Page 64
Story: Rough Riding Orc Cowboy
She snorted, lifting her spear again. “Try telling that to the men living here on the surface.”
I wondered what sort of men she'd known before now, if she’d admired any of them, if they’d ever earned that glowing look she sometimes showed when she was pleased.
The thought unsettled me.
She adjusted her stance again, preparing to strike,but I caught the familiar flicker of hesitation, the way her fingers tensed too soon.
I moved in behind her, close enough that my abdomen brushed her back. She let out a little yip I couldn't define and ignored. I was here to help her. Nothing else. I settled my hands over hers, my body bracketing hers. The top of her head barely reached my chest.
She smelled of the river and a sweetness I still hadn’t figured out but always noticed.
Beth stiffened against me and sucked in a breath. I felt it under my hands and in the tremor shooting through her muscles.
My breathing grew heavy, my grip tightening on her wrist for too long.
Focus.
I pushed through the heat coiling inside me and bent my head, angling my words at her ear. My pulse slammed against the inside of my throat. It was too loud, too much. Her skin was so close, her wrist beneath my fingers delicate yet strong. A breath. That was all it would take. Just one inhale closer to her ear, one moment of foolish indulgence.
“Like this.” Slowly, I guided her arms, forcing her grip to loosen so she wasn’t straining. Together, we positioned the spear at the perfect angle. Her heartbeat thundered, or maybe that was mine.
Her breath caught again.
I ignored the need to let my touch linger.
“Wait,” I said. “Don't move.”
“I won't.”
The river whispered past us, smooth and cold and carrying secrets from time long forgotten. Fishing had existed ages ago. It did so now. She could learn this, learn something that might help her feel independent. I was going to make sure that when she emerged from the river, she felt confident.
A fish drifted closer in the shallows.
“Now.”
Together, we struck, driving the spear straight and clean, impaling the fish. The splash was quick, the final struggle brief, as it should be with a creature created by the fates.
Beth gasped. “I did it. Well, we did it.” She turned and launched herself at me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders, her legs my torso. Laughter spilled past her lips, and joy vibrated through her.
The warmth of her body hit me like a truth I wasn't ready to hear.
Every careful tether holding me in place was determined to snap. I braced myself, but it was useless. If she only knew the war she waged inside me when she did something like this.
I held her the way I'd craved to do from the moment I met her.
She pressed her body against mine, and her damp jeans and shirt clung where it touched my skin. She was small, soft in a way that made my heart hammer out of rhythm.
The people at the firepit cheered.
Chapter 22
Beth
“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry.” I eased away from him, planted my feet back on the riverbed, and quickly dragged my gaze from him. I was afraid he’d see the longing on my face.
“You…” He frowned.
While the guests cheered, I hefted the spear I somehow hadn’t dropped, examining the fish that had stopped flopping on the end.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64 (Reading here)
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93