“That will not happen.”
“That’s it, then? You expect me to sleep in your bed, just like Baloq, hoping one day I’ll forget about my son and give in to you?”
Immediately, Verig removes his arm from around my waist. “You are free to leave.”
“Your quarters or your colony?”
“Vekk, female, you know the answer. Even if I wanted to, I cannot let you return to the humans.”
“And yet you know I won’t mate you or any orc. Why not leave me on the floor?”
“You are under my protection, and I will not have you get sick from sleeping on the cold floor when there is a bed and furs here to keep you warm.”
“How long will you keep me warm without the promise of more in return from me?”
His arm curves around me, and he draws me against him once more. That heavy, well-muscled arm locks me in like a vise. There’s security in how he holds me. And plenty of warmth. Notonly from the furs or the heat he’s generating, or his breath cascading over my shoulder, but in the kindness and sincerity he’s shown me. He could be good for me…if only Ethan were here, too.
CHAPTER TEN
TANSEY
“Here, female,” Verig says, handing me something wrapped in a piece of leather as I sit on the edge of his bed, attempting to detangle my hair after bathing in the nearby river with the other women. None of us bathes naked, and we don’t have any soap, shampoo, or conditioner, which means we’re all sporting tangled mops atop our heads. I’m thinking about cutting my hair. That would make the most sense.
“My name’s Tansey,” I correct him as I pull apart a particularly bad knot, strand by strand.
“I know your name, your scent, and the lush curve of your ass.”
I glare at him. I’ve slept in his bed for a week now, and he’s never done more to me than hold me against him. I think.
“Have you been touching me in my sleep?”
“As much as you touch me.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“You sleep in my bed, pressed against my cock, female. Yes, I touch you.”
Fuck, I should have defined what I meant by ‘touch’. Though the way he’s looking at me, with heat in his eyes, I’m not sure Iwant the answer. And yet I can’t stop imagining his hand moving up and down my body, sliding between my legs.
I don’t dislike the idea. Not at all.
Instead of letting my imagination wander in a direction that will only end with me writhing beneath this male, I unwrap the package he handed me.
It’s a brush and comb, the last thing I expected anyone to give me, and one of the most thoughtful gifts. Ornate carvings decorate the back and handle of the brush, which are made from a red wood similar to mahogany. The bristles are actually a series of small bones inserted into holes bored into the wood and held there with an amber resin. For as complex as the brush is, the simplicity and elegance of the comb astound me. It’s carved entirely from bone with perfectly straight, evenly spaced teeth.
“They’re beautiful, and perfect, Verig,” I say, running the brush through my hair. With patience and a little work, the brush returns my hair to a manageable mass. The comb then glides through effortlessly. “Thank you.”
Verig pets my hair, stroking me from my head down to the middle of my back. That feels soooo good.
I re-wrap the brush and comb and hand them back to him. “I don’t trade anything for sex.”
He sets the leather bundle in the wood trunk. “These are gifts and are not for trade. I made them for you because you need them. And you will take them with you should you leave here.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
One stride and he’s in front of me again, tipping my head up with a finger beneath my chin. “You know I don’t.” His hand gently cups the back of my head and glides down my hair, only this time his hand dips farther to my ass, and stays there. This is not my imagination, but real. Very real. And I’m not pushing him away.
“Tell me to remove my hand or accept me in your furs.”
