Page 36 of His Orc Lady

But Owen grips my knees and spreads my legs wider, staring straight down at my pussy. “No, Mara. I never want you to stop. I want to know every single thing that makes you feel good. And if I do anything you don’t like, ever, I need to know that, too.” He shakes his head. “You don’t know how much I want to feel you clenching around my cock, sweetheart.”

I squirm under his gaze, fighting the urge to close my legs. “You won’t have to wonder much longer.”

As far as preparation goes, this was very enjoyable, but I’ve been waiting for him to claim me fully—and I know he wants it. His cock is straining against the fabric of his pants, a ridge that tells me it’sdefinitelylonger than his fingers.

But Owen hunches his shoulders and heaves a great sigh, then moves farther down the bed and closes my knees again.

I shove up onto my elbows, staring at him in confusion. “What are you doing?”

He sits by my feet, one hand still wrapped around my ankle as if he can’t bear to let me go.

“Owen?”

In the aftermath of my climax, my body is cooling down, so I drag up a blanket, covering my belly and breasts.

My mate hangs his head and scrunches his eyes shut, his nostrils flaring on a deep inhale. “I can’t do it, Mara. Not like this.”

I pull my foot from his grasp. “What do you mean?”

He lifts his chin to stare at me, his blue eyes serious. “I’ve been a soldier for more than half my life.”

I frown at him because I don’t understand where this is going. “Aye, you’ve said so.”

“And I’ve learned that going into battle with only half the information is the surest way to get killed.” He grips the mattress with both hands, squeezing his fists. “I feel like I’m only seeing a part of what’s going on here, and I don’t like it.”

A chill goes through me at his words, so I draw the blanket higher and shuffle up the bed to lean against the headboard. “Oh? Is that what you’re doing? Going into battle?”

He cocks his head to the side, considering me. “It does feel that way, doesn’t it?”

I can’t lie to him anymore, I know that much. Not that I did before. I simply…withheld some crucial information. So I know he’s right, and itisunfair that he’s only working with what he’s been able to glean from watching others in the Hill.

But I need to know where his heart is at before I tell him anything more, before I let him in. He has the power to hurt me so badly, and I’m already dreading the moment of truth.

“Why did you touch me, then?” I motion at the space between us. “Why dothatand then stop?”

His gaze ignites with an inner fire, scorching me with its intensity. “Because I couldn’t stay away. If I didn’t touch you, if I didn’t get a taste, I would have gone mad.” He leans in to add, “And I don’t regret it. Do you?”

“No.” The answer falls from my lips immediately. “I wanted it—I wanted more.”

His lips quirk up in a dry smile. “So did I, sweetheart. But as I said, it’s folly to go into battle without knowing the lay of the land.”

It occurs to me then that he might be just as worried as me—that he’ll get hurt, that I will take more from him than he has to give. If there’s any chance he’s feeling the same attraction I am, even though he’s human, isn’t it cruel of me to hold back? To keep him in the dark for as long as I have?

“You keep talking about battles,” I murmur, fiddling with the edge of my blanket. “What are you fighting for, Captain?”

He gazes at me, his jaw working. “You’d think my answer would be the Duke of Ultrup’s benefit, yes? He’s sent this envoy here to find out more about how your clan works, about how your kingdom is this prosperous despite having poorer land and very little trade.”

I jerk up, my spine snapping straight at his answer. Of course, we’d suspected as much, Gorvor and I, when we talked about the imminent arrival of the duke’s ambassador. At the time, we didn’t know it would be Lady Willow, of course, but we were curious about the purpose of the ambassador’s visit. To hear Owen admit it so plainly…

“You’ve been spying on us? On me?”

Worry spikes inside me, sudden and hot. What if I’ve said something to him that could be used against our clan? Have I given away information without knowing?

“Not me.” Owen shakes his head, that wry smile in place again. “I’m but a lowly soldier in the end. That role fell to Willow, though I think she might be rethinking her mission here.”

Because she found her mate. I think of how she’d stared at Ozork from their very first meeting, how she hung on his every word, cherished every touch, just as he had.

I’ll still have to talk to Gorvor about this. I trust Ozork with my life, but hecouldbe blinded by his attraction to her. Willow doesn’t seem like a woman who would use her wiles on an honorable man, but I’ve only met her this week, which is to say I don’t know her as well as I’d like.

---