Page 22 of Guarded By the Orc

After my night with Rudgar, it was as if the memory was making itself known. I needed to remember so I could protecthim. I swore under my breath before pulling away to look up at him.

Haunted eyes met mine and he swept my hair behind my ears, swallowing hard as he studied my face. Realization made the blood drain from my face.

“You saw,” I gasped, studying him at length. My powers were erratic at times and when I was at my most vulnerable—like when I was asleep, I projected my dreams to people who were nearby. It had been especially awkward when I was a lust-crazed teenager living with my mom.

A slow nod was my only answer. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away from him, but he hugged himself around my back, pulling me against him.

“I wish I could have protected you, Gul-ar,” he whispered, his voice heavy with regret and sadness. “I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I told him, scrubbing my hand over my face. “It wasmine.”

“Your fault that you wereabducted,” he murmured, against my hair. “Because that makes sense.”

“About as much sense as you blaming yourself when you didn’t even know me,” I told him, sniffing with indignation. Even when I was down and out, I had enough sass to last me a lifetime.

“Touché,” he snorted, rubbing his big palms up and down my arms, making me realize I was shivering again. “Let’s not fight,Gul-ar. Let me hold you.”

“You saw everything,” I told him in a low voice, turning to peek up at him. “You know you shouldn’t be near me.”

“I don’t know any such thing,” he whispered, tipping my chin up until I was looking into his beautiful blue gaze. “You’re mine. And you know what I’m saying to you.”

I’m his mate.

I swallowed hard, nodding, but praying that he wouldn’t say the words. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t have a mate right now. The timing was too atrocious.

I’d been so close to throwing myself at him the night before. If we hadn’t stopped—

The thought trailed off as I cupped the side of his face. I couldn’t lose him. We barely knew each other, but I understood that something more was happening here. Somethingbig. And that meant that I couldn’t have sex with this male.

I pulled away, but he kept my hand on his face. “No, Gul-ar. No. You can’t pull away now,” he murmured, his eyes intent on mine.

How does he know what I’m thinking?

“I’m cursed and—”

“And we know the bounds of the curse,” he said with a nod, tugging me closer until he was holding me in his strong arms. I was stiff against him, but he didn’t move, running his palm over my back. “We touched last night and nothing happened to me. I’m here. I’m safe.”

I blinked, my mind clinging to his words. Wehadtouched last night. More than touched. We’d licked each other and sucked each other. His fingers had beeninsideme. Yet hewashere.Safe, just like he’d said.

“H-how is that possible?” I asked, murmuring the words against his throat.

“His curse,” he said, his voice pitched low and soothing. “It’sprobably only for if you have sex.”

“With anyone other than him,” I finished, struggling not to gag at the imagery in my head. “I guess since I’m the vessel of my generation, he didn’t care who I was with as long as he was the only one who was fucking his precious heir into me,” I added, a disgusted scowl crossing my face.

His growl of fury startled me from my thoughts, and I ran my fingers over his chest, soothing him until his growl became a purr.

“That’s never going to happen,” he told me, swiping his tongue across the side of my neck. “He’ll never get his hands on you.”

Even now, our reaction to each other left me in awe. I’d settled him with a simple touch and he’d brought me out of my anxiety with one sentence.

“Never,” I agreed, snuggling against him, trying to push the memories of my time with Veron into the back of my mind.

“Did he—” Rudgar trailed off, burying his face in my hair and I felt his huge, strong body shudder against mine. “You can tell me if he—” he started again, only to stop himself from speaking, swallowing hard.

“No,” I whispered, running my fingers up and down his back, touching the muscles and basking in his protection. “He was waiting for the perfect time. He wasn’t attracted to me like that. I was just… a vessel to him. A body to carry his child. The others talked about it,” I said with a shake of my head. “But they never had the chance. I wonder if he bothered to tell them about the curse, or if he was using it as a test of their loyalty to him.”

He squeezed me against him—so tight I could barely breathe—but I loved every second of it. The connection between us was so strong. “I won’t ever let him have you again, Gul-ar. I promise you.”

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