Chapter 14

PALOMA

As I stare at the river, looking at my reflection, I wonder in awe how I managed to sleep in a pitch-black room last night, without having a single nightmare. In fact, I slept unusually well, better than I have in months but stress and all that traveling can do that to a person.

As well as a fabulous orgasm.

And being held by a massive guy who kept me warm and safe.

“What is taking you so long, female?” Atox calls over to me from a section of high ground above the river where I’m bending over, splashing water onto my face, legs, and arms. This little cleansing ritual can’t be called a bath by anyone’s definition, but it will have to do for now. I’m not going to undress and immerse myself in the water while Atox stands on the riverbank watching me and the woods.

“Aren’t we in your territory?” I ask. “You don’t need to stand guard.”

“There are dangers here.”

“I know. I’m talking to one.”

The corners of his mouth lift, exposing the full lengths of his tusks in what I now know is a grin. At first, I took the expression to be a warning, though with Atox his threats and promises can be hard to distinguish. And the more I watch him, trying to decode his expressions, the more my eyes wander down his body.

Today, he’s only wearing a loin cloth, and a broadsword strapped to his back. The leather straps that crossed his chest and held a score of knives yesterday is gone, along with the full-length leather pants.

With only a loin cloth on, every part of him looks bigger, and I do mean every part. He takes no shame in the fact that his loin cloth tents often near me. It’s the reminder I need to watch myself around him. To not encourage him in any way.

Atox strides down from his perch on the hilltop, heading straight toward me as if he intends to… and that’s the part I never can figure out. What he intends to do with me in any given moment. He doesn’t tell me his plans, other than to mate me and get me pregnant. He’s as unpredictable as the terrain on Kovos, and just as demanding.

He places a finger beneath my chin coaxing me to look him squarely in the eyes. “I am the most dangerous being you will ever meet, Paloma. Remember that.”

“Is that another threat?”

“A fact. Now for your punishment.”

I freeze in place. “What are you talking about?”

“Yesterday, you earned a punishment.”

“For what? Not letting you fuck me?”

“For shouting at me, in front of my men. I will not be disrespected, especially where others can witness.”

Between the shock of being treated like a commodity and forced to come to Mount Racha, much of yesterday is a blur. I don’t recall shouting at him, though I suspect I did. I was scared, terrified. I still am, but not as much today.

I swallow hard as I back into the water. My boots are out of reach, not that I could get to them, put them on, and outrun him.

Or have anywhere to run.

Atox follows me into the water. Boots, sword and all. Once he makes up his mind, nothing can stop him.

“Please don’t hurt me.”

He scowls but continues moving toward me. I stop backing away from him. There’s nowhere to go.

Atox lifts me up, throws me over his shoulder, and carries me out of the shoulder-high water. My shoulders, not his.

“Please, Atox, I’ll never do it again.”

“You will. It is in your nature,” he says as he sits on a log, turns me over his knee and lifts the back of my tunic, exposing my ass.

“Your men aren’t even here to see you punish me. We can say you punished me. No one will know.”

“I will know and you will know,” he says as his palm comes down on my ass. Hard.

The slap echoes through the woods, only to be drowned out by my gasp and swearing as the pain spreads across my backside. Then a second and third strike sting my flesh. Despite the sting of his hand, I know he’s holding back. He has enough power to break me. This spanking, though humiliating, is mild in comparison to what he can do. What I saw him to do Sojek.

“We are done,” he announces as he eases the tunic down over my ass. Gently. Now he’s gentle, not a moment before when he could have skipped the spanking.

I jump off his lap, instantly regretting my sudden movement since my flesh burns. I rub my ass and wince. Even the soft leather tunic brushing against my skin smarts as does my pride.

“You promised never to hurt me.”

“I did not hurt you. I taught you a lesson. One you will not forget and may one day save your life.”

“Screw you, Atox,” I bite back as tears leak down my cheek despite trying my best not to cry in front of him.

His face tightens. Regret? Or is he upset I don’t appreciate this lesson?

“I’m going back to the mountain. On my own,” I announce as I turn to get away from him.

He raises his huge hand which I’m sure left a print on my ass. Instinctively, I cover my face with my hands and turn my head, expecting to be struck.

The blow never comes.

I peel my hands away to glimpse what he’s doing. Anger darkens his eyes, but he hasn’t moved from his spot on the felled tree.

He’s not my father. He’s not the man in the dark recesses of the Mayflower either. He’s the male who… who has been rather straightforward about who he is and what he expects of me.

“Come here,” he orders, but I shake my head. “I said, come here.” The slight growl to his voice heightens my anxiety. I’m not sure how to handle this orc.

“I’m losing patience, Paloma. You will come here, now, or receive another punishment.”

Out of self-preservation, my feet carry me to him. “I’m not a child.”

“You certainly are not,” he says as he spreads his legs and pulls me to stand between them. I wince as his hands cup my ass, aggravating the burn. Before I can protest, he lifts the tunic and spreads a cool gel on me. The sting dissipates as his hands massage the healing ointment into my skin.

“I hate you,” I say as more tears flow because he’s being so good to me now and I’m acting like a brat, without consideration to what he’s going through. As a leader, he deserves respect. He had to punish me or he’d look weak.

But fuck me, I can’t bring myself to lie down and let these orcs—this one in particular—walk all over me.

“Do you think I gain pleasure from striking your ass?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.” I hear how childish I sound, but my pride stings more than my poor abused ass. An ass that is currently receiving a very nice massage. The pain has faded, but not the indignation.

“I will never strike you out of anger, Paloma, as your father did. This was meant to teach you, to make you think before repeating the offense.”

“I don’t even recall what I did.”

“You slapped me. For telling you the truth about your sire. How he views you as a burden.”

I inhale a sharp breath. “I remember. I was mad. At him, more than you.”

“You are forgiven, female. You were the moment you slapped me since I understood your anger was for your sire. But if I fail to punish you, then my people will see me as weak. From there, it will not take much for a warrior to challenge me for the position of grak.”

“Then you have a poor leader if he lets his commanders fight it out for their positions. He should be choosing the best, and while I don’t doubt you’re the best at what you do, Atox, that doesn’t give you the right to strike me or any other woman or child.” I realize the irony of what I’m saying the moment the words leave my mouth. “Just as I had no right to strike you. I am sorry.”

Atox stares at me, then his forehead scrunches together as it does when he’s unhappy with my behavior. “What did I do wrong now?”

“Do you not understand what a grak is?”

“Yes, a commander. Head of a battalion of warriors. The ruler of this group of orcs.”

“You are partly right. I am the ruler of these orcs. But not just these. All orcs everywhere. Those on Kovos and on other planets, if any others survived the war.”

“You’re their king?” I bite my lip, going over every interaction I’ve witnessed between him and his people. And this isn’t the only orc settlements on Kovos.

“I’m their grak. The heir to Orcos, or all that remains of our planet. A grak is more powerful than a king.”

“More arrogant, too.” Fuck, I said that out loud, but I swear he chuckles in response.

Wow. The king of the orcs. This changes things. This could make it harder to leave, especially if he has something to prove to his people.

“No one ever explained your title to me,” I add, feeling like a fool. I’ve made assumptions about him and the orcs from the very start. Not that it would have made any difference, I suspect. This orc, their king, just spanked me, and not in a fun way.

“King or not, Atox, I won’t put up with abuse.”

“I can agree never to punish you in this manner again if you give me the respect I’m due.”

“You’ll just find another way to punish me if I mess up. That’s a big problem, Atox, since I won’t always know when I’m messing up until it’s too late. Our cultures are different. Even with the best intent, I will break a rule or tradition at some point. It’s inevitable.”

He thinks about it. “I will never harm you. You are mine to protect.”

“It was my father’s job to protect me, too. Then he sold and struck me.” But he never truly cared for me, and Atox is trying to find a middle ground with me. “I won’t learn from pain,” I add, to make my position clear.

“My lessons will teach, not punish.” His hands cup my ass cheeks and just when I think he’s going to continue rubbing that soothing gel on me, he pulls me in tight against him so that his head is level with my breasts.

Starting at the top of my tunic, he cuts down the center, baring my breasts. My nipples harden as he peels back the leather and the cool air strikes my flesh. Atox runs a tusk over a hard peak and my entire body shivers with a need that mystifies me. I don’t want to think about right or wrong, or even what tomorrow brings. Only the here and now, and the orc who has a way of making me melt under his ministrations. I arch my back, wanting more of this male’s touch. The orc who spanked me.

As his tusk continues teasing my nipple, one of his hands caresses the skin of my inner thighs. “Suck on me,” I beg, caving to his touch.

His finger slides through my pussy, rubbing and stimulating me until I’m so wet and needy I rock my hips. As his mouth latches onto my nipple, his finger breaches my core. One finger thrusts deep while the rest of his hand grips my pussy in a move that says I’m his.

“This means nothing,” I pant as his tusk drags across the side of my breast, adding an element of danger that makes me want to submit to him.

He responds by sucking on me harder while pumping inside me and pressing against my clit. The delicious torture doesn’t let up. Every nerve in my body is on fire, ready to explode.

“I can’t.” I force the words past my lips, even as I press my breast against his mouth.

Atox doesn’t give up. Not when he wants something.

He circles, sucks and nips my hard peak, then switches to the other breast… a very effective distraction as he thrusts a second thick finger into me.

My hips rock against his hand, seeking more than two fingers. I want everything he has to give, and nothing at all. This male, this arrogant, bossy orc, has me confused about everything. What my destiny is. Who he is.

Then I feel it. His cock. Hard and large pressing against my core. Damn, but I want him. Desperately.

His hands cup my no-longer-sore ass as he lifts me and wraps my legs around his back. I cross my ankles behind him while he supports me with his hands.

The broad head of his cock slides through my folds until it’s pressing against my clit.

“Come for me, my female. Come for me.”

This is so wrong, but I don’t care. I deserve a few minutes of heaven after what I’ve been through these past few days.

I search Atox’s eyes, surprised to find a softness there.

“I will not hurt you,” he whispers, a second before he captures my mouth with his.

His tongue dances with mine, as if we are equals. His tusks graze the corners of my mouth, but never hurt me. The intimacy of the kiss, the way he holds me so secure in the air… It’s almost too much, but I know he will never hurt me again.

When he ends the kiss and runs his tongue and tusks over my throat, I lose all control and come. Hard. He’s found my weakness, one I didn’t know I had.

A weakness for Atox.