Ashes of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #2) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,123

handed it to me and took a seat in the chair, staring at my bare thighs. I lifted from the bed and stretched before stepping into the dress and pulling it up.

Knox’s loud purr caught me off-guard, forcing my attention to him as my body echoed the same sound without thought. I blushed, glaring at him as he rattled, canting his head as mine once more repeated the noise he made.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” I whispered, fighting with the straps that tied onto my shoulders, which wasn’t easy since he had bound my hands.

“I am,” he admitted, lowering his head as a boyish grin played on his mouth.

He stood, slowly walked to stand behind me, snorting as he moved my hands away from the ties. His fingers captured the laces, tying them tightly. His breath fanned my shoulder as he lowered his mouth, brushing his lips over his mark, reassuring himself it was still there.

He brushed his fingers through my hair and turned me around to face him as his eyes slid over my body, resting on my face. He swallowed, causing his throat to bob and a blush to fill my cheeks under his examination.

“Am I to your liking?” I teased, and he bit into his bottom lip before a sexy grin reached all the way to his eyes.

“You’re very beautiful, woman. Especially this morning with your hair matted from last night’s pleasure, and your full lips swollen from all the kissing and playing. However, the intensity burning in your eyes from finding release has my balls tightening to see if they sparkle even more once I fuck you.”

I swallowed, and he smirked, leaning his head back as if he were counting to gather his control. I inhaled deeply, finding my scent mixed with his musky aroma, covering his body. It made me smile as a rattle of desire escaped my lips. His head lowered, and our eyes locked as a knowing smile spread across his face.

“I smell good on you, woman,” Knox laughed, but something worrisome was etching his tone as his throat bobbed.

His attention moved to the chest’s lid, and I frowned at the look burning in his eyes, sending a chill racing through me. Knox clenched his jaw, and his eyes lifted to mine with indifference, as if everything else had been for show. His teeth caught his bottom lip as he ran a hand over his mouth and shook his head.

Silently, Knox withdrew a shirt and pants from the chest, staring at it a moment longer before he closed the lid. He didn’t bother turning around, forcing me to do so, offering him some sense of modesty. It was more than he had given me, but just because he was an asshole, it didn’t mean I had to be one too.

The clang of his sword and scabbard drew my attention, as did the sounds of women talking in low voices, speaking of lovers, and how to ease their aching muscles.

Food burned somewhere within the encampment, and I heard a child cry in the distance. I looked up through the hole in the tent at the brilliant blue sky.

“Come, witch.” Knox’s voice caused me to jump, spinning around to find he’d snuck up close enough that when I turned, my nose touched his chest.

“You do know that I am not a dog, right?” I countered, following his quick pace that took us outside and a few steps away from the tent.

“If I tell you to sit, you’ll fucking sit. If I say jump, you will ask me how high I wish for you to jump, woman. You’re my fucking prisoner, not my guest.”

“Yeah, how about you hold your breath while you wait for that to happen,” I offered angrily, and he swung around, causing me to run into his chest.

I was about to argue more when a scream ripped through the camp, focusing my attention on a woman being dragged between the tents by her hair. A man shook her as tears streamed down her face, and I noted other women pulled behind her in the same fashion.

My heart leaped into my throat, and I turned to see Knox watching the scene with no emotion on his face or in his eyes.

Stepping back, my stomach plummeted to the ground, and I frowned. I watched silently as soldiers brought children and women in dirty dresses into the camp by force, exhaustion marring their faces.

Men in blue armor followed the procession, slapping each other on the back as