Page 6 of Resisting the Wicked Orc

For one perfect moment, everything else disappeared—the danger, the market, the world.

We broke apart as if burned. Her eyes were wide, pupils blown. I felt her pulse racing where my fingers pressed against her throat.

The guard whipped open the canvas flaps. I kept Rava anchored against me, trying to look like nothing more than a couple stealing a private moment. Her tail wrapped around my calf, whether from instinct or for show, I couldn’t tell.

I pulled back enough to glare over my shoulder. “Hey, man. Give us some privacy, will you?”

His eyes narrowed, taking in our flushed faces and tangled limbs. Suspicion flickered across his features, then dissolved into disgust.

“Get a room,” he grunted and continued past, knife disappearing into his jacket.

We stood frozen until his footsteps faded. Rava shoved away from me, her eyes wild, her breathing ragged.

“What the hell was that?” she demanded, voice unsteady.

“Saving your ass.” The words came out rougher than intended. My skin buzzed where she’d touched me, demanding more contact.

“This isn’t happening. Thiscannotbe happening.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Do you have any idea what you just cost me?”

Watching her try to erase my taste from her lips felt like sandpaper against raw skin. I’d kissed plenty of women who didn’t want forever. But this was different.Shewas different. The mate bond blazed beneath my skin, loud and clear and hungry for more. While she stood there, scrubbing away everything I felt burning between us.

It fucking hurt.

“Right.” I stepped back, jaw tight. “Next time I’ll let the guy with the knife find you.”

“There won’t be a next time.” Her tail lashed violently. “Stay away from me.”

Crimson smoke swirled around her body. I reached for her, but my fingers passed through empty air as she vanished.

“Fuck.” I scrubbed a hand over my face, lips still burning, mind still reeling.

I should head home. Take the long walk back to Grimstone, let the mountain air clear my head. But the thought of spending the night alone with only my thoughts for company... with the mate bond still humming under my skin...

No. Not happening. Not when every instinct screamed to track her down, to figure out what kind of trouble she was really in. Because no one skulked around in shadows and risked discovery unless they were desperate.

And desperate people made stupid choices.

Instead, I headed toward One Hop Stop. With any luck, Torain would still be there. I needed a drink. Several drinks. And someone to talk me out of hunting down a woman who clearly wanted nothing to do with me.

Because this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

My mate was a thief. Or a spy. Or something else entirely.

And I had a feeling she’d make me work for every answer to every question.

CHAPTER THREE

RAVA

The fifth text in as many minutes vibrated against my hip like an angry hornet. I pulled my phone out just enough to see the preview.

Where the hell are you? Answer your damn phone.

Right on cue, my phone lit up with Kaz’s call. I silenced it and stuffed it back in my pocket. My brother could wait. Three weeks of playing the wide-eyed assistant to the fake-smiling human wouldn’t be wasted just to crawl back home empty-handed.

Not when freedom was so close I could taste it.

Thank the fires below for Malak and his years of hacking government databases. I’d called my brother’s tech specialist after my spectacular failure at the market, swallowing my pride to ask for help. He hadn’t questioned why I’d disappeared or who I attempted to trace. That was Malak’s gift—he understood secrets had their place.

---