Page 26 of Bred By the Orc
The pad of his thumb made small circles on the back of my hand. “She has never been wrong about the timingof such things.”
I thought of my courses and how I’d finished the day before we’d left on our interrupted journey to the MacDonald holding. If the math my mother had whispered to me was correct, then Gelma was right. This was the time of my cycle for me to become pregnant.
The correct time for my body to accept his seed and form his son.Ourson.
The thought made me breathless and excited all at once. I had always known my purpose in this life was to bear my husband strong sons, but to be told ‘twould definitely happen tonight… My hand—still wrapped in his—flattened against my belly as he pressed it there. A son.
Myson.
And I will admit, after a sennight of Drakolt denying me his seed as we worked our way through each position outlined inA Harlot’s Guide, I was becoming desperate.
But no matter how many times he explained his people’s traditions or expectations, I could not help but feel humiliated at the thought of what was to come.
“Sorcha.” His hand untwined from mine and rose to cup my breast. “’Twill be fine.”
He pinched my nipple through the bodice of the gown I’d been wearing for a fortnight. I had tried towash it as well as possible during our leisurely stops to explore each other’s bodies, but I was ready for a different gown. Now, however, he held me the way he’d held me that first afternoon…the way he touched my body as if he claimed it, claimedme, never failed to make me warm.
Today was no exception. As he rolled my nipple through his fingers, I grew breathless, began to squirm against his hard thighs.
Drakolt chuckled lightly. “That’s my lass. When we arrive, I want everyone to ken yermine. I alone can touch ye, make ye feel like this.”
I closed my eyes on a whimper. “Aye, Drakolt.” But he would allow everyone to watch us make love?
“Here we are, Sorcha. Home.”
I opened my eyes and caught my breath at the picturesque village spread out in the valley below. The small community was bustling and prosperous, the huts well-maintained and the warriors’ sparring ground protected. There was neither castle nor keep or even a fine manor home, but the village looked like a fine place to belong.
A cry went up as we were spotted, and Drakolt lifted his hand from my breast just long enough to wave. Then he claimed my nipple once more, playing with it almost absent-mindedly as the horse picked its way down the slope.
Then a familiar red head burst from one of the huts, called my name, and began running toward us.
Roxanna. She was safe.
Chapter 10
Sorcha
I twisted around in the bathing tub to stare at my sister, flabbergasted. “Varkaan didwhat? That—thatbastard!”
But Roxanna merely clucked her tongue and went back to massaging the soap into my hair. “I could say the same thing about Drakolt.”
I began to shake my head, but halted the movement when Roxanna tugged at my hair. “Nay, he is not like that. He is…kind. Gentle.” To me, at least. “Honorable.”
“An honorable, gentle beast who is going to fook you in front of his entire clan,” my sister murmured drily.
Our entire clan.
A big part of me had accepted that my future was with Clan Bladesedge. I suppose it would depend how tonight went, and if I was accepted by them.
How to explain to Roxanna? “’Tis part of their culture…their society.”
She stooped to fill the pouring bucket. “Aye, and have you noticed aught about their society?”
They treated their women as equals, revering them for their capabilities.
They embraced sensuality, not feeling shame about their bodies.
They didn’t lust after gold and power, the way humans did.
