Page 11 of The Orc's Promised Bride

She sucked in a breath. The sorrow in his voice was unmistakable but the thought of another society focused on reproduction made her stomach clench, and she quickly changed the subject.

“Why are you out here instead of there?”

His shoulders tensed as he poked at the fire with a long branch, sending sparks dancing into the night air.

“I was at Port Cael. For… a gathering, an important gathering. But things did not go as planned.”

Something in his tone made her look up. Pain flickered across his features, quickly masked by a casual shrug. She recognized that expression - that careful hiding of hurt behind indifference.

“I decided to travel for a while. To clear my head before returning home.”

He tried to smile again, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Is this place - Port Cael - a big city?” she asked hopefully. Perhaps she could find some answers there.

“Large enough. It is the trading port closest to the Western Sea.”

The deep rumble of his voice mixed with the crackling fire and the warm spices of the tea as he described the town. Her muscles ached from the long day of stumbling through the forest, and the terror of the attack had drained what little energy she had left. Her eyelids grew heavy as he told her about the bustling port.

The next thing she knew, her cheek was pressed against something warm and solid. An arm curved protectively around her shoulders. For a blissful moment, she felt safe, cherished-

Reality came crashing back along with unwanted memories - arms that had gripped her too tightly and refused to let her go. She jerked away, her pulse fluttering wildly.

He instantly dropped his arm and shifted away, giving her space, palms raised.

“I’m sorry. You fell asleep. I did not mean-”

“It’s fine.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, forcing slow breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. The panic receded, leaving shame in its wake. He’d saved her life, treated herwounds, given her food and shelter. Yet here she was, flinching away like he was a monster.

But she couldn’t afford to let her guard down. Not even here, not even with him. No matter how kind his eyes or gentle his touch. She’d learned that lesson the hard way.

CHAPTER 7

Lothar woke as soon as the first rays of dawn filtered through the trees. A warm weight pressed against his chest, and his heart skipped at the sight of Jana curled into him, her dark hair spilling across his arm. Her face held a peaceful expression he hadn’t seen before, free from the wariness that had been so prevalent the previous night.

She had refused to take his bedroll and they had finally agreed to share it, even though she’d held herself so rigidly it made his heart ache. He’d forced his breathing into the slow, steady rhythm of sleep and she eventually relaxed enough to drift off. He hadn’t expected to follow her into slumber, and he certainly hadn’t expected her to turn to him.

He wanted nothing more than to pull her closer, to breathe in her scent and savor this moment. His fingers itched to stroke her hair and trace the delicate line of her collarbone and slip beneath the wide neckline of her shirt… His cock stirred at the thought, but the memory of her panic the previous night when she’d jerked awake against his shoulder prevented him from moving. Whatever had happened to make her so fearful of touch, he refused to add to that burden.

She mumbled something incoherent and shifted, nuzzling closer against his chest. The mate bond sang with joy, and he couldn’t help smiling. His breath caught when her hand settled low against his stomach, the innocent touch sending heat rushing through him.

It was too easy to imagine waking up like this every day, seeing her peaceful, sleepy face every morning. But the fantasy faded, replaced by uncertainty. Until he knew why she was here, until he knew whether or not another male waited for her…

A low grumble vibrated through his chest at the thought and the Curse shivered across his skin.

Her eyes blinked open, and the peaceful contentment disappeared.

“I’m sorry. I must have rolled over while I was asleep.”

She pushed away from him, her expression carefully blank, and he made no attempt to pull her back into his arms.

“It’s fine.”

He carefully extracted himself from the bedroll, making sure to leave his cloak tucked around her shoulders before moving to the fire pit. As he coaxed the embers back to life, his mind churned with possibilities. The mate bond hummed between them, but he couldn’t ignore her fear. Port Cael was two days’ walk, and she could barely hobble on that ankle.

He pulled dried grain and berries from his pack, along with the herbs he used for morning tea. Unlike his brother Egon, he wasn’t much of a cook, but he could manage a simple breakfast. Once the water boiled, he set the tea aside to steep and stirredgrain and berries into the remaining water, then started another pot of water for washing.

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