Page 25 of Tryggred By the Orc

What?Thewords struckEbento stillness, right in the middle of the corridor, andTryggrstopped too, flashingEbena smile that didn’t at all reach his eyes. “An’Ibet you every one of my daggers, that smith misses you like hell right now,” he continued, quieter, with a hollow little laugh. “Didn’trealize how damn good he had it, ach?”

Ebencouldn’t seem to stop staring atTryggr, breathing hard, while something knocked and swayed in his chest.Tryggrdidn’t… mean anything by that.Didhe?Hecouldn’t.He’dsaid he couldn’t, he’d said he’d wanted a break fromEben.He’dsaidhe’d seen it happen with his fathers, whateveritmeant, but then…Tryggrhad still come back, this morning.Hewas still here.Asif…

“Garethis only a friend,”Ebenfinally replied, his voice a croak, his eyes holding toTryggr’sface. “Naughtmore.Heis not… whatIlong for.”

Butwait, perhaps even that was too much, because something had darkened inTryggr’seyes, and his scent suddenly tasted sharp, almost bitter. “Ach,Iken,Ka-esh,” he said grimly. “Iken.”

Well.Ebencouldn’t find a response to that, his stomach plummeting, his gaze dropping to the floor.Tryggrhad made himself clear, yet again, and as much as it hurt,Ebenhad promised to help.Tobe a friend.

“Mayhapwe ought to start cleaning the scullery next, then,” he said, through his closed-off throat. “Oughtto move out the laundry, before the masons begin sanding.”

Tryggrdidn’t argue, and soon they’d rounded up a few more helpers, too —Duff,Gaukr,Timo,Gegnir, and evenAlma’scat.Andas they set to work cleaning,Ebendid his best to keep smiling, being a friend, offering whatever support he could.DirectingtheKa-esh masons when they arrived, liaising withGarethand the engineers, and scrubbing laundry until his arms ached.UntilfinallyTryggrordered him to bed, to whichEbenblearily nodded, and then almost staggered straight into a wall.

“Ach,Ka-esh!”Tryggryelped, and oh, that was his strong arm aroundEben’sshoulders, steering him toward theKa-esh wing.AndEbenwillingly leaned intoTryggr’ssweet-scented shoulder, his face shamefully tilting closer asTryggrmarched him down to his familiar room.

“D’youreallylikesleeping all the way down here in this hole?”Tryggrdemanded, as he gently setEbendown on the bed, and then frowned around at the small room. “Noteven closeto the rest of your kin, is it?Orthe library, if you need more books?”

Ebenwas far too weary to dissemble, and he shook his head. “Ionly came here because my father threw me out,” he said, with a hollow laugh. “Itwas the furthest liveable room from ourhellir, andIhave been here ever since.But” — he shrugged, gaveTryggra tired smile — “it is dark, at least, and quiet.Icould not bear sleeping in a place like the sickroom or theGriskwing, ach?Fullof noise, andlamps.”

Hecouldn’t hide his shudder, followed by a regretful wince, because the lamps were important, they were there for the women who needed them — but to his vague surprise,Tryggrgrimaced too, and nodded. “Couldn’tbear it either,” he said, as he nudgedEben’sshoulder down toward the bed. “GladBosshas kept some parts of theSkaiwing dark for us.”

Ebenwistfully sighed and nodded — theSkaiwing had been very cozy, and far more conveniently located, too — and curled up on his bed, asTryggrdraped a fur over him.Andit was so easy to sink into sleep withTryggrthere, even if just for a moment…

Thenext day was full of even more intensive labour in the scullery, first cleaning up all the dust from the masons, and then helping to prepare the wall for the new drying racks, while continuing to work through the last of the laundry.Ebenalso made several stops by the sickroom, mixing up any necessary prescriptions as quickly as he could, untilTryggragain appeared, and marched him off to bed.Butthis time, instead of takingEbendown to theKa-esh wing,Tryggrsteered him… up.Up, into the far nearerSkaiwing, down one of those cozy curling corridors, into a room that scented of… him.

Itwas small but clean, with a large fur-covered bed, several thick fur rugs, and multiple glinting weapons lining the walls.AndEbenwillingly sank onto the soft, sweet-scented bed, even as he blinked blankly atTryggr’sunreadable face.

“Butthis is — your room?” he asked, too tentative, because what was this, why hadTryggrbrought him here — andTryggrnudged him over on the bed, before dropping his own fully clothed body down besideEben.

“You’vebeen working your pretty little arse off on this project for me,Ka-esh,”Tryggrsaid flatly. “Wantyou to at least get a good night’s rest, away from that godsforsaken hole of yours.”

Oh.Ebenwas again far too tired to argue, and he might have even leaned a little closer intoTryggr’swarm body, inhaling the deep, rich sweetness of his scent. “Thankyou, sir,” he murmured, before he could stop it. “Youhave been so good to me.”

Tryggrmade a faint scoffing sound, but oh, that was his arm, nudging underEben’shead.MeaningthatEbencould rest his head onTryggr’sshoulder, breathe in the beautiful scent of him for an entire night, and it made for sweet, wonderful dreams, full of home and safety and longing.

WhenEbenawoke again, it was to the feel ofTryggrshifting out of bed, and striding toward the door.Towardwhere the hugeSkaiUlfarrwas waiting, and darting a brief, narrow look atEbenin the bed. “Bossis headed back now, with both his mates,” he toldTryggr, in a deep, flat voice. “Isthis scullery ready for his woman?Iken he wishes it as part of his mating-gift to her.”

Wait.Draflihad… takenAlmaas hismate?Asin, he’d swornvowsto her?Andhe’d meant the scullery project as part of hismating-gift?

Ebencould feel the surprise flashing acrossTryggr’sscent, and then something almost like relief.Oreven like pride, billowing brief and bright, because hisBosshad trusted him with something as important as a mating-gift.Andhis nod towardUlfarrwas quick and jaunty, even as his eyes glancedback atEbenin the bed, lingering longer thanEbenmight have expected.

“Ach, we’re almost done,” he toldUlfarr. “Youken you can count on me, brother.”

Ulfarrnodded in return, and even gave a brief little bow towardTryggrbefore turning away again.Makingit clear that he — and surely by extension,Drafli, and theSkai— did know they could count onTryggr.Thatin taking on this project,Tryggrhad again proven he could be trusted.Andmaybe — maybeEbenhad proven he could be a friend, too.

Ebencouldn’t help a shy, genuine smile towardTryggr, and then — foolish — a little bow of his own, too, his hand over his heart.Andwhy wasTryggrstill looking at him like that, slowly prowling back across the room toward the bed, his hand reaching out, his claws tickling atEben’sneck…

Theroom suddenly felt very hot,Tryggr’sscent far too strong and rich in the air — and oh, hell, that was a distinct swell at the front ofTryggr’strousers, too.Suggesting, hinting, offering, andEben’smouth was watering, his tongue brushing his lips, his eyes rising hungry and beseeching toTryggr’sunreadable face…

Butno, wait,no,Tryggrhad said he didn’t want that fromEben.He’dbeen very, very clear, and a true friend would respect that, and honour that.SoEbengritted his teeth, forced his eyes downwards, fought to draw in breath. “Wedo not have much time, then,” he croaked. “Iought to go see about the basins, mayhap.”

Therewas an instant’s stillness, too thick in the choked air — and thenTryggr’shand dropped fromEben’sneck, his body spinning away, his hands running against where his hair had half-fallen out of its topknot. “Ach,” he said flatly. “Imust go — wash.Meetyou in the scullery?”

Ebenjerked a nod thatTryggrdidn’t see, because he’d already dodged out the door.LeavingEbensitting there alone,breathing hard, his hands in fists, his cock helplessly straining in his trousers.Hewas being a friend.Afriend.Thatwas all.

Buthe had to drag himself out of that lovely, sweet-scented room, and on to the day’s work.Firstwas to the sickroom, where he quickly washed up and consulted withEfterarbefore mixing the day’s prescriptions.Andnext was down to theKa-esh forge, whereGarethhad begun assembling and testing the two new washing machines. “Ach, they shall be ready this afternoon, brother,”Garethfirmly told him. “Naughtto fear.”

Thereassurance didn’t seem to have nearly the same effect as it did whenTryggrgave it, andEbentwitched a distracted nod, and rushed back up to the scullery.Towhere a team ofKa-esh builders were now installing the new drying racks, whileTryggrmopped the newly polished floor,TimoandGegnirscrubbed the walls and counters, andDuffandGaukraddressed the day’s new laundry.

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