Page 12 of Lonely Orcish Girl

"Perhaps it will be, my bright spark." She smiled warmly at him. "But enough talk for tonight because I don't know if your eyes are shining with excitement or if the fever is back. I think it's more the latter."

"Oh, it's mostly excitement… and maybe a little fever," Reed joked with her, but in fact, he felt both a rising fever and a strange joy. He added in a serious tone, "Thank you, Katuri, for telling me your story. I appreciate your trust."

"No problem, Reed." The orcess smiled back at him, straightened up, and sat back on her heels. “Sharing stories like that can be healthy and might help sort difficult things out in our own heads.”

The young orcess seemed to want to leave Reed's nook, but for some reason, she hesitated. She placed her hand on his forehead, as she had done often, but this time she did it differently. Her fingers ran slowly through Reed's hair, and suddenly, she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

It wasn’t just a quick peck on the cheek; Katuri pressed her full lips to Reed's skin for a few seconds. Reed was surprised and thrilled at the same time because he was almost sure that it was her way of thanking him for listening. He didn’t feel like he had done anything out of the ordinary, but he couldn't complain because Katuri's kiss was delightful. A wave of heat rose in him, and it wasn’t caused by the fever.

The orcish girl leaned close to his face and smiled broadly, as if pleased with the effect her kiss had made. Then she nuzzled his nose playfully and said, "Sleep well, Reed."

"You too, Katuri," he replied.

She left him alone as she had the day before, but this time the atmosphere between them was very different. He tried to make sense of it all but fell asleep too quickly.

CHAPTER THREE

Reed slept fitfully, haunted by a troubling dream. He was in an eerily dark forest, trying to catch Jolene. The girl laughed herself silly and teased Reed, asking him to chase her. He tried, but he couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that something was wrong and that he shouldn't be doing it.

Every time he got closer to Jolene, she would magically disappear behind a tree, only to reappear a few feet in front of him. The worst part was the feeling of powerlessness: no matter how hard he pushed himself to run faster, he moved as if he were underwater. Jolene's laughter changed, growing more sinister with each attempt Reed made to catch her.

This vicious cycle became even more exhausting when Reed began to see Katuri in his dream. She stood among the trees, reaching for him each time he passed her, looking disappointed and sad when he didn’t respond. He wanted to stop chasing Jolene, but he had no control over his body. It was unbearable.

Finally, his own faint groan woke him up. Reed sat up abruptly, panting heavily. For a moment, he had trouble figuring out where he was, as it was completely dark around him. But the touch of the furs soothed him and helped him distance himself from the disturbing dream.

He knew he had a severe fever, but his full bladder was bothering him even more, so he pushed the furs aside andmoved out from under the mantel. But as soon as he swung his legs over the edge, his feet touched… something unexpected that shouldn’t have been there. It was smooth and warm.

At that moment, he heard Katuri say, "What's wrong?"

"Ah!" he yelped, a little startled when he realized he had touched her body. She must have been sleeping on the floor next to the stove. It shocked him.

Reed sensed more than saw Katuri standing up beside him, as it was pitch dark in the house. He felt her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Worry filled her voice as she touched his cheek. "Damn, you're burning up like a furnace."

"Nothing… I just woke up and needed to pee," he answered weakly, feeling a bit dizzy. His temples were throbbing.

"Wait, I'll get the lamp," Katuri said as she moved, and Reed heard her rustling with something.

Soon, the dim light of a small olive lamp illuminated the room, and Reed blinked a few times, temporarily blinded. When his eyes readjusted, he could barely keep from gasping for air.

Katuri… was almost naked. She wore the same breast band he had seen earlier when she was chopping wood. Over her hips, she wore only a skimpy loincloth. Her feminine curves, large breasts, and shapely legs were exposed, as well as her muscular arms and stomach.

The orcess approached the bewildered Reed, who was still sitting on the edge of the fireplace. She noticed that he covered his crotch with his hands and looked at her in confusion. Then she walked across the room and retrieved something from the chest. Reed recognized them as two blankets.

"Here, cover yourself; it's chilly at night," she said, handing him one. She wrapped the second one around herself like a cloak.

Reed stood up and draped the blanket around his shoulders, noticing that Katuri averted her gaze to give him privacy. He would probably appreciate it more if he didn't feel so exhausted.

Katuri reached for the lamp and held Reed by the elbow with her other hand. She stood right next to him, and for the first time, he noticed that she was a bit taller than him. She had about two inches on his six-foot-two, which put her at maybe six-foot-four. But her height didn’t surprise him; besides, it made perfect sense to his foggy mind at that moment.

"You can lean on my arm, Reed," she said calmly.

"Thank you," he replied quietly, gripping her warm forearm. Normally, he would have been uncomfortable needing help with such a simple task, but at that moment, he felt too weak to care. Besides, touching Katuri's arm was a pleasant and interesting experience for him. Her skin was smooth, but the most surprising thing was that Katuri's arm didn't even budge under his weight. It was as solid as a stone.

She helped him to the latrine and waited outside. Then she led him back to the bed, tossing her blanket onto the chair as they returned.

"Get back to sleep, Reed, right now! You're burning up!" Katuri said firmly but with a concerned tone as they stood next to the inglenook.

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