“Are women allowed to learn in your kingdom?” I ask, staring up at him.
He freezes, his eyes going from soft to hard. “What sort of question is that, Cora the Fearless?”
I swallow, carefully reaching up to lay my hand on his forearm. “In the Shadow Lands, women are forbidden to learn. We’re possessions to be traded by our fathers to our husbands. They prefer we remain dumb and silent, mere tools for them to fuck and command, nothing more.”
His eyes flash with anger so fierce, I nearly take a step back. “Were you traded?”
I shake my head. “I volunteered as the hunt to save my sister before I could be traded, not for my father’s lack of trying.” I study his face. “I did not fit their mold, Krug, and it made sense for me to step through the wall when it was time.”
He leans down, his face level with mine, and sternly states, “In my kingdom, women and men learn equally. Women can be warriors, scholars, homemakers, or anything they choose, but the important thing is that it’s their choice. No one commands them to be silent, and if you ever find yourself silenced, I’ll cut the one who dares to cause you harm into tiny pieces until they are nothing but a pile of meat, and then I’ll present their beating heart to you.”
Somehow, that’s one of the most romantic things anyone has ever said to me. The imagery is strong and gruesome, but I find myself leaning in to kiss the orc king who would dare to defend my voice and allow me to rise to my greatest potential. Despite his earlier words that he would still have duties, he’s gifting me with a greater gift than anything else—knowledge and protection of my autonomy.
His lips are softer than I expected and plush against mine as I linger, wondering for a moment how things would work with his tusks, but before I can ponder things too deeply, his arms wrap around my waist and pull me in. His hands are large against my body, completely spanning my waist, but when he takes control of the kiss, I melt. His tusks press against me as his tongue darts out and tangles with mine. I circle his neck with my arms and tangle my fingers in his long hair. He backs me against the nearest bookshelf and pins me there before he releases my lips to trail kisses down my neck, his tusks scraping my skin, even while his tongue follows their path.
“I’ve imagined this moment since I first saw you,” he murmurs. “I’ve imagined throwing you over the nearest object and fucking you there a million times. Once, I imagined bending you over Nero’s coils and fucking you until you screamed, only for the snake to slide between your lips and fuck you from that side.”
Wetness pools between my thighs at the imagery, and I grind against him, desperate for some release. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because I was not ready for you to hold so much control over me.” He nips my neck, and I gasp. “Now I know you’ve always held some sway over me, and I do not fear that control.”
He steps back so suddenly, I sway and reach for him to steady myself. “What are—”
“Undress,” he commands, his eyes on the clothing Nero made for me. “If I do it, I’m going to rip it to shreds in desperation.”
My eyes widen at his admission and at the care with which he speaks. He knows the clothing means something to me, so I slowly pull the top over my head. I feel his eyes on me, tracing my skin as it’s revealed, and he groans in desire when my breasts appear. I drop the shirt to the side and reach for the trousers, carefully sliding them down my legs until I stand naked before him.
With a grunt of agony, Krug reaches down and adjusts himself beneath his leathers, and when my eyes drop to the sizable erection there, he grins.
“Shall I show you,rainha?”
I don’t even question what the word means before I’m nodding, my mouth salivating at the thought of seeing him in all his glory.
He slowly pulls the ties of the leathers loose, revealing slight green skin riddled with scars and badges of his battles. I see the base of his cock, but above it, there’s a large nodule, like an extra bone. He completely strips himself of his leathers, freeing his cock, and I marvel at the sheer size of it. Without waiting for his instructions, I kneel before him and wrap my hand around the base of his cock, feeling the ridges, as if it has been textured for pleasure. Piercings travel up the bottom of his dick like a ladder.
His fingers thread into my hair as he watches me study him and the metal that runs along his length. “You were not made to be on your knees,rainha. You are meant to have men on their knees before you.”
I glance up at him as I squeeze his cock, making it jump in my hand. “What does that word mean?”
He groans as I stroke my hand along his shaft, my fingers not even touching around his large girth. “Queen,” he rasps out. “It means queen.”
I stroke him again. “Then a queen can choose to kneel before whomever she chooses,” I retort, looking up at him. “She can tease whomever she wishes.” I lean forward and swipe my tongue along the tip, drawing a guttural groan from his lips. He clearly likes it, so I spread my lips around the mushroom head and suck. He’s far too big to fit entirely in my mouth, and I can only work about half of him into my throat before I’m forced to move back and take him again. His fingers tangle in my hair, and he’s careful not to push too hard, but I can tell he’s holding back, desperately trying not to hurt me. I moan as I run my tongue along the piercings, tracing and flicking them while my hand strokes his base.
“Enough,” he rumbles, jerking his hips back and removing himself from my mouth. “It’s my turn.”
I find myself hauled off my feet and thrown into the air. I lose my equilibrium and cling to him as he lifts me until my legs wrap around his shoulders and I’m well off the ground. I’m pressed back against the shelves as he dives into the slit between my thighs, his tusks pressing against my skin as his tongue swipes. My eyes widen when I realize his tusks are perfectly placed to keep my lips parted for his attack. I cry out at the initial contact and then moan when he repeats the action, his hands holding me up easily, even as I squeeze his head between my thighs. I lose all sense of anything but pleasure as he swirls his tongue around my clit and drives me high so quickly, I nearly panic.
“I need you,” I rasp out, spearing my hands into his hair and pulling him closer. “I want you inside of me. Ineedyou inside of me.”
He groans against my skin, sending bolts of pleasure through me as he continues to tongue fuck me. I can’t fight it, can’t move, so I use the only weapon I have in my arsenal. Magic dances from my fingertips and touches his scalp, moving down to wrap around his waist and cock, adding my own pleasure. He jerks against me before pressing me harder into the spines of the books and the shelf at my back. A growl is my answer as he remains buried between my thighs. He moves one hand, holding me aloft with the other, before I feel his fingers press against my core. He spears one inside of me, his thick digit stretching me, before he brutally fucks me with it. I cry out in pleasure and gush around his hand, dripping down his arm, his shoulders, and his chest.
He adds another finger, and one orgasm turns into another, until I scream with release, digging my nails into his scalp, even as my magic wraps around him and squeezes.
His fingers disappear, and he roars against my clit, his tusks nicking me as he drags my legs from around his shoulders. I drop, but he captures me before I have a chance to panic as he pins me against the shelves again, his cock nudging at my entrance.
“Cora the Fearless,” he rumbles, his chin and lips still coated with my slickness, “do you fear me?”
“No,” I answer, pressing my magic into his skin and sending bites of pleasure along his body. “I don’t fear you.”
