Page 16 of Enchanted with the Orc
“You’re right. You can’t trust anyone with her until you can confirm that they won’t hurt her,” he told me. “You never know. I read about different discipline styles and there are so many options and so much different research on what’s right and wrong. Unless you’re aligned with the person, it isn’t safe to leave her with them.”
He turned to me, holding his hand out in my direction. “You can ask meanythingyou need to know.”
How the hell did this turn into a babysitting interview?
Chapter Ten
Enka
There was no way in hell that my mate was going to trust me with her precious youngling, and I understood that. It didn’t mean that it didn’t sting a little, but our Gruk-ir’s safety came above all else.
“I don’t need anyone to take care of her,” she said in slow words, as if I wasn’t understanding what she was trying to say—but I did.Itotallyunderstood that she was willing to deny herself the downtime that she needed, if it meant that Gruk-ir was safe, comfortable and cared for.
“I know that you don’t need it,” I lied. I didn’t know anything of the sort. She deserved help and I was going to give it to her. It didn’t hurt that I wanted us to get to know each other better for other reasons as well. “But wouldn’t it be best if I was able to helpin case?”
I saw her cursing the logic in her head and I had to hide my smile by scrubbing my palm across my mouth. I was winning the argument and she didn’t like it. Not even a little bit.
“In caseis the least likely scenario,” she huffed, but she unfolded her arms from across her glorious breasts. “But you’re right. It’s in her best interest to make sure that someone else can take care of her if something happens to me.”
The thought sent a shock of pain into my chest and I leaned closer to her, taking her small hand in mine. Her gorgeous brown eyes went wide and she stared up at me, her lips parted in shock.
Gods, I want to kiss those lips.
“Nothing isevergoing to happen to you,” I promised her, my voice rough with earnest fire. “No one is going to touch you or our Gruk-ir. I’ll kill them first.”
A breath left her in a rush and I had to stop myself from leaning down to kiss her. I couldn’t think about anyone hurting my mate and youngling. It was sending me over an edge of rage unlike anything I’d ever faced before.
“But you don’t know anything about me,” I said, aching to reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear. “And I’d like for us to get to know each other better. Maybe if you trust me, you’ll be able to take a break once in a while. I promise I’ll take such good care of her. She’s such a sweet girl, and I know it’s because you’ve raised her.”
She stared at me as if I had lost my mind and pursed her lips togethertight. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s that I don’t trust anyone with her other than my family,” she explained her voice tremulous.
I nodded, giving her a smile. I already knew that about her. When she gave her loyalty, she gave it full-heartedly. I saw it in the way that she interacted with her coven and my clan. I hadn’t known my mother as long as my brothers had, but I knew that she would love Tasia the way that I did. After she died, I’d longed for a mate just like her, and it seemed as if the Gods were answering my prayers.
My heart ached at the thought of my mother meeting Tasia and our Gruk-ir. She would have loved her so much. And she would have treated the tiny girl as her own. When my mother loved, she loved with her entire heart, the way that Tasia did.
And my father would have joined me and my brothers in facing off against the asshole who had hurt my mate and her daughter. Even now, I knew that the clan would face off against this male for her and for me.
“You can ask me anything that you need,” I prompted, knowing that she needed more from me than I was currently giving. I wanted to be there for her, but it’d be hard for her to trust me. And I knew that after everything she’d been through with whoever had hurt her in the past, that it would be difficult for her to put her faith in me. I was asking her to do it anyway.
I wanted to open my arms and hold her close, keeping her safe and sound from the entire world. But I knew we weren’t there yet, and I wasn’t sure that we would ever be. Still, I was going to try. I was going to put everything that she needed above anything that I wanted. No matter how much I wanted to touch her, I wouldn’t be doing it. This was her priority. So it was going to be mine, too. Her daughter.Ourdaughter.
Our baby’s going to be safe and I’m the one who’s going to see to it.
I watched as she ran her gaze over my face and I hoped that she found whatever she needed to find there. It was difficult to stay still because Iknew that with every moment she was judging whether she would stay or go. I hated that I might have to stop her, but I knew more about what she needed than she did in this moment.
“I don’t know what to ask you,” she said and looked away from me. “There’s probably so many questions that I should be asking but I don’t know where to start.” She bit her lip, sighing. “I’m still not sure if I can ever leave her alone with you. I don’t trust that easily. I don’t know thatanyoneshould trust that easily. Especially when they’re a mother.”
While I understood that, it didn’t stop the sharp hurt that lashed through me.
“Deep down I know that you probably won’t hurt us,” she added, easing most of the pain right away, “But I don’t know that I can trust myself anymore to make those decisions.”
“Trust yourself?” I asked “Why wouldn’t you be able to trust yourself?”
“I’ve made terrible decisions in the past and they’ve affected me, my family and Gabbi,” she admitted, chewing on her lower lip. I wished I could tug that lip free, but I had to stop myself. She didn’t need me trying to touch her now when she was opening up to me.
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I put her in any more danger because of the choices that I’m making.” She looked away as if her choices were something she was deeply ashamed of.
“Did you want to talk about them?” I asked. “I’ll never judge you on anything you tell me. And I can promise that I can keep a secret
