11. Chapter 11
Chapter eleven
T amaka woke to the hot, hard, insistent press of flesh between her thighs and smiled as she stretched. His cock had slipped out of her in the night, but his dreams must have been pleasant, because he was still hard. She tossed away the cushion between her knees and rolled over.
Anslo was still asleep, his pink lips parted as he snored softly. She pushed gently at his chest and he rolled onto his back. She sat up and straddled his hips, rubbing her pussy over the hard length of his cock. He groaned in his sleep, his eyelids fluttering.
She bent and nipped at his lips. "Wake up," she whispered, "so I can ride you."
He mumbled something, one heavy hand landing on her thigh. His hips moved slightly under hers as a blush of pleasure spread across his chest and neck. She ground herself harder against him, waiting for him to wake fully.
His eyes opened slowly at first, then he sucked in a breath, half-sitting up as he scrubbed a hand over his face. "Good morning," he groaned, eyes fixed on where his slick cock parted the lips of her sex. The corner of his mouth quirked up. "What's this?"
Tamaka planted her hands on his chest, leaning over him. "I'm going to use you for my pleasure," she told him. "Be my good little bard and lie still so I can have my fun."
His breath stuttered, his eyes darkening as they had when she'd first called him that name months ago. He nodded sharply and she angled her hips, sinking onto his thick length.
Head thrown back with a pained moan, he clutched her hips. Tamaka smiled as she rode him, watching the tendons in his neck strain as he gritted his teeth.
"If you can wait for me, I'll reward you," she told him.
He grunted, his cock twitching inside of her as she rocked her hips over him. "What will you give me?"
She bit her lip. "Perhaps I'll marry you."
His eyes flew open, his hips bucking up against hers. He stared up at her, a desperate look on his face, his fingers tightening on her bottom. "Please hurry then," he gritted out.
She rode him faster, guiding one of his hands to her pussy. He slicked his fingers between them and rubbed them over her bud. "Close?" he asked with a grimace.
She nodded. "A little more." She could feel him pulsing inside her, painfully close to his release.
In the end, he lost control. She could feel the hot spill of his seed inside her a few seconds before she fell apart, but she didn't hold that against him as he pulled her down to the bed beside him, tremors still wracking her body.
It was close enough, and she wanted the reward as badly as he did.
"What do we do?" he asked breathlessly. "How does a king marry?"
"However you wish," she said, brushing her fingers through the sparse golden hair on his chest. "There is a priestess in the temple complex who performs the marriage rites. It can be us, or more. We can have a party. You can have whatever kind of wedding you want, once the ceremony is done."
He hummed softly, thinking it over as they lay tangled together under the blankets. "Dregu should be there," he said finally. "And I should speak to him."
"What will you speak to him about?"
"He needs to know that I need not be his father, if he doesn't wish to call me that," he said, and she smiled at his thoughtfulness, the constant way he put others first. He had more in common with Vagar than she'd realized at first, and she would probably never tell him that, but she was grateful for it. Vagar's kindness and patience had been what she valued about him most.
"I don't want him to think I'm trying to replace his father," Anslo whispered. "He must know that he still comes first in your heart."
She gazed at him, laughing quietly. "My heart is not so small that I must rank you single file to make you all fit," she said, and the corner of his mouth quirked up. She took his hand and rested it over her abdomen. "I will have three men to love equally, some day."
"A wise way to put it," he murmured. "I don't care what else the wedding looks like. I'd never imagined myself having one. As long as you're there, I will be happy."
Tamaka shook her head, biting back a smile. "I worry that we're both too easily pleased."
He snorted. "I think that's a blessing, not a misfortune."
"Shall we go get him from Zoli's, then?" she asked, sitting up. "Go up to the temples and do this?"
He gaped at her. "I've changed my mind. Not just like that. On second thought, I do have plans I want to make. I wanted to get you a ring. I don't know if orcs give each other rings when they marry, but I saved up to buy you a ring and I want to. I want to see you wearing it."
"Alright." She smiled down at him, brushing her fingers over his cheek. "We can go get a ring."
"And new clothes," he added. "I'm having new clothes made. I don't want to marry you wearing something that's been mended ten times."
"I don't care," she laughed. "I wouldn't judge you."
"You too," he insisted, sitting up and taking her hand. "New clothes. Nice clothes. We've done everything backwards and by mistake. I want to start this marriage with intention. With care."
Tamaka nodded, pressing her lips together to keep from crying. Gods, how she loved him. She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles, leaning in and kissing him. "Then I will give you a ring, too, if that matters to you," she told him. "I think I like that idea. That you will always wear something to show you belong to me. And I will wear whatever you want, whatever makes you happy."
"Amber, copper," he murmured against her mouth. "Rich, like your eyes."
"A dress?" she asked.
He raised an eyebrow. "Do you wear dresses?"
She shrugged. "On special occasions."
"A dress, then." He smiled. "What about me?"
"I do like you naked," she teased.
He scoffed. "I object on Dregu's behalf. And the priestess's."
"Very well," she sighed. "Then something golden like your hair."
"Alright." He kissed her again, pulling her down to the furs, and she came willingly. If they weren't marrying right away, they could afford to stay in bed a little longer. Perhaps an hour... or two.
"What about when you want to travel?" she asked as his hands roamed her body, and he stilled, his brow furrowing.
"I told you I wouldn't leave you," he said.
"But you love it," she insisted. "It makes you happy."
Anslo's lips thinned as he frowned at her. "You make me happy. So I will wait awhile, and when this war is over, when our child is grown, we will travel together."
Tamaka couldn't stop the smile spreading over her face. She combed her fingers through his hair, bringing her forehead to his. "You will show me the world?"
He smiled back. "If I could, I would give you the world."
Oh. That was...
Tears blurred her eyes and she sought his mouth. He kissed her, fierce and tender, and she pressed one of his hands over her heart. It felt as if it might burst from her chest if she didn't hold it in, and after so many years of not having a heart at all, she was a little frightened.
"You make me feel alive," she gasped.
"Good." He kissed her again, his body hard and warm against hers. "Stay that way."
She nodded as his arms wrapped around her, holding her, and the little life between them, close. "You too," she whispered. "I'll hold you to it."