Page 21 of My Orc Contract Husband
But her position didn’t hide the way she was shaking. I could feel the tremors running through her entire body, like a small animal caught in a trap.
My own heart breaking for her, I dropped the fucking note and wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her against me, wrapping her in protection. The paper fluttered away, forgotten, while I focused on the feel of hersoft hair against my chin, the way she fit perfectly against my chest.
“It’ll be okay, Sami,” I promised her again, not caring that there was no way I could make such a vow.
“No it won’t,” she sniffed. “He knows I’m here.”
Her voice was muffled against my shirt, but I could hear the tears in it, the fear that made my heart clench.
My mind was jumping from one point to another, and I took a final, outrageous leap. “This Montgomery guy…”
“My father’s business partner.” She shuddered.
Ah. “So he left you alone while your father was alive, but now that he’s dead and left everything to you, Montgomery is ready to come claim you.”
As soon as the wordclaimcrossed my tongue, myKteerstirred again, and I had to swallow down the urge to make more promises. Yes, I wanted her; the fact I’d been fighting a cockstandwhileshe’d been sobbing on my lap—inappropriate as fuck—proved that. But she’d whimpered at my summary—a sound so small and broken it nearly undid me, and I had to focus on the dusty smell of the old barn to keep myself grounded so I didn’t do or say anything else to make her nervous.
Like admitIwanted to claim her.
With my tongue, my cock, my heart.
Heart? Where had that come from? This was just another attraction, right?
“I’m scared,” she admitted against my chest. “I’ve always been scared of him, since I was a little girl.”
“What did he—” I cut myself off. I don’t think it was healthy for me to ask her that. My hands had curled into fists without my permission, and I had to consciously force them to relax, to stroke her back instead of striking out at ghosts.
But Sami must’ve understood, because she finally stirred, shifting away so she could look up at me. “He used to put his hand on my shoulder. That was it. But it wasn’t nice. It was like he owned me already, even when I was small.” She shuddered and dropped her gaze to my shoulder. “I guess he and Dad had already come to an agreement then.”
Fuck.
What kind of parent sold his child like that?
A desperately greedy one. The thought left an oily residue in my mind, making me feel sick.
She was scared. I couldn’t focus on the past, not if I wanted to help her through this. Her fear was still coating my nostrils, making myKteershift restlessly beneath my skin.
Gently, I squeezed her, just enough to pull her attention back to me. “His letter…do you think he can follow through with his threat?” Surely in this day and age, a man couldn’t force a female to marry him?
But she took a shuddering breath and nodded, not looking at me. “I don’t think you understand how much money—and influence and power—Pierce has. He doesn’t just have lawyers on his side, he ownsjudges. Hell, it’s possible he has documents that say I’m already married to him, I don’t know!” Her chin dropped toher chest. “But if he’s determined to have something, he gets it. No matter what I want.”
Well,fuck.
My hand ran up her back soothingly. “So what do we do? How can we stop this asshole from showing up and expecting to marry you?” My voice came out steadier than I felt, and I was grateful for that small mercy.
Her lovely green gaze flickered across my face, as if searching for something. “We?” she repeated.
“Sure.” I shifted her in my lap, adjusting my back against the rough-cut wood of the barn wall and planting my heels against the floor so I could pull her across my lap. “I’m here for you now, Sami. I know I’m probably not who you would’ve chosen to be here with you?—”
“No.” Her sudden blush was at odds with the way she’d blurted that, and she dropped her attention to her hands, now in her lap. “I mean, I’m glad it’s you, Tarkhan. I am.”
Her soft words made my chest swell. Or maybe that was myKteer, crowing in pride. Either way, I let a smile slide into my voice. “Okay then. So you’re okay with talking it through with me?” Warmth spread through me like honey, sweet and golden and completely unexpected.
Her cheeks and throat were still pink when she nodded, and I couldn’t resist studying the way the skin of her shoulders disappeared under those green straps, only to re-appear in the golden creaminess of her arms.
I wanted to taste her there.
I wanted to taste hereverywhere. The thought hit me like a physical blow, making my mouth water and my hands tighten involuntarily on her waist.
