Page 23 of Orc's Claim
He doesn’t see me as being overweight or heavy…
“Remain here.” He surveils the immediate area, moving out in increasingly larger circles, but always staying within sight.
Maybe I’m the one who doesn’t get it. I love who I am, inside and out, but I still worry about others rejecting me. That’s a lot of wasted time and energy. I need to focus on being happy. And that means finding a way to be with Ryko.
“We are safe here,” he announces as he caresses my face.
“Thank you, for accepting me as I am.”
“You are a beautiful female with spirit, my Lily. When I bring you to Mount Racha, all the unmated males will want you. But none will touch you. Only me.”
I’d love to return with him. We’ve been stealing hours, minutes even, whenever we can.
“Does this mean you’ve asked your grak if we can live with your people?” There’s no way New Earth’s council would give me permission to bring an orc to our settlement. And I don’t want to subject Ryko to the hostility and hatred there. That means we’d have to live with his people. If they’ll have me.
“Not yet. My grak has forbidden me and my fellow warriors from interacting with humans, especially the females. He fears it will destroy his negotiations with your people.”
“Negotiations?”
“Trade. For… resources.”
Before I can ask him more, he captures my lips with his. I lose myself in him, especially when he glides those smooth tusks down my neck, leaving a trail of kisses behind.
“I don’t want our people to keep us apart,” I say as his lips sneak under the V-neck of my blouse, kissing the side of a breast, while his thumb plays with one very hard nipple.
“We will find a way, my Lily.”
My breathing hitches and then I let go, no longer censoring my thoughts. “I want more with you. Much more than a few kisses here and there.”
Without a word, he unties his loincloth. The leather falls away and his massive cock, hard as steel, points right at me. I freeze.
“Lily?” Ryko’s voice grows concerned. “You said you wanted me.”
“I did. I mean I do.” I lift my chin, trying to be brave. After all, I’m twenty-three, a grown woman, but I don’t have much experience.
“My first time didn’t exactly go well,” I explain. “I was nineteen when my date and I snuck into the local park late at night. He said he wanted to be alone with me.”
“He mated you?” Ryko sounds surprised. Perhaps he thought I was a virgin.
After gnawing on my bottom lip for what feels like an eternity as I debate how much I should tell him, I squeak out, “I trusted him.”
Ryko grips my chin and lifts my head until our eyes meet. “He took you against your will?”
I nod, too ashamed to speak the words out loud.
The ridges on his forehead expand and he bears his tusks in a snarl that chills me. “I will hunt this male down and kill him. Slowly. Painfully. And I will speak your name with every slice from my knives.”
“He’s on Earth,” I say, relieved that I’ll never have to see Derek again. Or be the reason Ryko kills a person in cold blood, even though that asshole deserves it.
“Vekk!” Ryko snatches his loincloth from the ground and hastily ties it in place. He stares out into the thick of trees, then faces me, his expression rife with anger and pent-up frustration.
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” I mumble.
“Do not hold shame for the cowardice of another. And do not mistake my anger with this male for anything you’ve said or done. I will protect you from dangers past, present, and future. If I could find a way to Earth to destroy the male, I would, but we have no ship.”
“I know you would,” I reply, because I don’t want this to eat at him as it has me. He’s so proud to be with me, so honorable, so damn protective, that my smile returns.
“I want to show you what you mean to me.” I fumble with the words because I’m nervous about the thoughts running through my head. Of giving myself to him.Of messing it up!
