Page 14 of Tryggred By the Orc

Ebencould have preened beneath the praise, beneath the sheer sweeping pleasure, the wondrous warm rightness of this powerfulSkaiso generously filling his mouth, flooding his belly.Offeringhim such great, stunning strength, andEbenheld hisworshipful eyes onTryggr’sflushed face as he kept his throat wide open, kept welcoming that sweetSkaiseed inside him.Untilhe could feel the flow finally sputtering, slowing, and only then did he let his throat convulse against that hard invading flesh, even as his tongue stroked up its length.Anaction that instantly madeTryggrshudder and gasp, squeezing out another sustained spurt of seed — soEbendid it again, and again.Milkingout more and more, squeezing again and again, until that slowly softening cock had fed him every last, succulent drop.

“Ach,Ka-esh,”Tryggrbreathed, or perhaps it was more a moan, as he bent overEben’shead, and inhaled slow and deep. “Ach, that was good.Sotight.Sosweet.”

Ebensoftly drew away and smiled back up at him, his breath slowly shuddering with his exhale, with his heavy, fluttering eyes.Thepeacefulness now settling quiet and boneless upon him, sinking him down into the warm safety ofTryggr’slap, his still-stroking hands.Likinghim, approving of him, perhaps, perhaps…

“Thatbetter,Ka-esh?” breathedTryggr’sragged voice. “Nowmayhap you can sleep for me, ach?”

Andyes, yes,Ebenwould, he would like nothing better than to please his lord, who had blessed him with such good seed, and such great kindness.Sohe kept smiling as he nodded, slow and grateful, and then closed his eyes, and slept.

12

WhenEbenfully awoke again, he was alone in his bed.

Therewas a bulging waterskin beside him, and the sack of fruit appeared to have been replenished — and he had vague memories ofEfterarspeaking to him, touching his back, pouring bottles ofEben’sown tonic down his throat.

Ifyou don’t mind,I’dlike to keep you here resting for a few days,Ka-esh,Efterar’svoice had said.Itfeels like you haven’t slept in a week, and you need the time to heal.You’vedone more than enough work lately.

Ebenhad been too exhausted to argue, though he did recall searching forTryggr, and finding a fresh trace of his scent, as if he’d recently been in the room.Andit had been enough to lullEbenback to sleep again, sinking into the memories of it, the faint sweet taste ofTryggron his tongue.

Andeven now, asEbencarefully shoved himself up in his bed, drawing in a slow breath, he could stilltasteTryggr.Couldstill taste that distinctSkaisweetness not only on his lips, but in his own scent, in his flesh, embedded stark and powerful beneath his very skin.

He’dsucked off aSkai.ASkai.

Eventhe thought of it swarmed heat upEben’sspine, and deep into his already-swelling groin.Good.Realgood.Ach, you’ve got a tight, hot little mouth, don’t you?Youlike having it filled with a goodSkaiprick?

Fuck.Itwas as thoughTryggrhad struck straight toEben’sdeepest, most fundamental cravings, without even the slightest effort.Theeasy commands.Thepraise.Theclaws in his hair, on his neck.ThewayTryggrhad looked, the way he’d gasped.Asif, in that moment, he’d truly wantedEben.Asif he’d… cared.

ButTryggrwasn’t here… now.Hehadn’t… stayed.Butin truth, why would he?Becausehe’d only done that forEben’shealth, right?Therehad been no other commitments, no agreements between them whatsoever — and even ifTryggrhad found pleasure in it, that didn’t mean anything, did it?Thatnever meant anything, not among their kin, and especially not among theSkai.Nevertrust aSkai.

Thatthought hitched uncomfortably inEben’schest, and he forced himself up and out of bed, staggering on shaky legs over to the nearby latrine.Wherehe washed up all over, brushing and braiding his hair, before dressing in a fresh tunic and trousers, and finally heading up to the sickroom.

Hisheartbeat pounded louder as he went, his traitorous breaths inhaling slow and deep.Seekingany hints ofTryggr’sscent in the adjacent corridors or rooms, any suggestions he might have recently come this way — but there was no fresh trace of him, not in theKa-esh wing, or theGrisk.Or—Ebencouldn’t deny the miserable plunge in his belly as he hesitated in the doorway — the sickroom.

KesstandAlmaweren’t in the sickroom, either — orSalvi, due to his trip north.Therewas onlyEfterar, working on the other side of the room, and a variety of newBautulandSkaipatients, no doubt from that vicious brawl in the arena.Whichnow must have been multiple days ago, andEben’sscatteringthoughts were fixed on the memory ofTryggrpinning thatSkaiorc down, sliding so easy inside him —

“Goodto see you up again,Ka-esh,” interrupted a familiar voice, andEbenblinked at whereEfterarwas now striding over, his eyes still red and heavy with exhaustion. “Feelingbetter,Ihope?”

Ebennodded, and cleared his throat. “Yes, much better, thank you,” he replied thickly. “Itwas good of you to come and see me.”

Efterarwaved it away, even as he reached around, and hovered his hand up and down overEben’sback. “Gladto help,” he said. “Thoughyou should still take it easy over the next week or two.Cutdown your time working in here, andrest.Also” — he grimaced, asEbenfelt a distinctive prickle in one of the mostly healed cuts — “I’msorryIdidn’t catch your absence sooner.ThatSkaiwas very unimpressed with me.”

Therewas an apologetic half-smile on his face, andEben’sheart pounded faster, a hot shudder streaking up his spine. “Haveyou — seenTryggr?” he asked, before he could stop himself. “Orscented him, since then?”

Cursehim, what was he saying, or betraying, butEfterarsurely knew,Efterarhad watched him desperately suckingTryggr’sprick, hadn’t he?Butthankfully,Efterarhadn’t seemed to notice anything unusual aboutEben’squestion, and he gave a distracted-looking shrug, his focus still fixed onEben’sback.

“Ach, he’s been by a few times,” he replied absently. “Recentlytore a knee ligament, fighting in the arena.”

Wait.Wait.Eben’sbody had suddenly turned to ice, his hands clenching, his eyes staring at nothing.Tryggrhad already gone back to that arena.Todo whatSkaioften did, he’d said, when they wished for release.Todo, perhaps, whatEbenhad witnessed him doing the other day, laughing and snapping his teeth as he’d sunk deep inside…

Butcurse it, even ifTryggrhad fucked a dozen orcs since then, what right didEbenhave to care?Heknew it hadn’t meant anything.Heknew.Tryggrwas clearly a kind, considerate orc, who made a point of helping those in need.SowhenEbenhad been in need,Tryggrhad done what he could to help.Andthen he’d had every right to move on with his life, with his activities, and his pleasures.

Andthat was all.Thathad to be all.Ithadn’t meant anything.Nevertrust aSkai.

Butit made for another long, lonely, empty day.AndthoughEbenthrew himself into work — briefing himself on all the new patients, updating their charts, refreshing bandages, prescribing and preparing and distributing tonic and herbs as needed — it didn’t seem to help, or to keep his brain from wheeling back towardTryggragain and again.Ithadn’t meant anything, it hadn’t…

Ebenworked late into the night again, his exhaustion growing heavier and heavier with every breath.Andwhen a trace of a succulent, overpowering scent flared into his nostrils, he didn’t even look up.Justkept crushing his herbs, squeezing his eyes shut, he was exhausted and imagining things, and that was all —

“Aren’tyou s’posed to be resting,Ka-esh?” asked a voice, low, familiar, far too close.AndwhenEben’seyes snapped open, it was —Tryggr.Tryggr, standing here beside his workbench, and looking at him.

---