Page 14 of Orc's Mate

“Not slay a bunch of people.”

“I’d do it in your honor,” I said softly.

She swallowed hard and rubbed my arm, her touch sending heat flaring through me. It centered in my cock, which was going to have to deal with deprivation for some time still.

“Thank you,” she said. “But I’d rather you didn’t. One of them deserves death but let her wallow in the guilt she’ll carry for the rest of her days. That’ll punish her more than the crack of your staff against her head. That would end it much too soon.”

“Say the word, mate,” I said, my voice gone husky. “I vow I’ll do anything to make you happy.”

“You don’t need to.” Her steely gaze met mine. “One day, though I don’t know how it will be possible, vengeance will be mine.”

Yes, she did have the strength she’d need to take on the challenges we’d face living on the island.

She was beautiful. No one would state anything differently. But I did see more than her outer surface.

I saw a woman I could easily love.

Chapter9

Eleri

In a very short time, I’d learned orcs were nothing like what my villagers whispered about with horror tainting their words. Odik was no monster, no savage creature, though I’d already seen how amazing he was in battle. I suspected he could fight off almost anything, and some might consider that savage.

Inside, he truly was a kind person.

My fellow villagers had done the orcs a grave disservice.

I laid on the ground and tentatively lifted my skirt up to my mid-thighs, watching him with my breath hitching in and out of me. I wasn’t frightened. No, I was intrigued.

Maybe I was a foolish woman succumbing to the first male to treat me nicely. I’d drown in what he offered while he’d walk away after, completely unaware of how enthralled I’d become with him.

Although, Odik didn’t appear to be that kind of person. I didn’t know how I could be so sure about this, but I was. He called me his mate, and he meant it.

He’d talked with me, seen how I walked, and he still wanted toclaimme.

Odik stared at my legs for so long, I worried he was suddenly seeing my flaws and judging them as being unworthy of mating with such a fierce and handsome orc. With a curt nod I couldn’t interpret, he moved closer to me, stopping beside my knees.

When he laid his hands on my lower legs, I gasped.

“Pain?” he asked, lifting his hands off me.

“No.”

A frown flickered across his face, but he said nothing, starting again with his warm, calloused palms and fingertips gently rubbing from my knee to the top of my foot. I wore nothing beneath my skirt but my underwear, which meant my legs were bare.

He lifted my right heel onto his thighs and stared at the network of scars traveling from above my thigh all the way to my ankle. “This must’ve hurt horribly.”

“I was three when it happened. Only in my dreams do I seem to remember, but when I wake to my cries, I still can’t picture anything but the endless pain.”

“I’m sorry. Sometimes we block out the worst things in life to protect our souls.”

“Is that what you think I’ve done?”

He shrugged and gently worked on my calf. I groaned at how amazing his touch felt.

“You’re skilled with your hands,” I said.

He shot me a grin, and I marveled that I could find tusks and a coarse orc face so appealing. “I can’t say I’ve had practice. You’re small and delicate. I’m frightened I’ll hurt you.”

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