But where there might have once been shame or fear, there was only hunger. Pulsing primal and shivery through Maria’s half-bared body, whispering of heat, of power, of pride. And her eyes wouldn’t seem to stop wandering, drinking up the sight of her huge, prowling, dangerous mate beside her. His steps silent and graceful, his muscles shifting and rippling under his skin, the beast at his groin heavy and half-hard, and fully on display. Fully hers.
And as he guided her into the Skai common-room, and into the sensual chaos of its writhing, hot-blooded orcs, the hunger seemed to flare higher, closer. He was going to flaunt her. Claim her. Show them the sheer force of his favour toward her.
Many of the room’s orcs had looked up, their eyes watchful on Maria’s bared form — but thankfully, a quick glance over their assembled faces showed no sign of Ulfarr, or any of the orcs who had so blatantly supported him. Indeed, most of them were orcs Maria knew, and she felt herself relaxing even more, her eyes angling up at Simon’s face.
But instead of leading her further into the room, Simon had hesitated on the threshold, his gaze catching, oddly, on Drafli. Who this time had no strange orcs touching him, and was standing alone and half-dressed against the wall, his arms crossed, his eyes narrow on Simon’s. Almost as though he’d been waiting for something.
And Simon nodded, jerking his head toward the door behind them — to which Drafli pushed off the wall, and strode out of the room. While Simon led Maria to one of the fur-covered benches lining the walls, and drew her down onto his lap.
“You shall be patient a little longer, my pretty one,” he purred, as he nuzzled at her hair. “You shall first witness this with me, ach? Grant our favour?”
Maria couldn’t fathom what he was talking about, and opened her mouth to ask — but Simon’s eyes were purposely fixed on the door. On where Drafli was already striding back in, but this time, pulling a fully dressed, confused-looking Baldr behind him.
Baldr’s hesitation was almost palpable, his eyes casting uneasily around the room. Catching, briefly, on Simon and Maria, before glancing back to where Drafli had pulled him to a halt beside a fur-covered table in the middle of the room — the same place, in fact, where Simon had taken Maria, last time they’d been here.
“What are you —” Maria heard Baldr say to Drafli, his voice barely audible despite the rapidly quieting room. “You know I’m not —”
But Drafli had snapped up a hand, pressing his fingers firmly to Baldr’s mouth, and with his other hand he made a series of quick, forceful gestures. None of which Maria understood, but Baldr surely did, his eyes widening on Drafli’s, his body gone utterly still.
“Speak for him, Baldr,” Simon called out, his deep voice echoing through the room. “What does he wish.”
Drafli’s hand had dropped from Baldr’s mouth, and Maria could see Baldr’s throat visibly bobbing, his gaze still fixed to Drafli’s face. “He wants,” he began, and then ran a shaky-looking hand against his hair. “Drafli says — he wants — to make me his —”
He couldn’t seem to finish, his breaths heaving from his chest, his eyes suddenly narrow and suspicious on Drafli’s. “Youcan’t,” he said, almost helplessly. “Your Skaiways, Draf. You can’t honestly —”
But Drafli was snapping out more gestures, sharp and decisive, several of them pointing towardSimon. Simon, who had carefully shifted Maria down onto the bench beside him, and then risen to his feet.
“You all ken we have found a new way, with our rut,” he said firmly, his voice carrying through the now-silent room. “Shall any of you stand against me, in granting this to Drafli? Or to any other orc who should wish to take another orc as his mate?”
His eyes had gone dark and chilly as they swept the room, his hands clenched to huge fists, daring another orc to challenge him. And while a few of the watching orcs looked like they might have wished to object, their eyes glancing warily toward one another, no one actually spoke. And after a long, silent moment, Simon flashed the room a swift, dangerous grin, and sank down beside Maria again.
“Then keep on,” he said, waving a casual hand at Baldr and Drafli. “Baldr, shall you accept Drafli’s rut, and thus become his mate, in the ways of the Skai?”
Baldr blinked toward Simon, and his form had slightly swayed, almost as though if struck — and then he stared back at Drafli, his head tilting, his mouth pressed thin.
“But you know I —” he began, and then squared his shoulders, his gaze darting at the watching orcs all around. “I would want you bound to me.Onlyme. In the ways of theGrisk.”
And surely that was accusation in his voice, or perhaps even defiance — but Drafli’s eyes were just as defiant, his hands snapping out more gestures. The last one just pointing at Baldr’s chest, again and again and again. As if to say,You. You. You.
And Baldr was staring straight back, his shoulders rising and falling, his sharp teeth biting at his lip. And then his hand twitched up to catch Drafli’s, holding it in place, their eyes locked together — until Baldr jerked a quick, fervent little nod. Saying —yes.
There was an instant’s caught stillness, something flashing through Drafli’s eyes — and without warning, he leapt forward, and tackled Baldr down to the table behind him. His clawed hands yanking at Baldr’s clothes, hurling them off toward the floor, while his fluid body crouched between Baldr’s thighs, spreading them wide apart. While his hand shoved Baldr’s head sideways, exposing the line of his quivering, pulsing throat —
And then Drafli’s hips drove forward, as his teeth clamped down. As Baldr choked and moaned beneath him, his muscled body arching up, his claws dragging deep red gouges into Drafli’s taut, powerful back.
“Fuuuuck,” Baldr gasped, his voice breaking, his head angling sideways, almost as if baring his neck even more for Drafli’s teeth. “Gods, please,please—”
And Drafli was surely obliging him, his hips driving fierce and deep, his throat visibly swallowing. His lithe body moving with feral, fluent ease, while his hand stroked up and down Baldr’s flexing flank. The movements all familiar, proprietary, reverent — and watching them, Maria could almost taste the strength of their joint craving, their furious, frantic relief. As if this was something they’d long been denied, a rite that had always gone empty, unfulfilled, until this moment.
And as Baldr reared up, pierced and helpless and gasping upon his mate’s grinding form, Maria felt her own hunger rearing up too, her face flushed and hot. Something that Simon surely noticed, as he reached over, and easily plucked her up onto his lap again.
“Now you ken why we Skai so oft take our joy together here, ach?” he purred, as he shifted her upon him, so that his swollen length nudged tantalizingly against her parted, twitching crease. “You should now welcome my taking, ach?”
Maria couldn’t even pretend to argue, not with that delicious hardness teasing so close, and she accordingly wriggled tighter against him, ready to do whatever the hell he wished — but he laughed aloud, low and rolling, as his hands held her still, and he gave a purposeful tweak at her peaked nipple.
“Ach, but no yet, my hungry one,” he murmured. “We must wait, and honour this, ach?”
Right. Not that this was a hardship to watch, not with Baldr now kneeling on the floor before Drafli, his long braid wrapped around Drafli’s fist, his head tilted back, his heaving chest painted with white. His eyes fluttering as Drafli fed his not-inconsiderable length into his mouth, breath by breath, until Baldr was suckling at the base of him, his throat wildly convulsing.
