Chapter 20
Twenty
I was always aware when Finn woke. He stirred in my arms, snuggling closer as he slowly woke. Most days, I pretended not to notice so that he would not feel rushed to move. Since today was so important, I wanted him to sleep as long as he needed. So when he began to wiggle lower, I wasn’t sure what he was doing. Not until his beautiful lips wrapped around the head of my cock.
A groan ripped from me and my already hard cock throbbed from his attentions. I always woke this way, eager to pull him under me and grind us both to completion. It had been my intention once he awoke, covering him with my body so he felt safe and loved while I brought us both off. I hadn’t been expecting this. He was timid, cautious not to hurt me, but seemed eager to explore me with his tongue.
“ Finn ,” I growled, squeezing my eyes shut to better focus on not reaching completion too quickly. It was hard to concentrate when he ran his tongue along my length like that.
He pushed at my hip, encouraging me onto my back, and I went willingly, spreading my legs to give him more room. When I lifted the blankets to look at him, his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were shut, almost as though he were enjoying this as much as I was.
He attempted to bob his head and take more of me, but I was much larger than he was, and he ended up gagging himself. The feel of his throat constricting around me was divine, but I didn't want him hurting himself. I cupped his chin, trying to draw his focus, but he batted me away, his face full of determination as he sucked me down again.
“Ah! Finn… Go easy. You do not–” Another loud groan escaped me as he suckled on the tip. I could barely think straight, much less give him direction, but he’d said he wanted to learn more. I promised I would teach him. “Do not take so much that it hurts you,” I panted out. “Use your hand on the rest. Ungh. Yes… Yes! Like that!”
He used not one, but both hands on my length, to cover what his mouth could not. His grip was tight enough to border on painful, but with the suction of his mouth and his eager tongue swirling around the head of my cock, it was perfect. I wouldn’t last much longer. His eager enthusiasm balanced out his inexperience, until my thighs shook with the effort of holding back my thrusts. I knew he wanted to bring me to completion with his mouth, but desperation overtook me. I hauled him off my cock by his arms, rolling him underneath me on his stomach.
His startled sound didn’t deter me. Lifting his tunic out of the way to expose his ass, I pulled the cheeks apart and guided my erection between them, rolling my hips once. The noise Finn made was both surprise and arousal, his moan breathy and loud. Using his saliva on my cock as lubrication, I rode the swell of his ass, the head of my cock bumping intermittently against his hole. It was a terrible tease, I wouldn’t take him like that until after the ceremony, but he seemed to like it. His delighted moans were high pitched and needy, his fingers digging into the bedding as he pleaded for more. His grasp of the clan language disappeared, his mind too clouded with lust to translate his pleas, but I understood him well enough.
A grunt punched through me with every thrust, a telltale tingle signaling my imminent release. I needed Finn to get there first, so I hauled him to his hands and knees, reaching beneath him to stroke his cock. It took only two pumps of my fist to set him off with a wail. His sounds, combined with the way his body contorted with pleasure and the fluttering of his hole teasing me was enough to bring me off as well, a low growl in my throat. My release spent across his ass, the image dragging out the pleasure as I imagined it dripping from inside him instead of off him. Tonight. After the ceremony. I would show him everything.
When I collapsed, I was careful to rest my weight on my forearms, my body covering his enough to make him feel safe and loved without crushing him. He lay quiet, panting beneath me, and I couldn’t resist pressing kisses to every inch of him I could reach.
Humming a happy sound, his eyes fluttered open and he looked over his shoulder at me.
“I love you.”
He murmured the sentence in his language, so I didn’t understand its meaning, but when I tipped my head in question, he blushed and hid his face in the bedding. I was prepared to tickle and tease until he told me what he’d said, but footsteps approached my tent, and Verus called out a moment later.
“My brother. Orthorr calls for you. He says to bring your bondmate with you.”
His voice was unusually solemn. Finn heard it too and stiffened, unease wiping away the bliss on his face. I did not know what Orthorr wanted from us, but I didn’t think it would be good.
Instead of calling back to answer him, I pushed off the bed, covering Finn before poking my head out of my tent. Tension pulled at Verus’s face, and when he saw me, he looked apologetic.
“What is it?”
He shook his head. “I don’t speak the tongues of the town. You know this. Just… you need to come. Now.”
Nodding once to acknowledge him, I ducked back inside to find Finn trembling as he tried to wipe himself clean and dress. Verus’s tone was frightening him. Kneeling in front of him, I cupped his cheeks, leveling him with a look.
“Whatever it is, we will face it together. You are safe, my Finn. I promise.”
Latching onto my arm, he choked on a sob, nodding. I helped him clean up and get dressed, since his fingers shook too much to do it himself. Pulling on my own clothing, I found myself wondering what else could go wrong. In the limited time he’s been here, Finn had been attacked both by a tribute as well as a shadowstalker. He’d been hurt by my own brother, and had to fight to protect our home. It was as though forces were working against us. Perhaps I would need to bring him to a shaman for a cleansing ritual. I didn't really believe in the effectiveness of it, but my mother did. Her clan had one, too, so I knew where to go.
We joined Verus outside and he fell into step beside me, his expression determined. Whatever we faced, Finn and I would not face it alone. One by one, more clan members joined in a show of force as we marched to the village center, where more stood in a half circle around Orthorr and three men I didn’t recognize.
Finn’s spine snapped straight and his footsteps slowed. “George?”
The crowds had parted enough to allow us through, but the man didn’t hear him at first. He was in discussion with one of his companions, his expression dark. For a moment, I worried he was a past lover coming to claim my bondmate. He admitted in being untouched, but he also said such things weren’t allowed in his town. It could have been that they’d just not found the opportunity to be alone.
When Finn stepped forward, my hand tightened on his, drawing him back. I couldn’t stomach losing him. I’d fight the man if I had to.
“Who is that?”
“My brother.”
I never thought I’d see anyone from my family again after my father had me thrown out. George wasn’t even there when it happened. He was the eldest, he lived in another town, and he only ever came home for important matters. It had been an age since I’d seen him last.
“George?” I called again, louder this time. “What… What are you doing here?”
Spinning to face me, his eyes trailed over me, narrowed and suspicious. “Good. You’re unharmed. I told them if you weren’t, the contract we held would be void.”
That was surprisingly thoughtful. I didn't think any of my brothers cared about my wellbeing. But it didn't answer my question.
“What are you doing here, George? How did you even know where I was?” This wasn’t the only clan that was part of the treaty accepting tributes. It was a matter of luck that I ended up here with Rath.
“What do you mean, why am I here? I’m here to take you home. I can’t believe Father allowed one of Fraser’s pranks to go this far.”
I shook my head, confused. “What are you talking about?”
He rolled his eyes, irritation flashing across his face. George was never a man of abundant patience. If I didn’t understand him the first time, he got annoyed with me.
“I was visiting home when Father told me what he’d done. When I asked for proof, he said he had none, but sent you off anyway. It is shameful to our family to have one of my siblings here as tribute. Especially my brother. They’re treating you like a woman and I won’t allow it. Now, let’s go. We’ve found someone else to take your place so the treaty stands.”
He gestured to a disheveled and tearful woman on his horse who looked absolutely terrified. Whoever she was, she didn’t agree to be here. She shouldn’t have been dragged here in the first place.
“Fraser wasn’t lying, George. He stabbed me in the back by telling Father, but he didn’t lie.”
“Of course he was lying,” George snapped, studying me again. “You are only punishing Father by pretending so you can stay. It is a disgrace to think that way. None of our family has ever been tainted as such.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I let it out slowly. I heard that mindset all my life. It made me scared to live. I hid away so people wouldn’t catch on that I wasn’t like them. That I was an abomination in their eyes. But having the truth revealed turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Here, with the clan, I was truly myself and they accepted me that way. Nothing could convince me to go back. Ever.
“Then I guess it’s lucky that Father disowned me. I’m not part of your family anymore. And I’m not leaving.” I reached out, taking Rath’s hand and lacing our fingers together. “Fraser wasn’t lying. I am attracted to men. I’ve fallen in love with one. And this clan accepts me the way I am. This is my family now.”
Disgust swept over his face, along with a healthy dose of disbelief. He still wanted to believe that I was lying to punish my father. But that wasn’t what was happening. And I wasn’t interested in arguing about it. If he wanted to force me to go, I had an entire army of barbarians at my back. He’d have to go through them to get to me.
“So you’d rather live in sin and taint yourself like this instead of coming home? You had such a terrible life that living with these… animals… is better for you?”
Lifting my chin, I glared at him. “Yes. This is my clan. My family. And no amount of belittling from you can bring you even close to their level. Go home, George. Today is my bonding day and you’re not welcome to join.”
Never in my life had I felt confident enough to stand up to my brothers. If I tried, I’d get a beating for the insult. Being with the clan made me brave. And when George took a step toward me, his fury evident, the clan pressed forward, surrounding me, putting a literal wall of muscle between me and my past. Even he wasn’t stupid enough to challenge that.
“Fine. If that’s what you want, then you’ll need to live with the consequences. Once I leave here, I won’t ever come back to save you. You’ll spend your life on your knees just to be a brat.”
I didn’t respond to that. Partially because I knew nothing I could say would make him accept me as I was. But also because I knew what he was referring to, and I absolutely wanted to get on my knees sometime soon. Rath seemed wild for it lying in bed. I wanted to know if I could make his knees weak if he was standing.
As he approached his horse, the woman he’d brought with slid off the other side, darting away to escape him. A familiar man, the one who’d held back the woman who attacked me the other night, caught her in his arms and tucked her behind him, shielding her from George. He scowled, but paid no mind to it. She wasn’t worth enough to him to fight for. He mounted his horse, raising his eyebrow and giving me a significant look, like it would somehow sway me. Maybe before I would’ve jumped to follow his order to keep him and my family happy, but not anymore. I kept my chin up and didn’t waiver an inch. He sneered at me and turned his back, steering his horse away.
“Wait!”
Surprised, we all turned to see the woman from last night. She had her hands tied and she was disheveled. She’d obviously snuck out of where she was being held again. A few fighters moved to stop her, but she screeched at them and ran toward my brother, putting her hands up pleadingly.
“Take me with you! Please! I do not wish to stay here!”
From the look on George’s face, he wanted to refuse. He’d always been selfish, and he never did anything for others unless he got something out of it. Bringing me home wasn’t about rescuing me. It was about removing the stain from our family name. I should’ve seen that coming the minute he showed up here.
“She’d be a good match for Fraser,” I called out, catching his attention again. “She comes from an influential family.”
That was a lie. Maybe. I didn’t actually know. Or care, really. I wanted her gone, and I wanted Fraser to suffer. Being married to a bitch like her would probably do it. Or they’d be perfect for each other because they were both horrible down to their cores.
The woman nodded furiously when George shot her a questioning look. “Y-Yes, yes! My father is very influential. The only reason I am here is because we held a raffle in my town and I was chosen. He was honorable enough to be forced into sending me.”
I didn’t believe it for a second, but George apparently did. He jerked his chin at one of his men, who scooped her up onto his horse. Without another glance in my direction, they left, and my shoulders slumped with relief.
“Uh… Care to tell the rest of us what that was about?” Verus asked, raising an eyebrow at me. That’s when I realized none of that was in their language. They didn’t know what George said about me or what he wanted. They stood by me anyway. It warmed me to my core and a smile broke out over my face as I nodded.
“Sure. Where do you want me to start?”