him.
The Leopard Lord snorted.
“What?” I glared at him.
“Why are you angry at me now?”
“Because you just laughed when I said hi to a guy who said hi to me.”
“Neither of you said 'hi.'”
“You know what I meant,” I muttered.
“That soldier was giving you respect as the new Valorian, and you asked him what was up.”
“Like I said—hi and hi.”
One of the guards chuckled. The Leopard Lord glared at him, and he abruptly stopped.
“How do you speak to your general? Is it like this?” the warlord asked with a hand waving back and forth between us.
“No,” I admitted.
“I am your warlord, yet you show me less respect.”
“Sorry, I'm tired,” I mumbled. He was right; I was treating him like a common soldier. So I added, “Leopard Lord.”
The Leopard Lord snorted. “You may call me Kardri, or even Kar if you prefer.”
“Uh, I'm good with Leopard Lord.”
The Leopard Lord sighed deeply. We had just reached his tent, passing his party zone, with its campfire banked for the day, only a hint of red coals showing through the ash and dirt. The warlord stopped and told one of the guards to have the tub filled, then went inside the massive blue and black striped tent, leaving me to stare after him. The guard with my trunk, Trax, nudged me with a shoulder, then followed his warlord inside. Two other guards took up positions to either side of the tent flap, and a third one lifted a brow at me.
“I'm going,” I huffed at them. I stared at the flap and sighed. “This is such a bad idea.” Then I stepped inside the King Freak's tent.
The tent was fucking massive. The area I'd entered held a long table that could seat ten, with space for at least twenty people to gather around it comfortably. Cloth partitions went from ceiling to floor on my right, forming three other rooms. Lanterns hung from the crossbeams but none of them were lit, despite the fact that the dark fabric kept out most of the sunlight. The only light came from the last room on the right. Trax strode out of it as I stood there.
He grinned at me as he passed by. “Sleep tight, Valorian. Don't let the warlord bite.”
“I don't like your tone, asshole.”
The knight snickered. I recognized that snicker from earlier.
“Aren't you supposed to respect me or something?” I called after him.
Trax laughed outright.
I looked down at my bedraggled state. “Yeah, I wouldn't respect me either. Fair enough.”
“Who are you talking to?” Kardri asked as he stepped out of the lit room.
He had removed his belt, tunic, and boots. Bare-chested and barefoot, he looked amazing. I wasn't surprised to see that even his toes were perfect. The Leopard Lord's hair fell around his thick shoulders in perfect waves, outlining a set of spectacular pectorals. That skin combined with his warrior physique made him look like a statue come to life. The top button of his pants was undone, bringing the waistband down into a dip around the diagonal indents at his waist. The sides flapped a little as he came toward me. Below them, a bulge in his pants caught my attention. I suddenly remembered how his cock had looked, glistening from being freshly sucked, its thick length—
“Tristan?” The Leopard Lord stopped in front of me and frowned. “Sweet Goddess, you really are exhausted, aren't you? I'd put you straight to bed, but you're fucking filthy.”
“You're filthy,” I slurred and swayed as the words straight to bed shivered through me.
He chuckled and steadied me as a line of guys came in carrying steaming buckets of water. They nodded to us and hurried past, into the room nearest the tent flap.
“Okay, let's get you to a chair until the tub is full.” The Leopard Lord helped me to the central table and pulled out a chair for me.
I fell onto the seat, then dropped my arms on the table and my head onto my arms. I felt him gently stroking my hair and sighed.
“That feels good,” I mumbled.
“What has the Goddess given me?” Kardri—I mean the Leopard Lord—murmured as he continued to stroke my hair. “What am I supposed to do with you, Tristan?”
“You can leave me right here,” I spoke into the table. “I'm good.”
He chuckled. “Why were you sleeping in the road?”
“I felt bad.” I turned my head so I could look at him. “You made me feel bad about keeping my tent. So I gave it away and then I was going to