Page 38 of Her Orc Healer

Then, without warning, he lifted me.

My startled gasp turned into a soft laugh as he hoisted me easily, his large hands gripping my thighs. I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively, and the movement pressed the core of me against his stomach. Even through layers of clothing, the pressure was exquisite. I bit my lip to keep from making an embarrassing sound.

Kazrek had no such reservations. He groaned openly, his eyes heavy-lidded as he looked at me. The position put us eye-to-eye, my weight nothing to him. I felt light. Weightless. Safe.

"Is this alright?" he asked, his voice rough with restraint.

I nodded, not trusting mine. My hands settled on his shoulders, feeling the solid muscle beneath his shirt. His back hit the tree trunk—he'd spun us, putting himself against it rather than me. The ground was soft beneath his boots as he adjusted his stance, bracing us both.

My dress had ridden up my thighs, bunched around my hips, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Not when his hands were so warm against my skin, not when the cool air kissed places that had been hidden moments before.

He kissed me again, slower this time, deeper. One broad palm slid up my thigh, over my hip, gathering the fabric as it went. I shuddered at the contact, a small sound escaping me. The kiss grew hungrier, his tongue sliding against mine as his hand slipped higher, tracing the curve of my bare hip.

"Tell me what you want," he murmured against my mouth, the words barely audible over the blood rushing in my ears.

What I wanted was his hands on me. Everywhere. What I wanted was to stop thinking, to lose myself in the feel of him, to let this moment stretch on until the rest of the world fell away.

What I wanted was dangerous.

That realization hit like a slap to the face.

I was leaning into him, wrapping around him, letting go in a way that terrified me. My fingers still gripped the fabric at his shoulders, my pulse still thudded beneath my skin, but panic was creeping in now, sharper than desire.

This wasn’t safe.

This wasn’tsmart.

Wanting was dangerous. It made people reckless. It made them leave things behind without thinking, like Finn had left Maeve. It made peopleneedsomething outside of themselves.

I didn't need Kazrek.

Icouldn’t.

The panic won. Hard and fast.

I jerked back so suddenly that Kazrek’s grip loosened on instinct, and I was scrambling away before I even knew what I was doing. My boots hit uneven ground, and I almost stumbled, but I caught myself, one hand bracing against the rough bark of the tree. My breath came in short, sharp bursts.

Kazrek remained where he was, his broad chest rising and falling steadily, dark eyes locked on mine.

I knew that look.

Calculated stillness. Not anger, not even frustration—just the taut, quiet patience of a man waiting to see where the damage had landed.

“I—” My mouth felt thick, words tangling before they could fully form. My hands clenched at my sides, fingers curling into the fabric of my dress as if I could hold myself together through sheer force of will. I shook my head once, quick and jerky. “I shouldn’t have…”

Kazrek shifted slightly but didn’t move toward me. His expression didn’t change, but I saw the way something flickered in his gaze, something slow and assessing. He exhaled, rough, but his voice was steady when he spoke. “Rowena.”

It was just my name, but the way he said it—low, deliberate—sent a shiver through me. I hated that. Hated that after all these years of keeping myself guarded, of refusing to yield to things beyond my control, he could unravel me so easily.

I took another step back. He let me.

“I—” I tried again, but the words stuck. What was I supposed to say? That I hadn’t meant to? That would be a lie. That it was a mistake? That would be worse. Because the truth was, I wanted it. Desperately. And that was the problem.

Before he could say anything else or look at me with those steady, knowing eyes and see how my hands trembled, I turned and fled.

The damp earth carried my steps soundlessly as I stumbled away from him, my breath coming fast, too fast, heart slamming against my ribs like it wanted out. The canopy of alder trees closed over me, filtering the late afternoon light into fractured gold and shadow, but I barely saw it.

No footsteps followed.

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