Page 46 of Ashes, Apples, & Amorous Orcs

“Isolde.” Her name is a warning. “If you keep that up, this ends before it starts.”

She pulls back, wiping her mouth with her hand, her eyes dark and satisfied. “Promises, promises.”

That does it. I haul her up, turning us toward the bed. I lay her back on the furs, and she goes willingly, her gaze locked on mine. I hook my hands behind her knees, bending her effortlessly, pushing her legs back toward her chest. She’s open and exposed and utterly trusting.

I slide into her with one deep, relentless thrust. Her back arches, a sharp cry bursting from her lips that turns into a shaky laugh.

“Oh, god⁠—”

“Just Draven is fine.” I set a punishing rhythm, each drive deeper than the last. The bedframe protests. Her nails score my back, but I don’t care. I want the marks. I want every proof that this is real. Her breaths become broken chants of my name, her body tightening around me, pulling me toward my own peak.

I feel the exact moment she shatters. Her internal muscles clamp down, a fierce, rippling wave, and her cry is muffled against my shoulder. I slow, but I don’t stop. I don’t let up until the last tremor subsides.

“Look at you,” I murmur, my voice gravel. “My perfect, brilliant girl. Taking everything I give you.”

She’s breathless, hazy-eyed, but a smile touches her kiss-swollen lips. “Your girl?”

“Mine.” The word is absolute. I press a kiss to her clavicle, tasting salt and honey. “My clever queen. I spent years serving a town that never saw me. You did it in just moments.” I pull back just enough to meet her dazed gaze, holding it. “Let me devote myself to you. Let me spend every day learning how to please you.”

I pull out of her slowly, watching her body arch in protest at the loss.

“Turn over.”

The command leaves no room for argument, but her hazel eyes meet mine with a challenge anyway. “Ordering me around now?”

“Trust me.” I steady her hip, my palm spanning the soft curve.

She holds my gaze for a heartbeat longer, then moves, turning onto her hands and knees with a grace that steals my breath. The line of her back is a pale contrast against the dark furs, her curls tumbling over her shoulder. I fit myself against her, not entering yet, just letting her feel the heat and weight of me.

“This what you want?” My voice is rough against her ear.

Her answer is a shift of her hips, pushing back against me. “Stop talking and show me.”

I drive into her with a single, deep thrust that punches a moan from her throat. Her head drops forward, her back bowing. I set a rhythm that’s all possession, each stroke claiming her, marking her as mine in the most primal way I know. The bedframe thumps against the wall in time with our bodies.

“Draven.” My name is a ragged prayer on her lips. “More. Please.”

I slide a hand around her hip, finding the sensitive peak between her legs. Her whole body jolts. “Like that?”

“Fuck, yes.” Her words dissolve into a gasp as I work her in tandem with my thrusts. “Don’t stop. Don’t you dare stop.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” The control I’m known for is fraying, unraveling with every broken sound she makes. Her internal muscles clench around me, pulling me deeper.

“Promise me.” Her voice cracks. “Promise you won’t leave. Not tomorrow. Not ever.”

I still for a second, the plea cutting through the heat. I wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her back against my chest, my mouth at her ear. “I’m not going anywhere.” The promise is a vow, sealed with the next relentless drive of my hips. “I’m here. I’m yours.”

“Then prove it.” She grinds back against me, taking me even deeper. “Fuck me like you mean it. Like you’ll still be here when the sun rises.”

A growl rips from my chest. I tighten my grip on her hip, my other hand fisting in her curls, and I give her exactly what she’s asking for. It’s hard, it’s rough, it’s everything I’ve held back for weeks. Her cries fill the cabin, chanting my name like a truth she’s finally believing.

I feel her begin to fracture around me, her muscles tightening, her breath coming in short, sharp bursts. “Draven—I’m⁠—”

“Let go.” The command is barely a sound. “I’ve got you.”

Her climax hits her like a storm, a violent, shaking wave that pulls mine from me moments later. I bury myself deep inside her as my own release rolls through me, a blinding white heat that erases everything but the feel of her shaking in my arms.

We collapse together onto the furs, a tangled, breathless heap. I keep her pulled tight against my chest, my face buried in the honey-scent of her hair, my body still joined with hers. For a long time, the only sound is our ragged breathing syncing, slowing.