Page 9 of Enchanted with the Orc (The Kingverse Orcs #4)

Tasia

I spun in a circle, staring around at the huge suite that I’d stepped into. This place was amazing . I’d seen commercials with things like this, but I’d never thought I’d ever be staying in one of those places.

It wasn’t as nice or as large as the apartment we had left behind, but it came really close. And for a temporary accommodation, that was saying something.

The carpet was plush under my feet and I knew it would be so soft if I took my shoes off.

There was a living area spread out in front of us with a dining table behind it.

A massive television took up a portion of the wall on the right of us and a set of double doors to the left had to lead to the bedroom and bathroom.

There was a smaller door closer to the front door and when I moved over, pulling it open I saw that it revealed a half-bath.

The bright, jeweled tones that had been used for the decorations gave off a modern aesthetic but the furniture looked plush and comfortable. And durable , which would be important for Gabbi.

This is amazing.

I spun in a slow circle before everything came to a screeching halt. There was one door, leading to one bedroom.

I hurried over to it, prying the door open and releasing a panicked laugh. Gabbi mumbled against my left breast and I stroked my hand over her back to comfort her.

Fuck, fuck, FUCK !

How was I going to survive staying with Enka in a place with only one bed? Who I was now more certain than ever was my bond mate. The moment we had shared in the elevator had been more intense and intimate than sex had been with David.

I might have been in denial before, but I couldn’t be now.

Still, I wasn’t going to do anything about it.

Rash decisions had put me in the place I was now and while I was grateful that my daughter and I were safe and out of danger for the moment, staying in a hotel that was far more luxurious than the borrowed sofa we might have been able to talk our way into once we made it out of the city, I wasn’t going to jump into bed with another male.

Not until I was out from under the thumb of the last male I’d trusted.

Even then, I didn’t know that I could give my heart and soul to Enka.

I couldn’t trust my heart anymore. It had led me down the wrong path before.

I was almost hyperventilating by the time the door snicked closed in the distance.

Enka.

I stepped out of the bedroom, eyeing him as he looked around nonchalantly, putting my bags down on the desk in the corner. He dwarfed the space, and now it felt way too tiny. Too claustrophobic.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa,” he said, without missing a beat, and the racing of my heart slowed along with my erratic breathing.

“What?” I asked, my brow furrowing, not expecting the words from him. He hiked his thumb toward the sofa.

“It’s wide enough that I can fit on it. You and Gruk-ir can take the bedroom. I’ll ask Darak to bring some of my things here. You’ll be safe. I’ll protect you,” he explained.

Just like that, every ounce of panic slid out of my body.

He didn’t expect me to sleep with him. He’s trying to keep us safe.

While a small part of my brain—the part that was trained to not believe males after David—screamed at me to not believe him, the rest of me was finally relaxing. A wave of ease swept over me and I nodded, not able to voice the sweet relief that filled me.

“Thank you,” I told him with complete sincerity.

Maybe he is just as nice as Dristan, Rok and Rudgar. Maybe I can trust him.

While a tiny part of me was trying to see the best in him, another poisonous part was telling me that he was waiting for me to drop my guard before he pounced. Both sides of me agreed that—at least for now—we could let the adrenaline leave our system.

“Did you want to tuck her in?” he asked, lifting his chin toward where Gabbi was making bubbles with her drool on my chest.

“Oh, yes,” I agreed, sending another grateful smile his way.

“I’ll be right back,” I told him, grabbing the bags off of the desk and heading toward the bedroom.

He watched me from where he stood in front of the sofa, and his gaze felt like caress against my skin—even though very little of it was visible.

The bed was king-sized, so I laid my daughter down on top of the duvet and tugged her blanket and stuffed tiger out of the bag along with her tiny toiletry bag.

My girl was a sound sleeper, but I was able to rouse her for a few minutes of teeth brushing while she blinked up at me with those beautiful sleepy eyes.

She was asleep again before I was able to change her clothes, so I took my time, easing her out of them and then redressing her in her pajamas.

I lay her on the bed again, covering her with her blanket and then putting the toy under her arm.

She squeezed it around the neck and buried her face against the softness.

I ran my palm across her hair, leaning down to press my nose against her, taking a deep breath and allowing her sweet scent to soothe me. Relief that my girl was safe settled inside me, and I stepped away from her, keeping her in my gaze until the very last moment before I closed the door.

I felt Enka standing close to me like a heat signature. Swallowing hard, I turned to look up at him, a small smile tugging at my lips.

“Does she need anything?” he asked, his brow furrowed with a concern that hit me in my chest.

David was her father and he’d never once cared about what she needed. She’d been his way to trap me further in the relationship, and I hadn’t realized it until it was too late. Way too late.

“She’s fine,” I said, taking a small step back, reminded that I had terrible taste in males. “She’ll be out for the night,” I explained, moving toward the sofa.

“Will she be hungry if she wakes up at night?” he asked, moving to pace next to the phone. “We should order something.” He paused, turning to face me. “Are you hungry?”

I smiled, struggling to stop my heart from squeezing with tenderness in my chest, but it was impossible. His face was ravaged with horror at the thought of one of us going hungry. “We just ate so much food at the party. Trust me, we’re set. She has snacks in her bag, don’t worry.”

“Is she allergic to anything?” he asked as he took a seat next to me.

Taking up too much room and surrounding me with his delicious scent.

“I should know that in case—” he started, but I shook my head, reaching out to touch his hand.

I couldn’t stand the worry etched into every inch of his expression.

“She doesn’t have any allergies, thank the Goddess. She puts everything into her mouth and hasn’t had a reaction yet,” I explained. “She’s healthy and full.”

Those words soothed him and he relaxed in small increments, giving me a small, apologetic smile.

“I’ve never been around a youngling before,” he told me, scrubbing his huge palm over the nape of his neck.

“I didn’t know what to expect, so I was reading a book on it and it mentioned that humans can have allergies. ”

He’s reading a book on how to take care of my baby.

I blinked away the tears that were pooling in my eyes, turning to look anywhere but at him. This couldn’t be real. This male who I’d known for less than a month was acting more like a father than the male whose DNA was in my daughter.

“That’s really sweet,” I cleared my throat to say, wanting to make sure that he understood I was grateful for all the work he was doing to try to understand how to take care of my girl. “Thank you for thinking of that.”

He shook his head, his eyes wide. “And it was saying that your body and needs would change as well. That you’d need to make sure—” he trailed off as my eyebrows almost met my hairline .

“ My needs?” I asked with a shake of my head. “No, I don’t need anything. Mothers—” I started, but he shook his head.

“Mothers are just as important as their babies,” he explained, and it was clear that he was repeating the words verbatim from somewhere.

“They need care and rest because they’re going through the emotional and physical turmoil that comes with a youngling.

” He finished, staring at me with expectation.

“Did you want some time to yourself? I can watch Gruk-ir. If she wakes up, I found some games in the book that I can play with her.”

“Time… to… myself?” I asked, not sure if I fully understood what he was asking. I hadn’t had time to myself in… My thoughts trailed off as I struggled to remember the last time I hadn’t been focused on Gabbi in one way or another. “No, I’m fine.”

He shook his head, his strong brow furrowed again.

“That’s what most mothers say, but it isn’t true.

You’re an individual as well as a mother, and you need to remember that.

You won’t be able to take care of her the way you need to unless you take care of yourself first.” he said, and I bit my lip, knowing that this male was reciting the words of a book, but also, those words were hitting close to home.

I haven’t taken any time to take care of myself.

But I also hadn’t had the opportunity. After Gabbi was born, I’d been too busy struggling to survive and keep our heads afloat. After our coven was attacked and we were finally safe, I’d been sinking into the idea that we could finally be at peace. But David had appeared.

We can’t catch a break.

“I know that’s the case with most mothers, but that’s not how it is with me.

I’m fine and—” I cut myself off at the disbelieving purse of his thick, luscious lips.

“I am fine,” I huffed, rolling my eyes and trying to ignore how devastatingly handsome he was.

“And I’m sorry, I don’t know you well enough to leave my daughter with you. ”

I expected him to be offended, but he just nodded his head in agreement.

“You’re right. You can’t trust anyone with her until you can confirm that they won’t hurt her,” he told me.

“You never know. I read about different discipline styles and there are so many options and so much different research on what’s right and wrong.

Unless you’re aligned with the person, it isn’t safe to leave her with them. ”

He turned to me, holding his hand out in my direction. “You can ask me anything you need to know.”

How the hell did this turn into a babysitting interview?