Page 9 of Claimed By the Mountain Man Orc
“So beautiful,” he murmurs. “And allmine.”
I shiver at the word, at the possessiveness of it… but not with fear. Withanticipation.
“Please, Varn… I want you.”
“Soon,” he says, working me with his fingers. “Very soon.”
I buck against his hand, my breath quickening. He lowers his face to my pussy, his tusks pressing against my legs as he strokes my clit with his tongue. I shatter into a million pieces on his tongue, coming harder than I ever have before.
When he finally moves to join us, I gasp at the sensation, at therightnessof it. He stills immediately, concern flickering across his face.
"I can take it," I whisper, echoing his words and pulling him closer. “I was made for you. Don’t stop.”
He doesn't.
The world narrows to just this—the slide of skin on skin, the sound of our breathing, the beat of our hearts. His hands are everywhere, learning me, worshiping me. I learn him too—the texture of his skin, the places that make him groan, the way his control frays when I touch him just right.
"Mine," he growls against my neck, the word vibrating through me. "My mate."
"Yours," I agree breathlessly, and feel something click into place deep inside my chest. The bond, I realize. This is what he meant. It's not just physical. It's something deeper, something that ties my soul to his in ways I don't fully understand but can't deny.
When we finally tumble over the edge together, I cry out his name, and he buries his face in my neck, holding me like I'm the only solid thing in a shifting world.
Afterward, we lie tangled together, our breathing gradually slowing. He traces patterns on my back—lazy circles and spirals that might be words in a language I don't know.
"That," he whispers, "is the bond choosing."
My heart stutters, still racing. "And if I choose it too?"
His answering smile is small and awed, like he's just witnessed something miraculous. "Then I am yours. Completely. Forever."
He wraps me in his arms, holding me so close I can feel the steady thunder of his pulse against mine. The world beyond the cabin disappears—the cold, the mountain, even time itself. All I can hear is breath and heartbeat. All I can feel is warmth and certainty and the rightness of being exactly where I am.
"Sleep, Mazie," he says softly, pressing a kiss to my hair. "The mountain watches over its own."
And for the first time in years, wrapped in his arms with the bond humming between us, I believe it.
Chapter 6
Varn
Thesnowstoppedsometimein the night. Morning light cuts through the cabin window in pale bands, turning the air silver and making the frost on the glass sparkle like diamonds.
Mazie stirs beside me, her breath a slow rhythm against my chest. She looks smaller when she's sleeping, soft and human and warm, her dark hair spilling across my arm like silk. I run a hand through her tangled curls, memorizing the weight of it, the texture, the way it catches on my calluses.
Now that I've found her, now that the bond has been sealed between us, I can't imagine the mountain without her. Can't imagine waking up alone, carving alone, existing in this space that suddenly feels too small and too empty without her presence filling it.
She wakes with a stretch, blinking up at me with sleepy eyes. A smile curves her lips—satisfied and a little smug. "You watching me sleep?"
"Yes."
She laughs quietly, the sound warming something in my chest. "You really don't do small talk, do you?"
"Don't need to." I brush my thumb over her cheek, marveling at the softness of her skin. "You should go back to your world before they come looking."
Her smile fades, replaced by something more serious. "You think they will?"
"I've seen search parties on the lower trails before. Rangers, volunteers, sometimes just concerned friends." I shake my head, thinking of the close calls over the years. "If they find this cabin, if they see me... My brothers and I stay hidden for a reason, Mazie. Humans don't understand. They fear what they don't understand."
