Page 8 of Stealing the Troll’s Heart

Blizzek looks like he’s about to tear out his hair, so I quickly grab him by the shoulder and wheel him out of the shop. “We should just take it,” I hiss. “We’re lucky anyone’s buying at all right now.” There’s a war going on out there, and gold is in far lower demand than iron and copper.

“Fine.” He pushes me away. “Make it 600, Magna, and we’re gold.”

The old man sighs at him. Blizzek’s jokes make me want to throw up. “580, final offer.”

It’s easy enough to split two ways. Magna collects the tax and we’re done.

Neither of us has to say what we’re thinking once we leave the shop. It’s time to spend some coin—but not so much that we get robbed in our sleep, of course.

We don’t go to the brothel right away. That’s a last-ditch effort if picking up women at the bar doesn’t work out. I buy a new set of shoulder cuffs with steel tips, which look both stylish and expensive. That’s what a trolless wants, after all: Somebody with big shoulders and money to spend.

It doesn’t take us long to get called over to a table with two trollesses and an orcess. They’re clearly out on the prowl, too, and soon the two troll women are giving each other elbows and snarls as they figure out which one’s going to go upstairs with me.

“There’s no need to fight,” I say, setting down two fresh beers. I put a hand on each of their shoulders. “I’m amenable to a group event. I have plenty to give.” They both look at my crotch, where my cock is already growing pretty warm and fat for them under my new leather pants. The trollesses exchange smirks, and then we’re off to the races.

As I tear the first one’s clothes offand bury myself inside her, then pull the other one close so I can finger her, I should be thrilled. It’s a two-for-the-price-of-one deal. The first trolless moans under me as I ride her, but for some reason, I just can’t feel the same enthusiasm. I bring the other troll woman up to my face and suck on her as hard as I can, then we swap. The first trolless comes all over my mouth, and I find I don’t like the taste of it. I push her away quickly and reach my orgasm inside the other one, then pull myself out and gush all over her back.

They want to cuddle up afterwards, but I just want to get the stench of them off of me, so I open the door and indignant, they both stomp out. Once they’re gone, I draw the water and sit in a cold bath, trying to clean my cock off as best I can.

I stay there for a long time, trying to understand what went wrong. I’ve always liked getting my dick a bit dirty. And two at once? A very rare treat. But something about it all felt strange—off, like meat when it’s just starting to go bad.

I snarl and push my wet hair out of my eyes. I know whose fault this is, and I wish I had just let her die there. But now she’s stuck inside me, and I don’t know how to claw her out.

Telise

It’s a good winter, if winters can be good. After the sale of my Wicke’s Leopard cloak, I buy two train tickets for Deleran and I to head north. He grumbles the entire way, and then continues grumbling as I drag him through snow drifts and across frozen lakes. But I’m hot on the trail of a great male bear with perfect gray fur and a few classy stripes of white. I was going to shoot for boot lining, but this bear’s just so pretty, I might turn him into a rich lady’s centerpiece.

But Deleran tolerates all of it. One particularly cold night,we’re curled up in our furs with the sled blocking us from the wind, and I feel a little breath of air enter my cocoon.

“Ugh.” I move to push it back down, because all I want is a bit of rest in the middle of this storm, but I find someone’s hand there instead.

It’s Deleran, and he’s crawling into my bed.

I don’t react at first, because I have no idea how to react. He lifts the blanket up so he can slide inside, and it’s only once we’re face-to-face that I think to push him away.

“What are you doing?” I ask. He’s letting in all the cold air. But I know the answer to that question before I even ask it, because my childhood best friend is pressed up against me with a raging hard-on.

Ugh. Disgusting.

“It’s cold,” he says, acting surprised that I’ve put some distance between us. “I thought you might want to warm up.”

“That’s not what you’re after. Don’t play fucking coy with me.”

This seems to land, because Deleran withdraws his hands from me.

“I don’t get you.” He puts a few inches between us but doesn’t move away. “You know women would fall over themselves to do this with me.”

I give him a hard shove this time, and he rolls out of my bed with surprise. Then I close up the furs around me tight again and turn away so we don’t have to look at each other.

“I don’t like you that way,” I say, now feeling cross and strangely hurt. I’d always felt safe around him, like I wouldn’t ever have to worry about this. But now it’s out there, and I do.

He doesn’t speak for a while. Then, after a while he says, “I’m sorry, Tea.” It’s the old nickname he called me when we were younger. “I’m cold and horny and...” Deleran clears his throat. “And you’re gorgeous, and I really like you.”

He what? I’m what?

I curl up tighter around myself. This is information I didn’t want—information I didn’t need. Nothing will ever be right and the same between us now that I know it.

“I don’t feel at all the same way about you,” I say.

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