Chapter 9

Varkaan

It took me moments to find her trail. Roxanna had made no effort to hide her steps, and the guard at the west end of the village merely smirked as he pointed his spear toward the forest.

I stopped at the tree line and pulled my boots from my feet. I had no idea why I did it, but it felt right, natural . As I straightened, I pulled my quiver from my belt and dropped it and my bow to the ground, filling my lungs with the clean mountain air…and the scent of my Mate.

Palton's Spear, I had no need to stoop to find her prints, or to study the brush for signs of her passing.

Every time my bare foot landed in the dirt atop one of her prints, I could feel it—in my skin, in my veins. A tingle, a reminder my firebrand was here . I could brush my palm over the leaves at my side and feel her passage.

Was this normal?

Was this part of the knowing, the certainty, that came from a Mate Hunt?

Or was this something special Roxanna and I shared? Would share, for the rest of whatever life the goddess would grant us.

The realization made me run faster, my bare soles slapping against the dirt and crushed needles of the forest floor. I knew I followed my Mate, and that knowledge made me want to throw my head back and howl in satisfaction.

The stocking surprised me.

I skidded to a halt, examining the human-style stocking draped over a sternka bush. With one hand I scooped it up and brought it to my nose. ‘Twas Roxanna's, although I needed no confirmation.

The next one had been left hanging a few hundred yards down her trail, and this time, I allowed my chuckle to break free, the joy—the delight —nearly overwhelming me. I dropped the first beside the second and continued to follow the path my Mate had made, knowing she wouldn't be needing these stockings again.

Her hair ribbons were next, scattered across the detritus of the forest floor, and I didn't stop for those, either.

The thought of Roxanna running through the trees, her fingers threading through her red curls, combing them out so they'd lie soft against her shoulders…

Well, I'd never hunted with a cockstand before, but I didn't mind this one much at all.

By the time I found my Mate's heavy gown, the purple silk marred from her passage through the trees, I was grinning. My sporran dropped atop it, marking her as mine as clearly as my scent on her skin.

My wee firebrand was out there somewhere, wearing only her chemise, running from me.

And I would find her.

This time, when my Kteer howled in satisfaction, I joined.

Roxanna

I wasn't sure where my laughter was coming from, but I didn't try to stop it when it bubbled from my chest. This meant I got a mouthful of linen as I pulled my chemise over my head, but that only caused my laughter to start again.

This joy was a surprise to me, but there was a sense of peace in my chest that I wanted to savor. I was at peace—finally—because I knew the truth.

Varkaan was my Mate, and I was right where I belonged.

Judging from the roar I heard in the distance, I would be in his arms soon, and I shivered in anticipation, my core already flooding with liquid desire.

I looped the arms of my chemise over a branch so it floated in the breeze, then I took off in the opposite direction. There was a stream ahead—I could hear it—and I hoped that meant there was a clearing there as well. Perhaps some comfy grass where I could wait for my Mate to find me?

I need not have worried. As I began to run, I could hear the pounding of feet behind me. A fortnight ago, the thought of an orc hunting me would make me scream in terror, but now I just wanted to laugh again.

In fact, when I heard Varkaan's roar—and felt it as well—I laughed again, crashing along the trail toward the water.

I broke free of the trees and stumbled into the clearing I had been hoping for. There was the babbling brook and the dappled sunlight on the grass. I was turning to share my delight with my Mate, when a huge body slammed into me.

I did not hesitate but turned in his arms to kiss Varkaan.

Likewise, he didn't stop to ask what I was doing, but lifted me with his hands beneath my arse so I could wrap my legs around his waist, nestling my weeping core atop his cock. The wool of his kilt was between us, but that didn't stop me from moaning and rubbing along his length as my tongue teased his lips.

Orcs were not used to kissing, I had learned in my time in the village. But my Mate was experienced, and his lips curled beneath mine as he drew my tongue into his mouth and nipped playfully at it.

In retaliation, I sucked his lower lip between my teeth and worried it a bit, causing him to growl. I felt like laughing again, but instead I allowed his lip to pop free and I shifted so I could drag my tongue along his left tusk.

I had no idea what I was doing, but apparently it was exactly right.

With another growl, Varkaan pulled away from me while simultaneously lifting me up his body. I released a surprised little noise between a shriek and a gasp. But it turned into a moan, because this was not just a show of strength .

Och, nay.

He lifted me by my arse until my core was in front of him, and swung first one of my legs, then the other, over his shoulders. I clutched the back of his head, pressing my tits against his forehead. But my Mate was not going to let me fall.

His palms cupped my arse cheeks, fingers digging into my flesh…and he licked me.

God Wounds, he licked me .

His ridged tongue slid along my wet cunny, making the most obscene, desperate noises, and I moaned.

The Harlot's Guide said naught of this position. The Invasion of Brussels , but with him standing and holding my cunny up to his mouth? This would be impossible for a human male to duplicate, for certes.

It should be impossible to rock my hips forward in that position, but I tried. I wanted more more more …and Varkaan knew it.

He stood there beside that little brook, still wearing his kilt, with me quite literally wrapped around his face. He could not use his fingers on me, but he didn't need to, because his tongue caressed and teased and flicked and stroked in all the best ways.

And then, remembering exactly what it was that drove me mad last time, that long tongue slid inside me, curling forward until it hit the rough spot behind my pelvic bone.

" Varkaan !" I screamed, throwing my head back as my inner muscles tightened around him.

His lips pulled back, the upper one closing around my clitoris as his thumb pressed against my anus, the naughtiness of it all sending me over the edge.

And then his tusk caught the sensitive skin where my thigh met my cunny, and I felt him bite me. The pain was sweet, and I gasped as ecstasy claimed me.

I convulsed, days of yearning bursting free in the pleasure that crashed over me as I humped his tongue.

My climax seemed to last forever, but was over far too soon. Eventually, Varkaan slowly withdrew his tongue and allowed me to slump back. My legs were still hooked over his shoulders, but now my bare arse rested against his chest as he supported my lower back and I held onto his neck.

Breathing heavily, I gazed up at him wide-eyed, still amazed at the ferocity of my body's response to him.

"I missed you," I panted.

His mouth and chin glistened with my spend, and when he grinned, my chest tightened. God's Wounds, this male made me feel as if I was the most important person in the world, and he had said naught yet.

"I can see that," he murmured, his gaze flicking across my naked chest. "And I missed ye. Ye led me on a mighty chase, Roxanna. Ye ken what that means?"

My heart began to pound, and when his gaze flicked to the spot at the base of my throat where my pulse flickered, I guessed he knew that.

"Ye ran from me," he murmured, green flashing in the depths of his eyes.

My hold on him tightened as I nodded solemnly.

"I did. And you chased me."

"I hunted ye," he corrected. "Ye ken what that means?"

Suddenly, I smiled, that joy once again filling my chest. "I am yours, Varkaan." I surged upward once more to press my lips against his. "Mate."

" Mate ," he growled against my mouth, as his hands untangled me.

And that same joy bubbled up through my chest and spilled from my lips as laughter.