Chapter Seventeen
Audrey woke up late the next morning. She was comfortable, wrapped in heavy blankets and strong arms. She tilted her head back and found Morgath looking at her.
His dark eyes watched her with an expression she couldn’t quite name.
It made her stomach twist in a way that scared her.
She swallowed heavily and pushed the thought aside.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“The effects of the potion have passed,” he said. He sounded normal.
She smiled and smacked him playfully on the chest.
“See? Told you I could help. I’m basically your cure.”
He rolled his eyes and groaned but pulled her closer.
His arms tightened around her waist, and she settled back against him, listening to the steady thump of his heartbeat.
They stayed like that for a while without speaking.
It was peaceful. And peace was not something she’d aimed for when she’d embarked on this mission.
“Now what?” she asked.
“What do you mean? You are my bride, I am your mate, and that is that. We carry on.”
“And by carry on you mean fuck every night?” She tried to keep her voice light and teasing.
“I think so, yes.”
“So, now you like me?”
“I still think your attitude is atrocious, but it turns me on, so I guess that means I like you.”
A moment passed before he spoke again.
“Do you like me, too?”
Audrey got up and stretched, her muscles protesting. She knew he was waiting for an answer, but she wasn’t ready to give him one. Not when she couldn’t even figure out what the truth was anymore.
“Maybe, we’ll see.” She shrugged, then added quickly: “I’m hungry.”
He got out of bed as well, not pressing her further. She knew he knew that something was not quite right, which meant that she needed to extract herself fast and put some distance between them.
Audrey hurried into the bathroom, not bothering to cover herself. She washed up and splashed cold water on her face. Her reflection in the mirror showed tangled hair, and she ran her fingers through the knots until they loosened enough to be passable.
When she bent to pick her dress off the floor, she spotted Morgath’s clothes in a bundle under the sink. She laughed at how carelessly he’d discarded them and reached for the pile. Something metallic slipped out of one pocket and clinked against the floor.
A ring of keys.
Her breath caught. Her mind went to the locked room that Morgath claimed was just storage, and the heavy trunk in his bedroom. Her fingers itched to grab the keys, but she knew he’d notice their absence. At least now, she knew he carried them with him. She’d find a better way later.
She left the keys where they’d fallen and emerged from the bathroom with her ruined dress dangling from two fingers. The fabric was stiff and caked with dried cum, completely unwearable.
Morgath looked at the dress, then at her, and without a word, went into the bedroom and pulled a shirt from his dresser.
He passed it to her and watched her put it on.
It was enormous, falling to her knees, and the sleeves hung past the tips of her fingers.
She rolled them up to her elbows and smoothed the fabric over her hips.
“Not too bad,” she said. “Thank you.”
“I will clean up later,” Morgath said, looking around at the destroyed hut. “I’m hungry too.”
They left hand in hand, and Audrey didn’t have it in her to pull away, even though she knew she should.
When they reached the town, the orcs who were out and about smiled at them and nodded respectfully at Morgath. They looked at Audrey with approval. They definitely knew what they’d done the night before. She felt herself blush.
They stopped at the diner, where a few orcs were having a late breakfast. The room smelled of fresh bread, and Maika and Zulka hurried over to serve them. Grinning widely, Zulka set down a steaming mug of coffee.
“I sent someone out specifically for coffee,” she said proudly.
Audrey’s chest tightened at the gesture.
“Thank you.”
The food came quickly after that. Platters of scrambled eggs, thick slices of bacon, sausages still sizzling from the pan. Fresh bread with butter and jam, and bowls of wild berries. The coffee was strong and hot – exactly what she needed.
She and Morgath ate ravenously. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she took the first bite, and then she couldn’t stop. They finished everything on the table and sat back in their chairs, satisfied.
Morgath looked at her with that same adoring expression from earlier, and it made her slightly uncomfortable now that the haze of lust had cleared. She wasn’t sure what to do with the softness in his gaze.
“I need to check a few things,” he said. “See what everyone is doing. Then I’ll go fix up the hut and clean the mess we made.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Audrey said. “I’ll probably go home and rest some more. I’m still tired.”
Her body was aching in unfamiliar places, muscles sore from being stretched and used in ways they hadn’t been before, but she wasn’t about to admit that out loud.
Morgath got up and leaned down to kiss her.
It took her by surprise, and she needed a few seconds to close her eyes and respond to him.
His mouth was warm and demanding, his lips moving against hers with a confidence that made her head spin.
She realized this was their first actual kiss, their first moment of intimacy that wasn’t driven by desperation and the effects of a potion gone wrong.
Audrey allowed herself to melt into it and gripped his shoulders, pulling him closer for just a heartbeat longer before he pulled away.
Then he was gone, walking out of the diner and leaving her sitting there with her lips tingling and her heart racing. She touched her mouth and tried to calm the chaotic thoughts in her head.
“So, you need rest?”
Audrey looked up to find Brumis the Bold standing in front of her, arms crossed and a smirk on her face.
“Some of us are training. Every day, even, but it’s all right because you’re the captain’s mate,” Brumis continued.
Audrey narrowed her eyes.
“What’s your problem?”
Brumis shrugged.
“Nothing, just that you’re a bit useless, you know? I’m surprised Morgath the Skullreaper is into you. He even removed his helmet for you.”
That was when Audrey realized that Morgath hadn’t put on his helmet today.
He’d walked through town with his face bare for everyone to see.
She wondered what that meant, why he’d hidden his face from her for so long, and why he’d chosen to stop now.
She made a mental note to learn more about the helmet and why it was so important to him.
Brumis made to leave, but Audrey stood up and stopped her.
“I’ll go change into something more fitting, and then I’ll show you I’m not useless at all,” she said.
The orc female studied her from head to toe, taking in the oversized shirt and Audrey’s small frame. She laughed.
“All right. I’ll be waiting for you. You know where to find me.” She walked out.
Audrey huffed out a breath.
Maika approached her with concern written all over her face.
“You don’t have to train with Brumis,” she said. “Just ignore her. She’s always like this, testing people.”
“I’ll be fine,” Audrey reassured her.
She thanked her for breakfast, then hurried out, before anyone else tried to make her change her mind.
She should’ve changed her mind. What she was walking into was dangerous.