The fact that she’d made me doubt myself was one more reason I couldn’t shake my resentment of her, but I believed I could trust Ianto.
And you don’t want to have sex with the giant like you did with her.
That was true, and while I’d desired and bedded many women throughout my life, Ellery had always been different than all of them. That difference had probably clouded my judgment as I’d focused on howrightshe felt.
Until it all went so wrong.
“I’ve never been one for luxury or exploring,” I told him. “You don’t find much of either while on the battlefield.”
I managed to avoid another blow from Ianto, and he blocked my next swing.
“I suppose you don’t, but the battle is over.”
“Is it?”
Ianto’s amusement vanished as he lobbed a blow at my head. When our staffs clashed, I felt the impact of it in my bones.
“Howarethe rest of the realms doing?” Ianto inquired.
I bounced on my toes as Ianto swung at my legs. I jumped over the staff and brought mine down on top of his.
The second our weapons connected, Ianto jerked up on his. When they both flew into the air, mine nearly hit me in the face before I stopped its backward momentum.
I didn’t recover in time to avoid the blow he delivered to my side. Pain screamed through my battered body.
I gritted my teeth against grunting from the impact and slashed my staff across Ianto’s ribs and back. This time, I at least got the giant to flinch.
“I wouldn’t know how they’re doing,” I told him as we edged back to reassess each other.
The mountain no longer looked amused, and neither was I. There was no subtle testing of the waters when we went at each other this time.
CHAPTERSIXTY-TWO
Ryker
Our staffs clashedas we moved back and forth, battering each other as their loud clacking noise reverberated through the woods. My arms ached from each of Ianto’s powerful blows, which were far more than a normal man could deliver.
Each time his staff clashed against mine, a jolt went through my arms, rattled my bones, and clattered my teeth together. It took everything I had to stay on the log while he repeatedly battered my staff.
But while Ianto was powerful, I was faster, and when he swung his staff in an arc that would have caved the side of my head, I ducked and slashed at his ankles. His staff whistled over my head as mine cracked against his bone.
I managed to avoid his blow by tucking my staff under my arm and diving at him. I locked my arms around his knees and, planting my knees on the tree, jerked up.
When I lifted him off the log, his feet kicked out, and he fell backward to crash onto the tree. A resounding crack pierced the air, but the log didn’t fall apart.
As soon as Ianto hit the tree, his fingers entangled in my tunic, and he ripped me backward. He pulled me over the top of him and smashed my back onto the log.
The impact of the blow caused the air to wheeze out of my lungs. I nearly lost my staff when it slipped out from under my arm, but I somehow managed to retain my hold on it.
I’d like nothing more than to lay there and catch my breath while staring at the stars, but I had to move before the giant regained his feet.
Rising, I ignored the protest of my bruised and battered body as I gripped my staff in both hands again. I’d endured far worse beatings in my lifetime; this was nothing compared to what my father and the ophidians had unleashed on me.
Still, I wanted it over.
When I turned, I spotted Ellery on the opposite side of the river, her hands twisting together as she gazed anxiously at me. My attention shifted to the big man as he climbed back to his feet far faster and with more grace than I’d expected from someone his size.
“For an aristocrat, you sure can take a beating,” Ianto remarked.
