Page 43 of Bound to the Orc Warlord

“Enough what?” Drake cocks his head, the vertical slits of his pupils widening to circles as if taking in more light will explain the secrets of adult sexuality.

Dravarr growls.

“Need I remind you we’re in a hurry?” Midnight points her horn at the cliff. “We need to get around that.”

“Too bad unicorns can’t fly like dragons can,” Drake says, spreading his wings and showing off.

Midnight snorts. “If you say I’m inferior one more time…”

“I won’t.” Drake pauses for a beat before landing his punch. “I’ll just say dragons aresuperior.”

“Why you—” She jolts forward, and he takes off like a shot, zooming over our heads without even flapping his wings once. He really does have excellent control over his magic.

But I’ll get there, too.

“Go on, then.” Dravarr gestures toward the top of the waterfall. “If you’re so willing to brag about your abilities, you can put them to good use. Find us the shortest route around the cliff.”

Drake doesn’t answer, but he does keep going up until he crests the shadow line and the angled morning sunshine catches him, gilding his green scales with gold.

Dravarr grunts and fishes out a couple of the special teeth-cleaning berries, handing me one. They’re big blackberries imbued with the same magic as the cleaning cloth. Mine crunches between my teeth, the taste sweet and a little herby.

He packs away the tent while I take the cleaning cloth and bowls over to the water. The pond’s peaceful and dark, with only one corner lit by the sun. My mind wanders into dreamy memories of Dravarr carrying me into the water, of his hands stroking over my skin, washing me, of his fingers combing through my hair as it floated in the water. My chest fills with emotion. He’d been so sweet…

The sound of the tent collapsing pulls me back to the here and now, and I hurry to splash my face. The water cooled off overnight and feels invigorating, though nothing like a cup of coffee. I can’t wait to meet Olivia and see her magic in action.

Once he’s done with the tent, I ask something I meant to do last night, before we got sidetracked by all the sex. “Shouldn’t I redo your bandages? We kind of put them through a lot, and they got wet…”

“There’s no need. They’re infused with magic. They speed healing and are self cleaning and drying.”

“That’s amazing!”

“Our village has a good herbalist named Gerna, and we trade for special items from the healer of another village.” He swivels his arm around showing off a full range of motion. “Besides, orcs heal quickly.”

“Super quick!” I agree. No way could a human move like that after only a day.

We finish packing everything up, and Dravarr attaches the saddlebags to Midnight. Then he glares up into the sky. “Where’s Drakonisrevener?”

“I can go up and scout around.” I pick up my broomstick, a sense of anticipation growing in me at the thought of flying again.

“Let’s wait until midday for that.” Dravarr takes my broom and straps it to the saddle on the side opposite where he hangs his sword. “Otherwise, you’ll be weightless all day.”

He’s got a point. I still need to learn how to turn my power off, and hunching over the broom for hours uses back muscles my gym workouts clearly ignored. But if we need the information, I’ll go. “I can do it.”

“I know you can.” He pulls me close, his voice dropping to a deep rumble. “But what if I want you to ride with me this morning instead?”

Oh. My heart skips. Itisnicer to ride with him when I weigh something. It’s more relaxed for both of us. I can lean back against him instead of having to cling. Not that I mind the clinging, either.

Being held by Dravarr in any fashion is pretty freaking awesome.

Drake dives into the clearing, swooping low over the pond in an elegant glide before coming to a hover right in front of us. “I saw the best way! Come on!”

Dravarr lifts me into the saddle as if I weigh nothing. Then his foot’s in the stirrup, and he swings a leg over to settle in behind me. His arms wrap around me, pulling me back into his chest, and his thighs squeeze along the outside of mine as he grips Midnight’s sides. I’m enveloped by his strength, his care.

She takes off at a trot, and I sway back into Dravarr, his length hard against my butt, and I’m certain I have one other thing, too.

His desire.

After eating, I stand in the small clearing we stopped to have lunch in. Clouds swirl across the light-gray sky, and the branches of the pine trees shiver and sway in the wind.

---