Page 59 of The Orc and the Innkeeper

“Thorak,” Mariah gasps as I trail open-mouthed kisses along the slender column of her neck. “Please...I’ve been thinking about this for weeks. I need you.”

I pull back from her, glancing back at the balcony door a few feet away. We’re very secluded out here, and the entrance to the balcony is not near the main part of the hall. But still…

“You’re not worried that someone might see?” I ask Mariah, the risk of being caught sending a delicious, forbidden thrill through me.

Mariah looks up at me wantonly through her eyelashes, her cheeks flushed, lips parted and glistening from our kisses. “Let them.”

A low, primal growl bursts out of my throat, I set her down just long enough to fumble with the zipper of my pants. Mariah shimmies her dress up her hips, revealing her white cotton panties. I rip through the fabric with a satisfying shred, leaving her bare and glistening. The intoxicating scent of her arousal fills my nostrils, stoking the flames of my desire.

“We don’t have any lube,” I warn her.

“I don’t care,” she whimpers. “I want to feel you, all of you, Thorak. I need this so badly.”

I hike her back up, bracing her against the wall as I notch myself at her entrance. Our eyes lock, the intensity of our sharedgaze a silent promise, an unbreakable vow. Then, I slowly push into her heat, pausing as I go to make sure she’s comfortable.

A ragged groan escapes my throat as Mariah’s tight warmth envelops me, inch by delicious inch. She arches against me, fingernails digging into my shoulders, head tipped back in ecstasy. The sensation is indescribable, like coming home after an eternity adrift.

“Thorak,” she keens softly, and the sound of my name on her lips nearly undoes me.

I still, finally buried to the hilt, savoring the exquisite sensation of our bodies joined so intimately. Mariah hooks her ankles around my lower back, pulling me impossibly deeper.

Slowly, reverently, I begin to move. Long, deep strokes that make her shudder and clench around me. I set a relentless pace, driven by my inner monster’s need to possess her, to brand myself on her very soul.

Mariah clings to my shoulders, meeting each dominating thrust with a sinuous roll of her hips. Our mouths crash together in a mess of tongues and teeth, swallowing each other’s moans and whimpers. The rough stone of the mansion bites into my palms as I brace myself above her, but I relish the sting. It grounds me in the moment, reminding me that this is real, that Mariah is really mine.

Our pace grows more frantic, our bodies moving together in an instinctual rhythm. Mariah’s moans escalate, breathy and high-pitched, spurring me on. She starts to flutter around my length, her pleasure building to a crest.

I snake a hand between our sweat-slicked bodies, finding the sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs. I rub in firm, fast circles, determined to bring her over the edge with me.

Mariah shatters with a keening cry, her head thrown back in abandon as ecstasy overtakes her. The sight of her, lost to thebliss I’ve given her, is my undoing. With a guttural roar, I spill myself deep inside her welcoming body.

We remain locked together, chests heaving, pulses gradually slowing as we float down from our shared ecstasy. Eventually, I carefully set Mariah back on her feet, making sure her wobbly legs can support her before I release my grip on her waist.

She leans into my chest with a contented sigh, nuzzling her nose against me.

“That was...intense,” she giggles.

“You’re telling me,” I chuckle, tucking a wayward curl behind her ear. “I’ll never look at a balcony the same way again.”

A thought occurs to me then, chasing away the haze of afterglow. I capture Mariah’s hands in mine and rub my thumbs over her knuckles, mustering my courage. It’s now or never.

“Mariah,” I begin, my voice rough with emotion, “I meant what I said. I love you, and I want to be with you, for real this time. No more pretending, no more hiding. Will you...will you be my girlfriend? My partner?”

Mariah’s eyes widen, her breath hitching in her throat. For a heart-stopping moment, I think she might refuse, might push me away again.

But then a brilliant, beautiful smile breaks across her face, practically lighting up the evening sky with its glow.

“Yes,” she whispers. “Yes, Thorak, I’ll be yours if you’ll be mine.”

Joy explodes through me like a firework, filling me with light and color. I crush Mariah to me in an exuberant embrace, peppering her face and hair with kisses.

She laughs, the sound like music to my ears, and winds her arms around my neck to keep me close. She leans in, her warm breath tickling my ear.

“Let’s go back to the reunion, hand in hand,” she suggests, a playful lilt to her voice. “Show everyone that we’re the real deal now.”

The thought of walking back into the crowded ballroom with Mariah at my side, proudly declaring our love to the world, makes the possessive side of me want to growl with pleasure.

I want nothing more than to show everyone that this gorgeous, amazing woman is mine, and I’m hers.

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