Page 48 of The Orc Outcast's Conquest

“Then you could see what a female orc might look like.”

His efforts were rewarded instantly as Miranda burst with full, rich laughter. The sound was so sweet and alluring that his jaw loosened, and he did not even bother to shut it.

“Oh my god, Govek.” She wiped at her eyes, her smile still beaming bright.

This was, perhaps, the first time he had ever pulled a woman into mirth. Warmth burst in his chest and soaked through his veins, breathed life right into him. She was so beautiful in her happiness it was almost painful.

“I don’t think even a dress would work, though.” Miranda’s tone was light and her eyes danced. “You’re definitely an orc. A really badass orc.”

His brows furrowed. She didn’t appear angry but her words sounded like an insult. What had he done to earn her ire? What could he gift her to make that ire quell?

She rushed in, “I mean, cool—er, awesome, sexy—ah frick. I’mma shut up now.”

Govek’s throat tightened. Was Miranda upset with him or was she complimenting him?

“Go ahead and do your thing,” she insisted. “I swear I won’t bother you. Again.”

He wished she would. He wished she would make easy demands of him the way Yerina had. Tell him exactly what she wanted so he could get on with earning her favor.

But he supposed the bath was what she truly desired.

With a nod to her, he turned back to the spring and dipped his hands into the icy water again, connecting to the Fades’ energy and forcing his way through the grime of the outer woods.

The light went from a pinprick to blazing inferno so fast it blinded him.

Govek yelped in shock and rocketed back from the water. His head swam from the magical surge he’d lost control of. Fuck, it hadn’t even been his temper that had made the magic spiral. His muscles tingled, and he flexed his hands, cutting off his connection to the Fades completely.

“Are you okay?” Miranda was near him now, crouching at his side. Her gaze was on his hands. “Are your hands okay? Oh god. That water is boiling.”

Boiling? He looked to find the pool bellowing steam and bubbling. It put off enough heat that he felt it from where he sat on the bank.

What the fuck had happened? He’d never been able to connect to the Fades so quickly. Not even at Clairton. Not even from within the Great Rove Tree itself.

“Are your hands burned?” Gentle touches brushed his skin. The spring’s healing properties had already taken the burns from blisters to simply raw. But he certainly wasn’t about to stop Miranda’s gentle, caressing touches. And fuck all, did she touch him! Her gentle fingertips grazed over each line of his palms, traced up his fingers, soothed over the tips where his claws were hidden. She trailed her hands up his wrists and over his forearms, and Govek resisted the need to shiver.

Fades be praised! Her touch was bliss.

“I think you’re okay,” she said, her voice as much a balm as the spring water.

“Don’t go in yet,” he ordered. “It’s too hot.”

She shot him a harsh, exasperated look and he stilled, mesmerized. Not even Yerina had been brave enough to look at him this way. “You really think I’m that dumb?”

“No.” The word came out strangled.

She reached up and rustled his hair. Judging from the smirk, she intended to be playful, but fuck, it felt so blasted good. His eyes fluttered closed and he let out a sigh so gusty it emptied his lungs.

“You’re a little touch starved, aren’t you?”

Govek’s eyes shot open, and he confirmed that she looked just as breathless as her tone had portrayed. Her cheeks were pink, her full lips were red, and her eyes sparkled in the dazzling sunlight.

He wanted to keep her.

He wanted her to want him. Not as a conquest, but as a mate.

Fades, where had that even come from? He was losing his blasted head. He knew that. But he still wanted every drop of Miranda’s affection. He wanted to be greedy with it. Keep it all for himself. He wanted her to cleave to him and want him and grow her own attachment to him; to mirror the imprint that was raging through his veins, ravaging his senses.

He would gift her any number of boons to make that happen, perform any acts and go to whatever ends her whims demanded.

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