Page 16 of An Intimate Excerpt from the Diary of Our Lady

Either way, it was easy for me to sit quietly with him feeding me food, to watch his face as he indulged himself. It was an easy sort of silence that I'd rarely experienced with anyone else.

"So, my lord," I said. "What is on the docket for today?"

Orcus raised an eyebrow at the title, but didn't protest. To me, it was only logical. If I was the Lady, he was my Lord.3

He tilted his head and smiled at me, though he didn't comment on my new moniker. "I thought we might further explore the extent of your submission. After all, we've only just begun. And I wanted to debrief after last time, but you were quite fatigued."

"That... might be accurate," I said, smiling and turning my head to hide my blush.

"So, princess," he said, setting the food on the bedside table and taking one of my ankles in hand. "How did you feel during our last session?"

With strong hands and firm pressure, he massaged me again, and I wondered if this would be the sort of treatment I could expect every day.

"As I said, I was surprised, of course. But I also found it quite... enjoyable."

He raised his eyebrow and smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Do you feel that I've betrayed your trust in any way?"

"No, I was scared about how this would manifest, but all in all, it's been an enlightening and enjoyable experience."

"As it should be. And what were your thoughts on your lack of control? Was it concerning to you? Irksome?" He raised a brow and smirked, the insufferable man.

"It has been... in many ways, freeing. I might have needed it. It's frightening—that you know me so well. I feel like, in comparison, I know you not at all, and you see into my very soul."

"I'm not so hard," he said. "Really, all you need to know is that I was made to please you, to bewhat you needed, and to... stretch you in the ways you needed."

His lips bloomed into a smile on the word stretch, and a wave of heat flashed through me. I'd some inkling of what he might mean by stretch, but I couldn't wait to see if I was right.

His strong hands continued up my legs, stoking the fire within until I was panting. My pussy felt swollen and hot, begging for his focus and attention, greedy to repeat his previous "lesson."

After my legs were thoroughly relaxed, he crawled up my body, pausing when his lips hovered over mine. Shadows bloomed around his head, reaching toward me. He ghosted over the planes of my face, tilting my chin up until I met his eyes.

"You are being so perfect, pet," he spoke against my lips, so that I was sure he felt a puff of air when I moaned at his words. I reached for him, desperate to touch him. I'd felt the skin of his fingertips, the smoothness of his shadows, but the rest of his body was foreign to me. I craned my neck, desperate for our mouths to touch, but he pulled back and smiled.

"So perfect, but you are not in charge here. You do not get what you want. You get what you need." He wrapped my armsagain, denying me the ability to touch him when I was only a breath away.

"I need to touch you!" I whined.

"What youneed," he whispered. "Is a lesson in what it is like to lack control. To be unable to get what you want because someone else determines that."

I squeezed my eyes shut, because this wasn't just about the two of us. As much as I hated it, this was also about my growth, and in that, I needed to trust him.

"Yes." The word was barely audible, but it brought a smile to his face that was worth what it cost me to say.

"See? Perfect, pet." A shadow tendril caressed my lip. "Now open."

1. I cannot help but wonder if a thousand years later, we still have echoes of these melodies in our existing hymns. I can think of several that reference the Lady's innocence.

2. Largely, Orcus is still regarded as a god that is inherently evil. Further, he's still worshipped by the Elves of the Empire. Only the orcs, his chosen people, have ever seen him as even a morally grey or complicated god. Perhaps this work will alter perceptions.

3. Religions worldwide shall tremble. I am laughing uncontrollably.

Chapter sixteen

IN WHICH THE LADY COMPREHENDS THE EXTENT OF HER SUBMISSION

Iopenedmymouth,andin seconds he'd filled it. The tentacle writhed and expanded, filling my mouth and slipping over every surface. It was so much like our previous kiss, provoking and sensual, but the slick surface of his tentacle undulated in ways I doubt his tongue could. Instead of overwhelming touches across my body, he focused on my mouth, on my lips, leaving the rest of me bereft, straining for hints of his touch. I could feel the heat of him, so close to touching me, but remaining just out of reach.

My tongue danced with his tentacle, slightly annoyed that it wasn't his tongue, but enjoyingmyself too much to stop. I wanted more, so much more, but I would take whatever dregs he gave me, because even those were bliss. I whined around his tentacle, hopeful that he'd remove it and allow me to speak. But he only smiled and licked his lips.