“Ach,” he said brightly, once he’d dumped yet another batch of bright red berries into Ella’s cupped hands, and popped one into her mouth with an alarming familiarity. “Look at this, lass.”
With that, he leapt up onto yet another tree, swinging himself bodily up over the branch with his good arm, and landing on it with his good leg. And then he strode down the branch, scarcely seeming to notice its narrow width, and plucked something off the tree-trunk before swinging back down to stand before her.
“See?” he said, thrusting it out toward her — and Ella did see, what seemed to be an unremarkable little seed-pod. But then Natt’s other hand came up to stroke gently at the pod — and suddenly it exploded into bloom, into a spray of yellow and white.
Ella first yelped, and then laughed, and then stared, fascinated, as she reached a careful finger to touch at the bright flowers. And then she watched, oddly trapped, as Natt brought the sprig of flowers up, and tucked it into her hair.
“Fair, lovely lass,” he said, with a twitch of a smile, and a light flick of his claw to her cheek. “You have bloomed, like these flowers, whilst we were parted.”
Ella felt her face warming, her eyes glancing down to her current ensemble. “No, I’ve become thoroughly ridiculous,” she corrected him. “I’m wearing bedclothes, and asheepskin, and my face is probably sprouting freckles as we speak. And my hair” — she winced, and reached a hand up to feel the haphazard mess of loose waves — “is a totalnightmare, Nattfarr.”
But Natt only leaned in, grasping for a handful of Ella’s hair, and then he brought it to his nose, inhaling deep. “Your hair,” he said, husky, “is a bright crown from the forest-gods, lass. And were this mine to choose” — he stepped back a little, his assessing eyes darting up and down — “you should only wear furs thus. And jewels. And naught else.”
He’d reached a purposeful claw to tug at the neckline of Ella’s sleeping-shift, almost as if to tear it. And while she should have jerked away, and began walking again — they were beingfollowed— she only stood there as that hand slid down, and came to cup slow, intent, over her breast through the thin fabric.
“These ought to be seen,” Natt murmured, every word a low thudding thrill to Ella’s groin. “They ought to be bared and flaunted, where they can be plucked, and suckled, and kissed, whenever I should wish.”
Ella’s breath choked in her throat, her nipple already jutting hard and aching against his palm, and Natt stepped closer, and cupped his other hand over the other side, heated and shocking and close. “I ken this should please you, lass,” he purred. “You should like to be dressed by your orc, and walk tall and proud by his side.”
The vision of that fired at once through Ella’s thoughts, impossibly vivid, and shockingly intriguing. Walking tall and shameless at Natt’s side, wearing only orc-jewels and furs. Her nipples bared and peaked and reddened, loudly proclaiming whatever he’d just done to them…
“Of course not,” Ella managed, lurching back and away from his too-tempting touch, while her eyes darted uneasily around them. “A lady would never permit such a scandalous thing.”
But Natt’s head only tilted, his braid falling over his shoulder, and there was a brush of that black tongue against his slightly split lip. “Ach, but you are not yet a lady,” he said. “And we now have only this one day together, before we are again parted. Should you not grant me this great gift, only for today? And then, mayhap, after you have teased me thus for a spell, we shall find a secret place, and share our joy under the sky?”
Ella was again struck speechless, because Natt really, reallymeantthat. He wanted her to walk beside him, now, likethat, and then take theirpleasure, right out in the open — and it was almost impossible to find words, to make herself speak.
“No, Natt,” Ella choked out, over her suddenly racing heartbeat. “That’s ridiculous. Ican’t. Iwillbe a lady soon, and, Alfred’s men arechasingus, andspyingon us.”
Her eyes were again darting furtively around them, searching for any hint of shadows and faces, hiding in the trees. But Natt didn’t even spare a glance, and those glittering eyes held to hers, looked into her.
“They are not yet near enough to see aught that we do,” he said flatly. “They shall learn naught of what vengeance we take today.”
Vengeance,again. But as Natt drew Ella back to walking again, and then darted off after some other thing he’d noticed, Ella’s thoughts kept circling at that, lingering, feeling almost… guilty. Natt was right, they only had this one day together before they were parted again. But surely that didn’t requirepublic copulation, did it?
Natt stayed away for longer this time, long enough that Ella began to feel an unmistakable unease — what if his injuries had gotten the better of him, what if he’d changed his mind, what if he’d beencaught? — and when he finally bounded back to her side, she shot a relieved grin up toward him, and even put an eager hand to his bare arm. At least, until she caught sight of the distinctive red smear on his mouth, and — her eyes dropped downward — thedeadrabbitin his hand.
“Oh,gross, Natt,” she said, with a revolted little shudder, but Natt only gave her a slow smile back, showing off all his red-rimmed white teeth.
“Ach, you are now too fine even for good fresh meat?” he said. “Foolish lass. We shall alter this.”
With that, he turned and knelt before a nearby large rock, and started skinning the rabbitright in front of her. Sending drops of blood flying onto himself, and onto Ella’s sleeping-shift, while also — Ella grimaced — popping the occasional raw bloody morsel into his mouth.
It was utterly disgusting, but all the same, Ella couldn’t seem to look away. His claws were so sharp and deft and deadly, his movements purposeful and easy, the born predator, making quick work of his prey. And when he grasped behind him for some moss, tearing it off a nearby tree without even looking, and then set it aflame with a single snap of his claws, there was a sound much like a gasp, escaping from Ella’s throat.
Natt shot her a brief, amused glance, but kept working. Adding a few twigs and bits of brush to his makeshift fire, while his other hand kept began cutting off thin, curling chunks of meat with his claws. And then holding several slices close over his little flame, not even twitching as the fire licked at his fingers, and the delicious smell of roasting rabbit furled through the air.
“Come,” he said to Ella, with a jerk of his head, and she obeyed, almost as if compelled. Coming to kneel before his little fire, watching as he brought the meat up to blow on it, cooling it off — and then he raised this fingers to Ella’s mouth.
“Eat,” he said, the word a clear order — but Ella’s mouth was watering too much to refuse, her stomach grumbling with hunger. And when she leaned forward, and took a careful, delicate bite of the meat from his claws, Natt gave a smug, approving smile — and even more so at her unwilling moan of pleasure as she chewed, becausegodsit was delicious, tender and savoury and hot.
“Good,” Natt said, as he tucked another slice between her lips, and his other hand reached back, getting more. “I knew this one should be an easy lesson.”
There didn’t seem the space to argue that, not when one was being so gently, generously fed by a brutal, bloody orc. Whose other hand had continued slicing, cooking, adding to his fire, supported by only the occasional brief glance from his eyes.
Ella ate until she couldn’t any longer, giving Natt a rueful shake of her head. And as she watched, he next snapped those long claws back deep into his fingers, and then gave her his fingers to suck off, one by one.
They tasted of blood and smoke and meat, with just a twinge of his musky sweetness. And for a bizarre, hanging instant, there was only this, only suckling on Natt’s fingers, and perhaps wishing they were something else. Something just as alive, something that could kiss back, and feed her just as sweetly…
