The sincerity in his voice made my throat tighten. I turned in his embrace, rising on tiptoes to press a kiss to his chest. “Thank you for making me feel safe. I didn’t know how much I needed that.”
We dressed quickly, his hand at the small of my back as he passed, my fingers brushing his arm as I reached for my boots. Each contact sent a small thrill through me, the newness of our connection still fresh and exhilarating.
Outside, Treelee waited in the paddock, her big form silhouetted against the morning sky. She snorted a greeting as we approached, lowering her head to bump gently against Dungar’s chest.
“Good morning to you too,” he said, stroking her nose. “Ready for a ride?”
Treelee snorted again, pawing at the ground with one massive, clawed hoof.
Dungar swung me up onto her back and with one leap, settled behind me.
“Comfortable?” he asked, his chest a solid wall of warmth against my back.
“Very.” I settled against him, fitting perfectly within the circle of his arms.
With a gentle nudge of his heel, we set off towardtown, the sorhox’s smooth gait carrying us at a pace that made the landscape blur around us. I leaned back into Dungar’s embrace, savoring the security of his arms around me, the steady beat of his heart against my spine.
Whatever danger still lurked from my past or from those who might try to harm the luminooks, I felt as if I could face anything.
Lonesome Creek came into view, a tinny Wild West tune ringing out through the air.
For now, I would focus on the case and on the way Dungar’s arms around me felt like everything I’d never dared to dream I could have.
Chapter 23
Dungar
The sun had crested fully over the mountain peaks by the time we reached the sheriff’s office. I helped Riley down from Treelee’s back. When she was securely on the ground, I brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I’m glad you came to Lonesome Creek.”
“Me too.” Her smile sent warmth cascading through my chest. I ached to tell her what that look did to me, how it had rearranged the entire structure of my world. Instead, I settled for letting my fingers brush the golden mark on her wrist, a simple touch that connected us across species, across worlds.
I could already hear my brothers’ voices inside as we approached the jailhouse. During my call with Greel, I’d suggested a meeting, and they’d arrived before us. When we entered, their conversation halted. Six pairs of dark eyes took in our linked hands, the subtle changes in our postures, the way Riley and I moved together now rather than separately.
Greel spoke first. “So it’s done.” His voice held no question, only certainty as his gaze fixed on Riley’s wrist.
Riley stiffened beside me, her hand tensing in mine.
I squeezed it gently in reassurance. “Yes.”
Ruugar whooped, the sound echoing off the wooden walls. He strode forward, his big arms engulfing both of us in an embrace that lifted Riley’s feet from the floor. “I thought you’d tease around each other forever.”
“Put us down, you chumble,” I huffed, though there was no heat behind it.
When he set us back on our feet, Hail approached. He studied Riley’s eyes before a slow smile spread across his face. “Wel-wel-welcome to the f-family, sister.”
One by one, my brothers hugged us both. Sel had brought cookies he’d baked that morning, and he served them up as if he’d planned them all along for a celebration. Tark offered a painfully earnest poem he’d composed on the spot. Becken presented her with a small carving of a sorhox he’d whittled himself that he just happened to be carrying around in his pocket. Greel, never one for many words, simply rested his knuckles against her shoulder in the traditional orc gesture of respect and acceptance.
Riley’s eyes glistened. The tension in her shoulders gradually melted away, replaced by wonder.
“Thank you all,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” Sel told her. “You’re one of us now.”
The words settled deep in my bones. My mate. Myperfect complement. The woman who’d walked into my orderly life and made it better.
But as the initial excitement settled, I turned our focus to the task at hand, gesturing toward the maps and equipment I’d laid out on my desk yesterday.
“We have work to do.”
