Page 12 of Orc’s Promise (Knotty Monsters #3)

CHAPTER TEN

TANSEY

“ H ere, female,” Verig says, handing me something wrapped in a piece of leather as I sit on the edge of his bed, attempting to detangle my hair after bathing in the nearby river with the other women.

None of us bathes naked, and we don’t have any soap, shampoo, or conditioner, which means we’re all sporting tangled mops atop our heads.

I’m thinking about cutting my hair. That would make the most sense.

“My name’s Tansey,” I correct him as I pull apart a particularly bad knot, strand by strand.

“I know your name, your scent, and the lush curve of your ass.”

I glare at him. I’ve slept in his bed for a week now, and he’s never done more to me than hold me against him. I think.

“Have you been touching me in my sleep?”

“As much as you touch me.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“You sleep in my bed, pressed against my cock, female. Yes, I touch you.”

Fuck, I should have defined what I meant by ‘touch’. Though the way he’s looking at me, with heat in his eyes, I’m not sure I want the answer. And yet I can’t stop imagining his hand moving up and down my body, sliding between my legs.

I don’t dislike the idea. Not at all.

Instead of letting my imagination wander in a direction that will only end with me writhing beneath this male, I unwrap the package he handed me.

It’s a brush and comb, the last thing I expected anyone to give me, and one of the most thoughtful gifts.

Ornate carvings decorate the back and handle of the brush, which are made from a red wood similar to mahogany.

The bristles are actually a series of small bones inserted into holes bored into the wood and held there with an amber resin.

For as complex as the brush is, the simplicity and elegance of the comb astound me.

It’s carved entirely from bone with perfectly straight, evenly spaced teeth.

“They’re beautiful, and perfect, Verig,” I say, running the brush through my hair. With patience and a little work, the brush returns my hair to a manageable mass. The comb then glides through effortlessly. “Thank you.”

Verig pets my hair, stroking me from my head down to the middle of my back. That feels soooo good.

I re-wrap the brush and comb and hand them back to him. “I don’t trade anything for sex.”

He sets the leather bundle in the wood trunk. “These are gifts and are not for trade. I made them for you because you need them. And you will take them with you should you leave here.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

One stride and he’s in front of me again, tipping my head up with a finger beneath my chin.

“You know I don’t.” His hand gently cups the back of my head and glides down my hair, only this time his hand dips farther to my ass, and stays there.

This is not my imagination, but real. Very real. And I’m not pushing him away.

“Tell me to remove my hand or accept me in your furs.”

“They’re your furs,” I say because I’m being a hard-ass.

I want to give in to him, but I’m not sure of the ramifications.

A night or two of fun…sure. But will a physical relationship make it harder to escape the orcs when I get my chance?

Would Verig come after me, or the whole damn orc army?

Verig alone…I might be able to reason with him.

He’s not like the others. And damn, he’s handsome.

Ripped muscles everywhere, he carries himself with confidence and strength.

He doesn’t use his size to intimidate, at least not me.

I bet he’s a fierce warrior. And yet he’s so much more.

This male has a heart beneath that scowling exterior. I see it in everything he does.

I’ve never been so fucking attracted to a man before. And he is a man. Not a monster or an animal, like my people believe.

He steps closer, pressing his hard length against my belly. Oh, my, that does things to me, things I didn’t expect.

“I haven’t been with a female in a very long time. We don’t have many females here, but there are some. Quite beautiful ones. Smart, fierce. But none of them…are you. The gods have chosen you for me.”

“I’m not your mate. I’m not Haaka.”

“Vekk, I know that!” He pulls me against him, his hands squeezing my ass while his cock presses against my belly. “You’ve stirred something inside me that I thought died with my mate.”

“I’ll never be her. And I won’t let you or your people keep me from my son.”

“Then I will bring him here.”

“Absolutely not.” I force myself to relax, which is rather difficult with his cock pressing against me. “I understand why you want me, Verig. Sex. Babies. It’s why your warriors kidnapped us.”

He pushes the hair back from my face and runs two fingers down my cheek. “So soft. Very beautiful, but you do not know us.”

“Are you telling me I’m wrong?”

“Females are for more than giving pleasure and life. ”

Companionship. He’s lonely.

He’s not the only one.

All week, I’ve felt more like myself, happier, less stressed. At first, I thought it was because I’m safe here with Verig, but it’s more than that. Despite how much I’ve missed and worried about Ethan, I’ve felt whole here with Verig.

For the first time, I reach out and touch Verig’s face, mirroring his touch. His breath hitches slightly, and he stills as I explore his face. His skin is slightly tougher than a human’s, and I barely notice those ridges on his forehead anymore. They are merely a part of him. As are his tusks.

My finger runs across his upper lip until I graze the top of a tusk and stroke the length of it. Smooth, hard, like I imagine that part of him pressing into me is.

Verig drags a tusk along my finger. A shiver travels directly to my lady parts. He bends his head, using that same tusk to cut down the neckline of the leather tunic I’m wearing. One of the few items I own and wear when it’s wash day. Normally, I wear my dress from New Earth.

Hearing the rip of leather as he slices the tunic down the middle makes me moan. Verig stops and meets my eyes. His nose flares, and I know he smells my arousal.

“Don’t stop,” I whisper. I need this. To be desired and cared for by a male who wants me, even if only because he’s lonely.

Cold air strikes my nipples, turning them hard, as Verig pushes the leather off my arms. I’m completely naked, since the woman in charge of doling out clothing to the human women didn’t give us underwear. I don’t even know if orc women wear underwear.

Verig stares at my breasts before running his hands over both, feeling their fullness and lifting them. His thumbs play with my nipples as his eyes hold me.

“You are mine,” he says, rather forcefully.

“For tonight.”

He steps back, only for a second, to untie his loincloth.

We’ve shared his quarters for a week, but I’ve never actually seen him naked, only felt his naked form against me in bed.

Now that I see the heat in his eyes and feel the pulsing in my body, I understand why I never looked at him until he dressed.

Since the first day our eyes met, back in New Earth, a part of me imagined what it would be like being with him. Not because he’s an orc. The idea of being with any male other than Verig, orc or human, repulses me.

After tossing his loincloth aside, his hard, erect cock stands there on full display.

He’s showing me all he has, all he is. Like a peacock strutting its feathers to attract a mate.

And Verig’s feather is quite beautiful, more than enough to attract and please any mate.

Slightly darker green, his cock is long, thick, and ridged.

I swallow, unable to imagine what he’ll feel like inside me.

He runs a hand down my throat. “Do that again?” he orders.

“What?”

“Swallow.”

With his hand resting on my throat, I swallow. And I understand what he desires, though he’s not forcing or threatening me. He’s not like the other orcs, demanding or controlling. But he’s very sure of himself, confident that he will get what he desires.

I slide down Verig’s body, running my hands over hard muscles before they settle on his massive thighs. With the tip of my tongue, I flick the dark green head of his cock several times, enjoying how his hands sink into my hair, holding me, keeping me from going anywhere.

He thinks he’s in control. Most men do. My tongue wraps around his tip, but I never take him in my mouth, mostly because that’s what he expects.

He tugs my hair back, prompting me to look up at him. “There is nothing more a male likes than seeing his female on her knees before him.”

“Is that your way of saying you want more?”

His fingers trail down the side of my throat. “Beautiful. ”

One word, that’s all it takes, and I’m sucking on him. Like velvet over iron, his cock fills my mouth. With each bob on and off his length, his moans fill the room. My pussy clenches with need.

His hands loosen in my hair, giving me the room to move, to take him farther down my throat. The tenderness with which he holds me makes me push myself to please him. I’ve never taken a male so deep, but I’m determined to do this for him.

Why him? The thought bounces around until I shove it aside, focus on breathing through my nose, and sink deeper onto him. When my forehead brushes his groin, he pulls out unexpectedly and lifts me off the floor.

Our eyes meet. No words are spoken, but I see wonder, confusion, and lust battling within him.

“Verig…”

He tosses me onto the bed and I yelp from the unexpectedness, but fuck me, there’s nothing as erotic as lying naked atop fur while a huge male hovers over me, dragging his wet cock along the inside of my thigh.

I spread for him out of instinct, but he doesn’t impale me.

He gathers my wrists in one hand and holds them above my head as he runs a tusk over one of my very hard nipples, sending a delicious shudder through me.

He repeats the action, alternating breasts, drawing moan after moan from me.

He’s killing me with need, and I think he knows it.

Yes, I started this, but he’s going to end it his way.

I struggle against his hold. He’s immovable, but I know if I ask him to release me, he will.

When have I ever trusted a man like this?

Never.

“You have me at your mercy, Warrior,” I say, my tone coy. “What now?”

That salacious grin appears. I don’t see it often, but when I do, it does things to me, almost as unspeakable as the way he sucks on my nipple.

His mouth pulls me in. Warm, wet, and utterly sublime. He’s a master at this, and I’m melting into a puddle of boneless flesh.

I’m the first woman he’s had since his wife. I don’t know how to process that, other than to feel privileged and honored.

My hips lift from the bed, demanding more, but Verig takes his time, ignoring the way I undulate with need beneath him.

When he releases my breast from his mouth, it’s only to run those tusks over my wet, hard nipples. I nearly orgasm right then. I don’t understand what it is about him or his tusks, but when he licks his way up my neck, kissing his way to my mouth, I nip at him.

His lips curl back, flashing those tusks which makes me gush. I sense the shift in him. There’s no ending this, even if I wanted to. He’s caught my scent.

His tusks graze along my lips, but never with the tips. Then he pushes his tongue between my lips, hard, eager, and commanding.

“Fuck me, Verig,” I push the words out because I’m so aroused I can’t stand it anymore. “Fuck me like I’m yours.”

VERIG

This female knows how to entice me, with her words, her scent, the way her eyes follow me, but mostly her attitude. She’s as fierce as an orc warrior and so unlike any female I’ve known. She does not bargain for power or favors. She takes me as I am. A male with half a soul.

“Fuck me like I’m yours,” she says with an intensity that turns me harder than steel.

My cock throbs at the thought of taking her, but when I slide my cock through her wet folds, I hesitate .

Tansey’s hands lock onto my biceps and squeeze. “Has it been so long you’ve forgotten what to do?” she teases, making me want to swat her bottom. The idea makes my cock pulse harder, but I don’t enter her.

A small hand runs along one of my tusks as compassion and concern fill her eyes. “Are you okay?”

I’m on Kovos. With another female. Living a different life from the one on Orcos.

Tansey twirls her fingers in my hair, keeping her eyes on mine, as if she understands. I tilt my head, breaking the connection, but nuzzling my cheek against her hand as she lowers it.

Her hand moves over my shoulder to my neck. That feels so vekking good, and for the first time in years, I feel…complete again.

Forgive me, Haaka.

“It’s okay, Verig,” Tansey whispers. Her hand remains on me, holding me secure as if she knows breaking the connection will break me.

I lock my eyes on her as I ease into her. Her sheath grips me. She’s tight, as I expected of a human female, but she’s taking me. And that expression on her face, the way her mouth opens into a circle and her lids half-close…Such beauty there.

“You are mine, Tansey,” I say as I sink into her heat, enjoying every exquisite sensation as her walls mold to me. No doubt remains. This female was made for me in so many ways.

Perhaps the gods have forgiven me.

“Yours. For tonight,” she says.

“More than tonight,” I correct her, even though I wonder if she will consent to risha with me. Many females do not like the ritual. If we have a youngling first, there would be no need for risha. A youngling would bind us.

I withdraw slowly and thrust faster, harder, watching her throw her head back as she takes me .

“Hmm,” she releases a very feminine moan. “Maybe tomorrow night, too.”

I lift her legs up high to rest against my chest and allow me to drive deeper. Her moans spur me to move faster, harder. The need to conquer her, to make her mine, quickly takes over. I trap her legs with my arms as I thrust into her, pressing her into the furs.

“Scream for me, female. Let me hear you.”

“You…first.”

Obstinate female. She is a challenge. One I revel in. And I will make her scream.

I pull out, flip her over, and lift her hips, thrusting into her while pressing between her shoulders with one hand. The bed creaks, but I won’t relent, even if it breaks beneath us.

With my free hand, I roll a nipple between my fingers.

“Oh, god,” she screams. Her walls clamp down on me, setting me off. I shoot my seed inside her, marveling at the release.

I close my eyes, enjoying the euphoria. Slowly, her muscles relax, and I remain in her, waiting. My cock fails to knot inside her.

My eyes spring open at the naked female face down on my bed.

Without a knot, there can be no youngling.

No way of keeping her. Not without risha to bind us.

I guess the gods have not forgiven me after all.