“We’ve wasted enough time discussing what will not change.Come.” As I slide my sword sheath over my neck and shoulder, then fasten my loincloth, I realize she’s not dressing. Her eyes follow me from the bed, but she has no intention of moving.
I toss one of my knives onto the bed for her.
“What’s this for?”
“The knife has my mark. Anyone who sees it will know I’ve mated you.”
She tosses the knife back. It lands on the edge of the bed. “We’re not married. We can’t be. This was sex. Nothing more.”
The harshness of her words does not deter me. Tansey is not unlike any orc female in this. I must prove myself to her. And I will.
“Would you consider risha with me? We are not bonded, not without performing risha.”
“Bonded? As in marriage?”
I’ve heard our graka use the term marriage. It is the human equivalent. “Yes.”
She shakes her head. “I’m returning to my son.”
That will never happen, but don’t tell her that again. She’s not ready to accept that harsh reality. I would not have accepted the deaths of my mate and daughter had I not witnessed the explosion.
“Life is not always as we plan,” I say, picking up the knife from the bed and holding it out to her. “Wear my knife, female. It will tell others that you are mine, even if you aren’t. Baloq will not go near you again.”
With a slight nod, she reaches forward and wraps her fingers around the hilt of the dagger, much as she gripped my cock last night. Both are a beautiful sight.
“I must go.”
As I reach for the door, my female jumps from the bed. “Wait, I’ll go with you.”
Kodex pounds on my door again. “Now, Neld. Our grak wishes to speak with you before the gathering.”
I cup her chin and tip her head up to look at me. I could list all the reasons she should consent to risha with me, but I do not think she’s ready to hear them. “Dress,” I say instead. “I will return for you before Atox speaks with our people. Then we will break our fast with the others.”
“Good. I’m starved. I could eat a horse.”
“I would rather eat my female.”
Her eyes widen, making her look submissive in a way that stirs my cock. I’m hard again, without even touching her.
With one arm, I draw her against me so she can feel my hardness. “I’m not done with you, female. We will perform risha. If not tonight, then soon.”
“I…” She stops speaking. “I can’t.”
She’s a stubborn female, but I’m a patient male. “I will not force you, but you will come to me, begging for risha.”
“Verig, you’re making this, um…relationship…into something permanent. It was only one night. A simple release we both needed.” She speaks softly, with honesty in her heart, but she’s not pushing away from me. Her hands move along my arms as those plump pink lips purse.
“Neld?” Vekk. Kodex again.
I press my lips to hers and squeeze her bare bottom. “Dress. I will return.”
When I leave my quarters, Kodex is still in the tunnel, waiting for me. Atox must have ordered him not to return without me.
Nothing beyond my grak summoning me would have dragged me away from Tansey, given the look in her eyes. That female wants me. More than a simple release. Perhaps we won’t perform risha tonight. But soon. Very soon…
CHAPTER TWELVE
VERIG
