CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN（Untitled）Grace

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Grace

Branikk lifts me, gently bringing me up to lie across him in a boneless sprawl. He strokes my face, gathering the excess fluid and rubbing it into my shoulder.

The sweet taste of him fills my mouth, rich and creamy, and I hum in contentment.

"I'd been dreaming of that," he says, his voice a deep rumble with my ear pressed to his chest. His fingers glide over my lips, still tingling from being stretched around him. "Of your mouth on me."

"Me too," I say. I never let myself go like that with any guy before. But something about Branikk makes it easy to let him see this wilder side. I guess once you've had tentacles everywhere , there isn't much point in becoming shy.

And the way he takes control helps me to let go of everything else and just feel . I never realized how much I needed that.

I'd also wanted to do something special for him. I still can't believe the way he made me a picnic of venison steaks and home fries. Sure, he cooked on the trail. It's not like I know how to do all this survival stuff. Give me a microwave, and I'm your girl. Real cooking, not so much. But last night had felt different, more purposeful. Like a real date… or what passed for one in Faerie. Especially with the way he fed me raspberries and finger combed my hair. Then he pushed me back onto the blanket and went down on me again, licking me to a slow, delicious orgasm before carrying me all the way back to this den and holding me all night.

It was the most romantic thing that ever happened to me in my whole life. I don't know how to say all of that, so I settle for, "Thank you for last night."

"It was nothing." His arm tightens around me. "I can't wait to take you home to my village, where there's bread and ale and all kinds of food, including all the human things Olivia conjures."

"Mmm. Sounds lovely."

"It is. We have village pizza nights once a week now." He laughs. "Everyone likes pizza, even Sturrm, the biggest grump of all."

"I guess I should find something the villagers will want me to conjure, too."

"That moving picture thing you showed me was fascinating. Too bad it can't be bigger. Not many people can watch when it's so small, but I guess we could share."

"Oh, it can be bigger." I laugh, imagining fae of all kinds having their first movie and pizza night.

"And just wait until you see our cottage." He runs a hand down my back. "It's lovely, but if there's anything you want changed, you have only to let me know."

Tears prickle my eyes. He's already writing me into his life! This thing we have must be real. I can trust him.

"Branikk, I want—"

"Grace!" Astrid squeals from the opening to our den.

Agnar finishes her sentence. "You're awake."

A mass of puppies descend upon us, Branikk barely covering me with a fur before little wiggling bodies are everywhere.

Then Astrid's nose is wet on my cheek, and she sniffs. "Why do you smell funny?"

An embarrassed laugh bursts from me as I realize she's smelling the orc seed on my skin. What the hell am I supposed to say to that?

"It's nothing younglings need worry about," Branikk says with perfect ease. Damn. Nothing fazes the man. "Off with you! The faster you leave us to get ready for the day, the faster Grace will be outside to play with you."

"Okay!" Agnar yells, leading all the pups out into the tunnel that connects our den to others dug into the hill.

Thank god, I'd had my mouth too full of Branikk's cock to yell when I came earlier.

Branikk rolls us onto our sides, his fingers dragging through the thickening cream on my chest to rub it in.

"I thought we were getting cleaned up," I say.

"I am cleaning you." He smirks, too handsome and wicked by far. "Orc seed is very clean."

"No, it's definitely dirty ," I say with an answering smile, remembering how hot it always gets me. "But only in the very best of ways."

Branikk brings me nuts and berries for breakfast and even a small piece of honeycomb to smear over my hardtack.

When I try to offer it to him, he doesn't take any of the sweet treat for himself, gently pushing my hand back. "I got it for you, my moon bound."

His words make happiness wash over me, and the honey tastes all the sweeter.

The puppies wait, watching me like the audience at a tennis match, heads moving to track my hand every time it brings a bite to my mouth.

I finish off the last of the berries and wash everything down with the mint tea Branikk made for me, my fingers playing with my bracelet. I've been doing that a lot, touching it throughout the day, remembering our Ferris wheel ride and how patient he was with me.

A tiny whine breaks through my thoughts.

I toss back the last of my tea and say, "Who wants to play?"

They all yell, "Me!"

"What do you want to play?"

"The cat!" "Bubble cat!" "The best cat!"

"What is this I hear about cats?" A woman's amused voice says. A flash of white as a fanged smile appears between two trees, followed by the hazy outline of a cat as big as a German Shepherd. "Surely, you spoke of me."

Rune leaps to his feet with a growl.

"Mist!" Branikk says. "How did you get here? How did you find us?"

"I walked the shadow roads." She saunters into the clearing, her long fur swirling around her in a million different shades of gray that make her hard to see. "The cat sith ability to quickly traverse Alarria is why your orc king was so happy to make us allies."

"Shadow roads?" I whisper out the side of my mouth to Branikk.

"Hidden paths that connect all of Faerie, or now that the realms are isolated, all of Alarria. Only the feline fae can walk them."

Rune bares his fangs, and his sister Riselda runs into the clearing to stand by his side, saying, "You're no ally of the cu sith."

"Yes, yes. Our ancestors were enemies back in Avalon." The cat sniffs disdainfully. "It's been three hundred years. Get over it."

"She's right that things have changed." Branikk steps in between them, raising a hand palm out to each. "You might have fought in the past like… well, like cats and dogs, but we have common enemies now and must stand together."

He looks at Rune and Riselda. "If you want to join our alliance, that alliance includes the cat sith."

Then he faces Mist. "Said alliance would be strengthened by the cu sith. You cannot deny it."

She sits and lifts a front paw to give it a slow lick, as if bored.

I bite my lip to keep from laughing. It seems that even sentient fae cats are still cats .

She must hear my aborted chuckle, because her ears flick, and she looks towards me. "A new human." Mist's green eyes gleam with mischief as she eyes the bubble maker I hold. "And what is this ‘cat' you've made?"

I hold it up and shoot a batch of bubbles toward her.

Her paw lashes out, wicked claws splayed wide as she swipes several of the bubbles from the air. Instead of being upset that the pink cat is a toy, she laughs, the sound a ratcheting purr. "Oh, this is delightful! It is truly worthy of being a cat."

Then she faces Rune and Riselda. "Fine. I will view the hounds as temporary allies until the entire alliance can vote on their inclusion."

"Hounds?" Rune bares his teeth. "You dare call us hounds?"

"You were good little hunting hounds for the elves, were you not?" Mocking laughter dances in Mist's eyes. "The cat sith never bowed and served."

"The cat sith were also never invited to court," Rune spits.

I shake my head, a little dazed. There are so many different types of fae, and they all have a hell of a lot of history. I wish my phone hadn't died. I need to take notes. Maybe I should try again to make a battery. I hold out my hand, but nothing happens. I suppress a sigh. It seems my magic's still not fully under my command. At least it didn't make part of a vibrator this time.

"Enough. We have more pressing worries." Riselda's eyes turn hard as she looks at Mist. "Such as how you got here. I thought cath sith could only walk the shadow roads to places they've already been."

"This is true." Mist dips her head.

"What?" Rune's hackles rise. "You've spied upon our dens?"

"Spied is such a strong word for it."

Rune steps forward, his voice a deep growl, "I'll show you strong ."

Aurora gallops into the clearing and comes to a stop in between them. "By the goddess, I can't leave any of you alone for even a moment, can I?"

"Hello, unicorn." The cat dips her head.

Aurora snorts in amusement. "Causing trouble again?"

"Who me?" It's said with pure innocence, but Mist's smile is hella huge and full of teeth.

I frown and whisper to Branikk, "Are cat mouths supposed to be that big?"

"For normal cats, no. But for the cat sith?" He makes a ta-da flourish with his hands. "Magic."

I roll my eyes at him. "That's still your answer for everything, isn't it?"

He leans over and whispers in my ear, "You certainly didn't complain when the magic in my stud—"

"Branikk!" I slap the back of my hand to his chest. "We're not alone." And his deep voice carries even when he tries to be quiet.

Astrid, who sits with her shoulder pressed to the side of my calf, turns little puppy eyes up to us. "What's a stud?"

Her high voice carries across the entire clearing, causing everyone to look straight at us.

My cheeks flame, but Branikk just chuckles. "It's something for adults."

"As is the rest of this conversation," Riselda says, shooing the pups into the den, despite all of their protests. Then she turns back to us, her eyes hard. "I just received a report. Sentries spotted sluagh this morning. A mass of them are gathering in the trees at the edge of our territory."

"How many?" Branikk asks, all signs of humor gone.

"More than have ever attacked us before."

Ice shivers down my spine, and Branikk looks at me, eyes full of worry.

Why do I feel like the soul suckers are attacking in force because they want me?