Page 25 of Faeling
Passing through the front chamber then central hall, under the archway into his bedchamber, he lost little time depositing his angry mate on his big bed. She bounced on the mattress, her dark hair spread across the silk bedding.
A purr rattled to life in his chest at the sight. Yes, this was exactly where she belonged.
She made herself smaller, less of a target, but those violet eyes burned with defiance. He suspected that if he got too close, she would bite.
A fresh wave of carnal need surged through him at the thought.
Fuck, he was hard just from the sight and smell of her—the idea of her sinking those precious little fangs into his arm nearly had him wetting his trou.
The orcish mate-bond was as revered as it was finicky. They didn’t believe mates to necessarily be fated or decided by the gods, like the fae and the dragons did. There was some level of choice in the matter, their bonds forming over a prolonged courtship. Orcish mate-bonds were forged through time and connection, not just pheromones.
That was all well and good, but Vallek found himself in one of the rarer categories, not unlike what the fae and dragons must feel.
An immediate, searingknowing. An aching sort of need he’d never experienced.
She hadn’t even said anything, just glared up at him with those plush rosebud lips pursed, and already he was monstrously pleased.
He shouldn’t be, of course. This was a complication he didn’t need.
All his hopes of an orcish princess mate went right out the window—along with his sanity, it seemed, because he just didn’t care about any of it. The only thing he needed to know, the only desire that consumed him was—
“Your name?”
Those lips thinned further, as if she meant to deny him.
Oh no, no that wouldn’t do, either.
Leaning over her, he balanced his weight on an arm while he traced the pert point of her chin with the other. He shudderedto feel her soft skin, her pulse fluttering wildly at her elegant throat.
“I will have it,skala. It’s mine now, just like the rest of you.”
Those intelligent eyes narrowed, and she looked just like the clever raven he called her, with her dark hair and shrewd assessment. Her eyes measured his distance from her before flicking lower, gauging the distance to the door.
He chuckled low in his throat. “That isn’t wise.”
Her nostrils flared, and she searched his face for something. He didn’t know what. He wished to give it to her, whatever it was, but his instinct rode him harder with every heartbeat.
Claim. Conquer. Fuck.
Clear, simple needs.
The beast wanted her and didn’t care about the ramifications or what needed to be done.
Dipping his head lower, one of the many braids that held back the sides of his long mane fell onto her chest. The bead at the end glittered against her skin, and Vallek’s purr deepened. He wanted her to smell of him. Now.
But first, he needed a name.
“Your name. Please.”
It wasn’t quite begging, Vallek was too proud and not quite desperate enough for that yet. But he could be soft, if it got him what he wanted.
Her jaw worked against some unseen struggle before, reluctantly, she said, “Ravenna.”
The world around him spun, every instinct and desire refocusing on her. It was a harrowing ordeal, plans and wishes torn apart and remade in the space of a few breaths. Hissoul cried out against the violent realignment, but his instincts overrode all.
Until the bond was sealed, there was nothing and no one but her. Ravenna.
Lowering his head even more, he touched the tip of his nose to nuzzle hers. Orcs preferred nuzzles to kisses, what with the obstacle of their tusks, but the nearer he got, the more tantalizing that rosebud mouth became. Especially when she frowned at him so mightily.
