Page 28 of Bound to the Orc Warrior

He remains sitting completely still outside the tent.

“Well?” I give the bed beside me a pat, the luxurious fur soft against my palm. My fingers dig in. God, what would it feel like to roll around in these naked?

“I will stand guard.”

“And be too tired to do anything tomorrow? How’s that going to help?”

“I am an orc warrior, one of the finest.” His face goes hard. “It will take far more than one missed night of sleep to impede me.”

He starts to turn away, and I reach toward him. “Wait.” When he faces me again, I say. “Will you stay for me? It’s my first night in a new world, and…” I let my voice trail off. I’m not actually afraid—not with Wranth around—but it’s true I don’t feel like being alone.

Wranth’s expression finally softens, and he unbuckles his sword. “For you, I will stay.”

The leather tent seemed big with only me in it, but Wranth’s huge body fills the space. Heat pours from him, along with the pleasing scent of his skin laced with pine and leather.

We settle onto the furs on our sides, facing each other, and I drape my cardigan over me. Just enough firelight makes it into the tent for me to catch light reflecting off Wranth’s open eyes.

A yawn cracks my jaw. It’s been such a long day, and I didn’t really sleep the night before. I murmur, “Night.”

“Sleep well, my bride.” Wranth’s deep voice follows me into my dreams.

Warmth. I wake to the most delicious feeling of warmth. A weight drapes my waist, just heavy enough to be comforting.

I blink open sleepy eyes. The first splash of sunlight lightens the leather of the tent to a golden glow. Sometime in the night, I rolled over and scootched all the way across the middle of the space to snuggle up to Wranth. I eye the distance to the tent wall. Yep. I’m the one that moved.

His huge body spoons mine, all heat and muscle. It’s his arm wrapping around my waist, feeling so right.

I close my eyes, trying hard not to move, not to spoil this one perfect moment. How long has it been since someone held me? Riding the unicorn with Wranth was nice, but this? This is even better. My body wiggles back into his, seeking more connection.

As uncertain as I am about all this insta-married stuff, I’m one-hundred percent on other things. Like how much I love how Wranth felt pressed against me while we rode yesterday, or how he lifts me and moves me around so effortlessly. And then there’s the way Wranth looks at me as if he wants to eat me up.

Is it any wonder I’m interested?

He wakes, his hand flexing on my stomach as every muscle in his body goes rigid with awareness.

My breath catches, my skin burning everywhere we touch. Will he—

“I got up at thisdespicablehour to hunt for you,” Shadow says from right outside the tent. “The least you can do is come eat it.”

Wranth jerks upright, a growl rumbling through his chest as he pulls on his boots.

“We’re coming,” I call out, pushing up to sitting. It’s immediately chilly without Wranth’s warmth, and I shrug into the cardigan as he leaves the tent, letting in a blast of cool air and brightness.

I follow him out into a light-kissed world, with the sun just clearing the trees and sending angled beams of sunlight acrossthe meadow. The flowers blaze with color wherever the light touches, and the tall grass flashes silver as it ripples in the wind.

In the forest behind me, birds warble happily as they dart through the trees in flashes of golden wings. Higher cheeps come from the meadow, the birds there small and brown and adorable in how they hop and peck at the ground.

The air’s so clean it smells sweet, and I take a deep breath as I throw my arms overhead in a stretch. When I unwrap my hair, my curls settle around my face, well protected by my improvised sleep cap. After grabbing the cleaning cloth and a waterskin, I duck into the trees to use the bathroom.

When I return to the campsite, Zephyr grazes nearby, Shadow sits close to the fire, one rear leg held up at a diagonal while he lazily licks at his knee.

Wranth’s got the fire going and hands me a pewter cup of steaming liquid. The fresh smell of mint teases my nose a split second before the flavor rolls across my tongue.

I hum happily and grin at him. “Thanks.”

The corner of his mouth lifts in his little half smile, and right then and there I determine that’s my favorite smile of all the smiles that have ever been smiled.

“Can I help?” I ask as he starts to prepare breakfast.

---