Page 59 of My Orc Contract Husband
“Trust me, I know,” said Sami quietly, her hold on me tightening.
“Me too,” Harper announced, taking a deep breath as she straightened. “He looks like he belonged in my mom’s country club.”
Knowing she came from that background and wasn’t going to underestimate Montgomery made me feel better.
“So what can we do?” I asked, my hand spread protectively over Sami’s shoulder. “We don’t have long to come up with a plan.”
“I’ll come up with the plan,” Harper announced. “I’ll email you later with my thoughts. Tomorrow will just be a preliminary meeting, I’m sure, and we can discuss afterward as well. For now, you take your Mate home and pamper her.”
Sami chuckled tiredly, and I felt myself smiling. “Chocolates are—wait.” My jaw dropped. “Mate?”
Giza cocked his head to one side. “You didn’t realize.”
“Oops,” Harper blurted with a wince. “I hope I didn’t ruin the surprise.”
“Mate,” I repeated in a whisper as I turned to stare down at Sami, who clearly didn’t understand.
But I did.
She was my Mate.
Aswan had been right. He’d told me to ask Giza, but it had been obvious to even a human, so how could it be anything but the truth?
“Mate,” I announced firmly, pulling Sami to me so I could kiss her forehead. “Wife.”
“Me Sami, you Tarkhan,” she announced playfully, poking my side. “What are you going on about?”
“There is a knowing,” I told her gently, repeating what my mother had told me years ago. “You’re not just my wife, Sami. You’re part of me, and I’m part of you.”
Her eyes narrowed, then she glanced at the other couple. “Mates?”
Harper nodded. “It’s why his eyes glow like that. It’s the Mating Heat, and he hasn’t finalized it yet.”
Her Mate slid his arm around her. “When did you learn so much about my people?”
“Ourpeople,” she corrected, nudging him with her shoulder. “I pay attention to my Mate, and I read books to our daughter.”
“You’ve been reading McIlhenny’sThe Customs and Culture of the Orcs? Zoe said someone checked it out.”
“Oh yes, she loves that her father was an important research source,” Harper explained solemnly.
Giza shook his head. “She’s four months old.”
“Yes, and I can tell by the way she chews on the cover of this one that it’s her favorite.”
Their banter faded into the background, because somehow, the universe had shrunk to include just Sami and me.
My Mate.
I felt her in my chest, nestled next to myKteer. I knew her scent, I knew her feelings, I knew her dreams. I knewher.
“Mate,” I whispered again in awe.
She pushed herself up on her toes to brush a kiss across my lips and murmured, “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sami
