Page 57 of My Orc Billionaire
Yes.
Yes.There is a knowing. And this was the truth. I understood it now. By all the gods, how could I have missed it?
Riven Starr, my little human…was myMate.
I remembered watching my brothers and their Mates at Halloween—had that only been a handful of days ago?—and wishing I could find that same peace and happiness. I wouldn’t have presumed to dream of a Mate…only the gods could grant such favors. All I’d wanted was to find contentment and peace.
But all along, my Mate was in my arms.
Mate.
Dimly, I was aware of Sylvik lowering himself to sit beside me. “You didn’t realize, did you?” he murmured.
Mutely, I shook my head, my gaze flicking over the tall trees that lined the driveway. I was glad I hadn’t yet had the chance to hire Memnon’s landscaping company to come tame this wildness; perhaps I would leave it untamed.
I’d done enough to fuck up the land, after all.
My assistant cleared his throat. “So who is she?”
“Riven,” I whispered, eyes wide, not really seeing. “She’s mine.”
Sylvik made a noise that might have been laughter. “Then I get credit for finding her. Shit, Abydos, I thought you were going to fire me for sending a human female to your home.”
“I considered it,” I murmured. “I was livid when she stepped inside my…my bubble.” That’s what I’d been doing; living in a bubble, afraid to let anyone in. “I was ready to fly to Colorado and beat your ass.”
A snort. “And instead, you’ve only left Eastshore once in the last two months. That’s part of why I came out here, you know. Garrak is concerned as well. We thought either Eastshore was the most remarkable place, or you were being held hostage.”
My lips curled. “Both. Even when I was gone, I couldn’t stop thinking of Riven.”
“My mother told me that’s normal. Until you claim her as your Mate, until yourKteeris calm, you won’t be able to settle.”
Slowly, I turned to the other male. “Your mother…told you this?”
He shrugged. “Sure. Mom and I had plenty of conversations about this. She wanted me to find my Mate and bring her grandchildren.”
It was such anormalthing. A conversation that I didn’t think I’d ever have. A Mate.Kitlings. Did Sharon want grandchildren? Because the thought of Riven’s body swelling with our kitling suddenly struck me as the most compelling necessity.
I wanted that.
I wantedher.
But…she was my employee. Would she be amenable to being more?
Even as I considered it, myKteergrowled. Ihadto convince her to consider me as a Mate, not just her boss. Suddenly, the memory of what we’d shared last night made me feel nauseous. The way she’d called mesirand agreed to wear short skirts for me…the way she’d claimed it was her job to act as a liaison, the way she took care of me…
Did sheonlythink of me as her boss?
“Abydos?” Sylvik said quietly. “What do you need?”
Blankly, I looked at the nature all around me. WhatdidI need?
I needed to give Riven a reason to choose me. Not as her employer, but as her Mate. What did that mean? I wanted to shower more gifts on her, to give her everything she could want, so she wouldn’twanttowork for me, and instead would live here with me as a partner.
She needs this job.
Sharon had said that. Hells, Riven herself had told me that, during that first disastrous interview. Sylvik’s initial background checks had told me the same thing; Riven was drowning under the medical debt from the treatments she’d undergone last year. The cancer which had taken part of her breasts, but hadn’t managed to break her spirit.
My brave, perfect, beautiful human.
