Page 26 of Grumpy Pucking Orc (Orcs on Ice #1)

Ozar

O rc romances were an explosion of emotions and physical attraction.

I’d expected my courtship of a human female to be slower in pace and more cerebral, even though I’d immediately felt that Jordan was as physically attracted to me as I was to her.

From the moment she’d walked through my door, I’d sensed that Jordan was on the edge of sharing my furs.

Indecision? Yes, but that glow in her eyes, the way she took every opportunity to touch me, how she’d leaned in to initiate our kiss on the couch—all of that gave me hope.

Everything was so much better than I’d hoped for.

She’d honestly loved the food I’d prepared.

I’d been so ready to feed her by hand as our customs dictated, but her uneasiness had me switch course, and it had been the right choice.

The wine and the sweets she’d brought were incredible, and it seemed that she shared my unusual love of dairy products from her pledge to treat me to ice cream.

When she’d offered to teach me to skate, I’d realized that my courtship had been scoring me points.

So I’d taken a chance and offered to teach her knife- play with the rubber weapons I’d impulsively purchased for our clan.

It had been a risky decision but had paid off.

Her eyes sparkled. Her creamy skin gleamed with sweat.

Her hair had escaped its ties and was damp and wild, teasing me with what she would look like after I’d brought her to ecstasy.

Jordan was a natural. Physically fit and with that agility and incredible instinct I’d observed in the human hockey team that had opposed us, she darted around, surpassing me with unexpected feints and attacks. My admiration for her grew by the second, and my hand-axe was solid with approval.

A female… woman that used every wile and advantage to win against an opponent? I didn’t think I could love her any more, but tonight Jordan had won my heart and soul.

Once more, she dove forward into my arms. She’d employed this tactic so many times before and succeeded as she always had. I wrapped my arms around her, reveling in the softness of her against me, the sinewy muscles, the fragile bones in my embrace.

So delicate. So fierce. I didn’t know if it was the mate bond or not, but I could not imagine ever spending my life with another.

I felt the jab of the rubber knife into my back and couldn’t help but smile at her cleverness. She’d declared me dead, and even though I’d protested that it would take more than a few stabs to kill me, she was right. I was dead. I was hers for the taking, my very life in her soft hands.

I pulled back, a shudder coursing through me. “I would be honored if you would share my furs.”

Jordan tilted her head, eyeing me quizzically.

“I want to take you to my bed and lay you upon my furs,” I explained.

“But I cannot do this without your permission and consent. If you allow, I will show you my dedication to giving you pleasure. I want you to be my fem—woman. And I hope that my skills on my furs will convince you that you will be the first in my every thought, that I will put your wants and needs above the mountains, the heavens, and the land.”

Her eyes widened, her pupils darkening to the point that her eyes appeared nearly black.

“Yes. Consent. Full consent. I am enthusiastic and eagerly willing to share your furs,” she said in a breathless whisper.

With a growl, I scooped her into my arms and lifted her into my embrace. Then I tossed her over my shoulder.

She burst out laughing. “I was thinking this was a bride-carry, but it’s turned into me being carted off like a warrior’s prize.”

I hesitated, shifting my grip on her. “Is that unacceptable for an orc to do to a woman?”

She raked her nails across the skin of my back, hard enough for me to feel it, but light enough that she would not draw blood. “No. Take me to your furs, Ozar. And let’s show each other the pleasure we can give and receive.”

I hauled her into my bedroom, restraining myself enough to lay her gently on my fur-covered bed. Straddling her body, I gently removed her shirt and frowned at the seamless, lacy device wrapped around her breasts.

Jordan let out a breathy laugh and reached behind her back. “It clasps in the back. Then slides off my shoulders.”

She did just that, releasing a pair of treasures that made my breath catch in my throat.

Orc females…women, were known for large breasts that overflowed an orc’s palms. Jordan’s were small and firm.

They curved upward with dark ro se-colored nipples and a faint network of blue veins showing through the pale skin.

With a cool fingertip, she traced a line across my collarbone and down my sternum to tug at my waistband. “Take these off.”

I obeyed, scooting off the bed to drop my pants and free my hand-axe before climbing back on the mattress to straddle her. “Your turn.”

I wasn’t about to let her up, so I took charge. Unbuttoning and unzipping her pants, I slid them off her hips only to realize I hadn’t yet removed her footwear.

Jordan giggled. “Let me?—”

“No.” I fumbled around the tall boots, finally finding the zipper and removing them one at a time. Then I proceeded to take off her pants and her socks. Then the gorgeous blue lace garments that were the only fabric remaining between me and her soft skin.

“You’re gorgeous,” she murmured, running a hand down my chest once I’d made my way back onto the bed.

She was gorgeous, all creamy skin and lean muscle.

I traced a finger across her collarbone, then leaned forward to kiss her.

Not the slightest bit shy, Jordan gripped my waist with her hands, then wrapped her legs around my hips.

My kiss deepened as I invaded her mouth with my tongue.

But there was so much more of Jordan that I wanted to taste, that I wanted to touch.

Breaking off my kiss, I brushed my tusks along her cheeks, nuzzling her as I inhaled her warm scent.

Then I kissed down the soft skin of her neck, my tongue gently tasting her.

Her legs tightened around me and she lifted her hips off the bed, wiggling in an attempt to align herself with my hand-axe.

“No. Not yet.” I’d meant that to be teasingly stern, but instead my breathy voice came out as pleading instead.

She laughed, but lowered her hips, her hands exploring my waist and abdomen as I made my way down her body, taking in her taste, her scent, and the texture of her skin.

With my hand on the small of her back, I pulled her close and knelt between her legs.

She gasped as my tongue traced her slit, arching herself against me.

Slowly, I explored her, noting every reaction and memorizing her most sensitive spots as well as whether those areas preferred a firm or feather-light touch.

The taste of her was intoxicating, but it was her gasps and whimpers that drove all other thoughts from my mind but to bring her joy, to make her come against my tongue and fingers.

“Ozar!” She squirmed against me, arching her back. “I’m so close. Please. Please.”

There was no denying her. Without hesitation, I moved my mouth to her nub, and swirled it with my tongue, licking and tasting.

Then with my tongue on her clit, I plunged into her depths with my fingers, curling them slightly as I moved them in and out.

She moaned, her legs shaking, tightening against the sides of my head.

Then her muscles tightened around my fingers and with a strong pull of my mouth against her nub, the orgasm rolled through her. She shattered beneath me with a cry.

I paused, not wanting to overwhelm all the sensitive areas but anxious to make her come again. And again. I could do this all night. I could do this for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy. She was so warm and wet, and even though my balls ached with need, I was satisfied.

“ Grumem-esch-ach metanekan schlonakanap-tsknt ,” I told her, meaning every word.

She blinked down at me, then reached her fingers to my shoulders, urging me up along her body. I complied, feeling myself throb as she kissed me, her hands skating along my hips before moving between us.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered, stretching her arms to slide her fingers along the shaft of my hand-axe.

“I want you to come many more times before.” The protest wavered, my vision going white as her nimble fingers circled the head of my hand-axe.

“I want you inside me, and you’re too much of a gentleman orc to deny a woman what she wants.”

That saucy little smile on her face, her fingers on me, the smell of her sex surrounding me… She was right. I could never deny her what she wanted. Never.

So, I eased slowly into her, pulling out a little to tease her. At her protest, I slid all the way in until my pelvis touched hers. She clenched around me, her tightness, her heat embracing me.

I felt the strands of the mating bond strengthen, becoming ropes of steel that could never be broken. We were one. She was my mate. Mine.

My hands gripped her hips as I moved, slowly, then faster as she urged me on. Her hands gripped my waist, firmly at first, then with a frantic pressure that drove her nails into my skin.

Her moans, whimpers, breathy incoherent words intensified my already wild desire for her. With a final, erratic thrust, we both slid over the edge. The world around me disappeared, and all I knew was her—my love, my mate, the one who would forever hold me, body, heart, and soul.