Page 18 of Orc's Claim
I stifle a laugh, but not successfully. “You don’t have any competition, Ryko. The males in my colony don’t want me, and even if they did, I don’t want them.”
With a grunt, he says, “This confirms my grak’s theory of human males.”
“Which is?”
“They are fools.”
This time I don’t hide my laugh. Ryko has a way of alleviating the tension. “You’re not mad at me, then?”
“No, my little human,” his hand pushes my hair behind my ear, and then his voice deepens slightly. “Even if I were mad, it would not last long. An orc female does not tolerate an angry male.”
“I’m not orc.”
“But if you live with us, you must learn our ways. Understand my people.”
“L-live with you?”
“I will have you, my Lily.” He kisses me again, his hard cock pressing against my belly.
My heart pounds, ready to explode in my chest, and my brain fogs over, no longer caring about the difference between lust and love. All I know is that I want Ryko, but I won’t put myself in a bad position. Not again.
“Let’s get to know one another first, okay? But we’ll have to be careful. My people will lock me up and throw away the key if they find out I’m seeing you.”
“No prison could keep me from you.” He takes me in his arms, pressing me tightly against him. “We will meet here in the woods.”
“How will we decide when to meet? If they see us talking?—”
His lips press against mine in a glorious kiss that nearly makes me forget my question. But Ryko doesn’t forget or ignore it.
“When you take a break, enter the woods. Do not look for me as you leave your sector or even as you walk through the common area. I will find you.”
“You’ll be watching?”
“Always.”
I rest my head against his chest, hoping and praying we know what we’re doing.
CHAPTER SEVEN
RYKO
“This is becoming habit, Warrior,” Sojek says, attempting to engage me in conversation one last time as he unhooks the work gorja from the cart he drives.
We did not speak during the ride from Mount Racha to Pen’Kesh. He usually asks me questions about warrior training, but today, I merely grunted, my thoughts elsewhere. I’ve pondered the question of how I might approach our grak and ask for permission to mate Lily. Normally, I would not need my grak’s permission to take a mate, only witnesses at Risha. But she is human, and our people do not have an alliance with the humans.
Yet.
Atox has been meeting with them in secret. I cannot share what little I know or do anything that would risk his plans.
I tend to my own gorja today, removing the harness before leading him to a patch of grass for grazing. Lily does not get her break until mid-day and while it is the duty of Sojek and the other young males of our people to tend to our gorjas, I do not mind such mundane tasks as they calm me.
Being near Lily and keeping my distance, waiting for her to sneak off to meet me deep in the woods as she’s done every day these past five weeks, unsettles me. I should be able to approach, touch, watch over my female publicly. But I can’t, not without risking others learning our secret.
“What do you mean?” I ask the younger orc, refocusing my thoughts on his question. Sojek is both curious and eager to prove himself, especially to our grak.
“You’ve been accompanying me to Pen’Kesh for weeks now, more than any other warrior. Either you’ve pissed off our grak to deserve such a long punishment, or you travel to Pen’Kesh for another reason.”
The youngling may be small, too small to be a warrior, but he’s observant.
