Throwing back my head, I laugh in sheer delight at Iolanthe's cleverness. Not only did she parade herself about to make a fool of her father, but she's undermining his troops under his nose. I love it.
"Did I do good, then?" my wife asks, preening under my approval. "It was an excellent plan, don't you think?"
I lean in and nip at her ear, my voice a growling whisper. "I'm still going to spank you later."
Her breath catches and her hands spasm against my tunic. Yes, she definitely likes that idea.
"Agakor," Haster calls again. When I turn to him, he indicates behind us. "Men headed this way on foot."
"How many?"
He squints at the distant horizon. "Three. No…four."
Too few to be a war party. They're defecting already, then. I still want to shake Iolanthe for risking herself, but I squeeze her tighter against me. "Your plan was a good one," I agree. "And now you have to promise me you will never, ever do anything like that again. It's not that I don't trust you. It's that I don't trust your father."
She nods, sliding her hands to the front of my tunic and rubbing my chest in the way she does when she's aroused. "You'll just have to give me a baby so it's out of the question."
I bite back a feral growl of pleasure. We're still hours away from the nearest town that I trust, and I won't be able to ride if my cock is stiff. But I can't resist whispering to my wife, "We're stopping at an inn tonight and I'm going to fill you with my seed over and over again. I'm going to breed you, my pretty little freckled wife."
She slings her arms around my neck. "I can't wait to get to the inn." Then, she leans in and confides, "My arse is killing me."
I don't stop laughing for leagues.
We finally make it to a decent-looking inn, a safe distance from Purnav’s land. It's dark by the time we arrive, and Iolanthe is curled against my chest, dozing. I rouse her and we head inside, with my men agreeing to guard our horses in shifts.
"And to have a nice chat with the defectors heading this way," Throx adds cheerfully. "Because there's bound to be more coming."
I nod, carrying my sleepy bride inside the inn. She's not used to so much riding and she's completely depleted, barely stirring as I get a room and haul her up the stairs. The innkeeper opens the door to his finest room for me and it's a decent one, with a large feather bed and pleasant-looking wood furniture. He bites my coin furtively to make sure that it's real, but that doesn't even faze me. All I care about is getting Iolanthe settled.
When my wife is tucked into bed and sleeping, I head back downstairs and grab a bite to eat. I check in on my men, and sure enough Throx and Red are both talking to a band of what look to be at least twenty of the scraggly mercenaries from Lord Purnav’s ragtag army. I have a feeling that Iolanthe's little plan is going to give her father a great deal of trouble, and I couldn't be prouder of my clever wife. Thinking of her, I get a few cold meat pies and a pitcher of honeyed ale and bring them upstairs with me so she'll have something to eat when she wakes.
Iolanthe is sitting up in bed when I return, however. Her hair is spilling over her shoulders and she rubs her sleepy face with a dazed expression. "Where are we?"
"Inn in Lagoros," I tell her. "A bit off path, but clean and safe. Are you hungry?"
She nods and takes a meat pie from me. "You're so thoughtful, Agakor. Thank you so much."
I'm not thoughtful. I'm an absolute rutting monster who's just trying to be patient as I watch my tired wife nibble at a meat pie and take a few sips of ale. She's eating slowly, her shoulders drooping with exhaustion, and I'm still going to plow her sweet cunt tonight and fill her with my seed, because I need to claim her. Need to make her realize that she belongs to me and me alone. Need to put a baby inside her so no one else can ever think of taking my wife from me.
I twitch in the chair across from her as she takes small bites. I need to do something or else I'm going to flip her over and drive into her from behind while she licks the gravy off her fingers. So I get to my feet and go to the washbasin, pouring water into it. I move to Iolanthe's side and pick at the intricate knots on her sleeves, undressing her as she eats. "I can get that," she protests as I tug the laces free on one sleeve and then move to the other. "You don't have to undress me."