Page 51 of Orc's Redemption

The Al’fa stares, long and hard. His chest rises and falls, his tail is surprisingly still though. Normally when he is considering his tail twitches almost spasmodically. Not now. I am not sure what to make of that. Nor am I sure what to make of any of this. The way my heart is beating faster. The way his eyes bore into me. The tightness coiling deep in my core.

“And if you fail?” he asks, his voice a whisper. “What then… Queen.”

“Then I die. And you have lost nothing,” I say, holding his eyes.

The Al’fa studies me for a long moment. Then, he smiles. Not a kind smile. Not a reassuring one. But a warrior’s smile. His presence is imposing, but I hold my ground.

He steps closer. Half a step, but now there is hardly a fingers width between our bodies. The room is suddenly too small. The scent of him fills my nostrils, musk with hints of cinnamon.

“Sacrifice is easy to promise in words,” he says, voice low. “But tell me, Queen, what are you willing to givebeforeyou fight?”

I keep my expression carefully controlled. My shoulders squared. Dutifully ignoring the coiling distraction low in my stomach, the clenching of muscles that have no business or right to be responding like this.

“What do you mean?”

His tail flicks once. He doesn’t move away, if anything he leans in closer under the guise of bowing down so he’s eye level with me.

“Loyalty is earned. You claim the Urr’ki will stand with us, but I have seen nothing of them as of yet but barely contained defiance. Why should I risk warriors for your people? Why should I trust you?”

I know what he wants. He wants assurance. He wants something tangible. And I must give it. The Al’fa is a male who rules by strength and bravado. His ego is as large as his need to dominate. I saw it with the soldier who defied him. I know what I must do.

Pride swells. I don’t want to do it. Nothing in my life has ever felt this wrong. Not since the Shaman’s betrayal. But beneath the wrongness, below my pride, something else stirs. If any of my people were here to witness I would never do this. They are not, though. There is no one here but me and the Al’fa.

I know what will convince him and if nothing else I will do whatever it takes to save my people. Whatever it takes. Eyes locked on his, lips sealed tight I do it.

I kneel.

The chamber is silent. There is no mistaking the surprise on his face. He did not see this coming. I look up, acutely aware that my face is level to his crotch. Even more aware that his cock is rock hard and straining against his pants.

He remains silent, staring, pursing his lips but his tail betrays him. Twitching nervously or excitedly across the stone floor.

“I was born to rule,” I say. “And I have ruled. But no throne is more important than my people’s survival. If my alliance with you must be sealed in submission, so be it.” I lift my chin. “Is this what you want… Al’fa?”

His mouth parts as his eyes widen in surprise. He looks as if he’s frozen in place. For the first time since I’ve met him, he is speechless. He closes his mouth and swallows. He blinks, slowly.

“I—”

I wait but he doesn’t finish the thought. Even while locked on his gaze, I can’t miss the slight bobbing behind the thin fabric of his pants. I have heard rumors of the Zmaj anatomy, but do not know what is true and what is not. What I can tell is that he is well endowed.

“Know this, Al’fa,” I say into the charged silence, “I do not kneel in weakness. I kneel as strategy. And if you underestimate me because of it, you will be making a mistake.”

The Al’fa watches me for a long time. Then, slowly, he extends his hand. I take it and he pulls me upright. His grip is unyielding, searing heat branding my palm. We’re close enough his hardness is pressing against my abdomen and I wonder if he is as painfully aware of it as I am.

“You are bold, Urr’ki Queen,” he murmurs, his voice hoarse in a way I have never heard from him before. “Let us see if you are wise as well.”

“Then we have an agreement?” I ask.

He raises his hand, a gentle, partial motion but it’s clear that if he’d finished it he would have touched my face. He stops though, letting his hand drop to his side. He swallows again. His cock throbs against my stomach.

“Yes,” he says.

I nod, knowing I should move away but instead letting this moment stretch out. Not wanting to break it. Reveling in the sensations and experience.

The terms are set. I will be allowed to leave the Zmaj stronghold with a small escort, not a war group, but scouts. They will not fight for me, not yet, though there may very well be fighting. If all goes the way I hope, fighting will not be necessary. And then, if I return with proof, the Al’fa will agree to an alliance.

“Do not fail,” he says. “You may not live to try again.”

“Then let us hope I succeed,” I nod.

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