Page 26 of Loved By The Orc (Monster Orc Brides #4)
Most are clutching yellow fabric to the spot between their legs, and the little brats are giggling uncontrollably as they mimic their fathers, but they seem quite gleeful to be butt-naked .
“Who was responsible for this travesty?” Brachard bellows. “The Blackhearts are our dignified guests!” But his lips twitch, which sends us into a fit of giggles.
Jacovi harrumphs, then throws his shoulders back, dumping the long piece of fabric that mimics a shawl to the ground in a lemon cloud.
He has a ribbon of fabric tied into a yellow bow around his cock. I sort of wonder who tied it for him.
His sister, Cherovi, screams and covers her eyes.
My father tries to come console her, but forgets to hold his envelope of fabric over his own cock, blushes bright green, and then bursts into laughter. Which triggers everyone else.
And when we’ve had enough of dangling cocks, we drag out Joanna’s fabrics bin, which is where we stashed their clothing.
My Uncle Latsil catches my eye as he notices the bin, and I wink. I grab my cloak and drape it over Var to keep nosy eyes from peeking at his magnificence.
“Did you have anything to do with this?” he growls.
“Nay, my love. I wouldn’t.” I can’t help the grin that curls my lips with my obvious lie.
“Not unless you were with those other two,” he says, kissing the tip of my nose as my father tosses Var’s tunic at us.
Var keeps his eyes on me, but raises one muscled arm and catches it. Impressive.
“I can’t believe you joined these fools in skinny dipping,” I chide.
He grins. “I had no choice. I’m a prisoner, remember? They told me in no uncertain terms to strip.”
“Aye, the only male excused here is Var,” Brachard says, pounding his back and then leaning down to kiss my cheek. I give him a quick squeeze because he shortened Varguk’s name and he knows how much that means to him .
“Sweet Knees, I know this was your idea,” Bakog growls. He’s wearing a yellow apron across his lap, which makes me giggle at the ludicrous sight of his enormous green legs jutting out beneath it.
“Was it?” I return. “Was it really?” I let my eyes deliberately stray to his sister and his mate and he looks confused as he realizes it could easily have been one of them.
Just because I hid his and Tok’s clothes once when we were young and they found out because I couldn’t stop giggling doesn’t necessarily mean it was totally me again.
My father, now dressed, narrows his eyes as he tries to figure it out. “Jacovi sent his sister to see you and the others. Cherovi, were you with these three females? All three? At all times?”
“Aye,” she verifies, smiling innocently at my dad. “And with Joanna and Hannah and the sweet brat. The entire time, so it wasn’t anyone from the yellow-flowered house there.”
My father nods, mollified. “I knew my Sweet Pea wouldn’t have pulled such a foul trick on strong males.”
He ignores the new wave of snickers that roll through the crowd and accepts the mug of ale as it’s passed to him. My heart warms when he sits down next to Cherovi. Her face is shining with love as she looks up at him, and continues to assure him that his daughter is sweet and blameless.
“They’re in love,” Varguk says simply.
“Aye. So much.”
“Almost as much as I love you.”
“Which is not nearly as much as I love you.”
He leans down and presses his mouth to mine. For a long minute, I languish in this feeling between us, but then Var pulls away to dress. He’s the last naked male.
As soon as he gets dressed, Brachard stands to speak.
“Now that all of our males and brats are dressed”—a few catcalls echo ‘round the camp— “my royal guard will head out to the south end of the territory. The Southpeaks will be waiting there to gain entry. They will escort a handful in. Primarily, Clan King Agor and ex-king Vronas, his two sons, and their guards. I want a male around every female of the camp and everyone protects everyone, Blackheart and West Mountain alike. We stand together!” He raises his arm in the air, and we all cheer.
“Now, all the brats get to the safe house and we’ll let you come out for the party when they leave.”
The little ones are rounded up and escorted to the hidden basement kept as a safe area. They have no need to know it won’t be much of a party for the adults. The males will stay sober and alert, taking turns to patrol areas.
The mood is more somber as people are arranged into strategic places.
There’s a group of Blackhearts—namely Denruk and his crowd—who are tasked with the job of watching the entire rest of the Southpeaks left on the edge of the property.
Exhausting and dangerous, considering they’re the first line of defense. The first to perish if things go awry.
And tasked to follow the Southpeaks when they leave. If anything looks amiss, one should turn around or give a signal for others to invade, one is to ride like the wind back to warn us. The others are to defend, no matter how many enemies there are.
King Jacovi has no mercy. He’s making a point that the three males jeopardized our relationship with West Mountain by attacking me…
and even more so by doing it on West Mountain territory, my second home.
What a slap in the face. And of course, by forcing the West Mountain “prisoner’s” hand to defend me.
It’s not long before a runner enters the village.
“King Brachard,” he gasps. “They are at the edge of the forest.”
Brachard holds up his hand to signal the drummers to begin their slow beats.