Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

T he tears streaming down my face blur my vision as I attempt to put one foot in front of the other.I can barely walk straight anymore. I don't know where I am going. This forest is so big, but I've seen the same tree five times. I will never get home at this rate—I will die here. But probably better I die out here than at the hands of an executioner. An image of the minotaur I saw flashes through my mind.

A twig snaps behind me. I turn too quickly, and before I know it, I fall on the ground, and my ankle is killing me. I think I twisted it. Giving up, I sink into the bed of leaves covering the ground underneath me. I cannot go on right now—this is too much. I've lost the love of my life. No, I've lost everything. Even if I somehow find my way out of these woods, what do I have to go back to? My five so called friends who ditched me? My annoying ex who can't seem to get it through his head that I am moving on?

"Alex!" I faintly hear my name off in the distance.I must be delirious. I need water, and my stomach growls.

God, I am tired of being tired and delirious.

"Alex!" The voice comes closer.

"Red?" I call out weakly to my dream. "Red?" But what is he doing here? I want to call out to him louder, but is he here to kill me now? Like he told Tabitha? Or maybe it's a wild animal, and it wants to kill me. Whatever it is, I hear it running towards me.

"Whatever you are, just kill me quickly!" I blurt out.

"Alex! Thank God I found you. What are you talking about? No one is going to kill you!" I blink my eyes, looking up at my green-skinned lover. He lifts me into his arms. "Alex, I thought I lost you forever!"

"But what you were saying to Tabitha… the elders of the council…"

"Don't worry about that anymore. Let's just take any killing off the table, shall we?"

"That would probably help me to relax a little, yes."

Red laughs his big troll laugh, and I feel that familiar calm warmth roll over me again.

"You came for me?" I bury my head in his chest, overwhelmed with his spicy scent filling my nostrils.

"Of course I came for you." He holds me closer to him. "I want you to know I just want to be with you. I understand, perhaps, why you wanted to leave. I can't ask you to give up your whole life and everything you have known for me. That is too selfish of me."

I feel disappointment in my throat. Does he not want me to live in our little mini-Disney village? I am confused.

"But you want me, right? You want to be with me?"

"Of course I do! I just don't want you to feel you are a prisoner in my town. Look, if we are clever, I think I could come live in your world. I don't fully know why you wanted to leave, but I don't want you to ever feel you need to run from me again!"

"But I thought the elders were going to make you kill me!"

"Oh, forget about that. Didn't I say that's off the table?"

"I just didn't believe what we have would really last. Nothing good ever lasts for me, Red."

Red just kisses me gently on the lips. "This will last. I will probably have to live in your basement, though, or if you have a barn, that might be even better. Or maybe we could live at the Renaissance faire; there are many like me there."

"You would do all of that for me?"

"Yes, but we need to go now. I don't exactly have permission for all this."

"But you would do it for me?"

"I would do anything for you, Alex. I would fight a rock elemental or eat wood worms. I would lay down my life for you."

"But why can't we live in your village, Red? I thought you liked it here."

"Of course I do, but then we would have to be forever mated. That is the law."

"Oh, I see." The rejection I am so used to pours over me like an ice bath. I understand. He doesn't want that with me, after all. It is like I thought. He just wants some fun with his little human wench, or whatever I am to him.

He wanted me for a little while, but when the sex is over, I'm thrown out. I know what to say; I've done this many times.

"I understand. You're not the type to commit to a girl like me. I get it." My heart breaks inside me, but I manage to smile. "Thank you for everything. I'll see my way out of this forest." I slide my body down from Red's arms, but he catches me before my feet hit the ground.

"What are you talking about? You will not see yourself out of the forest! Are you saying you do want to be with me like that? The whole forever fated mate thing isn't too much? I was afraid I was scaring you away. Trolls can be a lot, you know."

Yeah, they can.

"Alex, I want you with every fiber of my being! And if you'll have me, of course I want to spend forever with you."

"You do?" My confusion is overwhelming. No one has ever wanted to be with me forever.

"Like forever -forever?" I ask.

"Yes! Forever -forever." Red lifts me onto his chest and twirls me around in a circle. I can't help but giggle."Yes, you beautiful human! I've loved you since I saw you lost in the woods. You are my mate and my love. I want to spend forever with you!"

"I want all of you and to be yours forever, too, Red."

"You're sure, right? I need you to be sure."

"I am absolutely sure. Never been more sure of anything in my life."

"That's all I needed to hear," he says as a devilish grin overtakes his face. Before I can utter another word, he smacks my ass, throws me over his shoulder, and in an instant, we are running through the woods. My heart beats fast in my chest. That little swank is gonna leave a welt.

I feel my whole body tingling with excitement, not just my ass cheek. I don't know what I agreed to, but I have never felt so desired and wanted, and I am here for it.

Red stops before the vast tree he showed me earlier in the day. Its massive branches reach high into the starry night sky. He carries me over to where the branches create a small tent-like area. The leaves form a canopy over the lush green moss-covered ground. Inside, just enough light pours in to see. It smells of fresh mint, and I think it might be the most romantic place I have ever seen.

"I want you, Alex, and I am going to claim you right here and now for all time. We must satisfy the old ways."

"And let's not forget about my satisfaction," I purr in my most coquettish, husky voice.

"I need you, Alex, right here and now."

"Claim away, Red, I am yours for the taking."

He kisses me deeply, his tongue exploring my mouth. I match him, kiss for kiss. His large hands rub and roam my body until I cannot stand it. With little delay, Red pulls my shirt over my head and cups my breasts, massaging them as his kisses grow more urgent. Getting on his knees before me, he takes my left nipple into his mouth. I gasp as he sucks and nibbles the tender skin. I press myself into him as he moves his mouth to my right nipple, slowly and deliberately.

"Yes, they both need your attentions," I moan.

I want him so badly, my pussy is aching for him already. I grab his head to kiss him again as he guides me onto my back and the bed of moss. It is as soft as the most comfortable bed. It seems to mold to me as Red moves his lips down my body. He removes my pants with ease while continuing his trail of kisses until he reaches the sweet spot between my legs.

I gasp as his tongue licks my lips, once again pressing himself between the soft folds.

"Oh, god!" I cry out as he sucks hard on my clit. The sensation sends shockwaves through my body. He moans into me as he thrusts his tongue in and out of me, swirling and sucking.

God, I love his tongue!

I grab his head, pushing him into me, grinding my hips into his face. It is clear to me that whatever inhibitions I once had, I left far behind in the outside world. Red grabs my butt, pulling me even closer. The pressure inside me builds; I cannot hold on anymore.

"I'm coming!" The world breaks, and my body shudders with each pulsating spasm as I release a flood of my juices. Red continues his relentless work, licking and sucking gently, until I am still, my breathing heavy.

"Fortune has certainly smiled upon me." He gives me a wicked grin.

That is not the typical response I would expect in such a situation, but I am not gonna argue.

Without another word, he grabs my hand, placing it on his enormous erection.

"Are you ready?" He removes his pants to reveal his proud cock. Then, he rolls me onto him. "Do what you want to me," he whispers. "Let me be your play toy first, and then I shall claim you for all time."

"No argument here." I smile back at him. No one has ever talked like this to me, and I love it. Is this what dirty talk is?

I decide to try it out.

"I am going to fuck your brains out, Red." He groans with pleasure underneath me as I slide my wet slit up and down his length. I feel that his need is as great as mine. I can't wait anymore—I need him inside me now. Slowly I mount him, guiding his smooth rod into my waiting pussy.He is so large that I feel myself stretch and adjust to his girth. Then, I push myself down further until he is touching my very core. Red grabs my hips as I start my slow, deliberate ride. Moving up and down, he fills me. God, is he big. I moan, it feels so good.

"That's right." Red holds me down. "Ride me, make me yours, come for me."

"I will do my own claiming," I say as I lay against him, my nipples brushing his chest. "I claim this troll and this cock as mine for all time!" I bellow to the sky.

His fingers massage my ass while I grind myself on him, my muscles tightening then pulsing a little. Tiny orgasms grip me, then let go—I am so close to the big one.

"Take it, make it yours, claim me." His hips start to move.

"I claim you," I gasp.

"And I shall claim you," he says as his movements grow faster until he is fucking me from underneath, and all I can do is hold on. My climax is so close that everything tightens. My pussy is stretched to the max around him. His rod rams me so hard that I cry out.

Just as I feel my orgasm beginning to overtake me, he flips us around so that I am laying on my back. He is plunging into me even harder now, and the pressure in my core is growing to unimaginable heights.

"Oh, my God, Red…"

"Yes!" he screams to the sky as he thrusts into me again and again. "I claim you, Alexandra, now and forever as my mate! My forever mate!"

At that very moment, I come around him. My orgasm hits me in waves throughout my entire body.

"I claim you!" he repeats, even as I feel his muscles growing tight. "You are mine!" he roars. I feel his hot seed shooting deep inside me as we come together as one. Our bodies tremble as we both spasm in the throes of an ecstasy like nothing I have ever felt. Slowly, it fades until we both grow still.

"I love you." I lay on his massive chest, my body curled up on him, his hand resting on my butt.

"I love you, too." I can hear the smile in his voice. Then it happens.

"Ouch!" Something is burning my chest. I quickly roll off him. What looks like a heart is taking shape just above my left breast. "What is happening?"

"That is the claiming mark, and now you are mine forever."

The pain passes as quickly as it came. Just looking at the mark on my chest fills me with calm and peace. It is simple, but classic. "I love it. I love you."

Red gathers me into his arms, and I snuggle with him.

"I am so happy." He gently kisses my head. "I am the luckiest of trolls. Who knew love would find me?"

"And I am the luckiest of humans. You saved my body and heart."

He pulls me close. "It almost doesn't feel fair that my heart should be so full."

I prop myself up a little and look at him. "What do you mean?

"Many of my friends are also lonely. I can only hope they will find what I have."

"Ah, you mean like Troth?"

"Yes, and others."

"They are gonna have to find their own humans, I'm afraid.

Red chuckles softly. "I have a feeling they will… Now come here and kiss me, my love. You and I only have forever together, and I'd like to get started."