Page 9 of How the Orc Stole Christmas
I buried my head in my hands. “No wonder no one wants me to help with the cooking. I’m hopeless. I mean, give me a microwave and a Lean Cuisine and I’m good. But this whole over the fire thing and I’m screwed.”
He awkwardly patted my back. “But you have other talents. You bring joy where you go and You’re helping the healer with the women.”
I sniffed. “That’s not much.”
“It is to them. Our healer doesn’t know much about humans, so it was scary for the women about to give birth. They feel better with you here. And I have heard more laughter since you have been here than we have had in many months.”
“You don’t like laughter. It doesn’t help prepare for attack,” I replied bitterly.
“Maybe not everything needs to be about attack,” he said.
I lifted my head. “Really?”
He was so close, had shifted his chair so he was right next to me, his face only inches from mine. It took nothing for him to close the space and kiss me, the feel of his lips against mine sending shockwaves through my body. I moaned and leaned into him, opening my mouth, begging for more.
Sinteklas
The tea and biscuits were truly awful. I tried to choke them down but even military rations were better than these. I didn’t have the heart to tell Jules because she tried so hard and was so eager to please me. When she got upset at the realization that they were terrible, I comforted her the only way I knew how.
I kissed her.
Though, in my defense, I had been wanting to touch her for most of the evening. As we decorating the tree, she kept brushing against me with her hands, her body, and my cock was clamoring for me to make a claim on her. I had been resisting admitting the truth to myself—that she was my mate—because others were far better suited. Younger, less grumpy, and less apt to dim her light. Yet I could not imagine a life without her in it. I wanted to wake up with her beside me, have her spread out in my bed as I drove deeply inside of her, watched her grow rounded with my orcling.
I wanted her to choose me.
The moment my lips touched hers, everything else fell away. The taste of the burnt tea, or stew herbs, vanished, replaced by her sweetness. She made a soft sound of surprise that turned into a moan, and the mating instinct inside of me roared to life. My hands found her waist, pulling her closer as she melted against me.
The scent of pine needles from the tree mingled with her natural fragrance, making my head spin. When her fingers tangled in my hair, tugging gently, I growled against her mouth. She wasn't afraid—she never had been. Instead, she pressed closer, her soft curves fitting perfectly against my harder planes.
“Jules,” I breathed against her lips, breaking away just enough to look at her. The firelight caught the gold flecks in her eyes, and the sight of her flushed cheeks and parted lips nearly undid me. “Tell me to stop.”
“Don't you dare,” she whispered, twisting in her chair to get closer to me.
That was all the permission I needed. I lifted her easily, and she wrapped her legs around my waist, making me groan as her heat pressed against me. The decorated tree rattled as I carried her past it to the bed, laying her down with more gentleness than I knew I possessed.
She looked up at me with such trust, such desire, that my chest ached. Her hair spread across the pillow, and when she reached for me, I couldn't resist. I covered her body with mine, careful to keep most of my weight on my forearms. The sound she made when I pressed against her center nearly broke my control.
"You're sure?" I asked, even as my hands slid under her shirt, finding the soft skin of her stomach. She arched into my touch.
"I've never been more sure of anything," she said, and then she was pulling at my clothes, her smaller hands exploring every inch of skin she exposed.
I took my time undressing her, memorizing each new revelation of flesh. The curve of her breasts fit perfectly in my palms, and when I lowered my mouth to taste her skin, she cried out my name. Her nipples peaked under my tongue, and I lavished attention on each one until she was writhing beneath me.
The sight of her, bare and wanting in my arms, struck me with such force that I had to pause. This wasn't just desire—this was everything I'd been fighting against, everything I thought I didn't deserve. She must have seen something in my expression, because she cupped my face in her hands.
“Stop thinking so hard,” she whispered, pressing soft kisses to my jaw, my cheeks, avoiding my tusks as naturally as breathing. “I want this. I want you.”
Those words broke the last of my restraint. I kissed her deeply as my hand slid between her thighs, finding her already wet and ready. The first touch of my fingers made her gasp and push against my hand. I worked her slowly, learning what made her moan, what made her dig her nails into my shoulders. I made her come quickly, my thumb working her nub at the apex of her slit and my fingers plunging deep inside until I could feel her clenching around me.
I worked her, keeping her crying out and writhing on the bed until she lay limp and boneless beneath me. I tugged my fingers free, licking every bit of cream from them. She watched me with wide eyes and I winked.
“Delicious. Next time, I’ll be between your thighs for a longer taste.” She blushed a deep red, and I kissed her, my tongue sweeping in her mouth, mimicking the act we were about to do.
I slipped my fingers down, teasing her again but not letting her come. When she was trembling on the edge, I positioned myself at her entrance. The head of my cock pressed against her, and I forced myself to go slow, to be gentle. Her eyes were wide, almost scared.
“Holy shit, Klas. I don’t think this will work,” she gasped, her fingernails biting into my shoulders.
“It works just fine for everyone else. We’ll go slow.”
