Page 20 of Tryggred By the Orc

Ebengathered his breath, gathered his courage, as his own trembling, tingling hand moved.Slippingup between them, slow, shaky — and then very lightly, very carefully, stroking up againstTryggr’swarm bare chest.

“Butyou have been — so kind, sir,” he ventured, very quiet. “It— pleases me, to thank you.To— honour you.”

Andoh, oh, what had he just said, what the hell was he doing — and he snatched his hand away, too late.Butit still felt hot, trembly, alive with the feel ofTryggr’ssmooth warm skin, with the truth of his rich scent now lingering onEben’sfingers.AndTryggr’sscent in the air had shifted too, flaring with something bright and sweet…

ButTryggrhadn’t moved, or made any indication of responding in turn, and his face still looked pale, his jaw flexing in his cheek. “Ach,Ka-esh,” he finally said. “Then— next timeIspeak thus to you, mayhap you’ll just — ignore me.Orthrow it back at me.Butthere’s no need to run away, or scent as thoughI’vejust gone and kicked you in the heart, ach? ’CauseI’dnever.”

Oh.Well.Eben’srelief exhaled heavy and harsh, and he could feel the slow smile pulling at his mouth, warming his eyes. “Iam… glad,” he murmured. “I… thank you, sir.”

Tryggrhalf-laughed, half-groaned, his eyes glinting onEben’sface with frustration, and exasperation, and… something else.Andfor a breathless, dangling instant,Ebenthought he might come closer, might even reach out and…

ButthenTryggrcleared his throat, and took a purposeful step backwards. “Yououghta get to bed, then,Ka-esh,” he said firmly. “Bigday tomorrow, ach?”

Right.Ebenhad of course committed to a full day of work supportingAlma’sfloor-cleaning project, and he jerked a nod, and fought to ignore the sharp little plunge in his belly.TowhichTryggrlet out another low, frustrated-sounding groan, as he lurched forward — and beforeEbenhad even caught it,Tryggrbent over him, and pressed a soft, brief kiss to the top of his head.

“Sleepwell, sweetKa-esh,” he said gruffly, as he backed away again, not meetingEben’seyes. “Seeyou tomorrow.”

Ebencouldn’t even nod, let alone speak, and he stood frozen in place, tingling all over, watchingTryggrstride away up the corridor.Hissteps long and quick, his shoulders square, his hand rubbing at his face as he disappeared around the corner.

Tryggrhad… kissed him.He’dkissedhim.

Itwas a bright, jubilant awareness, firing warm and hopeful throughEben’schest.Keepit up.Showhim.He’llcome around…

Ebenslept deep and contented that night, and the next morning he first stopped by the sickroom, checking withEfterarand preparing any urgent prescriptions, before heading to the scullery.Wherehe again threw himself into another full, intensive day of work, not only supportingAlma’sproject as best as he could, but dealing with theKa-esh engineers — who made it clear they would rather be doing anything else — while also personally ensuring the sickroom got the deepest, most thorough cleaning possible.Tothe point where, late in the day, evenKesstlooked satisfied, smiling gratefully atEbenas a faintly snoringEfterarslept soundly in a nearby bed.

“Looksand scents so much better, doesn’t it?”Kesstsaid, without even a trace of mockery or sarcasm in his voice. “Sucha damned relief.Itwas good of youKa-esh to helpAlmaorganize it all.”

Ebensmiled and waved it away — or at least, he attempted to, because suddenly a familiar scent had swarmed into the room, and snatched at his hand in midair.Andeven asEbenstartled to look, he already knew — it wasTryggr.Tryggr, here, gripping his hand, and flashingKessta broad, if rather chilly, smile.

“Itwas good ofthisKa-esh, you mean,” he said toKesst, as his hand gently squeezedEben’s. “Youken the rest of ’em woulda done near as much without him?Hedon’t oft draw eyes to himself, but he’s been working his pretty little arse off on this.Justlike he does every day in here, too — not that any ofyoucan be fussed to notice.”

Ebenfroze to stunned stillness, his eyes aghast onTryggr’sface.Hehadn’t just said that… had he?ToKesst?Oneof the most popular, influential orcs in the mountain?!

ButtoEben’songoing astonishment,Kesstblinked between them, and then grimaced, and let out a heavy sigh. “Right,” he said. “Sorry.Isuppose it’s — easy to overlook individualcontributions in here, amidst all the filth and blood and exhaustion.”

Withthat, he gave a wild-looking wave that seemed to encompass the entire room, before spinning and stalking off again.ButbesideEben,Tryggrlooked at least somewhat mollified, and more warmth was pooling and fizzing inEben’sbelly.Tryggrhad defended him.Tryggrhad noticed his work.Tryggrhad noticed hispretty little arse.

“Nowc’mon,Ka-esh,”Tryggrsaid firmly, with a gentle tug at where he was still holdingEben’shand. “Youreekof weariness, and you’re going to bed, ach?”

Ebenmeekly nodded, and willingly allowedTryggrto lead him out the door, and down toward theKa-esh wing.Butinstead of stopping and sendingEbenonward, asEbenfully expected,Tryggrkept walking beside him, his grip onEben’shand warm and firm, his eyes frowning on the corridor up ahead.

“Itwasreal good of you, to do all that work today,”Tryggrfinally said, into the silence. “Heardyou going at it with some of thoseKa-esh earlier, spurring ’em on.Iken they’d have all stayed hunkered down here buried in their rocks and books, without you.”

Hewasn’t wrong, andEbenhuffed a short, wry little laugh. “Ach, well, we are not always naturally inclined to see beyond our own clan,Iken,” he said. “Orbeyond our books, either.”

They’dreached the door of his room, andEbenshot a rueful glance at his own refreshed pile of books, stacked high on his small, rickety desk.Withhis enforced early bedtimes, he’d continued to expand his reading, and he was vaguely surprised to seeTryggr’smouth drop open, his eyes incredulous onEben’sface.

“Wait,Ka-esh,” he snapped. “WhenI’vebeen sending you to bed, you’ve been coming down here alone into this dank little hole, andreading, instead of sleeping?”

Ebenblinked and bit his lip, the chagrin curdling sudden and sharp through his chest. “Um,I—” he began, between shaky breaths. “Just— a little?Ijust —needto read, sir.”

Hewas cringing away, his eyes wide and fearful onTryggr’sface — but wait.Somethingwas hitching inTryggr’sscent, something that called up a dark, ravenous hunger low inEben’sbelly — and oh,Tryggr’shand was clasping tighter onEben’s, drawing him closer, as his other hand reached around, and gave a gentle slap toEben’sarse.

“Ioughta thrash you for this, littleKa-esh,”Tryggrbreathed. “Oughtabend you over my knee, and teach you a fuckinglesson.”

Oh,fuck.Eben’sgasp was almost a groan, dragging low and hungry out of his throat, shuddering his body all over, leaning closer intoTryggr’stouch.Becauseoh, please, yes, wouldTryggrreally do that, please,now—

Butcurse him, maybe he’d betrayed too much, becauseTryggrabruptly lurched backwards, rubbing his hand forcefully at his eyes. “Justjoking!” he said, his voice far louder than before. “Justwant you to sleep,Ka-esh!That’sall.”

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