Page 5 of Claimed By The Orc

“Yes?”

“Did that guy throw a slushie at you?” He sounded angry. Was he angry at me or for me?

Koth! Fuck. If my brothers saw me now, I’d never hear the end of it. I spun to where he had been lying, not surprised he was no longer there. I was too focused on my mate to do my job properly.

Shame filled me. I’d had him in my grasp and easily let him go. He wouldn’t be far though. The poison on my blade would work through his system, and even if it wouldn’t be enough to kill him, it would leave him in unbearable pain and nearly paralyzed. I could still sense his magic nearby. Once I settled my Tanner, I would find Koth and end this once and for all.

Tanner was still standing there, one hand on his hip, his eyes narrowed in frustration. He looked so beautiful like this, even if I didn’t like him being angry at me.

“Um, yes? I am fine.”

“What the fuck? Why would he do that? Where did he go?” Tanner started to stalk through the parking lot, heading in the direction that Koth had crawled off in. He must’ve used some kind of invisibility illusion since he’d vanished so quickly.

Fear pounded in my chest. Koth may be little danger to me now that he was injured, but he was still orc, and he could harm my mate. That wasn’t fucking happening.

I grabbed Tanner’s arm, stopping him. “No! It is okay. It was a misunderstanding.”

Tanner was spitting mad. I was still confused as to why he was so angry. I was pretty sure it wasn’t at me, but the way he was glaring, I couldn’t be positive. He didn’t look convinced.

“I brought tacos!” I twisted around, glad to find the bag still upright and mostly intact. “I think they should still be edible.”

Tanner’s lips twisted, like he was ready to argue. “Please?” I batted my eyelashes. Tanner seemed to like when I did that.

He sighed heavily, but there was a small tilt to his lips, like he was trying not to smile.

“Fine.” See, I told you he liked when I did that. “Let’s go inside and get you cleaned up. I might even have an extra shirt for you. But this isn’t over, Mark. There’s something you aren’t telling me, and I don’t like it.”

My stomach twisted in an ugly knot. If he only knew. But I forced a bright smile and picked up the bag, hoping we could salvage our lunch and that Tanner would eventually forgive me for everything I was hiding from him.

CHAPTER 3

TANNER

Things weren’t adding up. Some random guy I’d never seen before—one that talked in the strange speech pattern that only Mark used—had come in, bought half the snacks in the store . . . gotten into some kind of altercation in the parking lot, leaving Mark covered in slushie and the man’s snacks all over the ground, and then disappeared?

This was one of the few times I wished the owner of the store had actually sprung for real security cameras and not dummies that were meant to scare off anyone looking to hold up the place. Mark was standing there, shirtless by the way, cleaning himself off with a towel I’d found in the back, grinning innocently at me and batting those thick eyelashes in my direction, which I was like 87% sure he knew drove me wild. It was a distraction and it was fucking working because as slight as Mark was, he was fucking ripped. That perfect tan skin stretched over his flat stomach. His tiny nipples hardened as he cleaned green slush off his chest. Tribal tattoos covered both his arms, over his shoulders, and onto his gorgeous fucking collarbone that I wanted to lick every inch of.

The little shit knew what he was doing. I couldn’t even form a coherent thought, let alone get answers about what hadhappened in the lot. He’d claimed he didn’t know the guy. He’d just thrown the drink and ran. But, Mark was lying. I didn’t know why I was so sure of it, but I was. Add it to the list of mysteries surrounding this man.

I rummaged through the old backpack I always brought with me and found a worn T-shirt that saidWolverines Football.Looking at it brought a pang of longing from my one semester I’d gotten to play college football. I didn’t regret coming home. That was my family. I’d do anything for them. But it didn’t stop me from missing what could’ve been.

I shoved that bullshit all the way down and turned around to face Mark, who was watching me with a serious expression, like he could somehow tell my mood had changed. I forced a smile and handed him the shirt.

“Here. This might be big on you, but you can’t walk around the store looking like that.” I waved my hand and very clearly checked him out so he would understand I wasn’t insulting him.

He took the shirt, his nostrils flaring a bit and his pupils dilating. I swallowed. What the fuck was that?

“Is this yours?” he asked, his voice low and deep and sultry.

“Uh, um. Yeah. I always keep extra clothes with me because I never know when I’ll end up getting something on me in this place.”

He smiled so brightly, I nearly melted to the fucking floor before he put it on. I swore he paused as it covered his face, and his rib cage expanded like he was breathing it in. It probably smelled stale from being in my bag for so long, but it didn’t stop my reaction. He was sniffing my shirt. Trying to get my scent.

Yes, it was weird. I already knew I was purposely ignoring the one million red flags surrounding Mark. It was my toxic trait. I always went for the morally gray ones in anime and movies. Hell, sometimes even the morally black ones. Sukuna fromJujutsu Kaisen? Fuck, the things I’d let that asshole do to me.

I was getting off track, and Mark was completely clothed.

“Are you okay, Tanner?” I loved the way he said my name. Like it was the most important thing he would ever say.

---