The Orc and the Innkeeper (Elderberry Falls, #1)

by Cora Crane

Finally, he pulls back and gazes up at me. His green skin glistens with my arousal, tusks flashing as he licks his lips.

“That’s just the beginning of the apologies I have in store for you,” he growls.

“Thorak, I can’t apologize enough about Ma and Da,” a voice loudly declares into the space. It’s Thorak’s sister, Gruna. I hiss, pushing Thorak away and quickly sliding off the counter and pulling my dress back down around my thighs as Gruna appears around the corner.

Gruna pulls up short as she takes in the scene before her—me hastily adjusting my dress, Thorak’s face glistening, the charged energy still crackling between us. Her eyes widen. “Oh,” she says, clearly shocked. “I’m sorry, I thought it would just be Thorak here. I’ll, uh, I’ll give you some space⁠—”

Just then, the front door swings open. I glance up to find Thorak striding in purposefully, his broad shoulders filling the doorframe. My heart skips a beat at the sight of him.

“Mariah,” he murmurs, his voice a deep rumble that I can feel in my bones. “I’m aware this is unexpected. For both of us. But I need you to know that what happened between us wasn’t just physical for me.”

“Hey,” he says softly, ducking his head to catch my gaze. “We don’t have to figure it all out right now. I just...I wanted you to know where I stand. That this means something to me. You mean something to me, Mariah. And if you decide you don’t want something romantic with me, that’s okay. I’d like to be in your life and I’ll take that role in whatever way works best for you.”

“I should go.” His deep voice is rough with pent-up emotion. “But, Mariah, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

“Damn, Mariah!” the older woman exclaims, her voice pitched high with excitement. “What a man! I mean, did you see the way he was looking at you? Like you hung the freaking moon!”

“I haven’t seen chemistry like that since I accidentally mixed salamander spittle and dragon horn dust and nearly blew up my house!”

Love is a risk, babe. A leap of faith. No one can ever know for sure how it’ll turn out. But if you don’t jump, you’ll never fly.”

I make my way towards her, a schoolboy blush rising on my cheeks. It’s only been a few hours since I came by to talk to her, but it seems like an eternity. The memory of her soft skin beneath my hands sends a fresh wave of desire crashing through me.

“Bravo!” he shouts, his voice carrying over the din. “Absolutely magnificent!” Then he turns to me, clapping me on the shoulder. “I have to go call my wife and tell her about this. She’ll never believe it. Magical music…”

“Do you like that, Mariah?” Thorak says around my breast. He licks my nipple again and I moan. “I want to know everything you like, and then show you again and again how well I can learn…”

“I’m sorry for how I treated you,” Thorak growls against my sensitive flesh, the vibrations making me pant. His groveling is taking me to a higher place than I knew I could ever go. “Please, please forgive me.” He flicks the swollen bud of my clit with the tip of his tongue.

“Show me how sorry you are,” I demand. “Prove it to me.”

Thorak plunges his huge tongue inside me, thrusting in and out, mimicking what I’m dying to feel. Then he focuses on my clit again, lashing the swollen pearl relentlessly while slipping one thick finger into my tight channel.

“That’s it, Mariah,” Thorak rumbles, his deep voice vibrating through me. “Let me make you feel good. Let me show you how much I’ll try.” His pleading words are my undoing.

I grind down instinctively, seeking more friction. Thorak’s hands fly to my hips and he groans. “You’re not done begging for forgiveness yet, are you?” I ask. “I still need a lot of convincing.”

“I need you, Thorak. All of you.”

His massive green body is a work of art—all sculpted muscle and raw power. My eyes drift lower, widening at the sight of his enormous, thick cock jutting proudly from a nest of black curls.

I’ve been with monsters before but never an orc, and Thorak is...big. Really big. His cock juts proudly away from his body, long and thick, swollen with need. The dark green, pointed head glistens with precum.

“Now, Thorak,” I say, pulling him closer. “Beg.”

“Please,” he begs. “Please forgive me.” He slides his huge cock against my folds and I can’t help the moan that escapes. I want to keep hearing him grovel, but I want him inside of me even more. I lift my hips up toward his.

“Tell me if it’s too much,” he murmurs against my lips. “We’ll go slow.”

Thorak keeps his eyes locked on mine as he starts to push inside me, murmuring, “I’m sorr...

The first press of his massive cockhead against my opening makes me gasp. Even slick with lube, he stretches me more tha...

Thorak slowly sinks into me, his eyes never leaving my face, plea...

When he’s finally buried to the hilt, we both groan at the feeling of completeness. “Gods, Mariah,” Thorak rumbles, his voice strained. “I can’t believe how incredible you

“Thorak, move,” I plead breathlessly. “I need you to move.”

With each thrust, he begs, “Forgive me.” “Yes, Thorak, just like that,” I moan, my nails digging into his muscular back. “Grovel while you fuck me.” The power I have over him is intoxicating, heady.

I wrap my legs around his large waist, tilting my hips to take him even deeper. The new angle allows his cock to hit that perfect spot inside me with every thrust, sending explosions of ecstasy through my body.

“Mariah,” Thorak groans, his deep voice strained with pleasure. “I’m so sorry. I’ve wanted this for so long...” His words inflame me even more, knowing he’s fantasized about this moment for years, wanting me even as I hated him.

“Mariah, I’m close,” he grits out, his muscles tensing above me. “But all I care about is you. Let me make you come first.”

I know I should slip away, get to the brewery early to get the day’s operations started. But my entire body rebels at the thought of leaving Mariah’s embrace.

We orcs mate for life, but I’ve never understood the true depth of that bond. With Ygra, I couldn’t get myself to a place where I ever wanted to make that commitment, to tie myself to her side for eternity. But after last night, my world has been turned on its head. I would do anything to get Mariah to accept me as her mate.

“Oh, so he lives,” she says, a playful tone in her voice. “I missed you this morning. I was hoping for a third go. Where did you run off to?”

Ygra points to the ring on my finger, the one Thorak gave me as the ring for our fake engagement. “Oh, and look what you’re wearing! Isn’t that precious? That was my old promise ring from Thorak. It’s so cute that he gave it to you for your little fake-engagement charade!”

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Bout to lose my shit WTF OMG whattttttt

Thorak played me. Again. And like

I freeze, zeroing in on Ygra’s hand. No. It can’t be. There on her finger sits my family’s heirloom engagement ring, the very one passed down for generations. The one my father gave my mother when he proposed. The one my mother always told me was meant for my future wife, whoever she may be.

“What the fuck, Ygra?” I demand, anger reigniting in an instant. “Where did you get that ring?” Ygra at least has the decency to look sheepish. “Your mother gave it to me. She believes we belong together, that I’m the right woman for you.” I see red. The audacity, the nerve, the utter disrespect⁠—

“She had no right!” I bellow, startling Snuffles. “No fucking right to give that to you. To inte...

“She’s not the only one who thinks we should be together. Why do you think I’ve been walking Snuffles around town, wearing this ring? People support us, Thorak. They know we’re meant to be. Even that little human gi...

My blood runs cold. Mariah. Oh no. If Ygra’s been flaunting that ring around Elderberry Falls, ...

“This conversation is over,” I growl at Ygra. “Bring that ring back to my mother and don’t ever let me catch you wearing it again. We’re done, Ygra. You need to accept that, and move on.”

She’s gone. And it’s all my fault. Desolation crashes over me in waves. What have I done? How could I let things spiral so far out of control?

Snuffles nudges my leg with a concerned snort, but I barely sense it. All I feel is the void opening up inside me, a black hole where my heart used to be.

“What just happened?” I whisper, my voice cracking with emotion. In the blink of an eye, the entire future I’ve imagined for myself is…gone.

Thorak’s wounded look when I confronted him in the town square yesterday. The way his voice cracked as he called after me.

“Mariah...” My head snaps up and I find myself staring into Thorak’s solemn face. He stands at the edge of the garden, hands awkwardly shoved in his pockets, looking uncharacteristically uncertain.