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He reluctantly left his two lovers in the process of loving each other and made his way back through the jungle toward home. It was difficult to leave them there knowing that they would probably welcome him to join them in some far more sordid activities if he so desired. A very convincing part of him turned almost rebellious at the notion; but he knew that if he didn’t get some treatment for the aches and pains he’d picked up during training he’d regret it come the next day. Even tensing up after that incredible blowjob was now causing the pain in his muscles to return with a vengeance.
The merchant camp was familiar ground, albeit a good deal quieter now the trading caravan had departed for the north. Only a skeleton crew of human slaves remained, and they were mostly the artisans who spent most of the days replenishing Bolut’s stocks. Gregory nodded and smiled at those who greeted him before going about their business. It didn’t take him long to spot Valise preparing their afternoon meal on a skillet over a hot fire. The pure, white dresses she always favoured often caught his eye amongst the colourful sights of the camp.
“Something smells good,” he noted as he approached; watching her throw a cut of meat onto the skillet to give a harsh sizzle.
“It’s Lenian Boar. Noted for their juicy meat, and tusks that can be ground into a potent aphrodisiac.” She turned her head to look at him with a friendly smile.
“Really? Ground boar tusk as an aphrodisiac? That actually works?”
“I wouldn’t know. Giving my current lover an aphrodisiac would be exhausting. He does rather well without any encouragement.”
“Glad to hear it. Do you think you might get any free time soon to stop your current lover from feeling like he’s just been sunbathing under a stampede of Lenian boars?”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
The joke made her smile broaden and her blue eyes glimmer like freshly polished sapphires. She wore her long, silvery-blonde hair uncharacteristically loose about her shoulders. Gregory enjoyed the change immensely. She skewered the meat with a long metal fork and flipped it over to let off a fresh hiss on the skillet.
“I think I might manage it. How did training go today?” she asked.
“Brutal, but rewarding. I think we might actually do some damage when we get back out on the proving grounds. The trick will be to keep from receiving too much damage and watching each other’s backs.”
Valise nodded, her expression growing more serious. She patted the spot on the grass beside her. He nodded and took a seat to continue his thoughts on the day’s training whilst she listened attentively and finished up her cooking. It had become something of a ritual between them, and something that helped immensely to clear his head and get his thoughts straight. He’d tried similar things with Janette and Algra but neither was quite as helpful despite their good intentions.
Janette often interrupted to ask too many questions, which was largely due to her desire to learn how to fight for herself. The habit was endearing and practical, but it often put him off his own train of thought. Algra went rather too far in the other direction and remained silent whilst he spoke. She’d shut him up abruptly on one occasion and explained that her instinct was to do exactly what they were trying not to and fight using traditional orc battle tactics. Again, it was perfectly understandable given that they worked for her, but it made her unsuitable for discussing his miniature tactical revolution.
Valise listened attentively, and had grown familiar enough with him to focus her questions on flaws in his natural way of thinking. He second-guessed himself far too much, and as a result he had a bad habit of over thinking things. She kept him on track. He suspected that she knew quite a bit about military strategy from the things she asked him. For quite a while now, he’d been operating under the assumption that Valise knew everything. It was just easier that way.
“It sounds to me as if you are ready,” she said after he’d finished summing up the session. “And it seems as if the time has come for me to share my past with you.”
Gregory felt an oncoming poignant pause. Yup, there it was.
“Ok then, just one question,” he finally broke the silence. “Is you telling me this somehow going to end up with us being married?”
“What?” Valise lifted a perfectly formed brow at him.
“I don’t know, one day I’m out in the jungle looking for my orc girlfriend and the next thing I know I have a life-mate. This kind of sounds like it might be a big deal, so I just wanted to check first.”
Valise laughed, and the musical sound brought a smile to his face. She finished wrapping the last of the cooked cuts of boar meat into little parcels using fresh leaves. He helped her lift them onto a table where the camp workers could pass by and pick one up for their lunch whilst she tried to rid herself of the giggles.
“Yes, I suppose that must have been a shock,” she agreed. “No. I promise I’m not out to ensnare you, Gregory.”
“That’s alright then. Although to be honest I think you’ve already got me a little bit ensnared, Valise. Do you mind if I snag one of these?” He pointed to the parcels.
“That’s what they’re there for. Shall we go to my tent?”
“Yushlg.” Gregory’s agreement came with a nod despite him already munching on freshly-cooked boar.
They stepped through the camp before arriving at her tent and slipping beneath the canopy. Gregory stopped to snag another of her parcels for her before following on behind her. She wore a sheer white veil across her arms and shoulders that spilled down to the ground about her in smooth waves. He’d never seen the like of the material before. It seemed to glimmer gold under the sun, as if the fabric was soaking up the light. Those gleaming flashes arose between glimpses of the shapely, slender figure beneath. He knew from experience that she often wore little else underneath that gossamer fabric.
He crouched into the tent before taking a seat on the pillow she’d set out for him. It had been commandeered from a pile upon which she slept at the back of the tent, but he now visited her so often that she rarely moved it back to its original place. She liked having a spot for him inside her home.
Once he was seated, he passed over the parcel of boar to where she usually came to rest and she seemed slightly taken aback when she saw it.
“You need to eat too, you know. Besides, this is delicious,” he spoke quickly before taking another bite.
“I am… not supposed to partake of animal meat.” Not that she seemed offended as she slipped off that ethereal gown and let it casually pool on the floor.