Page 42 of The Orc's Thief
I flinch at the question. “What?”
She motions toward me. “Well, you’ve been searching for me for years, as you said. But I most certainly wasn’t searching for you.”
The words slice through my thoughts of how perfect she is. “Y-you don’t want…? Is it because I’m an orc?”
“What? No!” Tessa leans in, frowning. “It’s becauseI don’t know you.I know nothing about you. I don’t even know your name. You’re here talking about smelling me and dreaming about me, and you’ve been following my every move, don’t think I haven’t noticed. But I don’t want a mate.”
She clamps her mouth shut and folds her arms, signaling the conversation is over. But all I can think is—she doesn’t know my name?
“Arlon,” I blurt out. “Son of Takmor. That-that’s my name.”
Fuck me, but how could I have forgotten about that?
“Oh.” She drops her hands into her lap, her shoulders relaxing a notch. “I’m Tessa.”
I don’t want to tell her I already knew that from Etta. This feels like a good first step, exchanging names. I should have led with that, but my excitement got the best of me.
“Hello, Tessa,” I rumble, my voice dropping as I say her name.
It’s pretty and suits her well, and I want to say it over and over again like a fool. I grin, unable to help myself.
To my surprise, she flushes, her cheeks turning red in the warm firelight.
Oh.
Tessa has said she doesn’t want a mate, and I can respect that. But maybe it’s all right if we take things slowly. The last thing I want to do is overwhelm her and send her running again.
So instead of reaching for her like I might have done if she were an orc and ready to start this new life with me, I lean back against the cliff face and stretch out my legs in front of me.
“I’ll take the first watch,” I tell her. “You get some rest, and we can talk more in the morning.”
She bites her lip, worry painting her features again. Of course she doesn’t want to shut her eyes without knowing she’s safe.
“I know you don’t trust me yet, but that’s because you don’t know what it means to me to have finally found you.” I frown, remembering the years spent in Ultrup, searching every crowd for her. “I won’t let anything happen to you, and I’d rather chop off my own hand than hurt you.”
Tessa hesitates a moment longer, then relents and curls up on her blanket, her back to the cliff. I study her as her eyelids flutter, then finally close. Her breathing evens out. She must have been tired, because she doesn’t wake when I cover her with my own blanket, then gently lift her head to put my spare shirt beneath her cheek.
Then I settle down in my previous space, across the fire from her, and resume my watch. I lean back and listen to the storm raging above us.
“Sleep well, little thief.”
Chapter
Sixteen
TESSA
I wake up to birdsong and a chill in the air. My arm is asleep because I lay on it, and my nose is cold, but I’m warm all over, which feels lovely compared to yesterday morning, when my body felt stiff and half-frozen as I rose from my makeshift camp.
I blink, and the first thing I see is the fire pit, which has been altered sometime during the night. The fire burns merrily on one side, throwing off delicious heat, while the coals have been raked over on the left, and a spit placed above them. Two rabbits are roasting, already browned.
When did he manage to do all this?
Instead of rising, I pretend I’m still asleep and watch Arlon, son of Takmor, from my nest of blankets. He’s rearranging his pack, moving slowly to avoid making any sounds that might wake me. He’s being incredibly considerate, and if I’m correct, he also let me sleep through the night instead of waking me for my watch.
Last night, he told me I was his mate. Everything I said in reply was true, of course, but I can’t quite get his shattered expression out of my mind.
When I told him I didn’t want a mate, he looked…crestfallen.
