Chapter 6

PALOMA

“You may come out now, female. It is time we talk, without anyone around,” the orc’s voice booms from beside the cart.

No! He knows I’m here!

My heart races and I hold my breath.

Stay calm. Don’t move.

Maybe he’s just guessing.

Or he thinks I’m hiding in the woods.

My body goes completely still, mostly from fear. My eyes see nothing in the dark, beneath the hay, and my ears strain to identify every little sound.

A slight click nearby sends panic through me.

What the fuck was that?

Breathe. Softer!

The cart pitches to one side.

“If I have to crawl in there to find you, female, you will not like your punishment.”

I hear it in his voice. He knows I’m here, and he’s not willing to wait much longer…

ATOX IM GRAK

The strawon the cart moves slowly as my female emerges, her short dark hair littered with pieces of straw and her eyes filled with that defiance I admire. I will enjoy claiming this female.

Instead of rising as ordered, she remains in the straw.

I’ve waited long enough. I reach over, grab her by her shirt and lift her from the straw. She’s light and I fear more fragile than I expected.. More than her sweet scent or her defiance, her unwavering spirit beckons me.

There is something special about her, enough that I forget myself and lightly drag my fingers over her cheek and throat, carefully touching her as one would a newborn youngling. So very soft, so fragile, and yet so captivating.

A grak is not meant to be gentle, except among the weak, but this female is not weak. Physically, yes, but not in spirit. I will enjoy pushing her to her limits, and I suspect she will push me to mine.

PALOMA

When the orclifts me from my hiding spot, he traps me between his hard body and the cart as two fingers run over my face and neck. His touch is incredibly gentle. I didn’t think he could be anything but harsh. But then cold eyes stare into mine.

“I will not be defied, especially by my own female.”

I have no clue what he’s looking for as his eyes remain locked on mine. Fear? I have plenty, and yet my anger takes the lead.

“I don’t belong with you,” I push the words out even as I struggle to hold my tears back.

“That is the first truth you’ve spoken, female. I wouldn’t weaken my people with the genes of humans if I had a choice, but I do not. Neither do you. You belong to me now. You will learn to obey and you will give me many younglings.”

Among my people, I’m considered large. Next to this orc, I’m a thin branch standing beside a giant redwood. He could snap me in half with two fingers, but it would take a dozen humans with explosives to bring him down. I can’t fight him, but that type of thinking is defeatist. I can’t give in.

“I don’t belong to anyone,” I reaffirm.

“The fact that you’re in my possession says otherwise.”

“If you try to fuck me, I’ll fight you every step of the way.”

“Promise?” he says, the corner of his mouth lifting to flash a long, sharp tusk. God, that’s both terrifying and exciting. My lower half is thrumming…not the response I want to this male.

It’s got to be the stress and confusion of everything that’s happened these past few days. I can’t be attracted to an orc, especially one who thinks he owns me.

“Do you want to risk me killing you in your sleep?” I ask, hoping to get through to him.

His eyes roll over my body. “Do you think you have the physical and mental stamina to carry out such a threat?”

“I won’t know until I try.” I’m not sure I have the courage to attack anyone, even my captor, but I need to do—to say—something to combat this overwhelming sense of helplessness.

A throaty growl surfaces from the orc. Is that a chuckle? Do orcs laugh? Or smile?

His hand wraps around my throat. He could snap my neck with no effort. I don’t move. My life is literally in his hands.

To my relief, his fingertips slowly drag down my throat. The rough pads of his fingers stimulate more than my skin. Pleasure, as simple as the male’s touch, moves through me in an unbidden wave. I’m shocked that he can be gentle and that I can feel something other than contempt for him.

“You won’t hurt me?” I ask, hiding my trembling.

“Oh, I will hurt you,” he says, a grin emerging. “But you will enjoy it.”