Chapter 8

Thebes

In the orc's world, there's a hallucinogenic known as mkantallah . I tried it a few times as a young male, chewing the leaves and focusing on the smoke from the firepit. It had made me feel as if my essence had left my body, and was floating upward with that smoke, drifting through the forest, one with the nature around me.

I felt that way again, only this time, I knew it was thanks to my Kteer .

I'd found my Mate, and kissing her—touching her, claiming her—made me feel that way again, as if I was simultaneously one with the universe…and also experiencing the greatest pleasure a male could know.

Our clothing fell away in a desperate sort of flurry, and each glimpse, each inch of skin revealed, was like a frame in my mind. I was always imagining how I would show this in a camera— my camera. My memories .

When we were naked, I lifted her up onto the bed again, and she stood above me, as if on a pedestal. I was stroking my cock as my other hand slid up her side, and my tongue caressed her skin.

Had I thought Ashlyn tasted good before? My Mate's nipples were pure ambrosia.

Her hands came to rest on my hair, in a sort of benediction. I loved the way her head tipped back, and the guttural noise of surrender she made deep in her throat triggered my Kteer . My teeth closed around her nipple, and she rocked forward.

"Thebes! Oh God, now, please!"

Yes, she was as ready as I was. I wanted to taste her.

Perhaps my Mate could tell my intentions. Or maybe it was the way I dropped my cock and reached for her wet pussy. Either way, Ashlyn's fingers dug into my hair.

" Now , Thebes!"

Oh.

Turned out I had a thing for Dominant Ashlyn.

I turned, my eyes seeking out the box of condoms I'd left in her room, but she pulled me back.

As I tipped my head back to ask the question, she cupped my cheeks with her palms. "I want you," she whispered. " All of you."

Her meaning hit me. She didn't want to use a condom. "Are you sure, Ash?" I whispered.

Her grin was shy, certain. "There is a knowing , Mate."

Oh gods of the ancestors .

My knees buckled, and I reached for her. We fell to the bed wrapped around one another, and she was the one to push me over on my back and climb on top of me.

In the last few days, I thought we'd made love in every possible position. But now she straddled me and pulled me upright, so I was sitting on the bed, my legs dangling…and she sat on my lap, facing me.

When she sunk onto my cock, I shuddered at the perfection .

She shuddered because, well, immediate orgasm.

"Oh God," she groaned, burying her face in my chest as she spasmed in my lap. Oh, how I loved the feeling of her inner muscles milking me like that, the sound of her breathless little sighs.

And now I could feel every glorious inch of her because nothing stood between us.

Nothing ever would.

When Ashlyn wrapped her arms around my torso and locked her ankles behind my hips, I had to move.

It was…

It was…

Look, I've spent the last ten years finding new ways to communicate. To humans, with humans. I've mastered cameras, the Internet, social media, ad campaigns, and a million other small things to ensure that humans would accept us.

But here and now, words failed me.

Each thrust, each glorious inch, each time one of my ridges slid across her slick inner muscles, felt as if I was flying, high on mkantallah again.

And the knowledge it would always be like this was humbling beyond belief.

My pleasure built in the base of my spine, in my balls, and I knew I wasn't going to last much longer. "Ash," I gasped. "Are you…?"

Her fingers wrapped in my hair and pulled my mouth down to hers. It was as if she was giving me permission.

I reached between us, my fingers finding her clitoris, and I stroked her .

She moaned against my lips as I felt her muscles tighten around me. Yes yes yes that's it that's my good Mate yes .

But I couldn't say the words because it was as if my brain had frozen, and all I could manage was yes yes yes now .

I came.

Gods of the ancestors, I came hard.

"Ashlyn!" I bellowed, jerking my lips from hers and throwing my head back with another roar as I filled her. Dimly, I felt her climaxing again, rocking her hips back and forth atop my cock, milking more and more of my seed.

But I was surrounded by a sort of haze, my Kteer howling gleefully as I claimed her.

Claimed Ashlyn as mine .

My Mate.

Forever.

No matter what happened with Eastshore, or her father's company, or the sale, she was my Mate, and we'd find a way to be together.

"Holy crap," she finally whispered, her forehead pressed against my chest. "Holy crap."

My cock was still buried deep inside her, and I could feel her muscles fluttering around me as her pleasure echoed through her. And my cum filled her, seeping between us, unable to be contained.

I wanted more of this. I never wanted to not feel this way. This perfection.

I loved this female, and I would prove it to her.

Soon , I promised my Kteer . Soon.

My arms wrapped around Ashlyn, keeping her safe. "That was…"

" So much better," she blurted .

Sidetracked, I frowned. "Better than what?" I mean, it had been better than our previous love-making sessions, but had they really been lacking so much?

I realized she was flushing. "Ash?"

She peeked up at me, and must've seen my confusion, because she shifted, causing more of my cum to flow between us, scenting the air with a sharp, cinnamony smell.

" Ash ?"

Was she going to try to convince me she hadn't enjoyed my touch all these evenings?

With a sigh, she pushed herself upright, and my cock slid completely from her. I would have been disappointed if I wasn't focused on the way she was currently chewing on her bottom lip.

"Better than what, Mate?" I growled.

She peeked up at me again. "Better than the dildo," she admitted.

I burst into laughter, my gaze darting toward the bathroom, where I knew her toiletries bag was stashed. "I should hope it was better than the dildo." I scooped her up in my arms. "And I'm glad we're finally talking about it."

Ashlyn snuggled against my bare chest. "You are?"

"I've wanted to ask about it, but since you pretended the whole wrecking-your-suitcase thing never happened, I had to as well."

She hummed, her fingers tracing circles on my skin. The light touch caused my cock to twitch and my Kteer to rise in interest. "I was embarrassed."

"Why?" I nuzzled the top of her head. "It was a major turn-on. You know, I could swear it was ridged—"

"It was. It is ." She was talking to my chest again, her cheeks pink. "It's an orc penis. "

Ah. I guess that explained why she'd been able to take my thickness so easily.

Just proved she was always destined to be mine. My grin was proud when I prompted, "And…is there any particular reason you have an orc dildo, Ashlyn?"

Groaning, she tipped her head sideways to press against my skin, so I couldn't see her expression. "I used to pretend it was yours."

Her words were muffled, but I understood them. "Mine?"

"Thebes, I've been following your channels for ages, and oh my God you are hot, and when I found out there was a company that made models of different peens, hell yes I bought the orc one and pretended it was you!"

All of that came out in one breath, the words strung together closely enough I had trouble following.

But one thought shone through.

Ashlyn was one of my fans.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled against my chest. "I should have told you."

"Told me that you knew who I was?" I hadn't told her, but now that I thought about it, it's not like I was really keeping it a secret, was I?

She tipped her head back so I could finally meet her eyes. "I should have told you I'd masturbated to your videos."

I couldn't help it; a slow grin grew on my lips, and my arms tightened around her.

"You're not mad?" she asked.

"Mad? Sweetheart, how could I possibly be mad?" Beneath her ass, my cock was starting to throb, imagining the way she must've touched herself. "That's got to be the hottest thing I've ever heard. "

Her lips twitched. "I'm sure plenty of women have masturbated to you."

"Yeah, but—" With a grunt, I stood, lifting her abruptly enough that she gasped and threw her arms around my neck. "None of them are my Mate."

I strode toward the bathroom, feeling my cum dripping from her greedy pussy. I wanted her again—I wanted it again.

And I knew exactly how to get it.

"Thebes?" she offered breathlessly as I set her down in front of the counter.

"One day, Ash, I'm going to make you show me exactly how you used that dildo." With my hands on her shoulders, I gently turned her until she was facing the mirror. "I'm going to make you sit on that bed and touch yourself and describe to me exactly what it was you thought about."

Her breathing had quickened, her lips had parted. I could smell the beginnings of her arousal—or maybe it had never gone away. It was my job to make her dripping once more.

"Is that—" Her gaze was wide as it met mine in the mirror. "Is that what you want?"

"One day." I pressed my palm between her shoulder blades, urging her to take her weight on her palms atop the marble. I used my foot to spread her legs, until she was leaning over the counter, still watching my reflection in anticipation. "But for now…"

"For now?" she breathed.

My gaze flicked up to my own reflection, and yeah, my eyes were green again. The Mating thrall. I needed this. I needed to taste my Mate. I needed to bring her pleasure.

"For now…" I murmured, dropping to my knees behind her sweet ass, my fingers spreading her thighs and her cheeks .

My tongue swiped along her cleft, and I tasted her sweetness and my own spice. She moaned and thrust her ass back toward me, offering me even more of herself.

"For now, I need to clean the mess I made."