Page 59 of The Orc Chief's Baker
Her brows shot up and her eyes got big, and his heart felt like it would thunder right out of his chest.
Especially when she reached up to scratch at the back of his neck, right at the hairline.
That feltgood. So fucking blastedgood.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Trinia’s voice was a little tight, but she didn’t stop scratching. His knees felt like they might go weak. “You know it’s not a good idea for me to stay with you.”
Why wasn’t it?
She gave him a hard stare. “Brovdir, you are the unmated orcchief,and I am an unattached woman. You know what everyone will think.”
They would all think that she was his woman and not go anywhere near her.
“Brovdir.” Her tone was low with warning. It made his back straighten. “We donotwant to give them that impression. Trust me.”
But he did. He didso badly.
He’d give anything for that impression to bereality.The very idea of other males in the clan thinking that this woman,hiswoman, was still a prospect for them...
His blood heated all over again.
“Put those claws away, Brovdir, and take me to Savili.” She shivered slightly, and he worried that his claws might have frightened her. “Biscuits and jam, it iscoldout here.”
He picked up the pace, and a moment later, they broke through the tree line onto one of the clan’s lit paths.
Even after all this time, he couldn’t get used to the sight of it. The huge oak and fir trees that lined the paths were so large it was almost intimidating, but the fact that they’d been carved intohouses, with doors and windows and furniture, was still unbelievable to him.
Outside these woods, clans struggled to keep the elements from knocking down their homes. He spent most of his nights in a roughly made tent. He’d been told stories of the Rove Woods. They all had, but hearing about it and seeing it were two entirely different things.
“Oh, you brought me herealready?”
His stomach dropped as she leveled him with a hard stare.
“You had no intention of taking me back to my home at all, did you?”
He couldn’t quite meet her gaze. “To... to Hovget.”
She put a finger under his chin and forced his face to turn back to her. He blinked in surprise at the warmth in her gaze. “Don’t try to lie, Brovdir. You aren’t very good at it.”
He... wasn’t? He’d been able to deceive thousands of humans in the past. It was part of the reason he was stillalive.
“I can’t imagine that you were taking me back to your home to take advantage of me.”
Never.The idea of having any woman who was in any kind of duress repulsed him, but the thought of abusing Trinia in such a way made him feel physically ill.
“I can tell you aren’t the type.” She patted the middle of his chest and his whole body went flush with pleasure. “And I know you have a tough time speaking, but honestly, you need to tell me where we’re going if you’re going to cart me around.Andyou should take me to Savili. I insist.”
He had no valid arguments to this.
“Put me down now, Brovdir. I’m a big girl. I can walk on my own.”
Everything in him rebelled at the idea.
But she’d given him an order and he could not disobey.
He lowered her to her feet.
“Warrior—er, I mean Chief Brovdir! So glad to catch you.”
