Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

LILY

R yko's unlike anyone I've ever known. He's a challenge, a tease, and yet pushy at the same time, but he's not a bully. He's very upfront about what he wants. Me.

And I want him. More than anything.

But is this lust or love? I'm not sure I know the difference, only that I enjoy his company and he respects me… even if he's working very hard to lay me out and feast on me like I'm a Thanksgiving Day spread.

I stroke his second tusk, still amazed that his tusks didn't cut or catch on me when we kissed. That kiss, though, was lethal in a whole other way. I would gladly die with his lips on mine.

"Now, Lily, I show you what a tusk can do," Ryko says as he kisses his way down my neck, lightly dragging a tusk over my skin, awakening every nerve, inch-by-inch. The delicate touch of the smooth tip that I suspect can tear into flesh quite easily shows me how utterly safe I am in his arms. When his head dips between my breasts, I sink my hands into his hair and let him explore.

My blouse loosens, his tusk popping a button. And another. I'm bared to him, only my bra covering me. Ryko's tongue laves along my skin, sending goosebumps up and down my arms.

"I can't return without clothing," I whisper as his tusk skims beneath my bra strap, threatening to sever it. "My people will question?—"

"You will leave here as intact as you arrived. Less two buttons."

"You mean you don't want… more?"

His head lifts and the expression on his face stuns me. "Make no mistake about my intentions, Lily. I want all of you. I want you in my furs beneath Mount Racha, beneath me , on top of me, up against a tree, over the risha stone, but mostly in my heart. Knowing I must allow you to return to your people with no one to guard you goes against every part of my being."

"We have guards," I sputter, not sure what else to say to such lovely words.

"You have weak, lazy male overseers, not guards."

He's not wrong, but I smile just the same because he's worried about me, genuinely worried .

"I will be fine. I have my knife, right? If anything attacks me, I'll use it." I draw his grak's knife from my waistband and grip it, my arm stretched out as if I'm up against a feral animal.

A flicker of amusement quickly turns to concern. "Keep your thumb off the blade's spine. This is a mistake younglings make, believing such a grip gives them control. That hold limits your power and makes you vulnerable. Rain, sweat, blood… All of these can make your hand slip too easily. I have much to teach you, but you are a fast learner and we will have many years together."

Years… he's thinking about more than a fling.

"Until your next lesson, you hold the knife with this grip." Ryko's hand moves over mine and repositions my fingers on the knife. "And point it at any male, below the ribs. Throw your full body into a lunge. Strike as deep as you can."

"You really mean it? You want me to stab someone? "

"If you are in danger, yes," he says without hesitation. Then he tips my head up, drawing my gaze from the knife in my hand. "You live among unmated males."

I stifle a laugh, but not successfully. "You don't have any competition, Ryko. The males in my colony don't want me, and even if they did, I don't want them."

With a grunt, he says, "This confirms my grak's theory of human males."

"Which is?"

"They are fools."

This time I don't hide my laugh. Ryko has a way of alleviating the tension. "You're not mad at me, then?"

"No, my little human," his hand pushes my hair behind my ear, and then his voice deepens slightly. "Even if I were mad, it would not last long. An orc female does not tolerate an angry male."

"I'm not orc."

"But if you live with us, you must learn our ways. Understand my people."

"L-live with you?"

"I will have you, my Lily." He kisses me again, his hard cock pressing against my belly.

My heart pounds, ready to explode in my chest, and my brain fogs over, no longer caring about the difference between lust and love. All I know is that I want Ryko, but I won't put myself in a bad position. Not again.

"Let's get to know one another first, okay? But we'll have to be careful. My people will lock me up and throw away the key if they find out I'm seeing you."

"No prison could keep me from you." He takes me in his arms, pressing me tightly against him. "We will meet here in the woods."

"How will we decide when to meet? If they see us talking?—"

His lips press against mine in a glorious kiss that nearly makes me forget my question. But Ryko doesn't forget or ignore it .

"When you take a break, enter the woods. Do not look for me as you leave your sector or even as you walk through the common area. I will find you."

"You'll be watching?"

"Always."

I rest my head against his chest, hoping and praying we know what we're doing.