Page 13 of Claimed By the Orc Lord

Home.

The word echoed around in my chest like it was familiar, like if I would just calm down and really listen to it, it was the thing I’d been waiting to hear my entire life.

Nope.

Weird fucking green man magic, and I wasn’t letting it work.

I lashed out again, but this time he was ready for it. When Nash caught my arm, I used the momentum of the motion to jerk myself free from his hold—maybe trying to hit the seven-foot-tall orc wasn’t going to do me a bit of good, but I could take Plan B.

Plan B was to push myself up as soon as I stumbled back and take off through the trees again.

In the back of my mind, I knew there was every possibility that big cat from earlier would find me and make me its dinner. I was also aware that as fast as I was, as fit as I was, Nash’s legs were longer than mine.

But I also knew I had to try something.

The rush of adrenaline sent me surging forward, even though I knew it wasn’t safe… and the sound of footsteps instantly pounding behind me was enough to make a low little shout rip from my throat.

It wasn’t a scream.

Ididn’tscream.

And I definitely didn’t let out another one when the impact of Nash’s large body crashing into mine took me to the ground—the air knocked out of my lungs, even though I was faintly aware that his arms came around me, cradling me from the worst of the fall and letting him land on top of me so I was pinned beneath his weight.

Damn it, that hadn’t really worked at all… and now I was stuck underneath him… and fuck, he was big.

And warm.

Andconfusing.

The feel of his broad body pressing mine to the ground made something inside me freeze—or burn. Fuck, I was pretty sure I was burning. I squirmed, but it didn’t do me a damn bit of good. We’d fought, and he’d made it very clear that I wasn’t going to be able to best him in anything remotely fair… and every instinct that I had told me I needed to give in to the fact that I’d lost.

To the fact that Nash had me pinned to the ground.

To…

His lips were soft when they ran along my jawline, the faintest whisper of skin pressing to skin, but it drew a shiver out of me, so violent that I was pretty sure I would have vibrated through the ground if he wasn’t holding onto me.

“I like that you fight. That you’re strong. But do you see now that it’s useless? Do you feel the same pull I do?” The rumbling growl of his voice was too much. I shook my head, trying to get myself loose from the warmth of his breath and the way those words seemed determined to penetrate through my entire body.

“You’re wrong.”

He was still pressed close enough that I could feel it when his lips curved up into a smile… and some small part of me expected him to keep going. He had me trapped, and it was obvious I couldn’t fight back. He could have torn my clothes off my body and me saying I was straight wouldn’t have made a difference, because I wouldn’t have been able to fight him off.

I’d just have to deal with being pinned down by his huge frame, watching as he exposed all those muscles before he stripped me down and…

Nash yanked back, standing and grabbing my hand to pull me to my feet as he did. I swayed on the spot, half caught in the fantasy—no, not fantasy, Kai…the fucked up possibility of what could have happened.

“Come. We need to head back to my people before they wonder why I’ve been gone so long. I can see if anyone has heard of another human coming through the portal recently,” he added, like he meant to placate me.

Placate me and help me up. So… not… anything nefarious.

He even leaned forward and ran his thumb along my jawline, wiping at dirt I couldn’t see.

He wasn’t ravishing me against my will at all and I was…

I was definitely notin any way, shape, or form… disappointed.

“Good,” I grumbled in anotdisappointed tone.

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