“I can scent your arousal.”
“What?”
“Your arousal. I can smell it.” His dark eyes hold mine. “I’ve been able to scent it for a while now. Since yesterday. Maybe before.”
Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god.
I want the bed to open up and swallow me whole. “That’s... I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to?—"
“Don’t apologize.” His thumb strokes my hip through my pajamas. “I’m not complaining. I’m proud that you want me.”
“Proud?” I squeak.
“Yes.” A small smile tugs at his lips. “Very proud. You’re the most beautiful female I’ve ever met. You’re smart and brave, and you wantme. How could I not be proud?”
I bury my face against his chest because I can’t look at him right now. “This is mortifying.”
A rumble of laughter vibrates through his chest. “It’s not. It’s perfect.” He tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. “But you need to understand something about orcs.”
“What?”
“We don’t pleasure mate.”
I blink. “What does that mean?”
“It means orcs don’t do casual.” His dark eyes are serious. Intense. “We don’t do ‘just sex’ like humans can. When an orc takes a female to his bed, it’s all or nothing. A life-long mate. A Bride. Forever.” His thumb traces my jawline. “There is no in-between for us.”
Forever.
The word hangs in the air between us. I absorb it slowly. “So if we...”
“If we mate, my body will think you’re mine, permanently.” His jaw tightens. “I want you, Sloane. I think I’ve wanted you since the first time we talked through a screen but I didn’t know for sure until now, that we’ve been this close. But I won’t take you until you understand what that means and you’ve had time to heal. Until the danger has passed and your story is published and you can think clearly.”
“Wait, you’re saying you’ve never felt this way before? So does this mean that you’re…?”
“I’m a virgin. I’ve never found a female until now that causes my cock to thicken.”
“This is your first erection, ever?”
“Yes, it’s been happening since your clean, semi-healed scent entered my lungs. It’s only for you.”
“Jonus—”
“But as I was saying, I want to wait to do anything about it.” His voice is firm but gentle. “I’ve waited my whole life to find you. I can wait a little longer until all of this is over and we’re both ready to make life-long decisions.”
Tears prick my eyes. I don’t even know why. “Okay,” I whisper.
He presses a kiss to my forehead. Gentle. Reverent. Then he untangles himself from me, leaving me cold and bereft. My body immediately protests the loss of his warmth, his weight, his scent surrounding me.
“Wound care,” he says. “Then breakfast. Then, since this is a Saturday, I need to meet with the others. Dane, Garlen, Aldar. We need to discuss security. And... other things.”
I crook an eyebrow. Other things? I wonder what that means.
He stands, and I try not to stare at the tent in his sleep pants as he walks to the bathroom.
I fail spectacularly.
The bathroom door closes and I flop back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling.
