I respond with a wide, watery smile because I understand this is what makes him different. What makes modern orcs different.
For thousands of years, orcs like him didn't ask. They took. Carried women off to dark caves and kept them until spring, whether they wanted to stay or not. Human mobs with pitchforks and torches would come looking for their daughters and sisters, and the cycle of violence and mistrust between species just kept spinning.
But Keric—even now, with the scent bomb still poisoning his system, and his body transformed into something ancient and primal—is asking. Giving me the choice his ancestors never gave.
Modern orcs don't kidnap. They follow human laws and wait for consent.And here he is, shaking with the effort of holding himself back, because my words matter more to him than his own desperate need.
My heart pounds so hard I can feel it in my throat. “I know.”
“And you still?—”
I reach up and wrap my fingers around one of his horns. The effect is immediate and devastating. His whole body shudders. His eyes roll back. A pained, desperate moan escapes from his lips.
“Yes, I want your sons,” I whisper. “I’m not on any birth control and I fully understand what that means. When we make love, I’ll instantly become pregnant. And I think that’s the sexiest, most lovely idea of my life. I’m ready,” I tell this huge orc. “Fully ready, for everything.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Keric
Yes, I want your sons.
Her words echo in my mind.
My eyes sting. I’m a mess—a complete and utter mess—and I can’t even blame it on the scent bomb anymore.
Although the bomb isn’t helping.
The chemicals slowly leave my system, returning my body to normal. The unnatural bulk is receding, my muscles shrinking back to their usual size. My tusks shorten and my horns are losing their wicked curve. But the comedown is brutal. Every emotion I’ve ever suppressed rises to the surface, demanding to be felt.
And right now, I feel overwhelming gratitude that Anna Lee choseme. I’ve spent my entire adult life wondering if this would ever happen. Watching many of my cousins and friends find their Brides while I remained alone. Too big, too wild, too primitive with my black horns and elongated tusks. The females in the human high school I went to were polite but uninterested.The adult human women I encountered in the outside world either feared me or saw me as a curiosity, not a potential mate.
I’d started to accept that I might never have a Bride or sons of my own. I would spend out the rest of my days a single orc, like many others at the commune. And now Anna Lee stands in front of me, her hand wrapped around my horn, telling me she wants to bear my children.
A tear escapes down my cheek. Then another.
“Keric?” Her voice is soft with concern. “Are you okay?”
I press my forehead to hers, breathing her in. “I never thought—” My voice cracks. “I never thought any female would want this with me.”
“Oh Keric.” She cups my face in her hands, thumbs wiping away my tears. “I want all of this withyou. Only you.”
I kiss her then, soft and deep, pouring everything I can’t say into the press of my lips against hers. When I pull back, my head is clearer. The emotional storm is passing, leaving behind a fierce, burning need. My erection throbs and seed leaks from the slit in the crown. I want to sink into her heat but first, I must care for her and make sure she ready. And if I take my time, this ensures my body will return to its normal proportions before I slide inside of her.
I look around the cave with new eyes. A shaft of light filters down from a crack in the ceiling far above. Cold stone walls and hard ground aren’t necessarily a proper place to fuck my female. This isn’t how I imagined my first time with my Bride. I wanted soft furs, a warm cabin, candles and comfort. Not a damp cave in the mountains.
But Anna is here, looking at me with heat in her eyes, and nothing else matters.
“I need to take care of you.”
She blinks. “Can we…here...?”
“Yes, I’ve never been with any female until today. I’m a virgin and you will be my first. But I have studied and I know what to do to bring a female pleasure. But my body—” I look down at myself. My cock is massive, straining against what’s left of my torn pants, bigger than it’s ever been. “I need to wait until I return to normal size. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Her eyes drop to my erection and widen. “Oh. That’s... yeah. That’s bigger than before.”
“So we wait for that part. But I’m going to taste you first. Prepare you. Make sure you’re ready for me when the time comes.”
Her fingers dig into my forearms. “Yes, please,” she whimpers.
