Chapter 24

One week later…

NATALEE

Though it wasn’t dark yet,the mountain was alive with the buzzing chorus of early nighttime insects. I sat on the porch, nestled in Knot’s arms, as I contemplated the turn my life had taken. Married. I was married to the big orc I’d tried so hard to push away. Sometimes I could scarcely believe my good fortune. Though I’d made friends at The Sweet Siren and nothing terrible had happened to me during my time at the establishment, I was relieved to be away from the brothel and all the expectations I’d put on myself while living there.

Knot stroked his fingers gently through my hair, then he pressed a kiss to my forehead and lifted me to sit directly on his lap. The feel of his hard appendage beneath me caused my breath to catch, and I couldn’t help but squirm around as an ache pulsed to life in my core. Suddenly, I felt faint and needy. I wanted my husband to touch me. To claim me. I stared into his eyes and my heart skipped a beat at the dark intensity of his gaze.

“Did you know I can sense any danger on my land?” he said abruptly, taking me aback. I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. “Orcs possess senses superior to that of humans, and when I’m outside and concentrating, I can feel the flutter of every butterfly, the slither of every serpent, and the footsteps of every creature large and small on the acres that belong to me. Sometimes I’m even able to sense beyond the perimeter of my land.”

“That’s, um, reassuring.” I held his gaze and pondered the feral gleam in his eyes. His muscles were tensed too, and he looked like he wanted to pounce on me. Quivers of desire seized me at the thought.

“There are no current threats on my land,” he said in that same strange, almost detached tone. “A few serpents to the north, but none that are venomous. A few small animals and some deer, but nothing else.” His nostrils flared and his eyes dilated. He leaned close, burying his face in my hair, and took a deep inhale. A pleasure-filled growl left him, and I soon felt his cock becoming larger and harder beneath me.

My heartbeat quickened and I had difficulty taking in enough air. “Knot?” I leaned back so I could peer into his eyes. “Is there a reason why you’re telling me this?”

He set me on my feet, then stood and loomed over me. His expression remained dark, and every muscle in his body tensed anew. Suddenly wary, I took a step back.

“Run,” he whispered in an ominous tone that sent a shiver down my back. “Run south through the forest to the purple flowering trees. I’ll give you a half hour head start. If you don’t beat me there—if I catch you—I will hold you down and rut you viciously on the forest floor until you’re sore and dripping with my seed.” He bared his sharp pointed teeth at me and snarled.

Vaguely, I remembered something I’d read about ancient orcs once. About how they used to hunt their females down and claim them. My heart raced faster as I realized he’d been seized by a primeval urge.

I gasped and took another step away, this time edging toward the steps that led down from the porch. My heart galloped in my chest, and my legs felt weakened with nerves. Knot didn’t look like himself. He looked… like a ravenous predator. I took another step back toward the steps and grasped the railing.

Knot’s eyes danced with dark amusement, and I wondered if he would truly give me a head start. I feared his self-control—what little remained of it—would snap before I reached the tree line.

“Run, little human.” His eyes went pure black, and he emitted another lethal snarl. “Run.”

I turned and fled down the stairs, then headed for the trees. Gods. I might be safe from forest creatures, but I wasn’t entirely safe. A lust-crazed orc was about to hunt me down. I pumped my arms as I raced through the woods, dodging low branches and avoiding sticks and fallen trees that littered the ground in some places.

Was I heading in the right direction?

My pulse pounded in my ears, and as I became disorientated, I paused to get my bearings. Was I still headed south? Or had I veered off course at some point?

Nervousness roiled in my stomach even as desire clenched in my core. I scanned the trees for any signs of Knot. Had a half hour passed yet? I exhaled shakily and tried to decide in which direction I ought to run.

In the end, I kept on the same path, though I feared that I might be running in circles. It was difficult to tell when I kept having to make detours around massive patches of berry bushes and thick shrubbery.

What would happen if Knot caught me? Apprehension skittered through me, yet a wave of arousal caused my blood to heat. How rough would he be? Would he be more beast than orc?

As I ran through the darkening forest, a familiar growl sounded behind me. Oh gods. The crunch of branches snapping underfoot propelled me to run faster. My sides ached and my mouth tasted coppery. I needed to stop and rest, yet I couldn’t. If I paused for a moment, Knot would succeed in capturing me.

Then he would savagely rut me on the forest floor.

He would pound his huge cock into my quim until I was sore and begging him to stop… and then what? Would he stop? He’d seemed so lost to his urges that I wasn’t certain.

The growls sounded closer. So did the snapping branches.

Oh gods. I could feel his hot breath on my neck.

The purple flowering trees appeared. Relief rushed through me as I headed toward my destination.

But a huge body collided with mine, and before I could take my next breath, I found myself stomach-down on the forest floor. In some distant part of my mind, I was aware that Knot had used his arm to cushion my fall, and he wasn’t putting all his weight on me. Maybe… maybe he wouldn’t be as rough with me as he’d threatened.

He delved a hand into my hair and gave a sharp tug. He placed his lips at my ear and growled loud enough to shake the leaves of the nearest trees. Fear lanced through me, colliding with my burgeoning need. The result was a deep fervent ache in my loins. Breathless with desire, I felt moisture leaking from my quim as I struggled to escape Knot. Beneath my dress, I wasn’t wearing undergarments, as my new husband hadn’t permitted me to wear any today, and I felt the moisture on my inner thighs as I squirmed on the ground.

Grasping onto a visible root, I tried to propel myself forward. Knot growled again and I heard the ripping of my dress. My heart jumped to my throat as the cool evening air suddenly drifted over my bared flesh.

In a frenzy of need, he tore at my dress and shredded it completely. Pieces of fabric went flying in the breeze. Completely naked—well, aside from my shoes—I glanced over my shoulder and shuddered at his dark expression. He didn’t look like the Knot I knew. Indeed, he looked more beast than orc. His eyes were still black, and his lips were curled to reveal his sharp pointed teeth. Growls continued to emanate from his chest.

He cupped my pussy and gave a hard squeeze. I gasped and wiggled around as I clawed at the ground, trying to escape. Heated pulses caused me to gush moisture. I was so hot and needy, desperate to feel his hugeness inside me even as I feared his roughness. His savagery.

He leaned over me and dragged his nose through my hair and along the back of my neck, sniffing me loudly. Judging by the pleased noises that soon emanated from his throat, I supposed he liked the way I smelled.

I heard the clink of his belt and the rustle of fabric. Then I felt his cock at my entrance. Another growl. I tried to crawl forward, but he grasped my hair and gave a hard yank, keeping me in place. He forced my thighs wider apart.

“My female,” he said in a guttural tone. “My mate.”

He surged deep in my pussy and his scrotum slammed against my clit. Holy gods. My senses spiraled with the ecstasy of the moment. Even though he was being rough and yes it hurt a little.

He’d hunted me down and now I was all his.

There was no stopping him. I knew that, and I soon gave up my struggles and surrendered to the rough, primal fucking session. True to his word, he held me down on the forest floor as he took what belonged to him.

He pounded me longer than he ever had before, and my vision became blurred as our bodies remained joined and his rapid thrusts didn’t abate in the slightest. His cock felt larger than usual inside me. Too large. It was too much, and I didn’t know how much longer I would be able to endure.

Without warning, his teeth pierced my shoulder. I cried out at the pain and thrashed in his hold, shocked by his action. Yet the pulsing in my core never ceased. I ached and I ached, and several times during the savage fucking, I found myself overwhelmed by an intense quaking release that stole my breath and my ability to reason.

I became as primeval as Knot. Waves of submission cascaded through me, and I parted my thighs wider and arched my back, allowing him to pound me deeper. I surrendered to the beast I’d never known lurked inside him.

Quivering with pleasure, I allowed him to use me as he pleased.

Blood trickled from the bite wound on my shoulder, but I didn’t care. I reveled in the knowledge that he’d bitten me. A bite so deep it would result in a permanent mark.

Leaves pressed against my face as he held me down during the harsh fucking, and my fingers curled in the dirt. I inhaled the pungent scent of the earth as well as the masculine scent that wafted off Knot.

At last, he held my hips in a punishing grip and pumped faster into my pussy, so rapidly it caused my teeth to clang together. Roaring like a ferocious animal, he spurted his seed deep in my core. His release went on and on, until he finally collapsed on top of me, though just like earlier he remained careful not to crush me with his full weight.

Without a word, he withdrew from my cunny, scooped me up in his arms, and carried me back to the cabin. Satiated beyond measure and sorer than I would’ve ever imagined, I rested my head against his chest.

I felt thoroughly claimed.