to watch her as she used her hand and her mouth to stroke his length. Her mouth was warm and sucking, and with each draw back Gideon could feel his flesh burning with pleasure. She was not careful or timid; she took him deeply, as though she were hungry for him. Soon, he began to feel the backof her throat rubbing against his tip, and he brought his hands to her hair to hold her steady.
Her knees were splayed wide on the carpeted floor, displaying the roundness of her thighs and arse in those black leather breeches. Before he could help it, he imagined crouching behind her on the floor and peeling them down, taking her from behind while her knees were spread. He could not remember being this hard in his life, and as he felt his orgasm rushing up to be released, Hara let out a little moan.
Was she enjoying this? The thought of her getting wet from taking him into her mouth was enough to shatter him.
He quickly let loose her hair and groaned, “Fuck, Hara, I’m—” but instead of pulling away, she lowered her mouth so that her lips caressed his base. He could feel her throat squeezing around his head, drinking from him, and he almost lost consciousness from the feeling.
When she surfaced with a triumphant smile, her lips red and swollen, he clasped his hands about her arms and lifted her up to sit again atop his thighs. He pressed his mouth to hers, fighting for breath.
He had always been eager to open a woman’s thighs and lick until she cried out, and sometimes even longer. Tasting and exploring a woman was a delicacy above all others, and it made him grow hard as nothing else did. The ladies at court were usually hesitant, and only through much coaxing and begging could he get what he wanted. But he hadn’t yet succeeded in convincing a woman to return the favor. It seemed taking a man into their mouths was too base an act. He distinctly remembered one lady calling it a “whore’s trick.”
Something warm and taut tugged at his heart. Hara obviously felt no such shame when it came to pleasure. She had done that forhim.
“No one has ever done that for me,” he murmured as he held her close, speaking into her shoulder.
“Really? Oh, Gideon,” she said, resting her head in the space between his neck and his shoulder. “You truly have lived a life devoid of pleasure.”
He breathed her in, more sated than he could ever remember feeling.
Lately, he found himself longing for those days back in Hara’s cottage when it was just the two of them, before he had realized how precious it was. These clandestine meetings were all he could think about some days, even if he had no news to share. He just needed to see her warm smile, to get lost in the unexpected twists of her hair. He needed to hear her voice—scolding, excited, or worried, and to make everything better for her.
If she were a statue in a fountain, he was the water that trickled down her face, snugly fitting himself to her every edge and hollow. His desire to please her had annoyed him and tested him at first, but now he found that he did not mind it so much. Her power had somehow reached him, cutting through every barbed defense and conditioned response.
Now he was snared, fixed, and astounded to find that he liked it.
There were countless ways to be a fool, and Gideon was practiced in many, but being a fool in love was new. And he was only a little distressed to find that he liked that, too.
THIRTEEN
Angharad
The autocar came to a juddering stop at the lip of a giant crater. The ride had turned jolting as they left the city and the roads became hard-packed dirt. Hara stared down at the enormous expanse of tiered rock and soil below, the wind whipping at her face. Vast gray plains of muddy liquid stretched for miles on the other side of the crater. Hara could smell them even from this distance.
“Those are the waste fields,” explained Sarai, fastening a white cloth over her mouth and nose and passing one to Hara. “The slurry gets pumped up out of the mines after processing the ore. We won’t get any closer—they’re toxic.”
Hara fastened the cloth over her own nose, finding that it did not block the smell at all. But as Sarai led her to a tunnel that descended deep underground, Hara quickly learned the masks were not for the stench. Sarai took out a squat glass cylinder and tapped it once, causing it to glow in the darkness, and Hara saw that the air was thick with dust.
A guard stood beside a rusted lift that resembled a cage. He wore a long weapon strapped to his back that Hara learned was called a gunpowder rifle. She had heard that they could fell a bear with one shot, instantly. Why would he need one here?
“Back again so soon?” he said, his stern voice at odds with the twinkling eyes above his mask.
Sarai let out a playful sigh, setting a hand on her hip. “Now, you wouldn’t make me submit my credit key again, would you? If it shows I’ve been here twice this month, they might not be happy about that.”
“That’s the rules,” he said, crossing his arms. Creases at the corners of his eyes gave away his grin. Clearly, he had played this game with her before.
“And I was just telling my friend that you were one of the nice guards,” said Sarai with an uncharacteristic sulk. Hara caught on.
“You didn’t mention that he was so tall, Sarai,” she whispered loudly.
At this, the guard uncrossed his arms. “All right,” he said in defeat, pulling open the gate to the lift. He fit his credit key into the waiting slot just inside the doors. “You’ll get me in trouble one of these days, my lady.”
“Only if you want me to,” she said in a low voice as they entered the lift. She turned to face him, leaning against the doorway. With a well-manicured hand, she reached out to straighten the lapel of his uniform. “You should come up to the palace one of these days. I can’t always come here to see you.”
