Chapter 13

Blade

My shoulder was smarting, I was sporting several cuts and bruises along my ribs, and I’d definitely broken two fingers when I’d punched one orc in his iron jaw. None of that mattered because Hannah had declared me her mate. I hadn’t expected her to say it, and I’d been fully prepared to battle that entire contingent of guards so she could escape. But she hadn’t left my side, she hadn’t backed down. She was an Ironheart, just like me.

The official registration had happened in a flash and without any ceremony. Just a pressing of our thumbprints against one of the overlord’s tablets, a prick of blood, and it was done. I knew I saw more than a few quickly hidden looks of relief on the orcs that were part of the overlord’s guard, but no congratulations.

I’d swept Hannah into my arms and kissed her silly, unable to stop smiling despite the odd circumstances. She was going home with me, and I couldn’t wait to introduce her to my clan, my family. I knew she was trying to act serious when we watched the overlords leave in one of their armored ground vehicles, but her mouth kept twitching into an answering smile to mine. She was happy too.

I yanked the disruptor spear from my hover cycle’s engine compartment and carefully checked the chrome for scratches. “Should work in another minute,” I said, patting the side of the bike affectionately. I picked up my ax and tucked it away too, and then I turned to face Hannah.

She had unzipped her coat in the warmer humid temperatures low to the ground, and she was thoughtfully running her fingers along the nearest stone. My heart stuttered in my chest at the sight; was she wishing to go back home again? But no, she seemed thoughtful but relaxed this time, and when she looked up and met my gaze; she smiled.

“I think,” she said carefully, “That humans aren’t all that immune to orc charm either. I don’t think I’ve ever connected with another person like I do with you, Blade. Why is it that you make me smile even at my darkest moments? You make me feel light.”

Her words made my chest swell with pride and happiness. This precious female said the nicest things. I’d never been told I could do those things for someone, even though it was something I always tried to do. I liked making people smile, and I hated seeing people sad.

I abandoned prepping my bike to step close so I could draw her into my arms. “That’s because you’re my mate, Hannah. I knew it the moment you tumbled from the sky and straight into my arms. My mate, and I’m yours. And I know it was fate that brought me out for a fly over the woods at just the right time. You wished on the stones, and they brought you to me.”

She let me fold her into my arms and tuck her close against my chest, her fingers feathered over the tattoos that decorated my arms. “I wished to find what I was looking for,” she said, a laugh coloring her voice. “Those weren’t the words I intended to say, but they were the words that came out. I didn’t know I was looking for a mate, but I guess the stones knew.”

“Damn right, that’s how they always work. They bring the human what they need.” I refrained from adding that they’d brought me exactly what I’d needed too, but she knew. Bending down, I kissed her sweet mouth. It was meant to be a simple, quick kiss, but it turned into more in a heartbeat. She was just too tempting.

I picked her up in my arms and spun so I could put her sexy ass on the saddle of my bike. She moaned delightfully when I spread her legs and pressed my rampant cock against her center. She was wearing far too much, and I wanted to devour her. I wanted her taste on my lips, and her scent coating my erection. I wanted there to be not a single doubt that she was mine.

“Fuck, Hannah,” I growled when she raked her blunt little nails over my spine. I was rough when I yanked her coat from her, and I didn’t even bother with the fastenings on her pants, tangling the whole thing around her dainty ankles. “Come here, I need you, my love.” She squealed when I flung her legs over my shoulders and she was forced to balance on my bike, but there it was, my prize, right in front of my face.

One lick and her startled squeak turned into a heartfelt moan, and then I lapped up the rush of juices from her tiny opening. She was sweet as honey and soft as silk. Slick with desire when I filled her with a finger and started licking her in time with steady pumps of my wrist. “Come for me, mate,” I demanded, and she shattered with a satisfying shout. That was my name she was screaming, no one else’s. Hannah was mine.