Page 13 of The Goddesses' Gifts

When I’d thoroughly flattened my cock with how awful a person I was, I peeked out of the door to actually make sure there was nobody there. “They’ve all left,” I announced and crossed my arms over my chest. “What the fuck did you say to him?

Ozanna shook her head and told me about the conversation she’d had with Dulanzo.

“So, he only suspects I’m undermining his games with you.” Which made sense. He only seemed able to listen in on conversations he was aware were happening. He had no idea I was down here before until after I reported my visit with her. He was certainly listening now, but I had to carry on as if I didn’t know it without giving away too much.

“I take it he can’t get hard if he isn’t being resisted?” Ozanna asked, one corner of her mouth twisted in a half frown.

I scrunched my face in disgust. “Correct,” I answered. “He knows I dislike taking someone against their will, compliant or not. This,” I gestured between us, “is a warning.”

“So,” Ozanna said, raising her chin in challenge, “what are you going to do?”

I looked at the blood on the floor and pile of bloody linens. I wasn’t going to rape the woman, but I was truly at a loss at how to fake the task if he was listening. So, I put my hands on my hips and sighed. “Not put anything in your mouth, it seems.”

She snorted and barked a laugh. “But what are you really going to do?”

I let my eyes wander around the room, hoping something would trigger inspiration. It came to me when I spotted her discarded clothes. “I’m going to rub the inside of your trousers over my skin so your … intimate scent is on me.” That would reassure her while giving Dulanzo something believable. She’d already had the impression that I might want to keep her to myself and he’d readily believe selfish, shallow motivations.

“Ugh, fine,” Ozanna groaned in disgust. “It’s better than the alternative.”

I clucked my tongue in disapproval and untucked my blouse. Nobody could accuse me of being charming, but that didn’t stop me from trying. “Excuse me, I do know how to please a female,” I teased with a smirk. “There’s no need to be insulting.”

She rolled onto her side and stared at me in disbelief for a heartbeat. “You’re insulted?”

I undid the top two buttons of my trousers, snagged hers off the ground and started rolling its waistband aside. “You wouldn’t be a little insulted if the roles were reversed?”

She tipped her head and shrugged, conceding the point. “Dulanzo told me you’re the one that decided to kidnap me. You’ll just have to live with the knowledge that it makes you … unappealing.”

“Well, were you not so appealing I might have left you in Bergellon,” I admitted. Granted it was her appeal to Lobikno and Lhoris that compelled me to act, which she knew. “Though I must admit, after getting to know you a little, I wouldn’t mind winning you over.”

I rubbed the inner seam of her trousers across my belly, under the waistband of my underpants, giving it a thorough wash of her scent.

She scoffed at my words and frowned while she watched me. “Then you have a long road ahead of you,” she said, the words heavy and droll.

Which was fair. Perhaps if someone had spirited me away from this place and given me to another people to raise, a road like that wouldn’t be so long. Winning Rhemvile over hadn’t been difficult, all I had to do was show him I would handle him gently. But he’d been raised in another warband, and this woman would have different standards I wasn’t familiar with. The best I could do was be honest.

“One might argue that I’m the better choice, between Dulanzo and me,” I sighed and tossed the pants within her reach. “His road has a very different destination.”

She raised a brow and offered me a bitter little smile. “Of that, I have no doubt.”

“Do you think you can continue to fake your compliance?” I asked. Her mates would arrive in a day or two at the most. She could walk away, more or less unscathed, if she was able to control her temper. “Can you hold Dulanzo off?”

“I don’t know,” She admitted with a shudder. “It’s easier said than done. If you hadn’t arrived when you did, I probably would have started fighting.” She pulled the blanket snug around her. “Being so passive in the face of a threat isn’t in my nature.”

I’d seen it in her eyes upon arriving. No doubt Dulanzo had too. “I assumed.” I nodded and gestured to the garment on the bed. “Get dressed.”

She pointed to draw my attention to the footboard and the wet shirt draped over it. “Avry bled all over it. I had to rinse it before got sticky.”

“Do I want to know what he put in your mouth?” I asked warily.

“Well, I’d say ask him, but he would have to write it down if he hadn’t drowned in his own blood,” She answered with a sigh. “I’m not fond of surprise tongue.”

I’d chosen Avry thinking he wouldn’t bother harassing her. To my knowledge, he hadn’t assaulted any of Dulanzo’s past pets. I shook my head in disappointment. Such a fucking waste. But I couldn’t fault her.

“I didn’t think he’d do something like that.” I buttoned my trousers, but left the blouse untucked. It would help hide the stirring of my cock if it had a mind to do it again. “I’ll send some more clothes for you later.”

She tugged on the pants under the blanket, and I slowly climbed into bed with her. The look she gave me, one part threat, one part challenge, one part disbelief.

“I’ve had more opportunity than most to sully you, girl.” She still watched me warily, so I softened my tone and continued. “I still have to attend to the child. It’s a pleasant process and it really is nice to relax through it,” I explained, almost apologetically.

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