Page 18 of The Widow and the Orcs

Ulfarrcaught it with an easy snap of his fingers, his forehead furrowing — and then he startled, his eyes widening, as he stared down at the stone.Thestone he surely recognized, no, no,no— and now he was bringing it to hisnose.Hiseyes fluttering as he inhaled against it, slow and careful and deep.

Hewassmellingit.SmellingLouisaon it.Smellingwhat she’d done with it.

Thehumiliation felt like a sharp, staggering slap toLouisa’sface, and her shaky body rounded onKillik, her hands in fists at her sides. “Youodious cheatingswine,” she hissed at him. “Youhave no right whatsoever to — to —”

Shecouldn’t even finish, the words tangled in her throat, and her rage fused even higher at the sight ofKilliklaughing, the sound icy and mocking. “Thanklesswoman,” he drawled. “Ibring you this goodSkaigift, and whenIsee how eagerly you spurt and squeal upon this,Ibring you this even better one.Youought to be kneeling, and praising me!”

Louisaglared and sputtered at him, while from the bed, there was a deep, choked sound fromUlfarr’sthroat. “You… witnessed this,Killik,” came his voice, low and disbelieving. “Her… joy, upon this.”

Killik’ssmug eyes slid toUlfarr, his smile drawing up tight and thin. “Ach,Idid,” he said smoothly. “Iwished to be sure of her, beforeIbrought you here.Wishedto be sure she would welcome your prick deep, and caress and cherish it, as she should.”

Therewas another choked sound fromUlfarr, and for an instant, his glance towardLouisalooked almost… longing.AlookKilliksurely saw too, something unpleasant curling on his mouth, and he strode over towardUlfarr, and plucked the stone out of his hands.

“Butthis was not all good,” he coolly continued, as he traced his claw against the stone’s thick shaft, stopping perhaps two-thirds of the way up its length. “Mayhapyou cannot scent this, but she could only take you to here, ach?Ishould wish for better for theWolfof theSkai, and thus,Ipromised her only ten nights with you.”

Louisagaped atKillikagain, her humiliation screaming against the furious disbelief, while he just kept smiling at her, with scorn flashing in his eyes. “Ifshe can show herself strong enough to bear this much.Orshall she run away screeching at her first true sight of aSkaiprick?”

He’dspoken with shameless relish, even licking his tongue at his teeth, the vile deceitfulsnake.AndLouisawas one breath away from shouting at him, launching herself at him, punching his smug infuriating face, when — something grasped her hand.Somethingbig and warm and solid, something —

Him.Ulfarr.

“Donot allowKillikto vex you,LadyLouisa,” he said, his eyes searching hers, his voice very low. “Andshould you truly wish to grant me any nights with you — even one night —Ishould be — most honoured.”

Oh.Itwas like he’d deflated allLouisa’srage at once, her shoulders sagging, her breath exhaling.Herblinking eyes again caught on his scarred, handsome face, his tentative, searching gaze.Onthat undeniable flicker of hope in his eyes, there for just a moment, and gone again.

“ButmayhapKillikhas not… told you,” he added, quieter, “allIhave done.Allmy past… sins.Thedeep… shameIhave brought, upon my clan, and my kin, and my — ach.Andyou ought — you ought to know —”

Hewas breathing heavily again, his face contorting with effort, with grief, with regret.Justlike when he’d made her that miserable apology, andLouisafrantically flapped her hand at him, and shook her head.

“Look, you don’t need to get into it,” she said, in a rush. “Justlike you don’t need to hear any of my own awful — well.Ifit’s just ten nights, we can just — not.Can’twe?”

She’dspoken too quickly, perhaps betraying too much — but that was relief inUlfarr’seyes, in the sudden drop of his shoulders.Andin the way his hand found hers again, closing warm and gentle around it, andLouisa’sown breath shuddered out, shaky and relieved.Hereyes holding, blinking, asUlfarragain brought her hand to his mouth, and pressed a brief, careful kiss against it.

Louisashivered as heat streaked to her groin — andUlfarr’seyes fluttered, his breath hitching against her skin.Againstwhere he was kissing again, lingering longer this time, and oh, it felt so good, it had been so long, did he really, really want to…

Butthen —Ulfarrhesitated.Drewback.Hiseyes darting sideways, toward whereKillikwas still standing there watching this, his hand gripped to his dagger.AndUlfarr’shead tilted as he studiedKillik’sface, his thick brows drawing together.

“Butyou are sure of this,Killik?”Ulfarrasked, quiet. “Youdo not… mind this?”

Killik’sexpression instantly hardened into something incredulous, furious, and his answering scoff rang through the room. “Ach, why shouldImind?” he demanded. “Youare long past due for a woman in your bed again, andmybed shall not be empty this eve.Ishall be happily ploughing tightSkaiarses long after this weak woman is bloody and spent upon you!”

Hewas glaring atLouisaagain, and she glowered straight back, a low growl burning in her throat. “Youarrogant, ignorant scum,” she snarled at him. “Youare such a —”

ButKillikflailed his dagger in midair toward her, and then spun toward the door, yanking it open.Becausehe was going to leave them here together, alone, were they really going to do this…

“Ishall see you come morn,Wolf,”Killikhissed over his shoulder, with a cold, deadly smile. “Ihope you make herscream.”

12

Louisaglared at the closed door for a moment too long, her breaths heaving hard, her hand clamping tightly to the warm strength within it.To…Ulfarr’shand.

Right.This.Louisatwitched and blinked back toward him, toward this huge, handsome, highly alarming orc.Justsitting here on her bed, holding her hand, and watching her with wary, uneasy eyes.Asif he still wasn’t at all sure of her, either.

Butthey could do this.Right?Louisahad to do this, she wanted to do this, to gain her freedom, to escapeLordScall…

Soshe attempted a smile down towardUlfarr, though it still felt shaky, not quite her own. “Gods,Killikis enraging, isn’t he?” she said, her voice strained. “I’dlove nothing more than to steal those daggers of his, and throw them down the nearest latrine.Ora muddy flooded well, maybe.”

Shewinced even as she said it — gods, what if complaining aboutKillikwas crossing a line somehow — but oh, that was a faint, fleeting warmth inUlfarr’seyes, a brief curve of his mouth. “Ach, this would hurt him more than aught else,Iken,” he replied, in his low, rumbling voice. “ThoughIought to warn you against this, for he might next throwyouinto the latrine also.”

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