Page 27 of Enchanted with the Orc (The Kingverse Orcs #4)

Tasia

“ S o what am I to you?” I asked him in a low voice, tucking my toes against his warm, hard calves.

I saw the argument he was having with himself in his gaze.

Long moments passed where he stared down at where I was touching him, not moving.

I mentally pumped a fist in the air when he released a deep sigh of surrender and met my gaze again .

“My mate,” he murmured, “but I think you already knew that.”

I shrugged, tucking my other foot against him. “Kind of.”

His smile was sheepish. “I didn’t do a very good job hiding it.”

“Neither did I, I suppose,” I looked away and then back at him, in time to see his frown.

“What were you hiding?” he asked, his head canted in that adorable way that he had. One of the many adorable things that he did.

Ugh. Stop noticing everything about him. You can’t afford to fall harder.

I quirked an eyebrow at him, leaning my head against the top of the sofa. I watched with amusement as he did the same so that we were mirroring each other’s positions. “You’re mine, too,” I admitted with a deep sigh, not seeing the use of pretending anymore. Not after he’d admitted his truth.

Enka’s entire body went stiff. He was frozen, his lips parted and his eyes huge in his face as he stared at me. I wanted to prod his mouth closed, but I didn’t think I could touch his face without wanting to do more.

“Witches have mates?” he asked, searching my expression with hope shining in his eyes.

Confused, I raised my eyebrows. “Obviously. Didn’t you know that after Zara and Rudgar?”

He shook his head and I had to cover my mouth to smother another laugh. This was too serious to joke over, but his dumbstruck expression was hilarious.

“Well, we do. Have mates. I don’t think it’s the same as orc mates,” I added with a shrug. “It’s more magickal. Mystical. It’s a bond that grows over time until you’re completely tied to the other being.”

“Tied,” he murmured in a low, awed voice.

“Yes,” I whispered, ducking my head and feeling vulnerable. “And it’s something I thought I had with David.” I felt him stiffen against me at the name, but I didn’t stop. “In fact, I’d hoped never to meet my mate after him.”

I peeked up at him, expecting fury to light his face, but as usual, when it came to this male, I was happy to be wrong. Instead, understanding filled his expression and he reached out a huge hand to mine.

I pondered what I should do for a long moment before giving in to what my instincts were screaming at me. I took his hand, feeling whole and settled while touching him. Still, I needed to set the facts straight.

“And I don’t think I want a mate, still,” I whispered, expecting any kind of reaction at all, but I didn’t get one.

This amazing, patient male sat there and looked at me, waiting for what else I had to say.

“I really enjoy spending time with you and Gabbi loves you,” I explained. “I was hoping we could stay friends.”

I studied him, searching for any flaws or cracks in his facade, but I didn’t see anything. Just a slow, sweet smile.

“Alright.”

Narrowing my eyes, I waited for another moment, but he just stayed where he was, waiting for me.

“Alright?” I asked, suspicious. “That’s it?

You tell me I’m your mate, I tell you you’re mine and then it’s okay that we stay just friends .

” I clarified. “Because I can’t be anything else .

This isn’t a friends with benefits situation and I won’t have Gabbi getting any false hope. We’re platonic friends only.”

He nodded, running his thumb along the back of my hand. “Platonic friends with the mate I never thought I’d find?” His grin was triumphant. “I think I hit the jackpot.”

I blinked at him, before huffing out a little laugh. “No, I’m pretty sure I did.”

We smiled at each other like complete idiots for what could have been minutes or even hours. When I finally came back to myself, I turned away from him with a blush. “Well if that’s okay with you.”

“Friends,” he confirmed with a nod, his thumb still circling my skin. “ And if you’re okay with it, I was hoping we could work toward becoming best friends .”

I chuckled, tucking my hair behind my ear with my free hand. “Well there’s a position open, then, that you can definitely apply for.”

“If I applied, would you pick me?” he asked, and deep down, I knew he was talking about something else. I couldn’t tell from the way he was looking at me, but I knew it inside.

“I would,” I murmured, ducking my head and looking away from him. I wasn’t going to lie to him. Especially not now. My scariest and biggest truth was out in the open and laying bare in front of us both. Nothing I could say would even hold a candle to it.

“Since we’re alone,” he said in a low deep voice that had my pussy clenching and unthinkable things running through my mind, “I think we should talk about what happened with… you know.”

Every single happy, sexy thought drained from my brain in a flash. It was impossible to think about those things and David at the same time. I kept my gaze averted, even as I told myself that I’d known these questions would come. And I owed this male all of the answers.

“I was young,” I started, taking a deep, shuddering breath before I continued. I glanced down as he stilled the motion of his thumb on the back of my hand.

“How young?” he asked, struggling to hide the fury in his voice, but I heard it. For some odd reason, it made me smile.

“Not that young, don’t worry,” I whispered, awed by his ability to be angry on my behalf when I had been so, so stupid. “I was old enough to know better.”

“How old?” he asked, tipping my chin back so I was looking into his eyes.

I swallowed hard, still angry with myself all these years later. “Nineteen. ”

He scoffed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. “You were barely old enough to be considered an adult,” he told me. Those big, gentle fingers released my chin as he cupped my cheek instead. I leaned into the movement, closing my eyes against the protective rage in his own.

“I still should have known better. I should have seen what he was doing. How he was separating me from my friends. From the only family I’d ever had,” I gasped the words past my tightening throat, praying that I wouldn’t begin sobbing yet.

This was only the beginning. I hadn’t even told him the hard truths yet.

Instead of arguing, he stroked his thumbs over my cheek and the top of my hand at the same time. I kept my eyes closed, unable to meet his soft gaze as I continued.

“He wooed me the usual ways. Dates, acting like he loved me. Things like that.” I released a long breath before I continued.

“And then the abuse started.” It was still so hard to talk to him about it, even after I’d admitted it to him before.

The never-ending pool of shame was still there—and I doubted it would ever go away.

“And then I found out I was pregnant with Gabbi,” I whispered.

The speed of the memories was nauseating, but one stood out to me. The moment when I realized that Gabbi was more than just something keeping us together.

I felt a tear slip down my cheek at the memory. For the longest time, I’d regretted getting pregnant. For months, a small trickle of resentment had forced its way to the front of my mind while my baby had grown inside me.

But one night had made me see the truth. Had made me realize how much I wanted her. How much I loved her already.

“One night,” I said, barely hearing my own voice. “He’d come home from work and for some reason, he thought I’d had someone over.”

I shook my head, still unable to fathom why he’d had his breakdown that night. Why he’d decided that it was time for the real monster to come out. The memory played like a movie in my head as I relayed it.

“He was always the jealous type, but that night was different. It was as if… he’d gone over the edge.” The look in his eyes as he’d faced me, spewing poisonous words at me was unforgettable. I’d never seen him look like that, and the fear that had overtaken me had chilled me to my bones.

“I was two weeks away from my due date,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “And somehow he got it into his head that I’d had the energy to sneak around with someone behind his back.”

You’re nothing but a whore. Is that baby even mine?

“Then he started hitting me,” I whispered, pressing my thumbnail into the flesh of my thigh so I could center myself with the pain.

“It’s not like he’d ever stopped. My pregnancy wasn’t anything special to him.

I’m still shocked I didn’t lose her.” I pressed my hand to my lower stomach, remembering how many times I’d done that, not quite sure whether I wanted her to still be there or not.

A hot flush of shame overtook me as I wondered what I would have done without my sweet girl. The most precious thing in the world to me. I took a steadying breath, not ready to admit that to anyone.

“When he aimed for my stomach, I ran from him. But we were upstairs and he was so fast,” I whispered. “When I got to the stairs, he shoved me. I lost my balance and I was about to fall when he grabbed me by the hair.”

The painful ache in my scalp had been nothing compared to the terror that had flooded me.

The knowledge that I would prefer to die than to lose my baby.

In that moment, I knew I loved her. I loved the little heartbeat that I heard on the ultrasounds.

I adored every little move she made inside of me.

And it would have all ended if he’d let my hair go.

“That’s what stopped me from falling. His hold on my hair.” My voice cracked as I relayed the story. “And he held me there,” I gasped, tears flowing more freely. “Letting me know that the power to kill Gabbi and I was in his hands.”

I was in Enka’s arms in a moment. He pressed me to his chest, snuggling me close.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured into my hair, and I felt the wetness against my scalp that told me that he was crying with me.