Page 7

Rudgar

I pulled the file marked The Sisters of the Sage up on the computer in my home office, rubbing my fingers across my mouth—where my mate’s lips were going to be in a matter of minutes. I hit print on the section with the members, anticipation flooding me.

I wouldn’t give her the entire file. I wanted to hold onto it in case she offered me future rewards for more information. I had no problem letting my little minx use me for anything she wanted. I would always give in to her.

But I also needed to find a way to bind her to me and so far the only thing she responded to was my body. If that’s what I needed to use to keep her here, I would. She held herself back from me, but I couldn’t understand why.

Mysteries intrigued me. And she was a mystery personified. Her body said one thing while her emotions and mind said another. I saw the way she softened when I was near her. But she didn’t give in. I was almost certain she knew I was her mate. I could see the longing in her eyes when she looked at me, but she didn’t want to admit what we were to each other. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but I hoped to get her to trust me enough to tell me.

Taking the papers to her, I waved them in front of her, knowing my eyes would be gleaming with anticipation. So were hers. No matter what she tried to tell me, the way she angled her delicious body toward me, her lips parting sweetly as she looked at me said everything I needed to know.

I can make her mine tonight.

Seduction wasn’t my forte. But she was made for me. My perfect match in every way. It would only take a little nudge to have her in my bed. I’d show her so much pleasure, she wouldn’t even think of leaving me.

The first step before making her fall in love with me.

That would be more difficult. When we were growing up—after my parents had passed—we’d had a guardian who’d showed us the ropes of taking over the company they left behind, plus taught us countless life lessons that we hadn’t been able to learn from our parents. Traditions that were passed down from our ancestors that needed to be continued.

Courting was one of them. While Dristan had been angry as soon as he’d started speaking—rushing off and insisting that he didn’t need help courting his own mate from an old coot of a male—I’d stayed and begged him for all the tips and tricks I could get. There was never enough information that you could have on winning a female’s heart.

Most of that had been with the assumption that the female herself would be an orc who knew the traditions of our kind, but this made it all the better. I would be able to introduce my Gul-ar to the ways of my kind.

With that in mind, I leaned down with a small smile on my face. “My prize?” I asked, and she rolled her eyes, but moved toward me, pressing her lips against mine. The zing that shot through my veins froze me in place, but she pulled away with an abrupt gasp, swallowing hard.

Her breath sawed in and out of her and I reached forward, cupping the back of her head, twining my fingers through her springy curls. They wrapped around and clung to my fingers like they wanted me to stay there.

“That can’t be it,” I told her with a low murmur—my voice almost too husky to understand.

“You asked for a kiss,” she whispered, keeping the intimacy going between us. “You didn’t specify the length of it.”

“Tsk tsk,” I tipped her chin back with my fingers, staring down into her eyes. “Witches are more tricksy than I thought. Here I was thinking that my female would play fair,” I told her with a quirk of my brow.

“Well the joke’s on you,” she gasped, licking her lips as she stared at mine. “Because I don’t ever play fair.”

“No holds barred?” I queried, scraping my fangs across my lower lip and watching her swallow hard as she stared at it.

“No holds barred,” she agreed, but I had a feeling she had no idea what she was agreeing to.

“Good,” I reached around her, yanking her against me until we were pressed together. I groaned low in my throat as she gasped, her hands going to my chest.

If she pushed me away, I would go. I had no intention of making my mate uncomfortable. But instead, her little fingers clung to me, roving over my chest and exploring me.

“Y-you said you’d give me the details,” she told me, her voice quavering low with lust, and I cursed the fact that she still had the wherewithal to think while I was holding her. Meanwhile, I’d lost track of my thoughts. I could barely remember where I was standing, much less what I was doing minutes before.

“Of course,” I said, in a quiet, sincere voice. I lifted the papers in front of her, offering them, but she hesitated, not wanting to stop touching me. A wolfish smile crossed my face and I was leaning down again when she snatched the papers from me and spun away, staring down at them. I froze, blinking down at my female in shock.

What the fuck had just happened?

I lounged back on the sofa next to my mate while she flipped through the papers I’d given her, studying them while murmuring the words under her breath. My female wasn’t a quiet one and I loved it.

Along with my barren walk-in closet, the one thing that bothered me the most about my home was how quiet it was. When I was growing up, the house always echoed with laughter and joy. My parents had loved each other and us with their entire hearts.

When they’d died, Dristan had done his best to keep our family going, but it hadn’t been the same. Having a female in an orcish household was what brought joy. It brought light and an energy of home .

I glanced over at my tiny mate, a smile crossing my lips as she mumbled and turned the sheet of paper in her hand over to look at the back. Ever since I’d moved in, I’d been filling the rooms with things, trying to recreate this feeling, but all she’d needed to do was step inside and now it felt complete.

It’s finally a home.

“Oh! Tasia,” she said, pointing at one of the witches on the first page. “I grew up with her.”

My eyebrow quirked as I looked down at the picture she was pointing to. It was a blurry picture—with a fuzzy background. It was obvious that it had been taken without the subject’s permission, so I couldn’t see who it was.

“I know that name,” I told her, with a nod, the female’s face popping up in my head. Tasia was the one who’d warned Becca that her coven would have to return Rok to the enchanted tome. She’d also been the one that had offered to try to find a way to bring him back.

But that treacherous coven had taken him in the first place.

“I don’t trust them,” I told her with a shrug. “ You can’t trust them. I don’t want you approaching them. What if they decide to sell you back to the grand warlock because he’s willing to pay them?”

“Or what if they don’t ?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “I grew up with them. They’re not going to sell me down the river for some money.”

“I disagree,” I told her, relaxing back on the sofa and watching as she tilted a little in my direction. Just like the sofa in Rok and Becca’s apartment. She would sink against me soon enough and I couldn’t wait to feel her against me.

“I’ve looked at their financial records and they’ve been heading on a downward spiral for the last couple of years. They’d been making a good profit before that, but they’re out of money now and they’re treading into dangerous waters. Debt in a coven means that desperation is nearby,” I sighed, shaking my head. “They could see you as a payout. And I can’t let that happen. There’s no way that that warlock is getting anywhere near you again.”

Her shudder of disgust told me she wanted to stay as far away from him as possible, but she still turned to face me, tucking her leg under her, her dress pulling up over her legs and baring her delicate calf to me. I wanted to sink my fangs into it, but I stopped myself— barely .

“If they’re desperate for money, I can help them. My mom was the one who did most of their big spells and expensive potions. I can do that now. I’ve been learning and—” she cut herself off as I waved a hand in front of her.

“You’re still learning . What if they take advantage of that? I can’t risk it,” I explained, stroking my finger down the side of her cheek, feeling her soft skin under my rough finger. “There’s no way. Nothing is worth that. If they take you—” I cut myself off, unable to continue my sentence.