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He just shakes his head. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this. I didn’t even know myself until you nearly plowed me over with the baby stroller.”
The words hang in the air, soft but heavy. I can’t believe the big, grumpy Orc is teasing me.
“You were in my way,” I return before turning serious. “I didn’t know it until I met you. But now—” I pause, because there is an unexpected lump in my throat. “Now I don’t want to go back to before.”
His arm comes around me, sweeping me tight to his chest. I curl into him, pillowing my cheek against the warm, hard muscle. He holds me like I’m a treasure, or maybe a shield. Either way, I feel indestructible.
He buries his nose in my hair, breathes deeply, and lets out a sound that’s not quite a purr and not quite a growl—a rumble from the core of him, vibrating through his chest and into mine. I shiver, but it’s not from cold.
“I will never let anything hurt you,” he says, barely above a whisper, but the promise in his words is absolute. “You’re mine.”
It should sound possessive. It is. But I love it. I want to belong to someone so much it aches. I want to be held like this forever. I want to fall asleep safe and wake up knowing someone’s got my back.
I slide my hand up his chest, feeling the slick heat of his skin and the hard slab of his pec. He’s so much bigger than me—twice my width, maybe three times my mass—but he holds me like I’m made of glass. My fingers trace the blackened edge of the mate mark on his skin, right above his heart. He doesn’t flinch, but he looks down, watching my hand with this goofy, amazed half-smile I’ve never seen on him before.
I trace the outline of the mark, then splay my palm flat over it. The heat pulses, and I swear I feel his heart jump in response. He covers my hand with his, pressing it closer. I don’t think I could move away if I tried. Not that I want to.
“I love you, little warrior.” I’ve never heard those three words from anyone in my life. My heart turns to mush as he tilts my face up to his and brushes his lips across my forehead.
My heart melts as the mate mark flares up. “I love you, too.”
“Just so you know, Orcs mate for life,” he says. “There’s no going back. If you leave, I will track you down and drag you back here and remind you exactly whose mate you are.”
“How could I ever leave the only home I’ve ever known,” I murmur, but it comes out slurred with happiness.
“I’ll make sure you never regret it.” He shifts behind me, settling me even tighter against his side, and drapes a heavy arm over my waist. I can feel his breath on the back of my neck, warm and steady, and his hand splayed across my stomach, just below the mark. He tucks the sheets up under my chin, like he’s afraid I’ll catch a chill. Then he just holds me, not moving, not talking, just existing with me in the perfect, silent dark.
I let myself drift, knowing he’ll be here when I wake up. He’s my fortress, my shield, my mate. I feel safe. I feel wanted. For the first time since I left the city, for the first time in my life, I belong somewhere.
I belong to him.
As I slip under, I hear one last rumble from Oren—a sound of pure, unfiltered satisfaction. I smile because I know exactly how he feels.
