The Breaking

by Imogen Keeper

  Tam grinned. “Fifty stones for each of you.”

  “And?” He held his breath, willing Tam to tell him that Upranimus was done, sentenced to life in Insuractius.

  “They’re still discussing him.”

  Ajax bit back a curse. Until Upranimus was locked away, he’d never be able to relax, never be able to trust that some assassin didn’t lurk in the corners waiting for a weak moment.

  Feola shifted against him, a smile on her face that was wider than a mile and brighter than the sun. “This means we’re free?”

  He nodded. “Technically. I’ll feel better when I know what will happen to Upranimus.” An innocent verdict seemed unlikely, but the punishment could be as lenient as probation and as harsh as the death penalty.

  “So what now?” she asked in that perfect, fluid voice.

  “Triannon. We go home,” Tam said unequivocally. “You’re coming home, where you’ll both be safe.”

  Ajax nodded his gratitude.

  “You have one hour before our transport departs.” The door snicked softly as Tam left them in peace.

  Maybe Ajax expected her to be jubilant at the thought of returning home, but her eyes were surprisingly grave.

  “Don’t you want to go home?”

  She shook her head. “Sure, but I’m already home, Ay-shocks. Wherever you are is my home.”

  He smiled at that, and couldn’t resist stealing a quick kiss. “Won’t you be glad to see Triannon?”

  Her shoulder lifted. “As long as you’re there. Won’t you miss Argentus?”

  He mimicked her gesture. “Wherever you are is my home.” He slid his hand under her back, raising her from the bed.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “The bathing pool. You stink of Utto. I’m going to fuck you but not while you smell like him.”

  She settled into his arms, wrinkling her nose. “Can you really smell him?”

  Utto’s sweat had dripped all over her hair. She smelled like he’d rubbed his armpit on her head, but until now they’d both been too nervous to bathe, waiting for the High Convene’s verdict.

  She wouldn’t appreciate the thought. So he just shrugged with her in his arms.

  The air in the bathing chamber was humid. Her hair rose in automatic response, curling around her face as he set her down.

  It only took a few seconds to slip the straps over her shoulders, and the dress hit the floor.

  Another second after that, and his own clothes were off.

  Another second, and they were both submerged in the water.

  When he was done cleaning her, the last remnants of her previous mate’s smell were gone, washed away forever.

  He tugged her from the bath and toweled them dry. “You won’t ever smell like another man again.”

  She nodded, breathing fast, cheeks pink. “Never.”

  “Only me.”

  “Only you,” she said, voice low and breathless. Her nipples hardened under his gaze.

  He kissed her smiling mouth, backing her up against the wall of the chamber, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other trailing over her hip, down the flat expanse of her belly, to cup his hand over her core. “Are you wet for me?”

  She moaned her assent.

  When he parted her folds, another moan. Her skin hot and slippery wet, she gasped and shuddered. He sucked in a breath, sliding a finger all the way in, deep, reveling in the sounds she made. “Gods, I love you, woman.”

  She moaned something back that sounded like it might be an answer, but he’d covered her mouth again with his.

  It was a long time before either of them spoke again. They were a few minutes late for Tam and Nissa’s departure. No one complained.

  50

  I am yours.

  Every single part.

  Triannon was as warm as Feola remembered, and just as bold. Every morning, the sky burned periwinkle as they woke. The lazy breeze off the vibrant sea carried the same salty, watery notes, whispering in the scarlet ferns as they walked together to Ajax’s healing bay at the city center.

  It had been a full week since they’d arrived, and she hadn’t quite been able to relax, to accept the safety and comfort of home.

  I deserve to be happy. I did nothing wrong. She repeated the words in her head a hundred times a day. But still, every once in a while, she’d turn away from the notes she’d been entering in a digi, or the exam room she’d been preparing, and a man would be standing just a little too close, just a little too tall, and it felt like a frozen gust of wind rushing straight down her spine.

  It didn’t matter that Utto was gone. And Rennie. It didn’t matter that they’d never be able to hurt her again. That instinctive response of fear might be hers for life. And it was fine. She could live with it.

  Small price to pay for a lifetime of happiness with Ajax. A lifetime of safety and comfort.

  The senator had been found guilty, and sentenced to fifty years of labor on Insuractius Colony. At age sixty-six already, he was unlikely to leave the colony with his life. According to all reports, criminals rarely survived more than a couple decades there, even if they were in their prime.

  So they were safe. Finally. And Ajax’s career had survived intact. Spiro may have lost his future-mate, but he’d fully recovered. He’d returned to Argentus seeking help tracking the missing Klymeni. Feola didn’t want to think too hard about what might have become of the woman in the clutches of the Vestige.

  The establishment of Ajax’s new healing bay in Triannon’s capital city, Trian, had gone well. The Trianni people were learning to trust Ajax with their ailments, both big and small. And for her, it was a chance to reacquaint herself with her own people.

  Life, it would seem, was good.

  Steps crossed the floor behind her, where she stood in the bay’s supply closet, organizing medicine.

  Ajax. She knew his scent. And she felt him in her chest, across the Bond. Warm. Excited. Happy.

  Planning something.

  “Feola,” he said. He knew better than to sneak up on her.

  His hand slid around her waist, to settle on her lower belly. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, already feeling breathless. His touch, as always, hit her like a jolt of electricity. Dizzying, thrilling, intense. His other hand came around to cup her breast through the thin fabric of the linen dress she wore.

  Her nipples hardened instantly.

  She glanced around. The bay was quiet so late in the day. Abandoned. When he pressed his hips against her back, she inhaled deeply.

  “I’ll never hurt you,” he whispered.

  “I know that, Ay-shocks.”

  He caught his tongue between his teeth in a grin. “Walk to exam room C, then. I’ll be right behind you. I want to watch that sweet ass sway.”

  She glanced back at his face, uncertain where this was going. She had an idea. He’d been hinting and preparing her for this for months.

  At the determined look in his eye, the hard line of his jaw, the air left her lungs in a whoosh.

  There was just something about him when he went all commanding. From him, it was nothing but sexy. Power simmered under the surface of all that warm skin, hard muscles, and force of will, but she knew to the marrow of her bones that none of it would ever be directed against her. Ever.

  His gaze lingered on her back, palpable as a caress, as he followed her.

  When they reached the room, she spun slowly, conscious of his eyes on her body. Her belly fluttered at the heat smoldering in those turquoise eyes.

  He inclined his head toward the exam table. “Up.”

  Her stomach clenched. She released a shaky breath but climbed slowly onto the exam table.

  He pulled a pair of examination gloves from his pocket and snapped them onto his hands. “It’s past time I gave you a proper medical examination.” The little gleam of humor in his eyes helped calm her nerves and steady her.

  “Okay.”

  He stepped up clos
er. Closer than any healer would dare step to a real patient. “Your nipples are hard.”

  She nodded.

  “Are you aroused?”

  She smiled at that. “I’m not sure. Maybe you should check.”

  His brow lifted. “I’ll get to that. Raise your skirt, and spread your legs.”

  Oh, yes. She was aroused. Liquid heat pooled on her skin, raising goosebumps.

  Cheeks flaming, eyes locked on him, slowly, she parted her thighs. The fabric of her dress inched higher. Vulnerable, soft skin of her upper thighs came into view. The hard bulge of his erection in his pants left no doubt that he could see far more from his angle.

  “Disrobe completely.”

  She pulled the dress all the way over her head, her breasts bouncing softly with the motion.

  His lips curved in a smile. “Beautiful.”

  He directed her legs wider. His gloved fingers drifted up, and up, and up. A smooth finger slid inside, where she was, indeed, slippery wet.

  He flashed a devil’s smile. “This will be a very, very thorough exam. Are you ready?”

  She nodded, hips lifting against him, wanting more.

  “Tell me.”

  “Yes! Yes, I’m ready.”

  He slid a second finger inside, and she sighed in relief. “Everything feels normal,” he said, in a healer’s efficient tones. “Just one more.”

  A third slick finger pressed lower, stroking along her bottom, pressing deeper.

  She relaxed against it, pressing in, taking it deeper. The extra layer of fullness had her eyes rolling back and moans tearing from her throat.

  Ajax’s thumb made little circles around her clit until her body bucked beneath his heady gaze.

  “Mmmm. Everything appears to be in working order.”

  She smiled.

  “But let’s see how you respond to increased stimuli, shall we?”

  “Yes, please.”

  His brow flicked up, and he increased the pressure.

  He still wore all his clothes. She was naked before him. On display. Completely defenseless. Was this what he wanted? He knew her body all too well. She was getting closer. So close. Her hips lifted against him. Her toes curled, her eyes screwed shut, she fisted her hands over her head, her back arched off the exam table.

  His hands stopped moving and slowly withdrew. “As I said. Beautiful. Now get on your knees.”

  Her eyes popped open. “What? You can’t stop now.”

  “On your knees.” His voice rumbled its way through all the nerves in her body.

  It took her a moment to catch up. Frustration burned along her skin. She’d been so close.

  That voice. She’d do anything he asked when he talked like that, low down and sex gruff.

  “Yes, Healer Willo.” She offered him her coyest smile, thrusting her breasts toward him.

  His gaze dropped.

  “I really think though, healer, that you’re wearing too many clothes.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “I’ll take off the gloves, then.”

  They snapped as he slid them off.

  She turned away, rolling over as gracefully as she could manage on an exam table. She pulled her hair off her back, baring herself for his gaze.

  “Arch your back.”

  Heat rose up her neck, but she complied, pressing her hips toward him.

  “Spread your legs wider.”

  She swallowed. The skin of her core, hot and throbbing. She shifted her legs just a little farther apart on the bed, heart racing. What would he ask of her next? His expression was unfathomable.

  “Lean forward. Put your hands on the table in front of you.”

  She did. This position put her hips right in line with his.

  He inhaled sharply. “Spread your thighs wider.”

  She shivered but did as he commanded, inching them apart. A wave of desire coursed across their Bond, and she couldn’t stifle the moan that rose in her throat. Instinctively she pushed her bottom out toward him, presenting to him, the heat of his gaze making her throb, desperate for his touch.

  “Are you ready for me to continue the exam?”

  The sound of a zipper met her ears.

  She glanced at him over her shoulder. His face was hard, his gaze hooded as he stroked the throbbing length of his cock.

  She nodded. “Yes.” Very.

  “You’re going to feel some pressure.” He stepped closer. Only a few breaths separated their bodies. The air between them sizzled, popped and thrummed, ripping with the intensity of his voice.

  The moment stretched, and nothing happened. She just held her body there, waiting for him. Waiting for anything. The anticipation built and spread.

  “Ajax,” she groaned. “Ajax, please.”

  “Shh,” he said, stroking a hand down her neck. “Not yet. Soon. I know what you need.” He fed his raging cock into her hard enough to remind her she was his.

  She cried out a strangled sigh as he dropped forward, so his hands touched the table on either side of hers, caging her within his arms. He thrust his hips hard, working his way in deep. And thrust. And thrust. Until he exploded inside of her twice, and she was a quivering puddle beneath him, slick and wet. Her muscles were too lax to move, her body too sated to do much more than breathe, and wonder what came next. He wasn’t done. Not even close. That much she knew.

  He slipped his cock from within her. Still hard. Nowhere close to being done. How many times could an Argenti come? She had no clue. Many.

  “And the last part of the exam?” His fingers moved through her folds, gathering their combined wetness, drifted higher to press a finger inside her warm, tight ass. It slipped right in.

  She was used to that. She’d grown to love the pressure of his fingers there. A second one slid inside, pumping in and out.

  “Are you ready?”

  She blew out a breath. “I’m ready.”

  “Good.” The healer persona was gone. All that was left was Ajax the man, hard and hot. “I’m going to fuck your ass now,” he whispered, fingers deep inside.

  A blast of sheer lust seized her belly, but fear fluttered along close on its heels.

  “You are ready. You can take me.” His voice drifted over the sensitive skin of her back. “I won’t hurt you.”

  She nodded, chewing at her lip, her hands tightening into fists.

  He pulled his fingers out, and his weight shifted behind her. The head of his cock pressed against her entrance.

  “So brave. Do you have any idea how much I’ve thought about this?”

  She did, actually. She’d felt it through the Bond. The press of his arousal as he’d stared at her ass. Constantly.

  He shifted again, leaning forward, taking his weight on one hand and pulling her close into his embrace with the other. His jaw trailed along her neck, breath tickling along the fine hairs on the outer shell of her ear. The crown of his cock pressed in, pushing past the tight ring. She winced, expecting pain, but mostly it just felt hot, and thick and hard. Intense, almost blinding pressure as he pushed inexorably deeper.

  His hand trailed down her belly to stroke between her thighs, flickering over her clit.

  “You’re so tight.” He hissed behind her. “So tight it almost hurts.” The pleasure that hoarsened his voice sent a thrill along her spine. She would endure pain for him, if she must. But so far, it was just a little more uncomfortable and thrilling.

  He slid in deeper, inch by inch, pausing and rocking with every forward motion. She’d never felt so full in her life, and he just kept on pushing deeper. Whispering words of praise, kissing her neck, stroking her clit, until it was her hips rocking, moving back and forth.

  “That’s it. Oh, fuck. That’s it. Keep on taking me deeper.” His voice and his hands set her on fire. She couldn’t stop it. It was like some strange force of nature, or force of instinct. She needed to take him in as far as he could go. There was pain, a little, but right there, lurking just behind it, was something richer, something darker. />
  She pulled forward until he was almost all the way out and then pushed slowly back against him, reveling in his protracted groan of pleasure as she took him back inside. All the way. She gritted her teeth, sobbing out, taking more, until his balls slapped softly against her core.

  His finger kept on making its tight circles around her clit, and she was so close.

  He trailed kisses down her neck, stroking her breasts, caressing her skin until her muscles relaxed, accommodating, welcoming him inside.

  He stepped closer, shifting his angle just a little higher, getting deeper, strumming her nipple, and taking her clit between his fingers.

  The sensation shifted. The discomfort of the fullness changed, and in its place was nothing more than a sense of being deeply possessed, completely treasured, protected and safe. Tears came to her eyes. She didn’t ever want him to leave. It was like being owned, and owning him because he’d put a piece of himself right there inside her. And she’d let him.

  He sucked in a breath. “You ready?”

  “Gods, yes. Fuck me, Ajax.”

  He drew his cock out and thrust it home. Her eyes rolled back, her fingers clenching, her teeth gritted against the intensity of it, but there was no resisting it, no fighting it. She could only hold on tight. It was like the most intense orgasm of her life was fighting its way out of her, right out of the depths of her soul, unnaturally hard, unnaturally fast.

  “Shh. Holy shit, Feola. Slow down. Fuck, I don’t want to hurt you.” He held her hips still, pulling out in a long, slow movement, and thrusting forward.

  “You won’t hurt me. Just fuck me.”

  He cursed darkly. But his hips moved faster, thrusting hard. Finally, this was what she wanted. This was what she needed. He thrust in such long, hard strokes that her breasts rocked back and forth, and his balls slapped against her skin, her groans became nothing more than incoherent unladylike grunts.

  She cursed and sweated against the onslaught until finally, it all condensed into a single fireball of intense pleasure that exploded outwards. The already almost painfully tight muscles of her bottom clenched as she came around the impossibly thick length of his cock. The orgasm pushed pleasure against pain in a confusing, debilitating tide that blinded her in its sheer intensity. She screamed. Or thought she did, but she couldn’t be sure of anything, except that she’d never felt anything this intense since their Bonding.