Page 5 of The Orc Chief's Baker
There she was. With her curly dark hair and her plump cheeks and her bright brown eyes. She was short and curvy, and his fingers itched to touch her again. She was sosoft.
Her eyes slid his direction.
He jerked back into hiding, but not fast enough.
“There you—oh!”
She tripped over a root right in front of him and—blasthis warrior reflexes back to the Fades who’d given them to him—he caught her.
And she felt just as good as she had before. His hand curled around her forearm, and he was pleased with how firm her muscles were. She was nowhere near fragile. His other hand rested around her back. The soft cotton of her dark gown was tight around her curves and the image of her mostly bare lower half flashed in his mind. His blood heated up against his will.
The woman sucked in a breath as he tightened his grip on her.
She looked up at him with huge doe eyes through thick dark lashes, and his rational thoughts evaporated right out of his skull. His chest tugged tight as warmth bloomed high. Fades havemercy.
She blinked in surprise, but there was not a hint of fear in her beautiful gaze.
“Goodness, thank you.” She didn’t struggle to escape him even slightly, and he held his breath. “Sorry. I swear I’m not this klutzy on a normal day.”
Her voice sounded like a dream, husky and smooth. A little lower than typical for a human female. He wanted to hear more.
“And thank you for saving me too, from that saber cat. I would have...” Her face paled, and her throat worked in a gulp. Then she narrowed her eyes at him. “Were you the one who set that snare?”
Ah boarshit. He forced himself to nod.
“So, I suppose I wouldn’t have been attacked by a saber cat at all if not for you.” She shifted against his grip and his heart squeezed. “Are you going to let me go?”
He did so in an instant, even as his whole body prickled with the urge to resist.
She brushed at her skirts before stepping back. Her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes narrowed in a glare and her gaze did not avert from his face even once.
She was not afraid of him.
Were all the humans from Oakwall this brave?
“I’m guessing you didn’t know that orcs aren’t supposed to trap in this area of the woods. This is where the trappers from Oakwall hunt.”
Blast it! No, hehadn’tknown that. But he wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the village in the first place.
Her brows shot up and she let out a little chuckle that made his whole world brighten. Fades be praised.Thatwas the loveliest thing he’d ever heard. Like the melody of hissoul. It danced through him, energizing and exquisite.
“Don’t worry. We aren’t going to string you up over it,” she said so casually. As if it wasn’t a complete revolution to meet a human who didn’t want to slaughter him on sight. “In fact... I’ll let it be our little secret.”
She . . . would?
“Here.” She dug into a bag slung around her shoulder. The heady scent of sugar and rosemary wafted from it and his mouth began to water as she withdrew a beeswax-covered drawstring sack. “One might think vanilla cookies aren’t a good enough reward for saving my life, but, like I said, my life wouldn’t have been threatened had you not set that trap so...”
She grabbed his hand and he quickly sheathed his claws. As a warrior, he typically would never sheath them. He needed to be ready for an attack at any moment. Soldiers of the Waking Order could appear at any time.
But... there were no such attacks like that in the Rove Woods. No human’s ready to slice him clean through. No war or strife or even much blight. The saber cat had been the first blighted animal he’d seen since they’d arrived a few days prior.
This place was at peace. Serene. Tranquil.
With women willing to give out food in thanks for saving them instead of... he unconsciously reached up to rub the scar at his throat.
The generous woman turned over his hand and plopped the bag into his palm. The weight of it shocked him almost as much as her willingness to touch him without fear.
“Now we’re even, I say.” She gave a quick nod that bounced her curls. Her nose was adorably round, lips red and plump, and her dark eyes sparkled in the dappled midday light.
