Page 72 of Claimed By Stone
I could feel his hard length pressing between the cheeks of my ass. I couldn’t help myself. I arched back into him. His yawn turned into a groan as he held me tight and rocked his hips into mine.
"You keep that up and we'll miss the day entirely because I'll never let you out of this bed."
I turned in his grasp, looking up into his deep brown eyes. "Would that be such a bad thing?"
"No, my little mate, it would be a wonderful thing. The only problem is the next time my cock is in this delectable little cunt, it is taking my knot, again and again and again. The mating cavesare best suited for that," he said, before kissing me in a deep, claiming kiss.
"Why do we have to get ready separately? I don't think I can stand to be away from you."
And I meant it, the thought of time away from him, even for just a few hours, made me want to cry. It's not a feeling I was used to, but I needed him close. I needed to see him and feel him.
"It will only be for a while. Then we need never be parted again," he said as he brushed a strand of unruly hair behind my ear.
I want to soak up every corner of this new life—ourlife.
"Knock knock," sang a feminine voice from the door. "Is everyone decent?"
I turned to him with a pout on my face.
"She's not going away, so unless you want her walking in and watching me get dressed, you'd better call to her, little mate," Thavros said as he stood.
"Uhh... one moment," I managed to get out as I watched Thavros get up from the bed in all his splendid nakedness. Now I really didn't want him to go.
I got out of bed, slipping into the shift as he finished getting dressed. I crossed my hands over my chest in a pout.
"Don't make that face at me. I can't bear it. I will be with you tonight and forever after," he dropped a kiss on my lips before heading to the door.
Callie arrived first, cheeks pink from the cold and arms full of fabric. "I brought backup," she announced, breezing into the room like sunlight in winter.
"I will see you all later," Thavros said before leaving.
Frema followed right behind, clutching a basket of braid-ribbons and a sharp-eyed smile that said she meant business.
"Leave, brother. Khuldruk waits for you," she said with a sibling smirk. But then she couldn't seem to help herself andthrew her arms around him before touching her forehead to his and whispering something I couldn't hear. Finally, she turned her attention to me.
"I hope you're ready to be plucked, polished, and painted," Frema said, already pulling a stool over behind me. “Orcs may be fearsome warriors, but we still like our brides to look stunning.”
Callie giggled and began spreading out the dresses. “I figured we’d go for the deep red today—powerful, passionate, the color of fate and fire.”
I laughed, more from nerves than humor, but I didn’t protest. It was impossible to feel anything other than loved in their company. Frema's fingers were deft and sure as she braided my hair, weaving in thin strands of crimson ribbon. “You’ve got good hair,” she murmured. “The kind that doesn’t argue back.”
I smiled at her, unsure of what to say. These women and the orcs in this mountain had come to mean a great deal to me in such a short amount of time.
Midway through the primping, a trio of orcling children tiptoed in, giggling behind their hands. One, barely more than a toddler, stepped forward and handed me a bundle of frost-laced winter blooms—small, delicate things with curling petals and pale blue veins.
“For the pretty lady,” he whispered, then scurried back to his siblings.
My throat tightened. “Thank you,” I said, blinking furiously. “They’re perfect.”
Frema smirked knowingly behind me. “Don’t worry, tears are traditional.”
After the bustle, they left to help ready the archway and final touches. I found myself alone with my reflection, staring into the small mirror above Thavros’s washbasin. My hands pressedlightly to my belly, the winter bouquet resting beside me. Everything felt too still, too perfect.
And that’s when the words returned.
You still have a job to do.
You were meant for the other brother.
