Page 13 of Stealing the Troll’s Heart

He tilts his head. “West?”

I nod. Hehmms. “No trollkin there. Safe.”

Very much unlike the world I live in now.

Raz’jin puts two coins on the bar this time, and calls something out to the orcish bartender I can’t understand. The bartender gives Raz’jin an equally confused look, but when the troll hits the bar with his fist, the bartender gets working.

He sure knows how to get his way.

Soon, there are two more beers in front of us: One for me and one for him. It’s such a polite gesture, that I smile again and say, “Thank you.”

We each lift our beers up by the handle, and Raz’jin holds his out towards me. He wants to cheers.

We tap our mugs.

“Cheers,” he says in Trollkin.

“Cheers,” I say in Freysian. And then, he smiles back, and takes a long drink.

Chapter 6

Raz’jin

That smile was like magic.

I’ve never had a human smile at me before. Between her pink lips, Tel-eesa has bright white teeth, all as straight as they get. And it’s a pretty name, to boot.

She even speaks some Trollkin now. That was a fascinating surprise. Along with the part where she didn’t run away from me. No—she asked me questions. She thanked me for freeing her that night and saving her life. The bartender keeps looking at us curiously, until I shoot him a deadly glare and he pivots away.

I don’t know what to make of it, really. The human is smiling and nodding like we’ve been friends for a long time. Her hair is longer now, and tumbles down the sides of her face in waves that reflect the lamplight. I take in every inch of her, from those shining green eyes, down to the delicately exposed skin at her throat. Her outfit is fancy, well-tailored, and I wonder if she’s gotten rich since the last time we met.

While she asks me about where I’m from, I can’t help looking, studying the way her jerkin wraps around her pert breasts, how it tightens at her waist and flares into a fur cuff at her hips.

I’m not sure why I buy her a beer. I feel like I need to impress her.

“Cheers,” she says.

“Cheers.”

We each take a drink, and when I’m finished with mine, I’m not sure what to say next. I know what I’m feeling deep inside, of course. Every inch of my coarse body is longing for her. I could simply eat her in one big mouthful. I want to tear that pretty coat off of her and see what’s underneath. Is the hair between her legs as bright and red as the hair on her head? I want to know what her legs look like, her arms, her feet. Her hands are tiny and delicate, and they almost can’t wrap all the way around the handle of her beer mug.

Instantly I imagine that same hand wrapped around me, moving from the base of my cock up to the tip and back again. I almost choke on my words.

“What are you doing here?” I ask her in Trollkin.

She squints thoughtfully, trying to parse through what I’m asking.

So I try again, with something a little simpler. “Why here?” I gesture at the inn around us.

This clicks. Tel-eesa picks up the hood of her coat and unclasps it from around her neck. She draws the coat off of her shoulders and now I can get a much better look at her. Her shoulders are strong, but still feminine. Her neck is long and slender. She’s not tall for a human, I don’t think.

She holds out the cloak to me. Is she offering it? It would never fit.

“I make,” she says as I finally take the cloak fromher. I feel the soft fur, the carefully pounded leather. It’s all pliable under my hands.

She made this?

“Wow.” I examine the whole thing. It’s well-crafted, and certainly nicer than anything I’ve ever owned. “Beautiful.”

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