Page 53 of Bound to the Orc Renegade

He kisses the top of my head, the brush of his tusks against my scalp making my mouth go dry in a completely different way.

I squirm, a restless energy filling me. Even with all the action we just saw, my body’s edgy. It wants to move. It wants him.

I want to feel alive, and I want to do it with Krivoth.

God, I hope we get somewhere we can stop!

The honeycomb canyon is ten-feet wide, but it curves like a snake turning this way and that, never allowing for long views ahead or behind. The way widens before us, opening onto a circular area barely wider than the steaming pool at its center.

“It’s a hot spring!” I lean forward, the thought of getting Krivoth naked dancing through my head.

Mist trots over and sniffs, giving one quick lick. “Bah. It’s pure enough, but it’s hot.”

“It probably cools off once it runs out the other side.” Krivoth points.

On the far side of the pool, the other end of the canyon lets out onto a grassy meadow, the far edge smudged dark by a solidline of forest. A stream runs along the right side of that outward path.

The cat lopes all the way out to the meadow and tries the stream, crouching to lap with her pink tongue. Instead of speaking, she continues to drink, her actions telling us everything we need to know.

Storm hurries around the hot spring, the sound of his hoof strikes echoing off the cliff walls. As we move around the pool, a dark space opens on the cliff wall across from me, like an optical illusion being unveiled. I bet it’s a cave!

“Storm, wait. Let us off here.”

Krivoth moves more slowly than usual, taking his time dismounting. I’d like to think it’s because he’s trying to be careful with his injury, but it probably means it hurts a lot.

Once he lifts me down, I grab a glow stone and say, “I want to check on something. Be right back.” I trot around the hot spring to the opening in the cliff wall. If this was a game, I’d put both a trap and treasure in there. For now, I just want a nice, dry cave for the night. The tent’s great, and I’m glad we have it, but with Krivoth hurt, it would be nice to have something that feels more secure.

Not to mention private.

I step inside to find a rectangular room made out of honeycomb columns, the floor covered with soft sand. Embedded crystals sparkle in the golden light of the glow stone. I run back out and grab the saddlebags, calling out, “It’s a surprise” to Krivoth’s questioning glance. Back inside, I spread the leather tent across the sandy floor and pile all the furs on top to make a comfy bed.

By the time I return, Storm’s gone, leaving me alone with Krivoth and a hot spring.

He walks up to me, and I can no longer see the meadow, which means Storm and Mist can’t see us either. Here’s hoping they can both take a hint and let us have our privacy.

All the heat of battle still roils inside me, ready to turn into a true celebration of survival. When I threw my arms around him back in the clearing, his feel, his smell, it all wrapped around me, reminding me I was alive.

And I could want.

And oh, boy, do Iwant.

I want those big hands to slide beneath my clothes. I want the heat of his kiss. I want to feel that massive cock for myself.

I might not know how this marriage is going to work out in the long run yet, but I do know this.

I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my whole life.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Krivoth

Desire and something else flashes through my bride’s eyes when she looks at me.

I want to pay attention to only the first, but that’s old Krivoth thinking. I need to be better for her, so I say, “Tell me what you want.”

“I want to stop thinking.” The words leave her in a rush. “I want to feel alive. I want me being alive to feel so good I don’t have to feel bad that others aren’t.”

Realization crashes over me. This is the first time she’s taken a life. Even if justified, that can’t be easy for one as kind hearted as my moon bound. I pull her to me, a growl of hunger rolling through me. Celebrating victory in the furs is an old orc tradition for good reason. Even the short ride had been torture. I wantnothing more than to sink into her, to prove to my body on a visceral level that she’s still alive.

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