Page 7

Chapter seven

Kai

M aybe the best way to get out of the clutches of my captor was to play along with him—if he thought I was going to listen, that I believed his crazy idea that I was his mate, maybe he’d let me go, or stop watching me so closely.

The problem with that was when I played along, my body felt like someone was lighting a fire just beneath the skin. When I leaned in and took the fruit from Nash’s fingers, I could taste him on my tongue more than I could the sugar. Warm and salty, a flavor that ran all the way down.

It was seriously the dumbest shit, because I didn’t like this. I wasn’t like this.

I didn’t like big thick masculine fingers, and I didn’t think about what they could do to me.

And I didn’t watch weird green monster men lick juice from their skin and have to immediately imagine one of those sad puppy commercials to stop my body from having a response.

Definitely not.

At the same time, playing along was the best way I could think to make this work—in Rainn’s books, it would have worked. Of course, in his books, playing along would have accidentally ended up with the guy falling in love with the monster, but that was fine.

Because I didn’t like guys.

And I didn’t like monsters.

And there was still a small part of me that wondered if I was going to wake up from a really weird dream with a new idea for my best friend to write for a book.

It took an entire week for Nash to finally leave me in his tent without my wrists tied, though at least he’d stopped securing me to the bed after a few days. It was weird—I’d half expected to wake up and find him on top of me more than once. There was this strange, pent-up energy that was so fucking suffocating I was surprised I hadn’t died from a lack of oxygen.

But… he behaved himself.

Even when I played along with him—even when I did my best to turn on my most charming smile when he was talking to me. He’d made it a ritual, hand feeding me every night… then he’d leave the tent, like it was the only thing that was stopping me from getting ravished.

The problem was, playing along was getting me nowhere and nothing except frustrated. It wasn’t because I really wanted him or anything like that.

But I was used to satisfying my urges whenever I wanted, however I wanted, with whatever girl from town I wanted.

And now…

Well, now I wasn’t even satisfying my urges with my damn hand, because Nash never left long enough for me to find alone time with Palm Solo.

The last thing I needed was him bursting into the tent with fresh water for the washbasin while I was trying to work out some of the sexual frustration slowly building up over the endless days of little almost-there touches.

After the third day, I had to admit to myself this probably wasn’t some weird dream. I had the inside of the tent memorized—I only saw the outside when I went to the bathroom.

After the fifth day, I had to start asking myself if this was going to be my life for the rest of… well… my life.

I had to ask myself if I was going to spend the rest of forever tied up in some orc’s tent while he called me Little Mate and fed me fruit I was pretty sure was going to make me fat if I didn’t start exercising soon.

It might have been easier to accept if it weren’t for the fact that I knew somewhere out there my best friend was here too, and I had no idea if he’d been captured by some big handsome— no, not handsome, Kai —demanding, delic…

No, Kai. Not delicious. That was just the food he brought.

Delusional. That was the word. I had no idea if he’d been kidnapped by a delusional orc who insisted he was his mate and was probably making him do weird shit.

The only real comfort I had was knowing Rainn wouldn’t think it was weird shit at all. He was probably halfway to heaven by now, barefoot and pregnant and living his best life.

Shit, I knew there was magic here—could they make Rainn get pregnant? The thought left me puzzling for a good half hour while I fiddled with the collar around my throat. Nash could say that wasn’t what it was all he wanted, but I couldn’t get it loose. Of course, I probably didn’t want to. The last thing I needed was to be stuck here and not be able to understand everyone around me.

How else was I supposed to maybe ask for help? Surely someone in this camp knew something about Rainn.

Surely someone would help me?

Or…

Maybe not. From what I heard and the little I saw, everyone seemed to love Nash. Maybe it was the warmth and strength he exuded, or maybe they were all just afraid he’d kick their ass if they didn’t love him. Whatever it was, I wasn’t getting the sense that anyone would want to risk their biscuits helping me escape.

Which meant I needed to help myself.

I just wasn’t sure how.

The only thing I could come up with was trying to backtrack if I could somehow run again. I figured if I could make my way to the cave I came through, the answer was obviously going in the opposite direction. Rainn hadn’t come this way, so he must have gone the other way.

I’d been camping in the woods plenty of times—I’d hiked off trail and never really gotten super lost. Just a little lost.

I’d be fine.

It probably would have been a little easier if I was a stealthy person, if I was small and lithe and capable of sneaking out without anyone seeing me.

But I was big, and it wasn’t like my skin really blended into the foliage like the orcs did—I was all tan and blond and obvious.

I was just going to have to try my best. It was the only thing I could do.

I was quiet through our nightly ritual. I let Nash hand feed me and waited for him to come back to the tent a little later. When he curled up and fell asleep, I forced myself to listen to the sound of his breathing, to watch his broad chest rise and fall.

There was no way for me to know if he was a light sleeper.

There was no way to know if I was about to set off some kind of magical alarm—I hadn’t asked enough questions about what was going on, about what was possible in this world.

I probably should have asked more questions.

Oh well… too late now.

I stood slowly, every inch almost painful as I watched Nash for any sign of movement. He rolled over in his sleep, his fingers stretching out for me like he could tell that something was awry, but his eyes didn’t open.

He was still on the bed.

And… I just stood there.

Something in my chest felt… tight. Like I couldn’t breathe. It was like his fingers had stretched further than I thought, hooked into claws just beneath my skin—maybe there was some kind of magical defense that I hadn’t realized, because I could feel him there. Behind my ribs.

Holding my heart.

Holding me still.

And…

Fuck, it was almost painful to move. I had to force myself to take a few deep breaths before I managed to inch backward. While I did, I couldn’t tear my eyes off the sleeping orc, his brows knitting tighter together the further I went. Maybe he could feel me pulling at whatever weird, magical tether he’d put between us.

Which meant I had to move faster.

I had to go.

I had to—

A broken sound tore from my chest as I finally ripped my gaze from him and peeked my head outside the tent.

There was a patrol crossing back and forth, but they weren’t looking directly at us, probably because Nash was here and they thought he could handle me. I wasn’t sure where I was going to run, but I had to assume my instincts would lead me in the right direction.

I waited until the two orcs had rounded the corner and I slid out of the tent, skirting around the back and taking off at a jog.

It was really strange, but it was almost like I could feel Nash as I left him behind, and I knew if I didn’t run now… hard… fast…

He’d know. Or I’d think about it too much.

My mind tried to remind me that the last time I’d run, I hadn’t made it very far before he caught me.

I just had to run faster this time.

Which…. probably would have been a little easier if it wasn’t so dark. If I ever needed proof I was in a completely different world, the lack of lights would have been enough. I could see the stars so clearly it was almost distracting… but as soon as I stepped beneath the leafy canopy of the trees, I was sent into a near pitch-black sea.

My mantra of run run run was instantly cut to walk, walk… walk and try not to trip on whatever I couldn’t see in front of me.

That and try not to get eaten by whatever predators were hidden in the shadows that definitely had better night vision than I did.

By the time I’d gone a few yards, my entire body was so wound with tension I felt like a light breeze could probably have scared the shit out of me, but I didn’t know what else to do… and I had to do something .

That didn’t stop me from muttering under my breath in frustration while I blindly stretched my hands out in front of me to try to stop myself from falling in the dark. “Stupid orcs… stupid fantasy world. This is karma for stealing that dildo, isn’t it? What god do I have to apologize to for fucking myself with it, because I will. I’ll—”

I let out a scream that was instantly cut off by the feel of a calloused palm sliding across my mouth—my body was jerked against something warm and hard, and for a second, I was pretty sure I was going to die.

This was it.

I’d found a worse monster, and it was going to kill me, and Nash would find me the next day gutted and dead and—

“What do you think you’re doing, Kai?”

Shit . The cold fury in Nash’s voice was nearly enough to make me think that I’d probably have been better off being found by a monster after all. It was worse, because his hand on my mouth meant I couldn’t answer, and when I tried to jerk away, his other arm wrapped around my chest in a viselike grip that made it hard to breathe.

We stood there in the shadow of the trees for a few breathless seconds, and when he finally slid his hand from my mouth, I wasn’t sure if I had the air to answer.

“I’m sorry, I—”

His mouth cut me off this time, and the low grunt that tore from my chest had nothing to do with the roughness of the kiss and everything to do with how his arms turned me until I was crushed against him.

Fuck.

Fuck .

Kissing wasn’t supposed to be like this. His mouth was a hot demand that stole away whatever excuse I was thinking about making for running—not just because he cut my words off, but because the taste of him left me completely unsure of why I’d tried to go anywhere to begin with.

In the darkness of the woods, when there was no way for me to see who I was touching—who was touching me —it was somehow impossible to deny that my body liked this. That I wanted this. I wanted Nash’s arms wrapping tighter around me and holding me so close I was forced up on tiptoes. His tongue parting my lips and invading my mouth was the best thing I’d ever felt in my life.

I didn’t realize my arms were wrapping around him and I was pulling him closer instead of pushing him away, until he let out a low growl that reverberated where our mouths were connected and he pushed me back, slamming my shoulders against the rough bark of a tree.

Damn, I’d never been manhandled—orc-handled?—before. I’d never felt so alive when someone touched me.

I’d never felt—

“I should put you over my knee and spank you until you have no strength to run again.” Nash’s growling threat took me off guard as he broke the kiss.

“I… what? Are you threatening me or flirting with me?” My voice sounded as dazed as I felt, and my question was swallowed down by the feel of his mouth pressing against mine again.

Warm.

Hot.

Demanding.

Confusing.

As confusing as his hands trailing along the length of my back, fingers digging into the skin just above my ass as he pulled me firmly against him.

“Nash.” I finally managed, his name spilling almost of its own accord from my lips. “I have to go. I can’t just stay tied up in your tent forever.” Even as I spoke, I knew the words were useless. He’d started walking with his arms around me, and I had a feeling he wasn’t taking me back to the portal so I could go home.

I could blame the way I didn’t struggle as much as I should have on the darkness, on the fact that I didn’t know the woods at all and I probably wouldn’t have gotten very far.

It had nothing to do with how good it felt to be pressed against his body—was I allowed to be attracted to a dude if I couldn’t see him?

Did that still count?

Yeah, probably.

Nash didn’t stop dragging me forward until I was back in his tent, and I was too shocked to stop him when he threw me roughly across the room so I tumbled onto his bed.

He followed after me, and my entire body felt like it was blossoming with fire—heat just beneath my skin that I couldn’t stop.

That I couldn’t control.

He took my mouth with his again, and I didn’t have the excuse of it being dark this time when I let out another low-sounding rumble in my chest.

I was pretending—I had to be pretending. Getting out of my punishment? Trying to set him at ease so he’d let his guard down again, since I’d fucked up my first attempt at running so spectacularly?

I…

I was kissing him back. The only thing that saved me from completely losing myself was the way he had my wrists pinned above my head, though I completely lost my train of thought when his mouth trailed from my lips to press warm, rough kisses that scraped my jawline. My neck.

Distracting. And… definitely not evoking very straight feelings from me.

It took me a full twenty seconds to realize he’d slipped the ropes around my wrists again, and this time when he murmured the words, I felt the pressure against my skin. I was still half dazed from the feel of his mouth pressed against mine, caught up in whatever confusing emotions were roaring along my nerves and making me feel like my entire body was on fire.

“Maybe this will be lesson enough.” Nash leaned in, brushing his lips along my jawline and drawing another violent shiver from me.

Magic.

It had to be magic.

It had to be—

“Where are you going? What do you mean lesson ?” I got the words out as he pulled back after tying my hands to the frame of the bed. I was stuck there on my back, the effects of our kiss embarrassingly obvious in the way my shorts were tented. Nash’s eyes swept along my body, his brows drawing together and a nearly pained expression painted across his face.

“I can feel the way you want, Little Mate. I would give you relief unlike anything you’ve experienced before, but…” He clenched his hands at his sides like he wanted to show me what he meant, and for some reason, my protests of “ not your mate” were caught in the back of my throat. “I think you’re better left to think…”

“Think?” I tried to jerk my hands down, but there wasn’t any room. The position I was in was proof that he hadn’t really tried to tie me up at all before—I was actually restrained now. “Think about what?”

“You can’t run from me, Kai. You’re mine.”

And before I could protest, or do something really embarrassing like ask him to stay and touch me more… Nash turned and left the tent.

My eyes followed him, then jerked down the length of my body. My cock was standing erect, pointed upward like it was accusing me of something.

“Oh, fuck off. This is your fault… and we don’t like dudes.” And like it could actually hear me, the damn thing twitched in defiance at the memory of Nash’s broad body pinning me to the bed and the warmth of his mouth on my own.