Page 72 of The Orc's Rage

Were he and Kargorr equals? Would Kargorr now be the one in charge? She felt a crawling sort of unease, wondering how power might shift.

That night, Lord Kargorr did not return to the tent until after Cedar had already eaten dinner. When the flap finally opened and he stepped inside, she was lying by the fire in a light doze with Kiya at her side.

Neither of them spoke as he took her to bed, as he licked her cunt and her sweat, as he held her on his lap and lifted her up, only to bring her down over his cock again.

When they were sated, and Kargorr weaved his fingers through her hair, Cedar asked him how the planning had gone, and he reported back that he had already tasked a team with clearing trees and flattening the earth for more tents.

“I sent an assistant,” Kargorr said. “I thought she might be to your liking.”

Cedar furrowed her brow. “The half-orc? You sent her?”

“To help Carn, and you, in preparing more tents. I’ll be sending even more help as our hunters bring in fresh kills so that we might have plenty of leather ready to be sewn together into new homes for our guests.”

“So Lord Gannag is your guest?” she asked. She wanted to know who he was, and what Lord Kargorr might expect of her.

His hand in her hair halted, his finger caught in a tangle.

“Yes,” Kargorr said after a time. “He is a guest, but also an ally. A leader. If he feels that he’s not being afforded the respect he is owed, then there may be trouble.”

It was as Cedar had feared. There would be another pole of power introduced to the camp, and that could be unpredictable.

“I see.” She thought for a moment, because such a transition portended conflict. “We ought to make a welcome gift, then.”

Lord Kargorr sat up on the furs and arched a critical eyebrow.

“A welcome gift?” He snorted. “This is not thegrrosekway. We have already afforded hisparogmany gifts in the courting stage.”

“And once you court, do the gifts end?” She raised herself up on the bed, too, and pulled the bear pelt into her lap. “How does one maintain the relationship, then, and keep the other party pleased?”

She peered up at him, and Lord Kargorr’s pitch-black eyes bored into her, searching her, digging inside her for the source and meaning of her question.

“An angle I had not considered,” he admitted at last. “Nogrrosekhas ever attempted what I am attempting. So perhaps you are right, little deer, and I should keep him fat and happy with gifts.”

Once more Kargorr lay back down, and rather forcefully, pulled her to the furs with him. He pressed her back flush to his firm stomach, and his hands slid down her breasts, over her belly, where he spread his fingers.

“What sort of gifts should these be?” he asked, and there was almost a teasing note in his voice.

Cedar thought for a time over what the coming orcs might need, something they wouldn’t think to bring for themselves but would show them better what the way of life looked like in Lord Kargorr’s camp.

“Syrup-crusted pork,” Cedar said, without hesitation. “Use some of my pigs. They have grown well and would be ideal for a roast.”

Of course, Bread Pudding meant much to her—and her piglets were one of the last few reminders of her old life—but so did Cedar want to ensure that Lord Kargorr’s gambit went peacefully. She feared what so many orcs might do in such close quarters when they harbored an easy willingness to resort to violence.

Lord Kargorr remained in a thoughtful silence for some time, then pulled her ass flush against his hips. He was already hard for her, wet and leaking.

“A clever woman I found,” he muttered as she spread her legs, and he slipped through them. She was already covered in his seed, so his cock found its way easily inside her. “Such a good, sturdy woman.”

It took six more days for the new orcs to finally arrive.

35

Kargorr

He would not just offer Lord Gannag’sparogthe syrup-crusted pork, though that would certainly sweeten the deal they had already accepted.

It wasn’t enough to have an ally, just like it wasn’t enough to have ayapira. One must care for them, too, and keep the pot appealing. Relationships had needs to be tended, and the better his bonds fared, the stronger they were.

He wouldn’t just listen to hisyapirabecause it was good and right advice, and he counted himself fortunate to have a companion who brought wisdom to his hearth. He would do it to please her, too, because the happier Cedar was, the better he felt, basking in her warmth instead of freezing in her cold.

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