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SIX

“Wait! You shouldn’t grab them so hard.” Amuleta’s giggle floated through the air.

Her soft, smaller hands rested on Magoza’s.

She snatched Magoza’s hand back from the vines the crotori berries grew on.

“Why not? You told me to pick them,” Magoza muttered.

Her heart paused at the sight of Amuleta’s wide grin.

Her smile lit up her face, and her beauty continued to take Magoza’s breath away.

The more time she spent with her, the more she wanted this female.

“You have to be gentle with them. Otherwise they will burst and you will have crushed berries and juice all over you. Watch me again,” Amuleta said.

Her eyes, which were magnificently two different colors, darted away from Magoza.

She picked up her dagger from the ground and gently pried the vine away from the tree it had coiled around.

She focused on carefully cutting the vine.

She tugged, and the vine came away from the tree.

Her smile widened as she cut lower down and freed the selection of berries.

She held them up for Magoza.

“See. Simple as that. You have to be careful with them. These are extremely ripe and will be super sweet.”

She plucked one off and tossed it into her mouth.

Her eyes closed briefly while a slight moan came from her.

Magoza’s core clenched at the sound.

A fierce desire and need to hear Amuleta make that noise again filled her.

She opened her eyes and plucked another one and offered it to Magoza.

“Try them. They are perfect,” Amuleta whispered.

Her pupils were dilated wide.

Magoza opened her mouth to allow Amuleta to deposit the berry into her mouth.

She hesitated at first but slowly came forward and popped it into Magoza’s mouth.

She closed and bit down on the berry.

The sweetness and tartness of the fruit exploded on her tongue.

It was extremely good, but she was sure it would pale in comparison to what Amuleta would taste like.

She chewed and swallowed the berry, careful not to choke on it.

“You are right. They are delicious. I could eat them all right now.” Magoza tore her gaze from Amuleta and looked around at all of the trees that held the vines low on their trunks.

There were even bushes next to them.

It would appear the bushes created vines that latched on to the trees that grew next to them.

“Well, I’m sure lots of people will be disappointed if I did not bring berries. I guess I could explain that the commander ate them all.” Amuleta chuckled.

She placed the berries in a collection bag that held other vines she had removed from the trees.

“No one would dare challenge me,” Magoza boasted.

Even though she was a strong warrior and had fought in plenty of battles, she needed to convey to Amuleta that she was a great warrior.

One who no one would cross.

A protective nature grew with a fury inside Magoza.

Amuleta may be part orc, but she wasn’t as large as a full-blooded one.

Her human features softened her and gave her a smaller, more delicate frame.

“Oh, I’ve heard stories,” Amuleta murmured.

She moved away slightly and continued harvesting the berries.

“Fan of gossip, are you?” Magoza’s eyebrows rose high.

She didn’t think Amuleta would be one of the gossipers in town.

She was sure there were plenty of tales making their way around about her.

She always ignored the hearsay.

She would dare anyone to share their lies with her to her face.

“Not really, but it’s hard to ignore when there are so many tongues wagging at the market about the great Magoza.” Amuleta glanced over at her with a teasing look in her eyes.

She placed another length of vine in her bag.

She motioned to Magoza.

“Come on. No slacking. You wanted to help, remember?”

This little female was a spitfire.

It just took her getting comfortable in Magoza’s presence to start letting her true personality show.

Magoza grinned and slid the dagger she kept hidden underneath the leg of her boot from its scabbard.

It was a tiny one that wouldn’t do real damage like her axes, but it was a backup weapon for her.

She never left home unprepared.

She never knew what dangers she would encounter.

“ Kraz, I said I wanted to help. I wouldn’t want to let it be known that I’m a slacker.” Magoza moved over to the other side of the wide base of the tree.

She carefully mimicked Amuleta’s action and was able to successfully remove a strip of the vine away from the tree with the berries safely secured.

She thought back to the singing she had heard and that it wasn’t in the Universal language, nor was it in Orcish.

They were currently speaking in Orcish, but that other language was one Magoza wasn’t familiar with.

“Your singing voice is beautiful. What language was that you were singing in?”

Magoza held her breath as she retrieved another section of the vines.

She was certain Amuleta was still on the other side of the tree.

Her delicious scent was still strong in the air.

She moved around the tree with her berries in her hand.

Amuleta was kneeling in front of the bushes next to the tree.

The vines were completely removed from her side.

“Did you hear me, Amuleta?” Magoza asked.

She walked over to her and knelt beside her so she could add her berries to the bag.

“ Kratz , I heard you.” She glanced over at Magoza with a guarded look in her eyes.

She sighed and turned her attention back to the bushes.

She carefully pruned more berries.

For a moment, Magoza thought she would not answer her, but then she spoke again softly.

“That song was taught to me when I was a young child. It is Peyali, an ancient Fae dialect.”

“Fae?” Magoza was impressed.

There were many dialects of the Fae language, but this one was not one she was familiar with.

There was more to this woman than the eye could see.

With her humanoid features, her one brown eye and her one amber eye, one could see she was a half-breed as many called her.

But Fae was thrown in there, too?

Very interesting. “It was beautiful.”

“ Shamir omie. ” Thank you.

Her lips turned up in the corners.

Her fingers continued working quickly as she cut and tugged the berries from the bushes and placed them in the bag, which was almost full.

She plucked another berry from the bush and popped it in her mouth.

“I have to stop eating them. I won’t have much to sell. I guess I can tell my customers that I was a glut and ate most of the berries with you.”

She turned and offered Magoza another berry.

Magoza leaned closer to Amuleta.

She inhaled deeply and ignored the sweet smell of the berries near them and focused on Amuleta’s.

She opened her mouth and closed it around the berry still held between Amuleta’s fingers.

Her lips brushed them, a gasp escaping her.

She pulled back slightly, unable to taste the berry as Amuleta’s wide eyes locked in on her mouth.

Magoza chewed slowly and swallowed the berry.

She reached up and brushed Amuleta’s hair from her face.

She trailed her fingers down her temple and the side of her face.

Her green skin was just as soft as it looked.

Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment before opening and focusing on Magoza.

Her lips parted slightly, and Magoza found herself focusing on them.

Her plump lips were a temptation she was fighting to resist.

“I’m going to kiss you,” Magoza whispered.

This was her warning for Amuleta.

If she didn’t desire the kiss, then this was her chance to move away.

They were kneeling on the ground, but all was forgotten at the moment.

The only thing that held Magoza’s attention was this beautiful female in front of her.

She wanted her.

Magoza slipped her hand down to the back of Amuleta’s neck and held her in place.

Amuleta’s nodded slightly.

It was all Magoza needed.

She dropped her head and pressed her mouth to Amuleta’s whose opened immediately.

Their kiss began as a simple one until Magoza thrust her tongue forward and was welcomed by Amuleta’s.

The taste of the berries greeted her.

Magoza groaned and gathered Amuleta to her, careful to keep her tusks from scraping Amuleta.

Magoza couldn’t get enough of her.

The kiss intensified; Amuleta grew bold with her tongue.

It was becoming overwhelming for Magoza.

She wanted to lay this woman down on the soft grass and strip her clothing from her.

But she reined in her control.

The smaller woman’s hands slid up Magoza’s arms. A growl was ripped from Magoza as Amuleta explored her arms. Her soft hands slid over her biceps, traveling farther up until they reached behind her neck.

She entwined them together and opened more for Magoza who took advantage of this.

She wanted to memorize this taste of this female in her arms.

Mate.

The word was whispered in the back of Magoza’s head.

Her heart slammed against her chest. She tore her mouth from Amuleta’s and stared down at her in awe.

Could it be? Was that why she was attracted to her?

Why she had sought this female out?

Could this be the reason she had wanted to defend her honor?

She reached up and slowly ran a finger over Amuleta’s swollen lips.

Something inside her chest was fiercely proud that it was Magoza who was the reason she had a dazed gleam in her eyes and had looked as if she had been kissed to within an inch of her life.

She breathed in and could almost taste Amuleta’s arousal on her tongue.

It was so strong that it took everything in Magoza’s power to not react to it.

Amuleta blinked and glanced down at Magoza’s lips again before meeting her gaze.

“Why did you stop?” she whispered.

Doubt crept into her eyes.

Magoza cursed internally at the expression.

She never wanted her female to question anything about them.

The need to have this woman was growing inside her.

She gripped Amuleta by the back of her neck in a firm hold.

She didn’t want to scare her with how fiercely she wanted—no, needed—her.

“You want more, doakir ?” she rasped.

Her control was holding on by a thin thread.

She wanted to court this female.

Get to know her and everything there was to learn.

In the short amount of time they had spent together foraging for the different herbs they had already collected and now the berries, Magoza was sure they were meant to be together.

Amuleta was a woman she needed in her life.

Today was an eye-opening experience for her.

It had been too long since she had spent a day doing something other than being a warrior.

Amuleta had opened her eyes to what life could be like away from Angarth Keep, away from the prying eyes of the village, and away from the last name Cydassi.

“Because you can have whatever it is that you want, mate.”

“What?” Amuleta gasped.

She tried to move away, but Magoza held her in place.

There was no fighting what she felt.

If this was the gods telling her that this woman belonged to her, then she would go with what fate had in store for her.

It had never led her wrong before.

“I can’t be.”

“And why not? Look how your body responds to me,” Magoza murmured.

She eyed the rapid beat of Amuleta’s pulse at the base of her neck.

“I will claim you and your body.”

She loved how Amuleta watched her with her wide eyes.

Those tasty lips parted slightly.

She applied a little more pressure to Amuleta’s neck, and the sweet scent of her arousal grew stronger.

A growl escaped Magoza.

The remaining part of her control shattered.

She tugged Amuleta to her until nothing could fit between them.

She slammed her mouth down onto Amuleta who gasped.

The second her mouth opened, Magoza slipped her tongue inside.

Everything about this moment felt right.

Amuleta melted into her.

Those small hands of hers traveled up Magoza’s arms and to the base of her neck.

Magoza hummed at the feeling of Amuleta’s plump mounds being crushed against hers.

She tilted her head to the side while her tongue swept inside Amuleta’s mouth to explore her once again.

Amuleta’s shy tongue stroked Magoza’s, welcoming her.

Magoza trailed her hand down Amuleta’s back and slipped farther to her soft and round backside.

She was an orc with large hands, and Amuleta’s round globes fit perfectly in them.

Magoza continued on and reached for the edge of Amuleta’s trousers.

She undid them and slid them down.

They were still kneeling on the soft patch of grass in their little private domain in the woods.

Amuleta helped her remove the offending material.

She stood before Magoza and kicked them off.

It didn’t take them long to take off the rest of her clothing, leaving a naked Amuleta to stand in front of a kneeling Magoza.

Her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen.

Magoza couldn’t take her eyes off the picture of perfection before her.

Amuleta’s high round breasts were full with their dark areolas and perky nipples.

Her soft belly flared out into her wide hips, and there was a dark patch of hair between her legs.

Magoza bit back a growl as the scent of Amuleta’s arousal washed over her.

Magoza remained kneeling in front of Amuleta.

It allowed them to almost be eye level with each other.

She rested her hands on Amuleta’s waist and groaned.

She lifted her and moved them over to the tree.

She fell back to where she sat on the ground with her back to the tree.

She brought Amuleta down to straddle her legs.

Immediately, their lips met again in a deep, passionate kiss.

She had to be careful not to cut Amuleta with her tusks.

Even thinking of causing the slightest bit of pain or harm to this female had her wanting to rip her own damn tusks off.

Amuleta moaned and rocked her hips while her fingers dove into Magoza’s hair.

Magoza’s core clenched at the feeling of this soft and curvy female in her arms. A shiver rippled down her spine at the sensation of her small fingers sliding over her scalp and displacing her braids.

She tore her lips from Amuleta’s and left a trail of hot kisses along the way as she reached her chest. Magoza cupped Amuleta’s full breasts.

She lifted them and studied the perfect mounds.

Amuleta moaned again.

Her hooded eyes were locked on Magoza.

She held her gaze while she lowered her head to take one of the mounds into her mouth.

She captured the teat and bathed it with her tongue.

She suckled the nipple deep while she massaged the other one with her free hand.

“Magoza,” Amuleta moaned.

The sound of her name on this female’s lips sent a ripple of desire through her.

Amuleta’s grip on her hair tightened, but Magoza ignored the slight hint of pain.

Amuleta arched her back to present herself completely to Magoza.

Satisfaction filled Magoza at the small act.

She released the first mound and moved to the second one.

She gripped Amuleta and slid her forward until her core was next to Magoza’s stomach.

Amuleta reached down and tugged on Magoza’s tunic.

She allowed the female to relieve her of her shirt, leaving her bare from the waist up.

Her hands landed on Magoza’s shoulders and slowly trailed along her arms.

“You’re so strong.”

Her simple words caused an intense reaction in Magoza.

She flipped them around to where Amuleta was now resting on her back on the thick grass with Magoza braced over her.

It was something about the way this female could detect her strength and had a thing about her arms. Magoza would prove to her that she would always be safe and protected.

No one would ever speak ill of her again and certainly would never lay a finger on her.

Magoza would chop off their hand with her axe and feed it to them.