Chapter 22
Elodie
I had no idea how fun it would be flirting with Ortak.
He’s actually really good at it. Given how damp I am between my thighs and the fact my nipples have been hard pretty much the whole night, I’d give him an A+.
After he finished eating, we went back to his and Gannen’s tent, although we stopped at mine first to get the data pad.
We played a few games of Pac before we switched to me reading to them out loud from a book on the device.
The storyline is more age-appropriate for Gannen who lies curled up against me while I read.
I’m not far into it yet, but that’s mostly because I’ve stopped a bunch of times when he asks me questions.
They’re smart questions, too, like he’s really thinking about the book.
With each one though I tell him to wait and find out. It’s more fun when the story is revealed along the way than it is knowing the answers before you get there. He grumps every time, but quiets and is soon reinvested. At least until he pipes up with a new question.
Ortak quietly moves around the dwelling, like he can’t sit still.
He brought me a cup of water when I asked for one after my voice grew scratchy.
When I passed it back to him empty, our fingers brushed and I could tell it was intentional on his part.
Score one for Ortak in the flirting column with the lingering touches.
“I believe he is asleep,” he says.
I glance down at Gannen and sure enough, his eyes are closed and he breathes evenly.
He’s too adorable. I scoot over and bring the fur up to his chin.
He doesn’t flinch so I reach up and gently stroke his floks away from his face.
Love swells inside me. God, I think I might actually give anything to hear him call me Momo, which means I am well and truly fucked.
For another few minutes I watch him sleep.
The image shifts, and it’s a much smaller version of Gannen lying there.
A tiny version. One with two itty bitty tusks bracketing a vertical mouth slit and a cap of wavy dark hair similar to what I’ve seen in the mirror.
The tiny version has much paler skin, but there are hues of green and black visible.
Eyes open to stare up at me—blinking owlishly—and they are coal-colored, but with bright flecks of silver like stars in the night sky.
There’s no mistaking who the little one belongs to.
I blink and Gannen comes into focus. The sight of him opens the floodgate of everything I want, and what I want is him. I want to watch him swim with his friends and improve his axe throwing skills. I want to see him become an excellent hunter. I want to see him grow up and become an amazing adult.
Even more than that, I want Ortak. I want to flirt with him each night and again in the morning.
I want to kiss him and touch him and learn all the ways we can bring each other pleasure.
I want to spend time with him. Hold hands with him while we explore the different areas around the village.
I want to teach him how to laugh, and I want nothing more than to grow old with him.
I tilt my head back and meet Ortak’s eyes.
My breath hitches because for the first time, I can read him.
I can almost hear his thoughts echoing mine.
His desire for me matches the desire I have for him.
How in the hell could I have missed it before?
Without a word, he holds his hand out for me to take, and I have zero hesitation in doing so.
He pulls me up to standing and drags me willingly into his arms.
Our mouths meet and for a second I wish we could kiss with tongues and teeth gnashing, but when Ortak palms my breast, all thoughts of tongue kissing are forgotten.
“We should go to my tent if we plan on going any further than this.” I don’t want to scar either Gannen or myself if he happens to wake up.
“Is that what you desire?” Ortak asks.
“More than anything. Do you?”
He caresses my face in the most gentle way. “More than anything.”
“Will you carry me?” I’ve resisted any help since I started using the crutches to get around, but I want to be in Ortak’s arms. I don’t want to waste any time and he’ll get us there much faster than with me hopping.
He sweeps me up in his arms—bridal style—like he did once before and carries me out of his tent into my own. The low-burning fire gives off a dim light, but it’s bright enough for Ortak to locate my pile of furs and lower me to them. He covers my body, but rests most of his weight on his side.
“You will have to teach me how to pleasure you. How to be gentle with you.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to be gentle.”
Ortak caresses my cheek. “Even in mating, Krijese must fight and battle. There is no tenderness. No being gentle. I do not wish that for me. For us.”
Each new piece of information I learn of his prior way of life breaks my heart even more. I lay my hand on his chest. “Then gentle is what you’ll get.”
I trace my fingers over his shoulders, down his arms, and up again. Next, I draw lines along the length of his spine and around to his ribs before returning to his back and mapping the entire surface of it.
“Where should I touch you?” Ortak asks.
“Help me take my shirt off, please.”
I lift up so he can draw it up my torso and over my head.
He places the piece of clothing on the ground near us.
My bra is next. I unclasp it and push the straps off my shoulders.
Ortak drops it on top of my shirt. Not once has he taken his eyes off me.
Tiny flashes of silver appear in his eyes and this time I know I’m not imagining them.
“My breasts are really sensitive, and I love having them touched and played with.”
Ortak palms one and the callouses on his fingers and hand abrade my flesh in the most delicious way.
I arch at the contact, pressing myself harder into his touch, needing more.
He carefully kneads the pliant orb. Arousal spikes and a bolt of desire spears my center.
I part my legs so that Ortak’s thick thigh settles in the cradle of mine.
“Yes, just like that.”
Pleasure ripples through me, and I ride a wave of ecstasy.
He takes the lead and moves from one breast to the other, giving them both his full attention.
His fingertips dance along the ridges of my ribs, and I giggle at the way it tickles.
Ortak explores my upper body with a tenderness I’ve never experienced before.
His touch is soft and loving, but it’s also exhilarating and sexy and makes me breathless.
He leans down and rubs his cheek along mine.
Once. Twice. Then he travels down, rubbing against my sternum until he reaches my stomach.
Through half-lidded eyes, I take Ortak in as he learns my body and what brings me pleasure.
His tusks move outward and his mouth slit parts only far enough for his tongue to dart out.
He circles around my belly button, barely tasting me, before he lifts his head and stares down at me.
I can sense the question in his gaze and I nod my assent. That long tongue loops around my nipple and squeezes. A moan of pure pleasure spills from my lips. I thread my fingers through Ortak’s floks and clutch his head desperately to hold him in place while he continues his sensual assault.
“More, please.”
He lashes his tongue against one nipple, then the other.
I press myself harder onto his thigh cradled against my core and even that small bit of friction I’m able to generate makes my entire body shudder.
While Ortak plays with my breasts, alternating between using his tongue and his hands, I roll my hips against his leg, chasing the orgasm building within me.
Wetness flows from my pussy, and my clit pulses and throbs. I find the perfect pressure and motion that lights up all the nerve endings. Between that and the way Ortak teases me, the thread of tension pulls tight until finally, it snaps and my release hits me like a bolt of lightning.
I cry out his name during my climax and his body tenses. He grunts and collapses half on top of me with my breasts pillowing his cheek. His weight feels amazing. I just want to lie here and absorb his warmth and his strength. My hold on him tightens, afraid he’ll leave me before I’m ready.
We lie together as our breathing slows and the beads of sweat on my forehead and upper lip dry. Ortak shifts, and I grumble in complaint.
“I am merely getting more comfortable, sivalla.”
I’ve heard that word before. Kala used it when introducing Iris to me. “What does sivalla mean?”
“The closest meaning it has is a gift from our god.”
My stomach flutters with joy. “Kala called Iris his sivalla. I thought it meant she was his mate. Does that mean I’m yours?”
Ortak raises his head. “For many turns I have desired you to be my mate, but I feared all you wished from me was friendship. I was content with that. Having you in my life in whatever way you were willing to be there was enough for me. Still, I wanted more. Want more. It means you are my mate if you will also have me as yours.”
I blink back my tears, because I don’t want to ruin this moment.
“You asked me before about my life on Earth and if I had to choose whether I was running from something or toward it. I chose toward something, and I think that something is you and Gannen. I’ve never been more happy than I am now.
It’s like here with you is where I’m supposed to be.
All the roads I’ve traveled have led to you. ”
“My sivalla,” Ortak rumbles.
The endearment settles like the softest blanket over me and I bask in the warmth it offers. I scan his face that has grown more handsome with each passing day. Emotion runs through me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Ortak lowers his head and brushes his mouth over mine.
When the kiss is over, he rests on my chest while I stroke his floks.
We lie together quietly soaking up the love that surrounds us.
Fatigue hits, but I don’t want to sleep yet.
I worry if I do, I’ll wake up to find out this was all a dream.
No matter how hard I fight it, though, it’s a losing battle.
I have a vague awareness of a heavy weight lifting off me and several furs being draped over my body, and then, there’s nothing but darkness.