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All of the women started to talk amongst each other at this announcement and I stayed silent, giving them time to process together. Most of the women were excited, talking about what they would wear and what it would be like to have time with the orkin. Others were talking quietly about being scared to take on a mate and meet the males. I felt out of my element. I didn’t know what I could do to help make them more comfortable. I wanted to be everywhere, offering support, but I could only keep track of so many conversations. I ended up joining a conversation with Zoey and Lucy. They were both hesitant to meet the male orkin, given their past. Zoey had severe PTSD from her former partner and her time in the military and Lucy was a cancer survivor, having had a double mastectomy. Neither of them was emotionally prepared to take on a mate.
I listened patiently as Zoey and Lucy aired their concerns to me. I could understand their hesitation.
"This is a big step," I said gently. "No one should feel pressured into anything they're not ready for."
Zoey nodded, her expression grim. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready. The thought of being intimate again...it terrifies me." She wrapped her arms around herself, as if for protection.
"Me too," said Lucy quietly. "I'm scared of letting someone get close again."
My heart ached for them. I wished I could take away their pain and fear surrounding intimacy.
"The right partner won't push you into anything," I reassured. " And there's no set timeline. You can take all the time you need."
Zoey managed a small smile. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."
"Me too," Lucy agreed. "It helps to talk about it."
I hugged them both, hoping they understood that they weren't alone. No matter what happened, I would be there for them.
Trauma bonding was no joke. We all experienced the same loss of purpose, livelihood, family, etcetera. Though we came from different backgrounds, we understood each other's pain. I was scared to be something other than being a teacher—it was all I knew. We were all stuck in this messed up situation, yet they were ready to accept me outside of my role as a teacher—something I’d never been used to. I wanted to be more than a high school teacher for the Fýrifírar tribe. I had to be in order to be jarlin.
As I looked around, I noticed all the women in hand-me-down, ill-fitting orkin clothing and realized I’d forgotten to share Bram’s offer.
I called out to the group, “I forgot to share part of the agreement. Bram, the orc that represents the merchants, has offered to send us one of the tailors from the tribe to custom-make our outfits for the celebration.”
A cheer erupted from the group. I continued to feel my walls come down with these women. I needed to get to know each of them and I didn’t want my anxiety to get in the way. I had few friends back on Earth. I always hesitated to reach out—feeling I was a bother. This would not work for me as jarlin. I was going to have to get comfortable reaching out to each woman regularly. I would have to figure out a way to touch base with each woman in a way that felt natural and comfortable for me. I rolled that around in my head as the women chatted about what they would wear to the welcome celebration. I was definitely going to have to shift gears mentally.
I was lost in thought when my stomach reminded me that breakfast had been long ago. As much as I would have enjoyed having a meal with the other women, I was socially done for the day. I wanted to head back to Agnarr’s room, hoping that I’d find him there. I started thinking of his thick muscled thighs and felt my mouth water at the thought. Holy hell, I had never wanted a man the way I wanted Agnarr. I looked around to see all of the women talking amongst themselves. I quietly stood and snuck out the door as the women continued to discuss their ideas for what they would wear to the celebration. None of them noticed me go. I skipped in victory toward Agnarr’s room.
I felt lighter than I had in two days. Astrid was happy, the elders were happy, and the humans were happy. I could breathe a sigh of relief. I quickly reached Agnarr’s room to find it empty. It was still a bit early for the midday meal—nothing had been delivered yet. With all of our meetings, this was our only alone time. The mating frenzy was still in full effect and I needed my orc.
CHAPTER14
AGNARR
Imet with Osif and followed up with Astrid while Pip met with the human women. Everyone was on the same page. I even spoke with Bram before I headed to my room and agreed that the tailors would visit the humans the following dagr. I wanted my room, my bed. The meeting with the elders had been exhausting. I’d been ready to physically fight Magna after Pip slapped him. Luckily, he saw he was outnumbered and chose to exit. I appreciated his decency in that—if nothing else. The addition of Skaard would make our meetings run much more smoothly. I approached my room, seeing the midday meal had yet to be delivered. Maybe I could take a nap before Piper joined me.
I opened the door to my room to find Piper asleep in my bed, arms wrapped around my pillow. I headed to my toilet and stripped, wiping myself down with a wet cloth and soap. Perhaps Pip and I could ‘spoon’ for a bit before the midday meal was delivered. I left my washroom and crawled into bed with Piper, wrapping my much larger body around hers. I stroked along her hip and the curve of her ass, trying to keep myself under control. Pip needed sleep. I settled myself around her only to be surprised by her husky voice.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she breathed, reaching her arm back and grabbing my braid with her hand.
“You weren’t asleep!” I gasped.
“Not even a little bit,” she chuckled.
“So, you took off all your clothes and got into bed because...” I trailed off.
“Because I’ve been thinking about riding your magnificent cock since this morning?” she said, unabashedly grinding her ass into my quickly growing erection.
I flipped her so we were face-to-face, “I missed you,” I breathed, stroking her cheek.
She took my hand in hers, “Do we have the time?” she asked.
“They’ll leave the midday meal at the door and I don’t have anything else scheduled for today, so we have all the time. Unless you have meetings?” I continued to stroke down her jawline, hungry to kiss her soft lips.
“No plans,” she took my face with her hands pulling me into a fierce kiss. She nibbled and sucked at my lower lip until I opened for her. She slid her tongue in exploring me, lovingly stroking her tongue along each tusk, before licking along my ridged tongue. “Have I told you how much I love these?”
“Love what?” I asked, confused.
