Page 27 of Claimed By the Wild Orc
As if he could hear every one of those frantic, tangled thoughts, he pressed his forehead to mine and whispered, “I would never hurt you.”
His voice was a vow.
“Never.”
I closed my eyes, and my hand fisted in the front of his shirt, not pulling him closer, not pushing him away. Just holding.
He kissed me once more, slowly this time, then drew back, settling behind me again. He wrapped himself around me like a shield, his hand resting gently over my heart.
And in the safety of his arms, the storm didn’t feel quite so loud anymore.
MIRA
The morning came golden and too bright.
Sunlight poured through the mouth of the cave, gilding the stone walls and catching in the smoldering remains of the fire. I lay still beneath the furs, the warmth of Gorran’s body long gone, replaced by the chill of clarity.
Everything that had almost happened last night echoed through my limbs like a fever. His mouth, his hands, the heat of him between my thighs—and then that voice, low and certain in the dark:Not until you say the words.
I should have felt relieved. Grateful, even. He hadn’t taken what I couldn’t give. But instead, I felt cracked open.
Shaken.
And gods help me, I was angry.
Not at him. Not really. At myself. At this longing that wouldn’t let go. At the way I was folding—slowly, surely—toward him.
At my stupid indecision, fear, and hesitation.
Orc.
Human.
No.
Man.
Woman.
That was what it should be. He wouldn’t hurt me—not intentionally, anyway.
I pushed the furs back and stepped outside into the light.
The forest greeted me in full bloom. The storm had passed, leaving everything drenched and gleaming, the air thick with petrichor and pine. Drops clung to the leaves like diamonds. Birds sang from somewhere high up in the canopy.
I walked forward until the cave was at my back, the sun warming my shoulders. I needed to move. To breathe.
Gorran was there, crouched by the stream, sharpening one of his knives again. He didn’t speak, didn’t rise. Just looked at me with that unreadable expression, as if he already knew.
“I need time,” I said, folding my arms. “Just... space. To think.”
A pause. A long one.
Then, to my surprise, he nodded.
“Take what you need.”
No argument. No challenge. Just calm acceptance.
