13. Kaila

Iwasn’t lying when I told Turren I liked him. It was hard not to like him. He wasn’t like any man I’d meant before. He didn’t make demands, and he made me laugh. I’d barely have to think about something I needed before he’d spontaneously hand it to me. A seed cake while we walked. Cool water from the river. He even knew when to suggest we stop and rest.

We had breakfast the next morning and started walking.

“You need to rest,” he said mid-morning, nudging his chin toward a downed branch. “Sit, please.”

Brunnen slipped into the woods while I dropped to the branch with a heavy sigh.

“I’m not used to walking,” I said. “Back in the village, I worked in the town’s gardens, weeding and planting, then harvesting in the fall. I worked hard, and I’m tough, but it’s not the same thing.”

“I’m sure your feet are sore.” He dropped to his knees in front of me. Seeing him like this made my heart flutter.

If I wasn’t careful, I’d more than like this male.

I smiled. “All of me is sore. Who knew this many muscles would be taxed by walking?”

“It’s all right to take breaks.” He sucked in a breath and released it. “It’s finished.” He carefully pulled the stone strung on a strip of leather from his tiny pouch. When he lifted it, it caught the sun, fracturing it into green beams around us.

“It’s gorgeous,” I breathed, meeting his gaze. I was honored. I’d cherish this forever. “Thank you. It’s pretty. Knowing . . . well, knowing that you made it for me means a lot.”

“Would you like me to secure it around your neck?”

“Yes, please.” I leaned closer, closing my eyes because he smelled yummy. Like a foreign spice, plus all male. He tied the strip of leather around my neck and smoothed my hair, his fingers lingering.

Back in the village, if someone told me I would one day not only like an orc, but that an odd longing would fill me whenever he was near, I would’ve scoffed and told them they were out of their mind. But the more I got to know Turren, the more I started fearing our arrival at the village because that meant I’d have to tell him goodbye. He was the leader of a clan far from the place I’d chosen for our new home. There was no way we could spend more time together.

And what would I hope to achieve by being near him longer? I didn’t know, but I could barely resist the urge to cling.

Because the thought scared me, I leaned back when he was finished, staring down at the pendant. Lifting it to admire it in the light. “Thank you.”

He stroked my face, his fingers light enough I could either pull away or lean into his touch. Everything inside me wanted to close my eyes again and just feel . . .

When Brunnen walked back into the clearing, I was both miffed at him for interrupting and thankful, because I suspected if he hadn’t arrived, I would’ve given Turren his second kiss, and I would’ve made sure it lasted a lot longer.

My brother sat on the end of the log and ate.

Turren removed my shoes and socks.

I stared down at him. “What are you doing?”

He shot me a smile that made my core throb. He pulled a small container from the pouch he wore secured to his lower back and opened it. A pungent, minty aroma drifted through the air. After scooping some of the creamy substance out, he sat and placed my foot on his lap.

He started massaging the cream into my foot.

At first it tickled. Then it felt amazing. Releasing guttural laughter, I squirmed on the log. My laughter turned to moans.

Turren kept shooting me smiles that weren’t only given but accepted. I couldn’t help but smile back.

He finished with one foot and dressed it again, gently placing it inside my shoe and securing the fastenings. Lifting my other foot, he gave it equal attention.

By then, I’d started to wonder what his magical fingers would feel like on my breasts. My thighs. The place between them. The burn low in my belly shot downward. It was all I could do not to lift my skirt, lean back, and tell Turren in no uncertain terms that he needed to take care of the second fire he’d sparked.

Where had this Kaila come from?

I suspected Turren had brought her to the surface.

Gathering more of the cream, he spread it up my leg in broad circles. The muscles twitched. The simmer in my bones ignited. I couldn’t stop moaning. Turren’s smiles had grown more seductive. He knew exactly what he was doing to me.

“You two are weird.” Brunnen grabbed my flask from the log beside me and removed Turren’s from his pouch. “I’ll go fill these.” With a boyish huff, he stalked toward the river that was close enough, I could see it from where I sat. He stomped down the bank to the water, disappearing from view.

Turren took more cream and continued stroking my legs, his hands moving higher. Soon, he was massaging my thighs.

I spread them wider and leaned back against a tree. I couldn’t help it. I was so far gone, he could do whatever he pleased, and I wouldn’t stop him.

“My brother,” I gasped out, struggling to stop myself from sinking so deeply into his touch I wouldn’t be aware of anything going on around me. My brother could return any minute . . .

“Orcs have amazing hearing.” His fingers stilled. “Unless you’d like me to stop.”

“No,” I moaned.

His fingers teased higher. I spread my legs wider.

“You smell delicious,” he growled. “I want to taste you.”

How decadent. What would it be like to slip off my undergarment, to lay on the ground and let him do it? I was gasping at the thought already. Slick with need already.

“Whatever my sensual mate needs, I’m going to deliver,” he rasped. With each rub, his finger bumped my clit, each nudge shooting me higher into the sky. I’d only been with a few men, and each time, I’d left their beds feeling unsatisfied. I suspected I’d not only be satisfied in Turren’s bed, but that I might never want to leave it.

“Don’t stop,” I moaned.

One of his hands continued to stroke. Leaning over me, shielding me with his enormous body, he kept rubbing my legs, working out the kinks in each muscle. His other hand slid my undergarment to the side and dipped beneath. A finger teased through my wetness.

He growled. “Fuck. Mate . . .”

Bracing my legs apart with his hand, he continued to glide his fingers through my wetness, dipping into my entrance before pulling out and coasting across my clit.

Overcome with sensations I’d never found with another, I bucked beneath him. I was too far gone. Nothing was going to bring me back to the present.

He drove a few fingers inside me and lifted my skirt, burying his face between my legs. A long lick through my wetness was followed by him sucking my clit into his mouth.

I groaned and shifted my hips, grinding my body against his mouth.

His head jerked up, and he shot a glance over his shoulder before dragging his fingers from my saturated passage. He slid my undergarment back into place and tugged down my skirt, leaning back on his heels.

Brunnen stomped back into the clearing with the full flasks, nonchalantly dropping two of them on the ground beside Turren before taking his staff and striding to the middle of the open area. His back to us, he went through the moves Turren had taught him.

My eyes fell on Turren again, fusing with his. While I watched, mesmerized, he licked his lips.

Then he sucked and licked his fingers clean of my wetness.

I couldn’t look away. The hum building inside my body was a furious beast making demands, telling me in no uncertain terms that it wanted this male more than any other and now.

I was in trouble. Big trouble.

Because I couldn’t wait until tonight to find out if he’d put out the fire he’d started.