Page 27 of My Orc Contract Husband
Was I? “Um…I don’t know. I guess not. But it doesn’t matter, does it?”
“If you don’t consummate your marriage, are you really married?”
Oh Lord. My cheeks heated, and Riven’s low chuckle told me she could tell. “Come on.”
I followed her back to the bathroom, where she began her skin care routine. Leaning over the sink to peer at the mirror, she slathered on her lotion, her voice coming out strange as her fingers pulled her cheeks this way and that.
“Why does he need the money?”
“What?” I whispered, not wanting to wake Aunt Sharon.
Riven just rolled her eyes at my restraint. “Tarkhan. I’ll admit that I haven’t exactly been involved in the community, but one of our hostesses married—Matedan orc last year. Zoe—now she’s the librarian, remember?”
That did sound familiar, so I nodded.
“The rest of the orcs on Eastshore aren’t hurting for money. Zoe’s Mate doesn’t even work, just does volunteer stuff. How come Tarkhan doesn’t have the same money? What if he has a gambling habit?”
Did it matter?
“I’m not exactly poor,” I admitted awkwardly, knowing I’d used the deadly instincts my father had drilled into me to become successful at Eastshore real estate. “And now I have my father’s money too.”
Riven met my eyes in the mirror. “So you’re going to feed Tarkhan’s gambling addiction?”
I didn’t know what his money situation was, but I trusted him enough not to have some weird addiction. Maybe that was foolish of me, but it was the truth.
I shrugged.
“If that’s what it takes.”
Riven was silent as she brushed her teeth. Or rather, she wasn’t silent—that gag reflex didn’t bode well for when she eventually found a new boyfriend—but she didn’t try to speak. For my part, I pretended great interest in the medicine cabinet and avoided her reflection’s eyes.
Soon, though, we were back in the living room. I pulled a pillow onto my lap and picked at the stitching while she stretched out into a yoga pose on the floor, groaning at the stretch.
“Okay, so what I keep coming back to,” she finally said, “was that Tarkhan was gentle and made you feel…what did you say?”
“Safe,” I supplied, then arched my back to stretch along with her. “For the first time since getting the letter that Dad was dead, I felt safe. Andcalm. Protected.”
“He makes you not afraid.”
That was…a remarkable succinct way to put it. I nodded. “Is that bad?”
Riven hummed as she flowed into another pose, this one with her legs spread impossibly wide. “No. It’s a good thing, I think. And he’s protective. I think that’s an orc thing.”
I swallowed. “Sooo…are you agreeing with my scheme?”
“You and I both know that Montgomery isn’t going to be put off by your denial. And hell, he could still force you to marry him, if he wantedyou, no matter if you were already married. But he doesn’t wantyou, he wants the power you hold—your half of the company.”
“Gee, thanks.”
My cousin grinned as she stretched out on her back, hands above her head. “If you’re already married—a legally binding marriage, dotting all yourTs and crossing all yourIs—thenlegallyhe can’t gain control of your halfof the company, even if hephysicallyforces you to marry him or whatever.” She shot me a knowing look. “So Tarkhan becomes your insurance, and Montgomery will have his work cut out for him in trying to make you a widow.”
I shuddered at the thought of Pierce trying to hurt Tarkhan. “Maybe I shouldn’t get him involved…”
“No, no, you have to think of this as a business arrangement. This is just a contract between a male and a female. You’ll marry him so he can get his mortgage, and in return, he’ll keep you safe. Good call, choosing an orc,” Riven added as she rolled up to a cross-legged position. “But you don’t want to land in the same boat with him.”
I didn’t understand, and my frown must’ve shown it.
“You’ll need a prenuptial agreement,” she pointed out. “You don’t want to be in a position where Tarkhan thinkshecan control half your father’s company.”
