Page 33 of Claimed By the Orc Lord

I glanced between the stern look on his face, his tousled, tawny hair, the stubble growing on his cheeks... and the way his fingers were biting into my skin.

He didn’t want me to leave—maybe he wasn’t the best at expressing it, but it was obvious. The thought made me smile, and the smile drew my lips down to his. I brushed a gentle kiss on his mouth, and when I pulled back, the edges of his scowl had softened.

“Kissing me isn’t going to—”

I cut him off before he had a chance to keep ranting.

“I’m not tying you to the bed. Come, there’s too much to do around the camp. Besides.” I stood, pulling on a loose-fitting shirt. “I’m sure you have questions.”

That seemed to catch his attention. He sat up, his brow arching as he stretched and started feeling around for the shirt that he hadn’t bothered pulling back on. When he didn’t find it, I tossed him one of mine with a grin.

He slipped it over his head, glancing down at the way it looked entirely too big on him—I wasn’t going to tell him I would have him in my clothing all the time if I could.

“Questions?” he finally said, and I nodded.

“I’m sure there are things you want to know—and it’s not as though you’ve taken much opportunity to ask.”

“I was plotting how to escape—”

My sharp expression cut him off. “Well, ask me now. Maybe if I fill your curiosity, you’ll change your mind about trying to leave.”

He looked me over once, like he wanted to say more. It was almost endearing, the way he seemed incapable of lying, too sweet to be convincing even if he tried. Finally, he nodded.

“You’ve kind of kept me chained to your bed and spent the entire time we’ve been together hand-feeding me. There hasn’t been a lot of time for talking.”

As much as I wanted to tell him that wasn’t true, I knew it was.

For someone who seemed clueless about survival and better with his hands than the eloquence of speech, Kai was full of questions. He wanted to know about Belzod, about my family… asked about our magic while he helped build a new table that could be easily broken down for travel.

When he started pointing out plants and questioning me about the kind of animals that were in the woods, there was genuine curiosity and excitement in his tone. The only time the expression fell was when he asked about other people entering the barrier, and if there was an easier way for me to get the question about his friend around. I hatedthat he was still so intent on finding this Rainn. It was time for more truths—the only way I could steer him from the thought was to tell him there was no way his friend could have entered through the portal unless he had a mate, and there was no way for him to leave unless he was claimed.

That seemed to catch his attention. We’d wandered to the edge of the tents and settled beneath one of the sprawling trees that bordered the clearing we’d set up in. In the shade, with his skin slightly red from the sun and the white shirt I’d given him dirty from the work he’d done throughout the morning, he looked good.

I was nearly drunk on the sight of him, and just the curiosity he had about mating made my cock stir in my breeches. I was fairly certain he’d notice if I didn’t take care.

“So, there’s no way for me to get home until someone marks me?”

“UntilImark you,” I corrected him instantly, and for the first time, he didn’t snap back about how I wasn’t his mate. There was just the faintest hint of pink that touched his cheeks, and he darted his eyes away from mine.

“Okay. So until I’m marked, I… what? Just keep bouncing off the air? That’s what happens to anyone who crosses through the barrier?”

I was caught up in the way he sounded genuinely curious, and the way his fingers were toying with the blade of grass he held, tying it into knots with delicate precision. It took me a second to answer him.

“We’re not sure when the portals first appeared, or why… but they lead between worlds. Our land protects itself, though, or at least the magic of it does. No one who comes here comes without purpose. Anyone who can cross the barrier has a mate on the other side.” I watched as his eyes lifted, trailing across my face slowly before landing on mine.

“Everyone?”

“Yes. And until that mate claims you, there’s no way for you to leave. Just as the magic protects the land, it protects its people. It would be cruel, don’t you think?” I said, plucking the grass from his hand, flipping it over so I could trace the lines of his skin and revel in the way he shivered beneath my touch.

“What would be cruel?” Kai’s voice was soft, a little throaty, and the flush of his cheeks deepened every time I stroked slowly against his palm.

“To have your mate so close to you without the ability to keep them. To feel the draw…” I trailed my touch slowly along his wrist, tickling up his arm. “That line between you, that tether… and never know what it was like for it to truly be fulfilled.”

“I…” Kai bit his lower lip, his brows drawing together. “I don’t…”

I saved him from having to answer by leaning forward and pressing my mouth gently against his. His body instantly relaxed, his hand lifting to slide along my chest before wrapping around my neck. For someone who’d fought so hard against it before, he seemed more than willing to touch me now.

When I finally pulled back, his gaze was slightly out of focus, but he still managed to speak. “So… how does it work, exactly?”

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