Page 36 of Orc's Mate

And I could lose him.

I shouldn’t cling. Everyone had to fight off attacks or none would survive. Still, I couldn’t imagine losing him.

“We can talk about that later.” He nudged his head toward the hall. “Let me gather some things together, and we can take the stairs to the bottom of the cliff.”

I hadn’t seen any stairs, but I’d spent most of my time scanning the meadows and area around the house for things to pack away.

“Would you like your first swimming lesson tonight?” he asked.

“In the dark?”

“You’ll be perfectly safe.”

I should be frightened of the idea of fish nibbling on my toes, right? But if Odik was with me, I wasn’t. “All right.”

He started toward the bedroom but turned back to look my way. “By the way. I always swim naked.”

Chapter19

Odik

Ithrew the comment out there mostly to see how she’d react. She’d been sweetly responsive to my touch so far, but I wasn’t sure how far I wanted—or dared—to push this. We were growing closer. I was half in love with her already.

I wanted more, though I would never coerce her into doing anything she wasn’t as excited about as me.

“I think,” she said, rising from her chair. “That I’ll learn to swim while naked.”

There was my brave mate. My heartrate doubled in a flash, and I whistled merrily as I strode to the washroom and collected drying cloths. My fishing equipment was inside the shed, and we could grab it on our way.

Heat charged through my veins, and my cock rose to the occasion. Good thing I still wore a loose loincloth and not pants, or I’d tent them.

I returned to the kitchen to find her waiting with a look I couldn’t interpret on her face. Not trepidation. This woman had more courage than an attacking dresalod legion.

Anticipation?

Yes, that was it.

We left the house, stopping at the shed to collect my fishing supplies and the container I’d use to bring my catch back to the house. We’d clean it on the shore and leave the entrails and scales in the water. After, I led her toward the stairs a prior generation had carved into the face of the stony cliff ages ago.

“Are you excited about swimming or . . .?” I let the rest of the question hang so she could take it in any direction she pleased.

“Both.”

Ha. I loved how she tossed my dare right back at me.

Perhaps I wouldn’t analyze this. I’d let it play out as it was supposed to.

“Ah, I didn’t see these here earlier,” she said as we started down the stairs. She held the drying cloths and even the height didn’t seem to scare her, though there was a rail between us and the steep drop-off.

“They let out on the sandy shore. The last twenty feet are made of wood and can be pulled up if the dresalods attack.”

“Wise.”

I nodded. “Thankfully, dresalods can’t jump very high. I fish off the big rocks you might’ve seen earlier if you looked over the cliff.”

“I did see them. It’s beautiful here, even at night.” She paused on the stairs and tipped her head back, taking in the stars and the full moon overhead. Pointing toward the sea, her smile grew. “Look how the light glistens on the water. A storm may be brewing, but for now, I see only beauty.”

“The sea is a dangerous female, my father always said.”

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