Page 40 of The Orc's Bride

“I know. That fish dish my mate’s mother makes. She uses rotten fish that’s been sitting in a barrel for a month. It smells disgusting. But it tastes good.”

Kluga, who was riding behind us, snorted.

“You don’t know a foul smell if this is what you came up with. I once courted a human female who kept a dog. I visited her one day when it was raining. That dog was running outside and its wet fur smelled like the most disgusting thing.”

“You courted a human female?” I asked, my interest spiking. “Is it… common?”

Kluga laughed.

“Not common. But it happens.”

“So… Did you tie the knot?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. However, my meaning must not have translated well into orc, because Urgan, Kluga, and Zadran hooted with laughter.

“You got me confused with the dog,” Kluga said finally, when they were done laughing. “Orcs don’t knot. We don’t have to.”

I frowned, puzzled. Dogs… Knot…

“Oh,” I said, blushing. Urgan was still laughing, his chest rumbling against my head. I should have really let go of this conversation at that point, but I was curious.

“What do you mean, you don’t have to?”

It was Urgan who answered me.

“A dog knots so its seed can reach the bitch’s womb. If it didn’t, another dog could come and mate her, and its seed could be faster. She would birth the other dog’s pups.

“Orcs don’t have to do that. First, we are very fertile. Our seed is fast and strong. Besides, when an orc mates with a female, he won’t let another orc near her. If a female becomes an orc’s mate, she will never have another male.”

Heat grew in my lower belly, and I bit my lip. Why, why did my body have to be so obvious?

But the thought of becoming Urgan’s mate, of belonging to him and him only, of him keeping me possessively just for himself… It made me squirm with need. I wanted his fast and strong seed inside me.

I sighed, resigning myself to smelling like a bitch in heat. At least Urgan wasn’t cruel enough to point it out and reject me again.

Actually…

I pressed closer to him, my lower back flush against his bulge. A bulge that was growing larger and harder. My heart hammered in my chest. He still wanted me, then.

Or was it just a bodily reaction that meant nothing? I refused to think that. I had to cling to hope.

We rode in silence, his arousal trapped between our bodies. Urgan said nothing, did nothing. He was pretending it wasn’t there.

But it meant something, and I had to make the most of it.

“Urgan,” I said quietly.

“Hm.”

“You asked me before how I wanted to make it up to you. After I had… you know. So, I’ve been thinking…”

I took a deep breath, arranging the words in my head. My belly was squirming with nerves.

“I know you don’t want me. But I could become your bride. Pretend bride, if you want. As long as you need. So you don’t have to court Urzulah.”

He said nothing. We rode on, and I was feeling more and more mortified that I had dared to suggest this when I knew he hated me. Still, he said nothing. The uncertainty was becoming unbearable. So I started babbling just to fill the silence.

“I mean, I would never ever lie to you again, I swear. And… I would love to be your mate for real. But if you don’t want that, I understand. Only I thought I could help you…”

Urgan’s hand covered my mouth. The words got stuck in my throat.

---