Page 5

Chapter five

Kai

F uuuuuuuck .

My entire arm hurt after my knuckles landed on Nash’s face. I wasn’t really the kind of guy who got into fights very often—I didn’t like violence if I could help it—but I’d read this storyline before. Big brute captures unsuspecting human and they somehow fall in love.

There were just a few problems. I didn’t like guys. His cock looked way bigger than the damn dildo I’d stolen from Rainn and that nearly broke me, and… fuck. I couldn’t get distracted. I had to find Rainn. Even though I was realizing he probably didn’t want to be found—hell, he probably thought he’d died, and this was his eternal reward for delivering the best monster smut in the industry. Like his own little Garden of Teratophilia.

That didn’t mean I could leave him here.

There were obviously delusional orcs who thought they could just claim people and—

I didn’t expect it when Nash’s fingers in my hair tangled, jerking hard enough that it tore another sound from my throat—I wasn’t about to let him know I liked it when chicks pulled my hair—and he forced my body forward until I stumbled against him.

“Struggle if you like, but it won’t change the fact that you’re mine, Little Mate.”

Damn it, and he was calling me “little” too.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuckity, fuck fuck fuck. He really wasn’t getting it through his head. And my whole “ I don’t like fighting” rule seemed to be going out the window. It was obvious he had no intention of letting me go, and there was no way I could just stay here until whatever weird-ass magic he had that made me keep looking at his crotch took me over and I started believing the stuff he was spouting.

Mate.

Yeah, right. I had over a dozen girls’ numbers in my phone. I didn’t even date. I wasn’t a commitment kinda guy.

I jerked away from him as hard as I could, and noticed when he dropped his grip on my hair before he actually tore it out of my head. He was willing to be rough, but at least it seemed like he didn’t want to really hurt me.

I could use that, right? Because I wasn’t sure if I could really hurt him—he had a fucking foot of height on me… and way too much muscle.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t try.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t fight for what seemed to be my freedom.

I had to get the fuck out of here. I had to find Rainn. It sucked that the guy who’d saved me wasn’t willing to help me, but…

Well.

This time when I hit him, I felt the impact of it all the way up my arm, twisting into my shoulder, and the low grunt that tore from his chest told me at least he felt it, even if he was apparently cosplaying as a giant green wall of steel.

What was worse, he jerked my head back again, his fingers in my hair like a leash that he used to tear my body around and start dragging me forward.

“What are you doing?” I snapped.

“Taking you home,” he answered in the most nonchalant voice, like there wasn’t a trickle of what I thought was blood coming from the corner of his mouth where I’d hit him—it was blue, but…

Home.

Home.

The word echoed around in my chest like it was familiar, like if I would just calm down and really listen to it, it was the thing I’d been waiting to hear my entire life.

Nope.

Weird fucking green man magic, and I wasn’t letting it work.

I lashed out again, but this time he was ready for it. When Nash caught my arm, I used the momentum of the motion to jerk myself free from his hold—maybe trying to hit the seven-foot-tall orc wasn’t going to do me a bit of good, but I could take Plan B.

Plan B was to push myself up as soon as I stumbled back and take off through the trees again.

In the back of my mind, I knew there was every possibility that big cat from earlier would find me and make me its dinner. I was also aware that as fast as I was, as fit as I was, Nash’s legs were longer than mine.

But I also knew I had to try something.

The rush of adrenaline sent me surging forward, even though I knew it wasn’t safe… and the sound of footsteps instantly pounding behind me was enough to make a low little shout rip from my throat.

It wasn’t a scream.

I didn’t scream.

And I definitely didn’t let out another one when the impact of Nash’s large body crashing into mine took me to the ground—the air knocked out of my lungs, even though I was faintly aware that his arms came around me, cradling me from the worst of the fall and letting him land on top of me so I was pinned beneath his weight.

Damn it, that hadn’t really worked at all… and now I was stuck underneath him… and fuck, he was big.

And warm.

And confusing.

The feel of his broad body pressing mine to the ground made something inside me freeze—or burn. Fuck, I was pretty sure I was burning. I squirmed, but it didn’t do me a damn bit of good. We’d fought, and he’d made it very clear that I wasn’t going to be able to best him in anything remotely fair… and every instinct that I had told me I needed to give in to the fact that I’d lost.

To the fact that Nash had me pinned to the ground.

To…

His lips were soft when they ran along my jawline, the faintest whisper of skin pressing to skin, but it drew a shiver out of me, so violent that I was pretty sure I would have vibrated through the ground if he wasn’t holding onto me.

“I like that you fight. That you’re strong. But do you see now that it’s useless? Do you feel the same pull I do?” The rumbling growl of his voice was too much. I shook my head, trying to get myself loose from the warmth of his breath and the way those words seemed determined to penetrate through my entire body.

“You’re wrong.”

He was still pressed close enough that I could feel it when his lips curved up into a smile… and some small part of me expected him to keep going. He had me trapped, and it was obvious I couldn’t fight back. He could have torn my clothes off my body and me saying I was straight wouldn’t have made a difference, because I wouldn’t have been able to fight him off.

I’d just have to deal with being pinned down by his huge frame, watching as he exposed all those muscles before he stripped me down and…

Nash yanked back, standing and grabbing my hand to pull me to my feet as he did. I swayed on the spot, half caught in the fantasy— no, not fantasy, Kai… the fucked up possibility of what could have happened.

“Come. We need to head back to my people before they wonder why I’ve been gone so long. I can see if anyone has heard of another human coming through the portal recently,” he added, like he meant to placate me.

Placate me and help me up. So… not… anything nefarious.

He even leaned forward and ran his thumb along my jawline, wiping at dirt I couldn’t see.

He wasn’t ravishing me against my will at all and I was…

I was definitely not in any way, shape, or form… disappointed.

“Good,” I grumbled in a not disappointed tone.

I did notice that he kept my fingers firmly in his, like he was afraid I was going to fight or run off again if given a chance. And… there was every chance that would happen.

I knew there were monsters roaming around in the trees—animals I obviously didn’t have any idea about—but I was pretty handy.

I could figure it out.

And the way Nash was looking at me told me he had thoughts in his mind other than just helping me find Rainn. It probably wasn’t his priority at all.

Which meant he wasn’t my priority.

No matter how much I could still feel the line of his body pressed against mine as he started dragging me through the trees and onto a path that I’d completely missed when I was running from the big ass cat that wanted to make me its dinner.

We walked for what felt like half an hour before I heard voices. They were all the same deep, rough tone that Nash spoke in. I could understand it because of the weird not-a-collar that definitely felt like a collar around my throat… but it still didn’t sound like any accent I’d ever heard.

Not that I heard a lot of accents.

The little drawl in my voice was about as fancy as I got. I’d moved to Destiny to live with relatives after my parents died, but the twang in my tone from my southern upbringing was still there, especially when I got excited.

Or frustrated.

Or horny.

Or… well, any kind of emotion.

“Where are we going?” I finally asked, my voice a little hushed. Nash just looked over at me, and the smile on his face was so damn… happy.

He looked happy.

“To my people. My group roams the lands—I want to introduce them to my mate.”

“I’m not your—”

“Nash.” A voice cut me off before Nash could, though I was sure he was going to. “Did you find out what caused the sound at the portal?” The orc who strolled up to us was tall—a little taller than me. Nash really was just a freak of nature with his height, it seemed. This one had his red hair pulled into a knot at the back of his head, and one of his tusks was broken. But…

No.

Everyone who milled around the area was an orc. We weren’t in a city, though it was kind of like one—the clearing was full of tents erected a few yards apart from each other, there were fences thrown together with enormous animals I didn’t recognize, the smell of cooking, and the sound of laughter.

“Yes, I found who came across the barrier. This is Kai.”

“Kai?” the other orc said, looking me over and stepping closer. The sound of a deep rumble made me jump. It took me a second to realize it was coming from beside me.

From Nash.

Who was growling at the orc in front of him—it apparently wasn’t very threatening, though, because the slow grin that spilled across his face looked…

Amused.

“Vex, let everyone know the human is off limits—no touching.” Nash’s voice was a deep, demanding rumble, and his fingers on me tightened before his arm slid around my waist. It made something in my stomach flip again, something in my chest feel…

Weird.

I could write it off as finally being in a situation where everyone was taller than me, but I knew that wasn’t it. Nash was the biggest motherfucker here, and I’d still gotten into a fight with him.

Maybe it was just the fact that in all my life, I’d never been the person who was being protected.

No one had ever been possessive of me—no one had ever tucked me under their arm and acted like I was…

What?

Precious?

It was fucking weird—the tingles were probably my brain trying to process it.

The orc Nash had addressed as Vex hiked his brows up so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline.

“Really? A human?” But the delight on his face was obvious—he was happy for Nash.

And Nash, who’d seemed so fierce and vicious, so ready to defend me from everyone and everything just a few seconds prior, grinned like a frat boy and actually pushed me away from him enough to spin me in a circle like we were dancing.

“He tried to fight me when I found him.”

Proud .

He was proud of me.

Fuck, the weird tingles in my chest flared to life, and they stayed there while Nash led me around the camp, pointing out a few tents, where they made breakfast in the morning, a pathway to the water…

Then he led me to a large black tent at the back of the camp, and the fuzzy feelings that had nearly incapacitated me screeched to a halt.

“Nash.” I said carefully, tugging against his hold. It didn’t do a damn bit of good, though. He kept pulling me forward like I weighed nothing. I’d have tried to run again, but he’d just told the entire camp about me, and I’d heard him letting more than one of them know they weren’t to let me leave. “Listen, why don’t you show me to my tent?”

Because the one he was dragging me to was the biggest, which obviously meant it was his.

“This is your tent,” he said, pushing me through the flaps before I had a chance to protest.

It was huge—bigger than any tent I’d ever stayed in. There was space for a bed, for drawers, for a desk. It was more like a tiny house than camping, and I might have given him shit for it if it weren’t for the fact that he was trying to make me stay here.

With him.

And he’d called me his mate, and I—

I was so busy trying to figure out how to tell him there was no way I was going to sleep with him that I didn’t realize he was wrapping something around my wrists and murmuring the same strange words as before until it was too late. The fabric was soft, but it tightened across my skin at the sound of his voice.

“What the fuck?” I whipped around to face him, but he was already tying the end of the fabric to the posts of the bed, and when he turned to me he was grinning again.

“Do you think I would leave you here unattended? You would run.”

“Of course I would. You can’t just keep me here. I have to go.” Probably would have been better to lie, but…

Nash’s brows drew together, his smile faltering as he stepped forward. I wasn’t sure what I expected as I flinched from his touch, but it wasn’t the gentle way he ran his fingers along my cheek, brushing them through my hair to tilt my head back.

“There are far worse dangers in the wilds than me. Best you stay put so I can keep you safe.”

I tugged at my restraints. “What kind of danger? Like the cat thing?”

Nash shook his head. “Worse. Now… rest. I’ll be back soon.”

My mouth dropped open.

“What? You’re leaving? What about my friend?” But Nash was already retreating, and it seemed like no amount of yelling was going to bring him back.