Page 35 of Orc's Possession
“I’m going back to the mountain. On my own,” I announce as I turn to get away from him.
He raises his huge hand which I’m sure left a print on my ass. Instinctively, I cover my face with my hands and turn my head, expecting to be struck.
The blow never comes.
I peel my hands away to glimpse what he’s doing. Anger darkens his eyes, but he hasn’t moved from his spot on the felled tree.
He’s not my father. He’s not the man in the dark recesses of theMayflowereither. He’s the male who… who has been rather straightforward about who he is and what he expects of me.
“Come here,” he orders, but I shake my head. “I said, come here.” The slight growl to his voice heightens my anxiety. I’m not sure how to handle this orc.
“I’m losing patience, Paloma. You will come here, now, or receive another punishment.”
Out of self-preservation, my feet carry me to him. “I’m not a child.”
“You certainly are not,” he says as he spreads his legs and pulls me to stand between them. I wince as his hands cup my ass, aggravating the burn. Before I can protest, he lifts the tunic and spreads a cool gel on me. The sting dissipates as his hands massage the healing ointment into my skin.
“I hate you,” I say as more tears flow because he’s being so good to me now and I’m acting like a brat, without consideration to what he’s going through. As a leader, he deserves respect. He had to punish me or he’d look weak.
But fuck me, I can’t bring myself to lie down and let these orcs—this one in particular—walk all over me.
“Do you think I gain pleasure from striking your ass?”
“Yes. Yes, I do.” I hear how childish I sound, but my pridestings more than my poor abused ass. An ass that is currently receiving a very nice massage. The pain has faded, but not the indignation.
“I will never strike you out of anger, Paloma, as your father did. This was meant to teach you, to make you think before repeating the offense.”
“I don’t even recall what I did.”
“You slapped me. For telling you the truth about your sire. How he views you as a burden.”
I inhale a sharp breath. “I remember. I was mad. At him, more than you.”
“You are forgiven, female. You were the moment you slapped me since I understood your anger was for your sire. But if I fail to punish you, then my people will see me as weak. From there, it will not take much for a warrior to challenge me for the position of grak.”
“Then you have a poor leader if he lets his commanders fight it out for their positions. He should be choosing the best, and while I don’t doubt you’re the best at what you do, Atox, that doesn’t give you the right to strike me or any other woman or child.” I realize the irony of what I’m saying the moment the words leave my mouth. “Just as I had no right to strike you. I am sorry.”
Atox stares at me, then his forehead scrunches together as it does when he’s unhappy with my behavior. “What did I do wrong now?”
“Do you not understand what a grak is?”
“Yes, a commander. Head of a battalion of warriors. The ruler of this group of orcs.”
“You are partly right. I am the ruler of these orcs. But not just these. All orcs everywhere. Those on Kovos and on other planets, if any others survived the war.”
“You’re theirking?” I bite my lip, going over every interactionI’ve witnessed between him and his people. And this isn’t the only orc settlements on Kovos.
“I’m their grak. The heir to Orcos, or all that remains of our planet. A grak is more powerful than a king.”
“More arrogant, too.” Fuck, I said that out loud, but I swear he chuckles in response.
Wow. The king of the orcs. This changes things. This could make it harder to leave, especially if he has something to prove to his people.
“No one ever explained your title to me,” I add, feeling like a fool. I’ve made assumptions about him and the orcs from the very start. Not that it would have made any difference, I suspect. This orc, theirking, just spanked me, and not in a fun way.
“King or not, Atox, I won’t put up with abuse.”
“I can agree never to punish you in this manner again if you give me the respect I’m due.”
