Chapter 12
Ostor
I f I were a wise male, I'd back away from Rosey, a woman I'd only known a short time, and resist her challenge.
My family had never called me wise. Clever in some ways, perhaps.
But never wise.
I should’ve climbed off Rosey. I should've resisted the wild lilt of her voice, the way her lips turned up in that mischievous smile that made my heart roar with yearning. But should didn’t exist when you’d found your fated mate. No, that wisdom soared off this room's balcony, leaving only instinct and a bone-deep hunger for what was meant to be behind.
Rosey was mine.
Laughing beneath me, her breath feathered across my cheek. She waited for my next move. Her eyes appeared too bright, too knowing, plus thrilling in a way that pulled something feral from deep inside me. Her words, Prove it , rattled around in my skull, urging me to show her all a big orc like me could offer.
I hovered my mouth over hers, my voice low as it rumbled from my chest. “I don’t only prove things, Rosey. I claim them.”
Her breath hitched, a sharp intake that made me grin.
I brought my mouth down on hers. Soft at first, testing, as though her lips held the secrets to something ancient. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Our kiss deepened, and I couldn’t get enough of how wonderful she felt against me. As if the moment our lips met, the very air around us shifted, shimmered, and settled into something amazing. There was nothing fake in this. I was a fire burning brightly, and I blazed for her alone.
She arched against me, her hands sliding into my hair, pulling me closer. A sweet moan slipped from her lips, and that sound . . . by the fates, I’d level mountains to hear it again.
Her small, human body fit perfectly beneath my large frame. I cupped the back of her head, dragging her up because too much space existed between us. The space needed to disappear. My other hand wandered, snagged by the heat radiating from her. I let it drift down to her waist, then lower along the curve of her hip where the hem of her sleep shirt had ridden up. Lush skin greeted me, smooth and far too tempting. It made something come to life inside me, a beast demanding more.
I would stop at nothing to claim every bit of this tiny female.
Our kiss deepened, full of need and something I’d never experienced. I wanted to devour her, but each stroke of my tongue, each sweep of my lips, filled me with a strange calm. This felt familiar, as if my body had known her all my life. The way her mouth worked against mine, the way her hands slid through my hair, it was like she had somehow been made just for me.
I slid my hand higher, teasing it up to brush against the swell of her breast.
I lifted my head, watching her face as I touched her through her clothing.
The softness on her chest shot fire through my veins, making me hesitate for the first time. Not out of fear.
I was embarrassed .
What kind of male calls something this perfect a blob?
Rosey was soft where she should be and curved like a dream that was too beautiful to hold onto. Yet she was somehow mine to touch. Orc females had nothing like this, nothing warm, pliant, or impossibly desirable on their chests.
There was nothing remotely sexual about their nursing tubes.
But humans . No, Rosey .
Infinitely sexy.
For the first time, I understood why human men worshiped their females' chests. Nothing could tug at my need more than the press of her breast against my rough hand.
Her moan urged me to do more.
Cupping her breast fully, I thumbed the nipple, the small peak I'd seen beneath her swimsuit the day before. It strained against my touch, tight and perfect. She arched into my hand, soft whimpers falling from her mouth.
All I wanted was to lean down and taste it. To shred her sleep shirt with my tusks and expose her to my view. My touch. My tongue. I'd take that small bud into my mouth. Something wild inside me demanded it.
“Ostor,” she whispered, my name full of wanting. Her voice, roughened by the pleasure I was giving her, made possessiveness burn through me.
Her hands trailed up my back, curling over my shoulders, her nails grazing enough to make my body sing. Everything about this simple act of touching each other felt like a start of something bigger.
My hand slid down her side, trembling slightly as I reached the hem of her shirt. The fabric felt delicate beneath my fingertips, just like this woman I adored too much already. I hesitated, my breath catching as I waited for any hesitation on her part, any indication that this was too fast.
But it never came.
Her blue eyes met mine, wide and trusting. She didn’t stop me. She didn’t flinch. Instead, her lips parted in surrender, and her throat worked around a swallow. Heat surged through me, the sheer weight of her unspoken permission filling me with a craving I couldn’t deny.
I lifted the edge of her shirt, inching it up slowly. The fabric brushed against her skin, exposing more and more of her soft belly, her ribs. The sweet dip of her waist that made my mouth water in anticipation. My movements were hesitant. Reverent. Like I was unwrapping a gift too precious to touch, too pure to be mine. But it was, she was, and I didn’t intend to waste a single second.
When the shirt finally lifted enough to reveal her breasts, I froze.
By the fates.
Beautiful .
Rounded, firm, but still somehow soft as they lifted and fell with her breathing. Breasts , not spiraling tubes. Not blobs. No, no, not that at all. They were perfect, beyond anything I could've imagined. A pang of embarrassment tunneled its way behind my ribs because I’d pretty much brushed them off as appendages on her chest like an orc female’s tubes.
They had buds at the tips, just like she’d explained. And I’d felt . Hard and tight and much too tempting.
I resisted no longer.
I circled one nipple with my thumb, watching in fascination as it responded to my touch, tightening under my hand. Her back arched off the bed, a soft gasp escaping her lips. That sound? It killed me.
Leaning down, I kissed the swell of her breast, savoring the way her skin tasted. Warm and sweet. Rosey let out a breathy moan, the sound weaving through me like a spark destined to set me aflame. I moved higher, closing my lips over the nipple, sucking.
By all the ground-covering beasts in our kingdom . . .
Her nipple was a treasure. Hard beneath the warmth of my tongue but still somehow giving. A sharp zing coursed through my body, as if it wasn't just her pressed to my lips but her very essence. I knew no other taste but hers would ever compare.
“Oh . . .” She sucked in a shaky breath, her fingers curling through my hair, tugging on it as if this was her only hold on reality.
I flicked my tongue over the crest of her nipple, grinning at the way her body trembled beneath me. She was incredibly responsive. Alive in every sense, pulling me in deeper.
I sucked gently, shallow enough to feel her pulse thrumming against my lips. I kept my other hand on her, threading my fingers through the peaks and valleys of her other breast and feeling the soft, warm pressure as she arched into my touch. She wanted this as much as me. We were becoming entangled in something beyond our control.
The way she reacted to me? There were no words. Sweet noises fell from her lips as if she was unable to hold back how much she craved this, craved me .
I wanted to lose myself with her, tearing off pieces of my sanity as I went. If I thought about this too long, if I tried to remember that this was supposed to be fake, I'd question everything. Dive back into how dangerous this balance between pretending and feeling already was. But there were no obstacles right now. Nothing was preventing me from seeking what she had to offer.
I took in the rise of her belly as it fluttered with excitement. Unable to resist, I kissed down the soft curve, tracing her tender skin with the same reverence I'd used on her breast. The sweet scent of her filled the air, a mixture of the floral essence I'd come to associate with her and something distinctly her own.
Arousal.
Moaning, I dropped my mouth onto her skin and kissed lower.
I trailed my mouth across Rosey as if she was sacred ground. I reached the crease where her thigh met her torso and paused, looking up at her. Her eyes were hooded with desire, her lungs raging with short gasps. She was beautiful, laid out before me like this.
Me . Ostor.
“Are you alright?” I asked, my voice rough with need. “Do you want more, or should I stop? I want to. . .” My swallow took a long time to go down, “I want to taste you.” I searched her face for signs of discomfort, but all I saw was trust and the beginning of bliss.
She nodded, her voice a whisper. “I'm alright. I want more.”
A growl rumbled in my chest. She was giving me permission to explore her in the most intimate way. Gratitude and honor surged through me. This wasn't only about physical pleasure; it was about trust and connection, things I sought from this woman above all else. What had I done or said to make the fates believe I was worthy of this gift?
I kissed along the crease of her thigh, then slowly spread her legs wider. I took a moment to admire her, to appreciate the sight of her laid bare before me. She was already wet. The fact that she was wet because of me , because of what I was doing to her, filled me with pride and awe.
Leaning down, I kissed along each of her thighs, taking my time, savoring the softness of her skin, her heady scent. She trembled beneath my touch, her breath hitching with each kiss. I was determined to make this good for her, to show her how special she was to me already.
As I moved closer to the juncture between her thighs, the scent of her arousal filled my senses. My cock kicked forward, as eager as me. I wanted to bury myself in her, to lose myself in loving her forever. But I held back, taking my time, wanting to draw this out for as long as I could.
When I finally reached her core, I hesitated, looking up at her again. She watched me, her eyes dark and hooded. I leaned in, dragging my tongue across her opening, groaning at how amazing she tasted. She was warm and wet and sweet. Nectar from the fates themselves.
I explored her eagerly, discovering the places that made her react with gasps and moans. I wanted to know every bit of her, to remember her taste and scent. My goal was to give her pleasure unlike any she'd known before.
As I teased her sensitive spot with my tongue, I gently slipped a finger inside her. Her immediate moan made me smile, encouraging me to coax more sounds of bliss from her. She was tight and warm around my finger, the sensation almost overwhelming me. I alternated between sucking and stroking her with my tongue, gradually increasing the pace as her cries became more intense. I moved my finger, searching for that magic spot inside her that would send her over the edge.
Her hips rocked up against my hand and mouth. She was close, her body tensing and her breath coming in short, quick gasps. I wanted her to reach her peak solely from my touch.
I increased the intensity, targeting her most sensitive area. At the same time, I moved another finger in with the first, ensuring I hit that special spot with each slide. Her body tensed, on the brink of release.
Then she surrendered, climaxing with a cry, her body shaking, and her inner muscles squeezing my fingers. I continued my movements, intent on extending this for as long as I could.
When she finally came down, she sagged on the bed, her thighs splayed wide and fingers clenching the covers.
As I looked up at her, pride filled me. I had done this for her. I, Ostor , a male who possessed nothing distinctive or special, had made her feel good, had made her come.
Rosey had let me in, had exposed herself to me in the most vulnerable way. We were building something real here, something that could not be dismissed.
We weren't just two strangers pretending. We were two people with open hearts, two people who had a chance to find something meaningful in each other.
I moved up her body, kissing her belly and breasts, before dropping down beside her. I held her, my eyes smarting, though not with sadness.
Such joy filled me.
There were no words that could express the feelings roaring through my veins, so I said nothing. I wrapped my arms tighter around her and prayed to the fates and whoever would listen, begging them not to steal her away.