“Ask me,” he breathed, his voice hitching, heated, hoarse. “To cleanse these.”
To cleanse them. And Maria had no sweet conception what he could possibly mean — or did she, because those words of Baldr’s were flashing through her thoughts, theEnforcer, whocleansed. And as Simon kept gazing up at her under thick black lashes, she caught something almost…longingin those eyes. Something that craved relief beyond just the physical, needed to seek the darkness, find the darkness, and…
So Maria nodded,nodded, and her unthinking, trembling hands even thrust herself out, closer toward his dazed, blinking eyes.
“Then please, Simon,” she whispered. “Enforce me.”
8
Enforce me.
The words fell like steel through water, streaking straight through any resistance, plummeting into the depths. Drawing out a low, guttural groan from Simon’s convulsing throat, his huge body curling up and in on itself, something raw and powerful flashing across his bright black eyes —
And then the beast in his handexploded. Firing out stream after stream of thick hot white, spattering and spewing all over Maria’s breasts, her belly, her groin. Painting her with it, flooding her with it, until it was running in slick streaks down her heated skin, coating her with its rugged scent, with the enthralling power of its bared, brokenhunger.
And as Maria stood there, stunned and blinking, drenched with an orc’s actualleavings, her first thought wasn’t disgust, or shock, or even, surprisingly, shame. No, instead it was the undeniable, unequivocaltruthof this, here, smelling of heat and hunger, dripping off her skin.
He’dwantedher.
And gods, it had been solong. Years, without a single look like that, or words like that, let alone a…responselike that. And even if it was an orc, even if it wasthisorc, it was still… true. Real.Here.
Maria still hadn’t moved — hadn’t found any space in her brain beyond standing here, and breathing — but before her, Simon’s huge form had sagged back against the wall behind him. His throat visibly swallowing, his sharp jaw flexing, his eyes fluttering closed. While his streaked-white hand purposely slipped away from his rapidly diminishing length, and clenched into a tight fist on his thigh instead.
Oh.Oh. He was — what? Upset? Disappointed?Regretful?
And where the strength of his eyes had been, there was suddenly only shame, surging through Maria in a flood, flattening her beneath its ruthless, devastating weight. She’d stripped naked before anorc. She’d fondled herself while he’d watched. She’d moaned and gasped andobeyed, and then she’d begged him to — to —
She was still dripping, her whole front coated in sticky slick white, and when she darted a panicked glance downward, it almost felt like it was crawling on her skin. Like something foreign, something wrong, something that was invading her verysoul, the smell was everywhereeverywhereohgods—
She staggered backwards, away,away— and then nearly tripped over the damned wash-basin, still sitting there steaming behind her. But yes, please gods,anything, and she immediately leapt in, dropped herself neck-deep into the scalding-hot water, and buried her face in her hands.
What had she just done.Gods, what had she done. It was just likehysteria, and it couldn’t be, not now,please—
“Maria,” came Simon’s low voice, an instant clarion call in the chaos, and even as Maria cursed herself for it — hated herself for it — her head snapped up, her eyes searching for his. And finding them, far closer than she’d expected, his big body now leaning forward on the bench, his elbows resting on his knees, his clawed hands gripped tight together.
And those eyes were steady again, unapologetic, unashamed. Holding her in their strength, seeing her, knowing her,safe…
“You wish for this,” he said, his voice very even. “Forme.”
The words were perhaps again a taunt, a challenge, cutting straight to Maria’s deepest shame — but his face, oddly, wasn’t. And as she stared at his watching eyes, she caught a glimpse of surprising… uncertainty.
“You aresureyou wish for this,” he repeated, quieter now. “You chose this freely. Ach?”
And yes, that wasdoubtin his voice, his eyes — and somehow it almost felt worse than the mocking. Like he’d stripped away any semblance of cover he’d given her, like he’d dragged her bodily back up out from the water and exposedeverything.
“Yes,” Maria snapped at him, pulling her knees close in the basin, wrapping her arms tight around them in the safe liquid heat. “Yes, yes I did, as I keep telling you! Though Iambeginning to wonder if all this is just an elaboratejokeat my expense, because you’ve barely stopped mocking me since the moment we met, and this” — she desperately fumbled for the soap, and began frantically scrubbing at her front, at where itstillfelt sticky on her skin — “was clearly some kind of degradingstatementon your part, to show me just how little respect you have for me!”
Simon’s brow had furrowed, his eyes narrowing — but rather than immediately replying, he reached up behind his head, and smoothly drew out — adagger. The dagger that had been hidden in hishair, ohgods, and maybe Maria had finally offended him beyond repair, maybe he was finally going to use it, he was finally going tokillher —
She gasped and flinched all over, cringing back in the basin, bracing for impact — but the look Simon shot her was dark, disapproving, perhaps evenexasperated. And his other hand was groping down toward the floor, clutching at a large flatstonethat had been lying near his huge bare foot — and as Maria stared, entirely bewildered once again, he began scraping the stone against the dagger’s edge, the sound a loud shirr in the choked silence.
“When an orc grants his scent to another,” he said finally, slowly, not looking up from his methodically sliding stone, “this nodegrade. This shows — favour. This shows I claim you. This lifts you above the shame you bring me.”
The shame. Wait, the shame she broughthim? Maria’s skull was distantly throbbing, caught somewhere between relief and frustration, and she rubbed at her temples, exhaled a juddery breath. “And how, exactly,” she gritted out, “have I brought you shame? By tolerating your mockery? By doing everything you’ve asked of me so far? Or maybe by risking mylifeto offer you ason?!”
“No,” Simon growled back, his eyes flicking brief and narrow to hers. “You no offer. Yousell. Forvengeance, againsthusband. Man you swore vow tohonour.”
Maria winced, and immediately opened her mouth to counter that — but no. No. She couldnotrisk speaking more of Duke Warmisham with this too-astute orc, never again, what if he guessed, what if she ruinedeverything…
