Page 20 of The Orc's Stolen Shepherdess

Her voice sounded choked and there was an odd shimmer to her eyes that made my chest squeeze. “Why don’t we getoff the path so we can talk?”

Her brow screwed up. “Off the. . . path?”

Ah fuck, my instinct to hide, to stay off main paths, especially ones made by humans, blared in me again. It was hard to focus, to remember that there was nowarhere. Just a woman.

A woman Ineededto keep safe.

I needed to get her off the path.

Warmth covered my cheek, and I blinked down into her eyes.

Fades, she was cupping my face in her hand. She was so small she had to stretch nearly all the way up to reach me. “All right, Caivid. Let’s find somewhere you feel safe.”

Was I making my tension so obvious? I clenched my teeth and gestured for her to lead the way. She released my hand and cheek, and it felt like the whole world went icy cold.

Her steps were quick and sure as she stepped off the well-worn path and into the dark forest. She glanced back at me a few times, her eyes alight with curiosity. But her movements were smooth and there was no tension in her shoulders.

“Is this far enough?” she asked, stopping in a small clearing with a soft, mossy patch beneath our feet. It wascompletely obscured from the path, and I could scent no threats nearby. Just a few squirrels and a hungry owl who hooted in the distance.

“This is fine,” I said with a nod.

Her gaze softened as she looked up at me. Her smile made my whole body go hot.

She touched the middle of my chest with her warm fingertips, and it felt like I was melting.

“Thank you, Caivid. I promise I won’t take up too much of your time.”

I’d like to give her every moment of time I had left.

ChapterSeven

Susara

“I’m so sorry for calling you out here so late.”

Fades, the way he was looking down at me made me squirm. I’d forgotten that orc’s eyes glowed in the dark and it felt like his stare was piercing right down to my soul. It was hard for me to remember why I was here at all.

“I. . . I’m glad the bird made it to you just fine. I was worried it wouldn’t since you’re new to the woods. I’ll try to make this quick for you.”

“I don’t mind, Susara.”

Fades, the way he rumbled my name, so soft and sweet and low, made my whole body feel jittery. He watched me carefully, arms crossed on his broad chest, bushy brows furrowed slightly. He looked like he was trying to puzzleme out, and honestly, I couldn’t blame him for trying. My decision to meet with himhadbeen foolish.

But I had no other choice. “Caivid, I’m here to ask for a. . . a trade.”

His brows shot up. “A trade? You walked here, alone, after dark, totradewith me.”

I wrung my hands. “Yes. I did. It couldn’t wait. Believe me, I wouldn’t have come if everything wasn’t already turning to disaster. I had to make this deal with you before morning.”

“Go ahead,” he said smoothly. “I’m listening.”

I wanted to collapse from relief even as the intensity of his gaze made me squirm. His jaw was so perfectly square, and his eyes were so soft and his hair looked like it could do with being stroked away from his forehead.

Fades, why did he have to be so. . . so. . .

I jerked my gaze away from him and they landed on a boulder covered in leaves and moss. It would make a good place for him to sit down.

I walked over to it. “You know I’m a shepherdess.”

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