Episode Twenty-Nine The Bath

D har

I don't know what changed from one minute to the next, but the beauty riding my shoulders, her sex only inches from my face, is becoming aroused. Though I may not understand it, this is a very good thing.

Her heart clearly belongs to the monk, but if her body belongs to me, that's really all I need.

I set her near the bank of the stream. As I pull off my clothes, I ask, "Care to join me?"

"No, thanks."

Since she's already seen my cock—twice—I make no attempt to hide my body from her. The arousal-scent I noticed a moment ago may not even be for me. Perhaps she was thinking about her mate, or the white-winged avian who captured her interest at the rendezvous and who was so clear about the fact he had no interest in her.

Mayhap by the end of my bath, I'll be the cause of the delicious aroma wafting toward me from between her legs.

"No need to avert your eyes," I tease as I walk in front of her under the pretext of finding an easy path into the stream. I walk farther than necessary, so she gets a good look at my naked ass. Too bad the glimpse she'll get when I leave the water will only give her a gander at my soft cock. She might not know males shrink in cold water.

Females are scarce down here, but wherever there are males, there are females willing to sell themselves either for protection or goods. Life is harsh. I do not judge. I've had plenty of those types of females before. Nadira is different, that's obvious.

Although I've never before bothered to get to know the females I dipped my cock into, I'm interested now.

When I'm in the water, which only comes to my waist, I ask, "Now tell me about yourself, female."

My fingers do their work on their own, unbinding my hair and sudsing my body with a handful of trabor leaves, as I become fascinated with my new mate's tale. When she describes the terrible treatment she received at so many males' hands Up Above, my anger flares hot and deep inside me.

My hands ball into fists and I want to hurt someone. I'm so outraged I have to dip my head into the water under the guise of washing my hair, fearing if she sees my rage-face she'll run off into the woods, terrified.

Her story fades away mid-sentence. When I look over my shoulder, her face is turned away. At first, I wonder if she's sad because of her deep dive into her upsetting memories, but one good sniff tells me she's hurt. It's the same scent I smelled when Thallose rejected her so harshly.

"Female? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

I know so little of females, but one thing is certain, her "nothing" absolutely did not mean nothing.

I dive underwater and kick farther out and then back, making certain the suds from the trabor leaves wash downstream.

Stomping up the embankment, I walk straight to her, my hair and body still dripping, my clothes sitting behind me on the bank.

Kneeling in front of her, I ask, "Tell me. What's wrong?" Her hurt scent is overpowering. Something about it grips my heart.

"I thought…" her words fade off and her gaze won't meet mine.

Breaching the distance between us, I lift her chin with one finger so she'll look at me. For a moment I'm struck with how tiny her face is next to my huge orc hand and how pale she is compared to my green skin.

"Tell me what happened. I'm dripping wet because I took a bath to please you. What did I do to cause my new mate heartache?"

New mate. Those words are accurate. The enormity of this life change strikes me with the force of a war hammer.

She spears me with her gaze now, suddenly unafraid to look me in the eye. Her sadness has vanished and her eyes are full of fire.

"I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, orc. You ignored me as I told you my deepest truths. I thought perhaps we could get to know each other, maybe be friends before you shoved your cock into my hole. Oh, pardon me, I forgot. My holes ."

She thrusts her pointed chin at me as if she were the princess of all Down Below, then says, "Forget it. We don't have to be anything more to each other than people who fuck ."

That word has always made me happy before. It signifies the best feeling in the world. The way she just said it lets me know she uses it as a curse.

I inch closer, then pull her onto my lap so she's straddling me. Though she makes a show of arching her back and trying to escape, keeping her here is easy to do. It's only after she's perched, her clothed sex on my naked body, that I realize the intimacy of what I've done.

Trying to ignore that, I dip my head low so our faces are close enough we're breathing each other's air.

"You didn't think I was listening?" I ask, angling my head so I can get even closer. "You don't think I heard every word about every fucker who took you without your consent? You don't think I can picture a father who sold you? Or a husband who treated you with less respect than I treat my battle axe?"

My voice is angry, but not at her, so I take a deep breath and pet her head before I continue.

"I heard every word, Nadira." She flashes her beautiful blue eyes at me, perhaps because of my supportive words, perhaps because it's the first time I've used her name. "I heard every word, and it made me so mad I had to look away so my enraged face didn't terrify you."

Sliding my fingers along her nape, under her red braid, I say, "I'm built for war. All orcs are, but I'm the strongest of them. That's how I became chief. But hear this, my new little mate, I've never wanted to kill before."

I stroke one knuckle down her soft-as-down cheek.

"In the past, I've fought for territory or over grievances or because the previous chiefs told me to. But right now, after what you just told me, I can't wait to climb that tower and find your father who sold you and that senator who cast you out. I don't just want to kill them."

I stop and take a breath, allowing myself a glimpse of her face to make sure I'm not horrifying her. Her eyes are wide and her nostrils are flaring, but she's not afraid of me.

"I don't just want to kill them. I want to Make. Them. Pay. Make them pay for what they did to you."

I'm not sure whether I'm the first to span the distance between us, or if she is, but before I know what's happening, my huge orc mouth, tusks and all, is kissing the sweetest lips I've ever tasted.