Page 56 of The Orc's Innocent Plaything

“We do nothaveto find the sea holly on the cliffs near the north Tit. We could gather some near the boat landing if you were anxious to return home.”

Home. How my heart loved to hear her call Bloodfire Village that. To think that she had a future there.

I readjusted my hold on her.

“The boatman will return for us tomorrow evening, so we might as well harvest the best quality herb we can. Avaleen will be well-served by Nan’s current supply, but if anyone else needs it, ‘twill be best if ‘tis the best we can find.”

“Aye,” she agreed quietly.

And my chest tightened in sorrow.

“Love, I’m sorry I hurt ye?—”

“You did not, Vartok, truly.” She peeked out from her little nest of our cloaks, her dark eyes shining in the dusk. “And if you did, I know it was not on purpose. You could never hurt me.”

‘Twas the truth. And as soon as I could get my voice to work past my suddenly dry throat, I would tell her that.Instead, I squeezed her and bent down to brush a kiss on her temple.

I love ye.

I needed to tell her that.

I needed to tell hereverything.

She sighed and pressed her cheek to my bicep again.

“Can we stop soon? I suppose we will not be able to sleep in a real bed tonight?”

I swallowed, forcing my throat to work. “Nay, lass. But I’ll fetch ye some meat, and we’ll stay warm with a roaring campfire and our furs. I’ll keep ye cozy.”

She hummed in anticipation and snuggled closer. “That sounds lovely.”

I vowed I would do whatever ‘twas necessary to keep her comfortable tonight. Anything to atone for her tears earlier.

Within the hour I found the perfect campsite. ‘Twas not far from the cliffs where we would hunt for sea holly on the morrow, a little hollow, ringed ‘round with large boulders from the mountain, with a stunted oak tree on one edge to trap some of the heat from our fire. There was plenty of deadfall to provide wood, and Myra cheerfully began to gather it as I prepared to hunt for our dinner.

Game would be scarcer in the winter, but I vowed my Mate would eat well tonight.

Except…

MyKteerwas restless, and my senses were sharp. ‘Twas likely the only reason I smelled the faint whiff of smoke.

Slowly, I stood from where I was tying my traps and looked to Myra. Nay, she hadn’t lit the fire yet. But when she saw me looking, she straightened as well.

“What is it?” she asked, clearly seeing something in my expression I couldn’t hide.

Instead of answering, I held up a palm and patted the air, urging her to silence. I slowly turned in place, sniffing, my ears straining to pick up any sounds.

There!

Had that been laughter?

She was suddenly at my side, her cloak swinging into mine as she halted abruptly.

“Battleborn?” she whispered, jaw tight with determination.

Fook.

Myra hadn’t assumed ‘twas an innocuous explanation for the obvious signs of company. She’d skipped right to the worst-case scenario.

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