"Silga. I thought you Orcs were all brutes. She...she doesn't deserve to starve. And if there's one like her, there's more." She smiles. "I saw some little Orc boys hiding in the bush, trying to get a glimpse of me. When I came close, they scattered and ran. If you let me go, there's no happy ending for me. Lord Ashbourne would hunt the lands for me, or if he heard I had escaped, he'd hold my brother hostage until I came back to him." She swallows, her perfect, pale neck bobbing, and I run my fingers down her cheek, loving the sensation of her perfect smooth skin.

"If my fate is to be his toy...I won't have my captivity be for nothing. He'll never let me leave those walls. But in the winters, I'll look out, and I'll know your people are safe."

I ache to kiss her again. I ache to run my tongue down her body, to taste her again. Her scent is conflicted. There's a tendril of desperate need, but she is withdrawn from me.

She clears her throat.

"I want you, Aira."

"I know. But the messenger will be back soon. And if you don't return me untouched, it'll be war. Your people have had enough suffering."

I pull away from her, snarling. My cock is a hard rod of fiery need. My thoughts are filled with images of her slit, glistening with desire, every instinct in me telling me to take her now, our bodies warming each other in the snows, merging together. I want to fuck her until I fill her with my seed.

Her wide, blue eyes hold my gaze. They're filled with an aching need, a sorrow that I cannot fix. "Let me taste you again," I growl, but it is not a command. It is a desperate plea, and I run my tongue over my lips, aching to taste her nectar once more, to have her in the only way I can.

She gets a gleam in her eyes, teasing. "You really think you can keep up to me, you big bear?"

My brows furrow. "Of course. I know these lands."

"I've evaded patrols all my life. You're strong. You're fast. But I can hear you coming a mile away. I'll make you a deal, Mr. Chieftain."

If any other person talked to me in this way, I'd have them punished for insolence. From her, I crave it, crave the easy way she speaks to me, as if I am not a brute beast, but a man her equal.

"What is the deal?"

"Close your eyes and count to a hundred. I'll give you until the sun passes the peak to catch me. If you can't...then you will not touch me again, not until I am gone."

"And if I catch you?"

Her eyes are hot. Glinting and filled with aching need, and her scent swirls with her arousal. "Then I'll pleasure you, the way you did to me last night." She runs her tongue over her lips, and I growl as my cock throbs painfully hard, as I imagine those lips wrapped around my manhood.

"This is a dangerous game."

"That's the only kind I play," she says, and takes my finger, slowing bringing it up to her lips.

"My word is iron, Aira. If you escape me, I swear to you, I will not touch you," I say, as her tongue slides around my finger, and I cannot think of anything but the way her tongue will feel on my cock, massaging my aching manhood until I find my release.

13

AIRA

Ibring his huge, calloused finger up to my lips and slide my mouth over it. I massage his finger with my tongue, rolling my tongue around his meaty digit. I'm tormented with lust, this aching need for the man I cannot have, but I can't stop myself.

I pull his finger from my lips. His eyes are wide with lust, his nostrils flaring, and I know he can taste the scent of my need, but I no longer feel ashamed.

I want him to taste it. We cannot have each other. I can see Lord Ashbourne's castle from this vantage point, and I hate it.

The only thing I will have, when I'm a stupid little pretty bird, good for nothing but looking beautiful, clad in fine silks and jewelry, are the memories I will cling to. Ashbourne won't care a whit for a single word that comes from my mouth. It's so unlike Ragnar, who listens to every word as if they are precious.

"Count to one hundred," I say, and he closes his eyes.

"One," I hear, and I know I should escape...

But I cannot resist. I reach into his furs, down his loincloth, and feel the heavy weight of his massive cock. He gasps in surprise, and his eyes open. "Two," he says.

"You opened your eyes. No cheating. Start again," I say, as I rub his cock slowly. The head of his dick spurts out pre-cum, smooth liquid that coats my hand, and I slide my hand all the way up his huge shaft, teasing him with my touch. I can't even wrap my hand around his manhood, and I imagine that heavy thing throbbing in my mouth, the way he'd growl and groan as he sates himself.

He closes his eyes again. "One," he growls, his voice heavy and ragged, filled with desire, as I pull my hand away and run.