Rubyseed was as rare as the gemstone it was named for—so rare it was reserved only for special occasions.Like birthdays.And victory feasts.
And weddings.
There’s a cask of rubyseed as big as your footlocker waiting for your wedding day.Farya will never forget how lucky she is to be part of the Two Swords Clan.
My father had been so proud.Not to celebrate my wedding—the wedding that never happened.But to make a show of dominance after his crushing defeat by Ul-Rott.
Archie took a spoonful and smacked his lips.“Maybe it’s an acquired…taste.”
He trailed off when I covered the ground between us in two strides, stopping short just shy of pressing myself against him.The scent of human mingled with the smell of Rubyseed.It was intoxicating.
He looked up, his eyes wide.
“What?”he asked cautiously.
I didn’t answer–I couldn’t.I just stood there, lost in the scent.
Then his eyes narrowed and he fell back a step.“Having fun?”
“What do you mean?”I demanded.
“This little game you’re playing—tease the lowly human.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Truly, I can’t imagine why I care,” he said with false breeziness.“And no doubt it’s amusing, you puffing up all big and virile whenever we’re close.Gazing at me like you’re undressing me with your eyes.Lavishing looks upon me brimming with promise…knowing full well you’ve no intention of making good on them.”
The urge to grab him and drag him up against me—to bury my nose in the crook of his slender neck—was overwhelming.“You have no idea what I intend.”
“Is that so?What about your vow of celibacy?”
“I took no vow.”The words came out low and rough.I risked everything by telling him that—and I knew that trusting him might be my undoing.But I couldn’t help myself.
The sardonic smile froze on his face, coloring with something part hope, part fear.“Truly?”he said, so softly it was barely a breath.“No wonder you seem so hesitant about all this shaman business.You’re no acolyte.”He smiled knowingly as I sucked in a gasp.If the human knew me for a soldier, it was only a matter of time before the honor guard caught on.
Archie smiled wider.“You’re a novice, at best.”
Relief flooded me as I closed the small gap between us and dipped down to bathe in his scent….
And then stopped myself, knowing that if the other orcs smelled him on me, Archie’s head would end up on a stake—right beside mine.
As I backed off, Archie’s eyes went cold.“Hah—you almost had me going there.I actually thought you wanted me—”
I grabbed him by the arm before he could turn away and gave him a rough shake.“What I want makes no difference.If I lay with you, the others will know.”
“They certainly wouldn’t hear about it from me!”
“It makes no difference.My scent mingled with yours would damn us faster than any accusation possibly could.”
A sly understanding dawned in Archie's eyes.“Well, if the pesky little matter of life and death is all that’s holding you back….”He smiled a secret smile.“I pride myself in beingverycreative.”
My heart beat so loud I was sure he could hear it.“What are you saying?”
He glanced down at my hand clenched around his upper arm.“I can get big results from a surprisingly small point of contact.A long time ago, I figured out that the power of seduction isn’t about a tight ass or a practiced stroke.It’s about the mind.”
My hand dropped to my side…but I stood my ground.Even when Archie’s eyes raked me up and down, and his scent shifted, growing even headier.This thing we played at could get us both killed.But desire surged within me so sudden and fierce that the risk paled in the light of my need.
As a soldier, I’d been prepared for many things.I drilled to take on an opponent with a sword or a spear.I practiced anticipating an enemy’s move.I even learned to fend off an attack from all sides.But this burning ache consuming me from the inside out was something I’d never experienced before.And I hadn’t the first idea how to fight it.
