Part of Torren’s mind jumped for joy and suggested that he cut himself more often before hismon sense stomped on the idea rather harshly. Perhaps a light self-bludgeoning might still get her attention?
Torren shook his head and offered up a broad smile that was perhaps a little too big for his heavy-set, youthful features. He reminded Talina of a rather dopey and overgrown puppy.
“H-hello Talina, I’m sorry about-” His voice caught in his throat. He gulped again. “Is there something you wanted?”
“Yes, and it doesn’t include you bleeding out. So sit still.” She continued cleaning his thumb and Torren sat patiently as she worked. Once the wound was clean, she examined the cut and decided it would heal easily enough before applying a torn piece of cloth as a makeshift bandage. “There, now don’t go ripping it open or getting it dirty. Understand?”
As her pointed finger was thrust mere millimetres from the tip of his nose, he nodded a little too quickly and then remembered to start breathing again.
“Good. Now, I came here to try to find out what, in all the dark realms, happened on the day when Freddie managed to get free.”
“Freddie?” Torren looked puzzled yet attentive.
“Freddie.” Talina nodded before borating. “You know, the imbecile that my master had chained to a post out there who somehow got free of his bonds and almost burned the camp down around our heads?”
“Oh! Him!” A light emerged in Torren’s eyes before it faded away to be stifled altogether by a frown. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what help I can be. I didn’t even really see what happened until it was over.”
“You saw the corrosion of the prisoner’s bonds.”
Torren nodded.
“Good,” Talina continued, “then that is a good ce to begin.”
“Well, as I said, I didn’t see what happened, but when I figured out that he’d escaped I ran to the post we’d chained him to. I wondered how he could have gotten free of it. I buried the thing deep into the earth and it was solid iron. Good iron too.”
“And then you discovered it had withered.”
“Aye. The thing looked like it had been bathed in acid and after being set out to rust for ten years. I remembered a potion that Valise had given me and I told of it. I didn’t mean to get anyone in trouble.”
“You did what you were asked by those who you respect. There is no fault in all this for you.” Talina patted his injured hand gently. Her touch made his skin tingle.
“Thank you, but I feel bad about it all the same.”
“As do many of us. Do you know of any others who use Valise’s potions to make their crafts?”
“I know the smith in the human diplomat’s camp sometimeses to her for help like I do if he gets stuck. Orcs don’t usually bother though unless they’ve tried everything they can ande up short. You should ask her though. I don’t like speaking another’s business.”
Talina smiled openly at that. “Then you have an honest soul. Such a rarity.”
“Not too rare amongst orcs,” Torren chuckled softly. The orcs were indeed a rather straightforward people. “But thank you.”
Talina stood up before him and his eyes followed hers rather than settling on the appealing, smooth curves of her mostly-bared body. She noticed it and let out a little, enigmaticugh of her own.
“Torren, why do you never visit me? Do you have a woman hidden away?”
He suddenly felt his face taking on the temperature of a small sun once again.
“N-no! I am too busy here. With my work.” He felt the need to add that it was his work that kept him from her rather than anything else he might be doing alone in his tent at night.
“Then you work too hard.” She rested a hand on her hip and Torren had to really concentrate in order to not look over her delectable bikini-d body. “You know, we thought you only had an interest in men. That’s not true though, is it?”
“What!?” Torren’s eyes popped wide open. “No! I just-”
“I think,” Talina leaned forwards and ced a finger upon his babbling lips to silence him, “that there’s another reason you nevere to see us.”
Torren blinked questioningly.
“You like me, don’t you? More than you think you should.”
Torren started to shake his head but Talina kept her finger pressed firmly to his lips in order to silence him and he fell still. A bead of sweat trickled down from his brow.
“Don’t lie to me, Torren. You’ve kept your eyes on mine this whole time. Even your father looks over my body asionally when we talk. It is why I wear this, after all.” She lifted her other hand and hooked her thumb beneath the golden strap of her little top where it was pulled over her shoulder. The material was lightly flicked back upon her smooth, creamy skin to highlight her point. “But you? You think you can’t look. You think it’s indecent, don’t you? You don’t want me to think you’re being a letch because you care what I think about you. So you always look into my eyes. And you nevere to visit me because you don’t want to be a customer. You want to be more than that.”
She lifted her touch from his lips and gently traced her fingertips along his cheek in a way that almost made him melt into a puddle of very happy goo right there and then.
“I… I just think your eyes are pretty.” Torren said in a somewhat dreamy whisper.
The admission made Talina’s catlike smile widen and her eyes brightened with a beautiful grassy-green shine.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.
“Torren, you know who I am. You know what I do. You know who my master is. My master, who I am very happy with.” The words poured from Talina’s lips like tiny chisels that etched their way into the man’s heart. Then, just before that fragile muscle shattered on the spot, Talina slipped her hand around his head to intece her fingers through his hair and pulled him into a gentle kiss. In all his years longing for the woman, he’d never imagined that she tasted so delicious or that the moment would be sweeter than he’d hoped. The kiss was slow and she lingered until she could taste his passion for her rising when instinct guided him to deepen that delightfully intimate touch.