Page 14 of Claimed By the Wild Orc
“Going somewhere?”
His voice cut through the quiet like steel through silk.
I froze.
In one stride, he was behind me, his shadow swallowing mine. I spun, blade clutched tight, heart hammering.
“Stay back,” I hissed.
He raised a brow, as if I were holding a stick instead of a weapon. “That’s my knife.”
“Good,” I shot back. “I’ll put it to good use.”
He stepped forward.
I lashed out, a wild swing, but he caught my wrist with terrifying ease. His other hand came down hard on my shoulder, spinning me back against the stone wall. The knife clattered to the floor.
I gasped, chest heaving, but he didn’t hurt me. He justheldme there—one hand pinning my wrist, the other pressing flat against the wall beside my head.
“Let me go,” I snapped, trying to twist free.
“You don’t mean that.” His voice was a low rumble, heat curling through it like smoke. His body was a wall against mine—solid, unyielding, and far too close. I could feel every breath he took.
“I—”
“You’re not the only one who likes the fight,” he said softly, and I hated the way my pulse leapt, the way my skin burned where he touched me.
My hand moved on instinct. I slapped him. Hard.
The sound cracked through the air. He didn’t flinch, didn’t even move. For a heartbeat, I thought he might strike back, but instead… he smiled.
It was faint, just a small curl at the corner of his mouth, but it was there. And it infuriated me.
I shoved against him, and he stepped back, letting me go. My chest was tight, my breathing shallow. I snatched up the blanket and stormed toward the far side of the cave.
“Keep smiling,” I muttered, not daring to look back. “See what it gets you.”
But even as I put distance between us, my skin still buzzed with heat where his hands had been. It was like a brand.
I sank against the wall, curling my knees to my chest. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. He was too much: too big, too strong, too…him.
Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe there was no escaping this.
Even if he was acting patient for now…
I’d be deceiving myself if I tried to think I had any power here.
He could take what he wanted at any time.
GORRAN
She stormed to the far corner of the cave, her blanket bunched around her like armor, shoulders tight and defiant. I didn’t follow.
Let her have her space.
She was human. She didn’t understand. Not yet.
Humans feared orcs, and for good reason. We were stronger, faster, bred for war. Our kind had been at odds for centuries, blood spilled on both sides until even the youngest could recite the old hatreds. To her, I wasn’t a man. I was the monster mothers whispered about, the shadow that haunted the edges of campfires.
