Chapter 20
Graz
T he words circle around in my head, over and over, so fast I feel almost dizzy.
My little mate is carrying my whelp.
Poor Vienne, holding onto a secret like this all on her own, keeping it close to her chest as it guides all of her actions. She will be a fierce and protective mother, I already know that. Like a bear and its cub. I just need to make sure she gets out of here alive.
I think I knew it before she said the words, as if I could feel our whelp winking into life. Perhaps I can already sense that small seed growing inside my mate’s belly.
But she detests me. I’ve ruined the bond we had, shattered it into smithereens when I left her behind that day. I let my own emotions rule me, too. Now, I don’t know if the bridge between us can be repaired.
I sure as hell am going to try.
That is incredible, I say to her as I sit beside her. A marvel of the universe. Tentatively I slip an arm around her shoulders, but instantly, she jerks back. Her blue eyes are as sharp as daggers as she glares up at me.
You made it clear what I am to you . She scoots away, putting distance between us. You don’t get to say that. We’re not going to be some happy family. I’m destroying this place, and if I can get out alive, I’m going home.
I shudder all over, imagining that. She would keep my whelp from me?
Of course, I can’t blame her. I told her in no uncertain terms that she is now alone. Can I possibly convince her she’s not? No matter what she does, no matter how I disagree with her choices, I can’t stay away from her. I can’t let her go on by herself, bearing this burden on her own. I won’t live a life without my mate and our whelp. It would tear me apart from the inside out, as it has since we last parted ways.
If I’m going to be a father, I’m going to do it as well as I can. I’m going to be there for her, support her and hold her. And when my whelp is born, I’ll make sure they are both safe and sound.
And I will not give that up, no matter what.
I’m so sorry, Vienne. I slide off the ledge and fall to my knees in front of her. I was angry. Discovering magic, finding the truth behind it, that’s all that’s mattered to me.
She frowns deeply. I know. That’s all you care about. I care about saving the world, and keeping magic out of the hands of goons like that.
No, you don’t know what I care about. I give her a firm, staid look. You don’t understand at all what you mean to me. How much I’ve missed you. How much I need you.
Her lips purse like she doesn’t believe me.
You brought others here, she snaps. Now the Grand Chieftain is going to find out, and we will all be doomed ? —
Gusak is too selfish to do that, I tell her. If anything, he’ll want keep it for himself.
She glares at me. That’s even worse! Who is that guy? What does he want?
I shrug, because I genuinely don’t know the answer. What would Gusak do with this kind of power at his disposal?
He’s my boss, I finally say. I’m... I’m a part of a clan. A crime syndicate. I had no choice but to bring him here, or he’d kill me.
She sneers. Maybe you should’ve let him kill you.
She’s angry, and that’s the only reason I don’t let the words into my heart. My mate is sharp-tongued while still sensitive. I’ve hurt her deeply, just like she hurt me. But I understand now that she did what she thought was right.
I gently place my hands on her knees, and though she trembles under them, she doesn’t push me away. The pain and hatred in her face falters for just a moment, and that’s the clue I need to be certain she still feels something for me, even if it’s only a thin thread.
I had to live so I could see you again. I run my hands soothingly up and down her thighs. You’re all I’ve wanted since I walked away.
More pretty words, she says with a grumble.
True words, though. It doesn’t matter what you did. I should have stuck by you and worked through it with you.
Vienne glares down at me, but there’s less venom in her eyes than before.
I don’t know how we get out of here, I say, glancing up at the closed hatch in the ceiling, but when we do, I am not leaving your side. Ever.
Her scowl softens. You say that now.
And I mean it. You and the whelp are mine. And I’m going to do whatever I have to do to keep it that way.
There’s a split second when her mask melts, and I think I’ve gotten through to her.
Vienne. I know we’re different, and you have no reason to trust me now. I look her in the eyes, demanding that she look back at me and see my truths. But I want you. Only you. I want to live a life with you, raise our whelp together, and keep both of you safe.
She turns her head away. I can do that myself. I can take care of us on my own.
I have to smile. I know you can. But I want to. I want to be the one you come to. I want to be there while you go through this.
Her shoulders slump, and abruptly, Vienne falls forward, collapsing.
Stop it , she whimpers. Stop saying what I want to hear.
I’m saying what I want to say. I’m saying what I really feel. Can you hear me?
Cautiously I reach out to her, wrapping my big arms around her much tinier body. When Vienne doesn’t flinch or fight, I drag her off the edge of the pool and down into my lap. But as she lies limp there, it’s almost as if she is boneless. As if she’s given up.
I hold her close, bundling her tight against me so she knows I’m here to help carry her onward.
* * *
Vienne
Why does it feel so good to be with him again? It’s like a missing part of my soul clicked back into place, and now all I can do is sink into his arms hoping I don’t drown.
Graz seems so confident we’ll find a life outside of this mess, I almost let myself believe in the same thing. A world where we could be together, where we could have a family together? I want that world, but I’m not sure it exists.
You know , he says quietly, stroking my hair as he cradles me to his chest. I have a friend who is mated to a human, too.
My head jerks up. What? There are more?
He nods. Not just them, either. They’ve heard of others, out in the world, besides us. Maybe we could find them.
Who is this ‘friend’?
He laughs at the tone of my question. He was very close to me growing up. I used magic to help the two of them get out of the city safely. They’re out there somewhere, with whelps of their own.
So we’re not the only ones. I peer down at where Graz’s hands are wrapped around my belly. There could be a life out there for us.
If we can get out of here without that other big orc taking us out. I’ve already shown myself to be hostile, and I don’t think a guy in charge of a crime syndicate will take kindly to what I’ve done.
How do we escape this mess? I ask him. My own boss... he’s headed here, too.
Graz blinks at me. Your boss?
It’s a long story. I flinch, thinking about my past with Raiden, the fact that I even let him touch me once upon a time. He dragged me out here, and I just barely managed to get away. He’s losing his mind, I think. That magic sickness. I don’t know how long we have until he makes it up the mountain.
Graz sighs. It’s coming at us from all directions. He lowers his head until it’s resting on my shoulder, and he breathes in deeply. It will work out, though. I know it will.
I want to believe his assurances, but nothing has turned out the way I thought it would.
How do we get out of here? I ask, searching the ceiling for any sign. I already wished, and it did nothing.
Maybe magic will tell us, he suggests. Like it did last time.
You think we need to just wait?
He nuzzles the back of my neck with his nose. Or do what we did last time.
My body heats up just at the mention of it.
You smell so damned good, Graz murmurs, squeezing me tighter. I’ve been dreaming about it, how you smell.
It soothes me, knowing I still affect him the way he does me. I settle fully into him, nested in the shelter of his lap. He runs his nose over the shell of my ear, his breath on my skin making all the tiny hairs stand up on end.
I dreamt about you, too, I confess. Too much.
Mmm, you thought about me? Something is already developing between Graz’s thighs that I can feel underneath me. What did you think about?
I know what he’s doing, but I want the same thing, and I’m too tired to fight it. We can’t escape this place, and all I want right now is to get lost in my orc, to forget that everything beyond this room even exists.
Maybe, for this short moment, I can pretend.
Well, I thought about your cock. I grin when he chuckles against my throat, then kisses there. The cool brush of his tusks on my skin makes me feel utterly alive. And the way you looked at me when...
Ah, when I made love to you? The way the words roll through my mind, I shiver all over.
If that’s what you want to call it. I’m surprised it translates the way it does, but they must have two words for these things, as well.
It is. That’s what it was. One of his hands adventures upward, under the swell of my chest, and I allow it. You know it, too. We did it the way that mates do.
I know he’s right, now. I know because I couldn’t stand walking away from him, because it would break me if we were separated again.
Covering his hand with mine, I squeeze, forcing his own fingers to apply more pressure to my breast. Graz groans behind me, that lump between his legs surging against my ass. He rubs my nipple with surprising force, and I bend into him, unable to hold up the barrier between us for even a moment longer.
Vienne, he murmurs, low and velvety. Do you know what you do to me? What just touching you does to me? His other hand, still around my waist, pushes me down so I’m grinding against his groin. I gasp at the sensation of just how thick and full he’s gotten for me in a few moments. I want nothing but you.
This time, a moan escapes me as he nips at my neck and his palm winds down between my legs. He applies pressure there, over the fabric of my pants, and the friction is delicious.
So warm. Graz lets out a hum of pleasure. I bet you’re already wet for me under there.
I wriggle against him knowing he’s right, and everything that happened in that cave is coming back to me now, reminding me just how much I need him.
He plucks open the buttons of my pants, and once they’re loose, he slides his fingers down inside them. It’s like a dam breaking open, the way my need overtakes me the moment his hand reaches my center.
Graz, please. I buck my hips up against his intrusion, begging for him to touch me more. Maybe I’m a pathetic woman going back for another sip, but I can’t help myself. We’re magnetized together, and I won’t truly be free until I have him again.
He makes a thoughtful sound as he drags the pad of his finger through the swollen petals of my pussy, pausing when he reaches my clit. Absolutely soaked for me, he says as he tests it, gentle and light with his touch.
I am. I’m simply alight, my blood pounding fast and my pulse thrumming in my throat as he moves so slowly, so intentionally, swirling his finger about in circles as if he knows exactly what touch I like, what touch I need. Unexpectedly, a whimper falls out of me, and Graz nips the shell of my ear.
Do you want more? Teasingly he swoops down, pressing the tip of his finger inside me. My head falls back against his shoulder as he retreats, playing with my clit again. My hips start to roll in time with his movements as he sets off a spark inside me, a spark that catches the tinder on fire when he sinks his finger in deep.
So small. I gasp as he curls it, stroking along my inner wall. Oh, fuck. I clench all over, and he chuckles against me. So sensitive, too. It will feel so good when my cock is inside you.
Just the suggestion makes me moan. Don’t make me wait forever.
Graz chuckles against me. I won’t. He slides his hands under me, lifting me up as he gets to his feet. He sets me on the ground, but he’s still caressing my ass and reaching between my legs.
Bend over. Take these off.
Every inch of my skin trembles at the command in his voice. I kick off my pants, and with my shirt still on, I hurriedly prop my hands on the edge of the pool, keeping my legs straight so my ass is up in the air.
There we are , Graz croons. He positions himself behind me, still playing with me, taunting me. Then I hear his suspenders snap, and his hand leaves me for just a moment.
It’s soon replaced by something else, something much broader. Graz groans as he drags the head of his cock all over me, rubbing my clit with it until I’m pathetically shoving my hips back against his. I can almost feel his self-satisfied smirk, though I can’t see his face.
He leans over me, and finally, he guides himself to that needy, wet place that’s begging for him. But he merely hovers there, applying the faintest pressure as he smears me with his spill.
Tell me, he says, even as I try to shunt my hips back against his. Tell me what you want, Vienne.
I look at my own reflection in the pool of purple, glowing magic. My hair is mussed, my cheeks darkened, my lips parted with each of my heavy breaths.
You, I finally say, dropping my head into the circle of my arms. I want you, Graz. I want all of you.
With a grunt, he gives me what I’m asking for.