Chapter Five #2
"Oh, yes! Just like that!" Katuri exclaimed, looking over her shoulder at Reed. Her eyes were wide.
Reed was focused on plunging into her, determined to make her feel the full length of his cock. They were on Katuri's porch, with her bent over and him taking her from behind, enjoying their first time in this position. He held onto her waist and watched in fascination as Katuri's firm ass bobbed against him in rhythm with his hips. He couldn't wait to come, but first, he wanted to give Katuri her orgasm. That had become a point of honor for him.
It was early afternoon on the fourth day since they had gone to the river. Since Reed had had his first time. Now it was his fifteenth, he counted each one and tried not to take them for granted. He and Katuri took their time, exploring their bodies and all they had to offer.
Reed had recovered completely, but Katuri still made him drink herbs every day. He appreciated it and tried to help her around the house as much as she would let him. He helped with chores like chopping wood, weeding her vegetable patch, and preparing meals.
They used the time between chores to be together, not just for sex, although that was a big part of it. But they also formed a bond, at least that's how Reed saw it. They talked a lot and cuddled even more.
"Owww!" Katuri whimpered in pleasure. "Faster!"
Reed did as she asked and began to thrust into her with all his energy. The sound of their bodies slapping together disturbed the silence of the nearby forest. He recognized the moment when Katuri's inner walls began to clench and adjusted his strength to make sure his cock would push through her tightening pussy.
Katuri clung to the railing of her porch so tightly that Reed thought she was going to break it. The muscles in her back bulged, and she groaned with the effort. Reed slowed down a bit to let her rest, but he wanted to keep going.
"Damn!" she cursed, "That was something!"
Reed didn't answer, but kept thrusting into her. He felt his orgasm approaching.
"Tell me when you're close, Reed," Katuri cooed.
"Ah! Why?!" he asked in surprise.
"Just tell me!"
"I am now!"
Katuri's reaction shocked Reed. She lunged forward, causing him to slip out of her, then quickly turned and knelt before him. She grabbed his swollen cock with both hands and shoved it into her mouth.
"What are– Oh, gods!" he cried out as Katuri began to suck him.
She had pleasured him with her lips before, but he had never finished in her mouth. Now she seemed to want him to release everything right there. And as if to make sure, Katuri held his hips, leaving him no choice but to let her taste his seed... not that he didn't want to. It was just a surprise for him, but Katuri had already shown him that she could be very creative in sexual matters.
"I'm gonna come," he warned her, then shot everything he had into her mouth.
They looked into each other's eyes, making the moment very intimate. There were many emotions hidden in Katuri's violet eyes: lust, a little mischief, and... affection. Reed was not sure about the latter, but he wanted to see it. He had feelings for her too.
She swallowed it all and sucked his cock until it went limp. Then she stood up with an impish smirk. They exchanged tired but satisfied glances.
Then they got dressed and sat on the porch to enjoy the sunny weather. Summer was slowly coming to an end, but there was no sign of fall yet.
There was a moment of silence, and Reed looked at the edge of the forest, feeling happy and peaceful, until he noticed something in the tall grass. It was a wild partridge or a quail; he couldn't tell.
The sight of the bird immediately stirred unpleasant thoughts in him. Although he tried to push them away, they kept coming back. It reminded him of his farm and his chickens and the fact that he would eventually have to return there.
Before leaving Stagmoor, which now seemed like a distant past, he had asked Joseph, his neighbor, to feed and tend to his hens. Joseph was a good old man, a distant relative, and a longtime friend of his family, and Reed was sure that he would indeed take care of his chicken coop. But Reed knew he had to go back to the village, not only to take care of the hens but also to sow the winter grain and get everything ready for the cold months.
But he didn't want to leave Katuri. Not even for a day. He also knew that he couldn't just abandon his farm, as it was his family's land and legacy. It was all that connected him to his parents.
He struggled with his thoughts, trying to find the best plan, but there seemed to be no ideal solution. Besides, he hadn't talked to Katuri about it because he was afraid it might hurt her feelings. He just had no idea what to do. The longer he thought about it, the harder it seemed. Soon he was struggling with it all the time, to the point that it became his personal nightmare. How could he say it without upsetting her? It seemed impossible. He felt so lost.
"So, are you finally going to tell me?" Katuri suddenly said. She didn't look at him, and he couldn't read her expression.
Reed flinched. "About what?" he asked defensively, feeling caught off guard.
"About whatever's been bothering you these past few days." Katuri looked at him briefly and smiled sorrowfully.
Reed sighed as he realized that she had seen through him. They had become very close and had spent so much time together that there was no way she could miss it. He still didn't know how to put it into words, but he decided to be completely honest because he would feel terrible if he lied to her. It would somehow taint their bond.
"I have to return to my village for a while," he explained to her the situation with his farm.
Katuri listened without interrupting, and Reed grew sadder with every word he said. Her face seemed impassive, but he sensed that she was trying to hide that she was hurt.
"I know, Reed. I expected to hear that." She shrugged her shoulders.
"I just have a few things to take care of, but I'll be back—" he was about to add something, but she interrupted him.
"Yeah. We’ll see. I understand, Reed. You're right, the farm is your inheritance, and that can't be wasted. I think you should go," she said seemingly calmly, then cleared her throat and continued in a shaky voice. "There's a little path there—" she pointed behind her house. "If you follow it, you'll come to the road to Larrant. If you… if you leave now, you should reach your village before nightfall."
"You want me to… leave now?" Reed was shocked, feeling as if a strange hole were forming in his chest. The whole conversation was going in an utterly wrong direction.
"I don't want you to leave," she blurted out impulsively, but then, as if realizing she was exposing herself, she continued in a flat tone, "But I understand your reasons and that you have to go. I'm grateful for what we had, Reed, even if it was brief. It was… extraordinary. But I don't want to make it harder for us than it already is. I don't want to feel the way I did in the past. So it's going to be better this way."
Reed furrowed his brow as he took in what she meant. To his horror, he realized that she apparently thought he wanted to leave forever. And he had no such intentions! She had to know that!
"I'll be back, Katuri," he repeated firmly, and tried to hold her hand, but she abruptly leaped to her feet and moved a bit away. He blinked rapidly, feeling lost and desperate.
"Please, Reed, please…" She closed her eyes and tried to hold back her tears. "We both know you won't. You have your life, and I have… this. You are human, and I am an orc. There's no way."
"That's not true!" he tried to convince her, but she wouldn't listen.
The orcess seized her bow and said bitterly, without looking at him, "I have to go hunting. Thank you… And good luck, Reed. With your farm, your village… Jolene and everything else."
"I'm not going back to her!" he shouted, reaching for her hand again, but Katuri dodged it. She stepped away from him.
"I must go. Goodbye, Reed," she said in a shaky voice. Then she began walking toward the forest, in the opposite direction from where she had pointed him. She held her head high, but given the unnatural stiffness of her movements, it was obvious she was just pretending.
"Katuri, I will be back, you’ll see!!" he called after her, but she didn't stop.
“Just go, Reed!” she yelled back in a raspy voice, “It will be better this way!”
Reed knew she was hurt and probably crying, and there was nothing he could do about it except watch her walk away. It became obvious that she saw their separation as final. The awareness of this tore at his heart. He felt absolutely helpless.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. It was a disastrous misunderstanding. It felt like another heartbreak—for him and for her.
The moment he decided to follow after her and explain, and make sure that she knew she didn't have to be sad, Katuri reached the forest and… he saw her start to run! After a split second, she disappeared among the trees. It was too late for a chase.
He stood next to her house for a few minutes, stunned, as if he had been hit on the head, his stomach cramping, and his heart aching.
"Why didn't she believe me?!" he muttered to himself, blinking as tears welled up in his eyes. He grabbed and pulled at his hair, the feeling of despair overwhelming him.
After a while, he turned around, walked into the house, and took his pouch. Then he sighed, closed the door, and, hanging his head, walked in the direction of the path that Katuri had shown him.
He couldn't believe how terribly their talk had gone. The worst possible scenario. Why did it have to end like this, with them both heartbroken again?
Katuri had expected him to leave her at some point because she didn't believe they had any chance for a longer relationship. Maybe it was more rational, given her experiences with Ehrendil. Maybe it was a defense strategy of hers? Or perhaps she truly believed that he would return to Jolene. From Katuri's perspective, it could look like that.
He reproached himself for not phrasing his thoughts more clearly, explaining them better, or being more decisive. Or that he should have confessed his feelings to her. Even if that felt premature.
He should have done that.
Shoulda, coulda, woulda! He was furious at himself that these ideas came to him only afterward.
I will make it right. I have to make it right. With a sudden surge of determination, Reed made a firm decision. I'm not going to be another Ehrendil for her. She deserves better than that! I'll come back to her no matter what!
After walking a few yards along the path, he figured out that he might not have found the way to Katuri's house again. He stopped and looked behind him. Her house was still visible in the distance. Without thinking much, he picked up a rock and walked toward one of the trees. He hit the bark a few times and left a mark on it. Then he returned to the path and continued patiently marking the trees along the way until he reached the route to Larrant.
As he set foot on the road, he hesitated. Almost two weeks had passed since he had left Stagmoor. Reed had no idea how long it would take him to complete all the things he had to do. It could take another two weeks or even a whole month. The longer it took, the more Katuri would be convinced that he had left her for good. She would suffer alone, thinking that she had been rejected yet again in her life. That he had abandoned her. That he was no better than the spoiled, bored elf.
Determined, he set out on his way… to Larrant. His farm could wait another day or two.
I must stick to the original plan: go to town and bring a gift for my girl. To win back her heart , he thought with a spark of hope and some dark humor. But it was something to hold on to.
In a way, the last weeks of his life were coming full circle. But this time, he was sure what the right thing to do was.