How to Claim a Human Mate (Monstery Yours #6)

by S. J. Sanders

  Chapter 19

  Lynn

  Bodi’s eyes are on me when he sets me down in front of the cottage, the intricately carved door of warm polished oak rising up just in front of me. Unlike the smaller visitor cottage I stayed in that was clearly designed for someone human-sized, with a doorway Bodi had been forced to duck through every morning, I can see the difference compared to the massive proportions of his home. Things that I had barely noted in passing when we drove through the village were now more apparent as I face a true orc cottage up close and personal.

  Grinning with excitement, Bodi leans forward just enough to reach around me and throw open the door. The door swings open, unhampered. There are no locks in place, but I would bet that not many would dare steal from an orc, and even fewer would risk stealing from the captain of the guard if the distance alone didn’t discourage them. Moving me slightly out of the way, he steps inside and sniffs, his head tipping as it moves to the left and then the right. In the dark interior, his blue eyes faintly glow as they scan the space.

  Finally, he grunts and pulls me in after him, making for the enormous chairs and a gigantic bench covered in cushions that vaguely resembles a couch. Without warning, he plucks me up to toss me gently onto the cushions. I might have protested the manhandling if it wasn’t Bodi—and for the fact that my feet definitely don’t touch the floor. Scrambling up into it would have been just as much of an indignity, if not more.

  Crossing my legs at the ankles, I swing my feet aimlessly, because that’s just what you’re going to do when you are pint-sized on a couch, as I watch Bodi stride over to a hearth that has to be nearly as tall as I am. Leaning down, he piles in some wood, tucking tinder just beneath the grate holding the logs, and reaches for a metal box on the mantle. There’s a spark, and in moments a bright flicker of flame begins to brighten the room as they grow. He shuffles the wood around a bit so that it catches better and then steps back, allowing the firelight to light up the room.

  My mouth drops open as I get a much better look at my surroundings. It’s… beautiful. There are thick furs thrown everywhere, the largest of which looks like some gargantuan bear-type of animal stretched out in front of the hearth, and more than one brightly colored quilt is thrown over the arms and backs of the chairs to provide extra comfort. Small wooden end tables sit in between the couch and each of the sturdy chairs on either side of it, and like the cottage I stayed at before, there are a number of cushions stacked in a corner of the room for company.

  While the whitewashed walls show some sign of dust, suggesting that the bachelor who lives here doesn’t spend much time at home, the place is otherwise clean and extremely cozy. A colorful heavy glass oil lamp sits on the table closest to me, and I delight when Bodi comes over to light it as well. Next to it, there is a small, haphazard stack of books with orc script pressed into the covers. Even though I can’t read them, I recognize the sign of a devoted bibliophile. Sure enough, one wall has two large bookcases that stretch across it filled with books. My eyes pass over the walls and note that, like the keep, there are some fine tapestries that look particularly old. The most intricate of them is the one that hangs over the hearth. The weaving is so well-done that it almost looks painted. From this tapestry, a formidable male surrounded by his family stares back at me. Every inch of him screams fantasy warrior, complete with a wicked scar running down the side of his face, although his clothes, despite possessing quality embroidery, appear somewhat ordinary and simple in style.

  Noticing the direction of my attention, Bodi nods to the warrior. “My grandfather. Frightening, yes?” At my surprised laughter, he grins shamelessly. “Between the two of us, he scares me too, mostly because I remember how snarly he was from when I was an orcling. He spent quite a bit to commission this thing as a symbol of his success.” He snorts. “It makes my skin crawl just a little how he stares down at me, but I am too afraid to take it down because I am certain he would find a way to step out from the world of the dead to beat me.”

  “I bet it’s kept you well behaved, at least in this part of the cottage,” I quip, and he bursts out into deep rolling laughter.

  “You are not wrong,” he agrees. “But we will save our most salacious activities for other parts of the house and property,” he adds with a wink, his words sending my imagination into overdrive, curse him.

  Hot, liquid desire churns within me, filling my veins, making my skin quiver and my pussy dampen with slick heat. I consider making some sort of flirty, half-cocky comment about his assumptions, but now that I’ve faced my desires, I find that I just don’t have any interest in playing such games. I’m old enough to know what I want and not be willing to waste time going after it.

  Apparently, he’s of the same mind because he leans down and captures my lips with his, drugging my senses with his kiss. His taste is bold, like a fine wine if it were mulled with the most exotic spices. The kiss ends all too soon, and he straightens and steps back. I can see how much it has affected him, though, because his large chest heaves with the panting breaths he drags in. I know how he feels, because my heart is hammering, and my breath rasps as if I just ran a marathon. He lifts a hand and gestures for me to stay like he thinks I might suddenly leap up and run out the door. My lips bow in a smile as he slowly backs away.

  “I need to go put up Haith and bring in your belongings so that the weather doesn’t ruin them. Just… stay here,” he bids, giving me another brief peck as if he can’t resist touching lips one more time, before shooting out the door.

  Okay then, staying here. I lean back on the couch and make myself comfortable while I wait. I hear him speaking to Haith as he releases the delfass from the cart. His voice fades just a little as he walks away, presumably to put the animal to bed and fetch it meat from the cold storage in the cellar. It’s only a short while later than he returns with the first armload of my things.

  To my surprise, he doesn’t return with one or two crates, but piles of four or five that he hauls in armloads and carefully deposits in a corner before going out for more. I stare after him in disbelief that soon turns to awe when he manages to bring in everything that I own in six trips. The moment he’s unburdened, he closes the door and spins around to face me, his face taut with the very same desire that I feel.

  Here we go…

  Sliding off the couch, I drop to my feet and strip off my coat. The fire took the chill out of the air, but even if it hadn’t, the arousal flooding my body is warming me deliciously. Bodi’s gaze snaps to me, his eyes tracking me like that of a wolf or an enormous predatory cat. He could easily have been a delfass watching me, thrashing its tail. A low growl rumbles in his chest that makes my skin prickle with a rush of animalistic awareness.

  “How do you feel about showing me the bedroom?” I ask, making my invitation clear.

  His gaze sharpens on me, eyes flaring with a molten heat that I can feel sliding through me. A sharp pant escapes me, and his rumble gets louder, stirring my need. I don’t even have to move. Three strides and he has me, and once again I’m airborne before colliding into a warm, muscular chest.

  “I would be delighted,” he purrs as he strides at a brisk pace from the room.

  Even though the bedroom is noticeably darker than the main room, I can tell it’s nearly as large as the entire living room of my last apartment. It would have to be, though, to contain the enormous shadow of a bed dominating the room. I can’t make out many more details of my surroundings in the dark, but I do see the outline of another large hearth standing opposite the bed.

  I have little doubt that the bedroom is as cozy and comfortable as the main room, but I can wait to see it later. Right now, all I need is the orc holding me close as he lowers me onto the bed. I barely even feel a trace of the chill still lingering on the air in here with the way our hot bodies press close to each other.

  His hands are infinitely gentle, the light scrape of his short claws erotic as he peels me out of my clothes. Impatient, I go to help him, but he brush
es my hands out of the way.

  “I desire and enjoy this privilege of undressing you,” he murmurs, his voice thick with desire. “Allow me.”

  I shiver and drop my arms at my side. It’s not from cold. The anticipation of each touch as he methodically works me out of my clothes makes my skin prickle further, and the need that has been roused begins to consume me with every careful touch. I’m close to begging by the time he finishes and reaches for his own clothes.

  Pushing myself up to a seated position, I bat away his hands.

  “My turn,” I whisper, loosening the ties at the front of his tunic.

  His eyes widen, but he lowers his hands, giving me complete access.

  Running my fingertips over the embroidery embellishing his tunic with a knotted geometric design, I admire the feel of it for a moment before allowing my hands to slide down and grip the hem. I pull it up slowly, exposing the defined muscles of his abs and waist, and then rising to pectorals that jump ever so slightly in reaction to my touch. He raises his arms so I can pull it the rest of the way off, and I can’t help but to admire the pronounced way his shoulders and biceps shift as he’s freed of the material. Thick, dark hair falls back into place, the strands brushing my hand.

  Fuck, he’s beautiful. I almost love blue as much as pink, but right here and now I think his grayish cobalt blue is my new favorite color. He’s too dark to be candy blue, but is a stormy color that makes me think summer rain and drops of water on my tongue. I wonder if he would taste sweet and fresh, or would his flavor be as rich and potent as his scent?

  My fingers trail over his chest and down his abs only for the tips of my nails to catch on the band of his pants secured in place by lacings. My hands shake a little as I pluck at them, loosening them until I’m able to push them down over his hips. His thick erection catches on them only for a minute before popping free. Darker than the rest of him to the color of a thunderhead, it’s incredibly thick and long. At its tip, a curved bit of metal gleams, and I stare in shock.

  He’s pierced. Oh my.

  It’s not that I’m prude or anything, but it’s just not something I’ve ever come across. It appears almost sinfully provocative, and I yearn to explore it with my tongue. I wonder what exactly it would feel like. It’s supposed to be incredible.

  As my appreciative gaze climbs once more to the sculpted planes of his chest, strong hands grip my hips only to slide to my bottom. Large palms effortlessly cup my ass as he lifts me up against him and lays me on the bed, spreading me beneath him as his large body crawls gracefully over me, reinforcing the likeness to a predator in my mind.

  Exhilaration thrums through me as I run my hands over miles of smooth muscle. I feel like I’m caught in one of my many dreams, but if that’s the case, then I definitely don’t want to wake up. I press a kiss to his chest, and he shudders, a raspy curse falling from him at the brush of my lips against his bare skin as my hands continue to explore him. Braced over me, he submits to my every explorative stroke.

  When my hand finally slips around his cock, Bodi’s body tenses and he growls, his eyes sliding shut. I give him one long, thorough stroke, testing the feel of him in my palm. His sex is as hefty as it looks, thick enough that I can’t even completely enclose my fingers around it. It doesn’t seem to limit his enjoyment, however. His body sways, thrusting against every stroke, his brow knotting with strain as his skin ripples with a shiver. The feeling of control is euphoric. Just knowing that much has rendered this giant male as docile as a kitten intensifies my arousal.

  I know that’s only an illusion, and I see the truth of the matter when he suddenly bares his teeth in a savage smile, shattering my fantasy of control. My clit pulses with my sharp spike of arousal as he yanks my hand off of him and pins it to the bed above my head. My other hand soon joins the first, and I’ve gone from powerful to sacrificial offering all that quickly.

  Pressing his hips down, he wedges them between my thighs. I can feel the head of his cock teasing the slick folds of my pussy, but he doesn’t push forward any further. Instead, his head drops to my neck, his large body arching in a way that has to be uncomfortable in order to reach it, and his long tongue snakes out to stroke from between my breasts to an erotic point just behind my ear. His hot breath fans over the sensitive lobe.

  “Do you come to this willingly, my Lynn?”

  My belly clenches at the heat in his raspy voice and I groan, my fingernails scraping against his back. “Yes… now hurry up.”

  He chuckles and presses his lips against my neck again as his hips push forward driving his cock slowly into me. I moan as my sex stretches with both burning pain and a most exquisite pleasure. The head of his cock and the cool metal of the piercing rubs against the sensitive flesh of my channel in such a way that it makes me clench down hard against its invasion, the muscles fluttering with the first spasm of true pleasure.

  Snarling into my hair, Bodi whispers a hoarse apology and then suddenly thrusts forward, plowing deep with a brutal surge that brings my ass up off the bed as I scream. Pain and ecstasy meld in one perfect moment, and on the next breath he withdraws and presses forward again with an urgency that I can feel also quickening in my own blood. My nails dig into the thick muscles of his back, and a ragged moan is torn from him that makes his hips spasm, grinding his cock deeper. Next to my head, I can see his fingers curling into the bed, his claws digging deep even as his other arm slides beneath me to wrap around my waist.

  Drawing me flush against him, he begins to rut in earnest, his balls slapping against my ass with every flex of his hips. I can feel the slightest prick of his claws, but it doesn’t scare me. The tiny sting makes me moan louder, my legs loop around his thighs as I grind forward, meeting every thrust. Tiny tremors spark and ignite, making my channel grip hard and pulse around him with every shock as tension winds increasingly tighter deep within me to the point that my legs jerk and quiver against him.

  Bodi snarls, his own large body shuddering as he curls over me, his dark hair falling around us like a dense curtain as he pounds desperately into my body. I can feel his cock swelling, hardening further. It twitches and his eyes roll up into the back of his head for a moment. His hand holding down my wrists tightens as his entire body suddenly jerks against mine, throwing him off rhythm into a wild pace, carrying me on a wave of pleasure with him.

  A scream tears from my throat as my orgasm snaps like a rubber band, shooting a wave of pulsing fire up my spine with my release. Bodi roars as he thrusts deep and grinds in rapid movements as his cock jumps against the mouth of my womb, spurting hot seed. He doesn’t stop grinding, releasing waves of pleasure through me as my orgasm stretches on and on until, at last, his giant body rolls away, his half-flaccid cock slipping out of me with an erotic tug as he curls up onto his side and drags me into his warm embrace.

  We lie there for a time to catch our breath until Casper starts to meow impatiently from his carrier in a volume loud enough to be easily heard from the main room. Bodi chuckles and pushes himself upright, his eyes warm with humor and affection as he gazes down at me.

  “Come, lanara. Your beast awaits, and I am famished. I will put together a simple breakfast while you care for his needs.”

  Stretching lazily, I return his smile and slide off the bed after him, my body delightfully sore. That was better than even the fantasy of my dreams had failed to provide. I’m definitely going to take every opportunity to enjoy that again as often as possible.

  As I follow him out of the room and release an indignant cat, I idly wonder if his table is big enough to break in with another round.

  As it happens, it was, and our lunch was a little delayed. I have zero regrets.

  Chapter 20

  Bodi

  My mate is perfect. Reclining beside her, I’m completely entranced with the vision she makes slumbering sweetly beside me. Her face flushed with sleep, her lips parted and plush, and her eyelashes fanned out against her cheeks like butterfly wings, I’ve never seen a sigh
t more peaceful or beautiful.

  I stroke my hand lightly down her back, marveling at the gift that the gods have granted me, my hand trailing down to her rounded bottom that is fully presented to me since, at some point during her slumber, she turned onto her belly. My hand slaps the marvelous, quilt-covered mound, jolting my mate awake. She squeaks in surprise, and blue eyes fly open to glare at me.

  “Wake up!” I greet her cheerfully.

  Her lip curling, my Lynn growls in protest. Rolling slightly to her side, she pulls down the quilt further to properly glare up at me. She is such an adorable sight that it just makes me grin wider, my heart filled with joy from the newly forged bloodbond pulsing with life between us.

  “What the hell are you doing? I just got to sleep a few hours ago,” she grumbles, yanking the quilt up to pull it back over her head as she flops back down onto the pillow. “Go away and wake me at a less insane hour.”

  Ha! She should know by now that I am not that easy to deter!

  I chuckle and yank the blanket free and tsk. “Nope. You have been asleep for a good eight hours. It is long enough. We are having an adventure today.”

  Blue eyes narrow on me with a chilliness that arouses me painfully.

  “Bodi…” she says slowly, enunciating carefully as if to make sure that there is no chance of me mistaking her while she attempts to not kill me. The gods have certainly blessed me with her sweet, caring soul, even if she is glaring at me as if she were cursed.

  I get the impression that my mate doesn’t like mornings.

  “I don’t care how long I’ve slept,” she growls. “If you value your life, and hope for any kind of adventure or even a repeat of last night, you will walk out the door and pretend that you were never in here…”

  Time for a distraction.

  I turn and snatch up the cup of coffee waiting behind me and shove it under her nose. She blinks, her eyes widening slightly.