Chapter 15
KHALA
Grat wouldn’t let me walk back to the cabin, carrying me all the way to the clearing instead. Here, he wrapped me in a knitted blanket and put me in a chair by the fire pit while he restocked the fire in the stove under the tub and filled it with water.
When the kettle boiled, he made me a cup of tea, then started making breakfast.
“I’ll get some sausage from the cellar.” I made a move to get up, but he placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
“I’ll do it. You need to rest.”
“Grat,” I laughed. “I’m not hurt or wounded. I can do things.”
He crouched in front of my chair.
“Khala…” He drew in a deep breath, hugging my hips with his big hands. “When I saw your stomach ripped open—”
“My stomach never was ripped open,” I reminded.
But he didn’t seem to hear me, lost to the horrors he’d gone through that morning.
“…with your guts spilling out—” he continued.
“Those weren’t my guts.”
He just shook his big head with a horrified expression on his face.
For a moment or two, I had allowed Grat to believe that what he saw was true, that I had died from being ripped apart by a predator. And those brief moments still haunted him.
“I’m so sorry, Grat.” I hugged his thick neck and kissed his scarred cheek.
“It all happened so fast. I saw a chance to get them out of our lives for good, and I had to take it. Then I had to stay still until all Reizon’s guards ran far enough away that they wouldn’t witness my ‘resurrection.’ I had to make them believe that I was really dead, so no one would ever come back searching for me again. ”
I couldn’t let anyone get the idea of using me as the stepping stone on their way to the Avilet throne ever again.
“I will never leave you behind again, don’t even ask,” Grat vowed.
I smiled. “The only thing I’ll ask from you is to be with me. Always.”
“Khala…” he exhaled, drawing me closer. “I love you, sweetheart, so much that my head is spinning from this feeling, and I can’t think straight.”
Happiness filled my heart, spreading through me like sunshine.
“I love you too, Grat. It’s a little scary because I’ve never been in love before. But it’s also so exciting, I just can’t stop smiling when I think about you, which is pretty much all the time now.”
His eyes glistened with emotions.
“Khala…I…” He paused, as if searching for words to express his feelings.
But Grat was a man of action, not words, and I loved that about him. Instead of talking, he focused on my ripped, dirty clothes.
“Let’s get you clean.” He helped me get out of my blood-soaked dress and blouse, then carried me to the tub.
The warm water felt amazing not just for my body but for my soul too.
The tension of the past few hours had finally ebbed, and I relaxed, leaning my back against Grat’s broad chest. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight for a few moments, then he unbraided my hair and started lathering it with a piece of berry soap.
He fell silent, and I sensed that something was bothering him, but I didn’t ask, letting him first work through his feelings on his own.
“Khala,” he finally said. “Are you sure this is what you want? To stay in the Wetlands? To be with me?”
He sounded worried, and I turned around to see his face.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re a princess,” he explained. “I don’t even know everything that a princess may need in life, but I fear I can’t give it all to you.”
My beloved orc had no idea how precious he was. I took his face in my hands.
“You give me everything I want and everything I need, Grat, even the things that no king, no lord, and no duke has ever given me.”
“What are those things?” he asked skeptically.
“Things like this.” I pointed at the tub water.
He looked confused. “A bath?”
“Yes.” I smiled ear to ear. “I’ve been married to a High Lord, pursued by a duke, and courted by many other rich, powerful men, and not one of them would even consider washing my hair, teaching me how to survive, asking me what I want, or caring for me in any meaningful way.
” I pressed my forehead to his. “No man loved me the way you do, Grat. Love like yours is rare and more precious than any treasure in the world. I’d be really stupid not to see that. ”
“You’re not stupid,” he protested.
“No, I’m very smart,” I agreed with a cheerful laugh. “And as a smart woman, I’m never going to take what we have for granted. I’ll treasure you always, my love. And yes, I want to stay in the Wetlands with you because only with you do I feel truly happy and free.”
I kissed him again, and he held me close, making the kiss last longer. His tight, desperate embrace finally relaxed a little. His hands slid down my back to cup my backside. I pressed my body to his, smiling against his lips when his chest hair tickled my nipples.
He breathed faster, gripping my hips. Shifting me up a little, he kissed my breasts. Desire surged through me in a flush of heat. I moaned, rising on my knees and rubbing my core against his hard abs.
He jerked his head back with concern flashing through his eyes.
“How are you feeling, Khala? You’re not well. I shouldn’t be doing this…”
“Oh, but you very much should,” I murmured, rocking my hips against him.
“But—”
Taking his chin in my hand, I lifted his face up to me.
“Grat, I wasn’t hurt. I’m not injured in any way other than a minor scratch on my belly that doesn’t bother me at all. I was not mauled by a wild animal, but…” I gave him a sultry look, “I very much hope to be ravaged by a big, sexy orc.”
He said nothing. Grabbing me with one arm, he climbed out of the tub.
“What are you doing?” I held on to his neck.
He grabbed the blanket from the chair and threw it over my shoulders, protecting me from the autumn chill.
“I’m going to do it properly, in bed,” he growled, stomping toward the cabin.
Inside, he laid me down on the quilted cover spread over our bed made from solid logs, then opened my legs.
“Mmm,” he hummed, licking his lips. “I missed your taste.”
I arched my back from the onslaught of pleasure as his hot tongue lapped at me between my legs. He swirled it around my clit, then sucked on my hard, swollen bud gently.
“I don’t fuck gently,” his words from earlier rushed through my head once again.
Yet he had learned to. With me, Grat had been nothing but caring and sweet. He handled me tenderly, as if I were a delicate, fragile glass figurine, and I needed to be handled like that back when we had just met.
But things had changed since. In the weeks we’d spent together, I’d learned to trust him both with my heart and my body.
“I want you, Grat…” I breathed.
“You have me, my sweet princess.” He grinned, circling my opening with his finger.
I wouldn’t let anyone call me a princess anymore. But with Grat, it was different. I knew he loved me for me, not for a status, or a title, or for what they could bring him. He said it in a voice that no one had used with me before, either, filled with lust, tenderness, and love.
“You have me, Khala. I’m going nowhere. I’m staying right here between your legs, the only place I want to be.” He licked my clit again, sending a rush of desire through my body in a shimmer of pleasure.
I moaned, lifting my hips to his mouth.
“Come for me, sweetheart,” he murmured, and it took everything I had for me to pull away from him.
“No…” I panted. “Not without you.”
He gave me a curious look. I loved seeing him like that, glancing up at me, with his big head framed by my naked thighs. But I wanted more. For both of us.
“I want you inside me,” I said.
“Khala…” he exhaled, pressing his lips to the side of my thigh for a moment.
I understood his hesitation. I’d seen his monster cock. But I had hope.
“What if I hurt you?” he asked with horror etched on his face.
“What if you don’t?” I echoed, rising on my elbows. “Don’t underestimate me, darling. I’m bigger than I look.”
He chuckled, pulling himself up to kiss my face.
“Princess or not, you’re still a wild thing, aren't you?”
“Maybe I’ve always been a little wild inside? You’re just the only one who managed to finally bring it out in me.” I smiled, slipping my hand between us and reaching for his cock. “Let’s at least try, shall we?”
“Khala.” His expression turned serious. “I’m always hard as a rock around you. I…I don’t know if I can stay in control.”
He was right. His cock felt hard as granite in my fingers, and I knew he could come many times a night.
“Let me take the edge off for you then,” I offered.
It was my turn to slide between his legs now, and I did so eagerly, fisting his cock in my hand. Massive, dark-green, with the precious ring on it, and glistening with the gemstone bead of his seed at the very tip, it was a sight to behold.
I tentatively circled the bulbous head with my tongue, making Grat groan and roll to his back in surrender.
“I’m sorry, I’m not very good at this,” I said apologetically.
My late husband only came to my bed with the single purpose of impregnating me. As such, he didn’t waste time on any activities that wouldn’t lead to that. And with Reizon… He must’ve known I’d bite his cock off if he tried to shove it down my throat, so he never even tried that.
“It’s my first time,” I confessed.
He lifted his head to catch my gaze.
“Sweetheart,” he drawled. “With me, you couldn’t be bad even if you tried, no matter what you do to me. You could use my cock to roll out dough for dumplings, and I would still come, panting, and screaming, and begging for more.”
I laughed, feeling relieved.
“Hm…” I slid my hand up and down his thick length. “Come to think of it, this would make a great rolling pin. It certainly has the necessary girth and weight to it.” I tossed his cock left and right between my hands, teasing.
“Urgh.” He threw his head back, digging his feet into the mattress, and gritted through his teeth, “Keep playing with it, you little vixen.”