Page 76 of Bound to the Orc Guardian

To pass the time, Selena and I sing. We practice the Moon Goddess song a few more times through, me wanting to make sure I have all of the unknown words completely correct. Then she asks me to teach her a song, the one I sang for her that first night to chase away her bad dreams, the one I sang to her only this morning as I held her in my furs.

So I sing each verse ofUnder the Apple Treeuntil she learns the lyrics. The first couple of times she sings it with me, mimicking the melody in her higher register. Then we begin to harmonize, her voice dancing with mine, dipping and soaring in a playful way I’ve never tried with anyone before.

Together, we create a new version, her sweet soprano soaring to delightful heights as my baritone carries the main tune, dipping lower upon occasion to punctuate a particular turn of phrase.

We finish the song through, and I squeeze her close, singing the first verse into her ear one last time.

Come, lay thee under the apple tree,

And I’ll eat your fruit all night.

For you are the lovely lass for me,

Who bathes my heart in light.

Never have the words been truer, for my moon bound bride is the sun of my heart and life.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Selena

Two days later, Dash runs so hard, his effort becomes a constant pull on my magic.

I pat his neck. “Are you certain you’re not overdoing it?”

Bella indeed beat us to the rendezvous that first evening. She teased him about it, and they bickered back and forth until I bent over, holding my stomach because I laughed so hard.

The next day, they tied, him trotting into the meadow right as she winged infrom above.

Dash seems hell bent on winning today. He wouldn’t even let us stop for lunch, insisting we eat while riding. “I’m fine.”

As if to prove it, he puts on another burst of speed, and the already whirling landscape around us blurs even further.

My magic pours into him, healing his legs and back constantly. My nerves start to burn, and I reach into my jacket pocket and let my fingers play over the crystal I kept, its touch immediately soothing and allowing me to send Dash an extra pulse of healing power.

Sturrm murmurs in my ear, “We just crossed into orc lands.”

“How do you know?”

“I can feel it.”

That’s good—it means we’re close to our stopping place for the day.

“Tomorrow night, I will have you in my furs, safe in the privacy of our cottage.” He leans close, his deep voice vibrating with so much heated promise that I start to tingle.

“I can’t wait!” We’ve slept in each other’s arms the last couple of nights, holding each other close and keeping bad dreams away. But there’s been no privacy or time for loving. And I can’t help wondering about his knot and what it will feel like, filling me full. Surely our first night in his home—ourhome—will be the time we finally join for real.

My core gives a needy clench.

“I can smell you,” he murmurs, his cock hard against my butt.

“Good.” I shimmy my hips. “You have more work to do to make things up to me.”

“The sweetest of labors.” Sturrm nips my ear with his tusks, forcing me to bite back a moan.

Dash keeps running for another ten minutes before slowing.

Pine trees snap into clarity around us, the air full of their fresh scent. Ferns cover the ground, broken here and there by moss-covered stones topped with purple mushrooms. It’s all so beautiful. I never realized how much I missed out on by being a city girl, not that trips to the Everglades ever looked like this. But I bet even a pine forest on Earth wouldn’t match up—half of Alarria’s allure is the magic that suffuses everything around me, filling it with color and life.

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