Page 47 of The Orc Outcast's Mate

“It is not flattery. It is the truth.”

Her face went hot, and she used her hands to cover her cheeks.

Govek chuckled, and she managed the bravery to look up at him, not wanting to miss seeing him laugh. Dang, he looked so handsome when he was smiling. The deep lines of his face smoothed. His eyes were bright and twinkling.

“Radiant and adorable,” he said with such warmth that a whole-body flush rolled through her.

She would have ducked under the water in embarrassment had his expression not shifted. His brows loosened, his lips curled, and his eyes softened, making her want to swoon.

“Oh gosh, look at you,” she sighed.

He tipped his head in confusion, eyes skittering away for half a second before she touched his face, drawing his attention to her. She trailed her fingers from his temples to his chin.

“Miranda . . . that feels . . .” His eyes were closed, and his whole body went slack.

“There you go. All relaxed,” she said, scratching his scalp again. The cut was so uneven. “I wonder what you would look like with longer hair.”

“I . . . don’t know.”

“You run your hands through it so much when you’re upset, you’d probably end up ripping it out.” She pursed her lips and examined his head. “I’m surprised you don’t cut yourself.”

“Long hair isn’t practical for hunting—” His words cut off as she pulled one of his hands off her hips and looked at his palm.

“The wounds are gone.” She traced where his claws had pricked. “Do orcs naturally heal fast or is it the magic?”

“We heal fast.”

“Thank you.” She leaned in close to his ear. His scent of pine was intoxicating. “For telling me all the things you didn’t want to. And now we can do something much more fun for the both of us.”

“Hmm?” He squirmed under her.

She smirked. “I’mma teach you how to kiss.”

Chapter

Eight

GOVEK

His eyes popped back open just as she was leaning in.

Her plump, hot lips pressed into his, fitting them between his fangs like a dream and coaxing a growl from his throat. She bathed him in her sweet scent, her gentleness. Her tongue licked the seam of his lips.

He jerked in shock, going rigid. Miranda pulled away with a giggle that brought both confusion and delight. She was so fucking gorgeous with a smile on her face he could hardly stand it.

She didn’t pause her attention for long. “Open your mouth, Govek.”

Open his mouth? What the fuck was she saying? He would shred her tender tongue to tatters.

But then her thumb pressed into his chin, unrelenting and swift, and it caught him so off guard that his jaw went slack.

And her tongue snaked into his mouth.

A choked sound escaped him as the taste of her registered. Honeyed and rich. It was like nothing his brain could fathom, like the most intoxicating drug, like sweetness transcended from the realm of the Fades. He wanted more.

Giving into his blasted urges, Govek gripped the back of Miranda’s head and pulled her in deeper. He opened his mouth wider and touched his tongue to hers.

He wanted to clamp down on it, to nibble at her lips and drink her up. To bite her until she was marked by him, branded as his and unable to escape.

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