Page 7 of Marked by the Scarred Orc (Heat & Ink #6)

Chapter Five

Corinne

H arken’s huge, rough hand moves around the back of my neck, causing goosebumps to erupt along my spine. I feel so delicate and…protected in his embrace. His horns and those tusks are super sexy. He’s much taller than me and a big guy in every way.

And I’ve asked him to kiss me because I’ve grown bold with this orc who keeps saying he’s only known me for a moment and yet wants forever. It seems impossible, but with orcs this could actually be his truth.

“I need your consent,” he repeats. “Because of how we started and everything that happened in there with you and the Irontrees, I need to know that you want this.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Corinne?”

I grin up at him. “Yes, please kiss me.”

But then he pauses, his dark eyes search mine with an intensity that makes my breath catch. “This is my first kiss,” he admits quietly, his voice rough with vulnerability.

My heart stops. Of course it is. He’s a virgin, isolated on that commune his whole life. Orcs don’t mate until they find the female they think is theirs for a lifetime. This doesn’t always work out for them, with women, especially in the past, leaving them to return to their normal lives.

The weight of that admission settles over me like a warm blanket. This intimidating, scarred orc who marked me so possessively is about to experience his first kiss. With me. “Then we’ll figure it out together,” I whisper.

The words seem to break something loose in him. This close, I can see the way his scar pulls slightly at the corner of his eye, and instead of making him look fierce, he looks vulnerable. I can’t help but wonder what it will be like to kiss him between those tusks. How does that work?

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he murmurs, his free hand coming up to cup my face.

“You won’t.”

And then his lips are on mine.

The first touch of his mouth against mine is soft, hesitant, like he’s afraid I’ll break.

But when I press closer, he deepens the kiss with a low growl that vibrates through my chest. His tusks should make this awkward, but somehow we fit together perfectly.

His lips are fuller than I expected, softer, and when his tongue tentatively touches mine, heat shoots straight through my core.

I’ve been kissed before. I’ve had boyfriends, relationships, experiences. But nothing, nothing has ever felt like this.

It’s like every nerve ending in my body has suddenly come alive. A low, desperate ache builds between my thighs. He smells and tastes amazing.

Harken’s hand tightens on the back of my neck, not painfully but possessively. We continue to kiss, drawing it out and turning it into the best makeout session of my life.

He pulls back just enough to look at me, his breathing ragged.

A whimper escapes my lips because I didn’t want to stop. I could kiss him twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, even on Christmas.

“Was that…” he starts, uncertainty creeping into his voice.

“Perfect,” I breathe. “That was perfect.”

Relief floods his harsh features, and he leans his forehead against mine. “I can still scent your arousal,” he says, his voice low and rough. “It’s driving me insane.”

“Good,” I say, surprising myself with more of my boldness. “Because I can feel how much you want me too.” I wiggle against his enormous erection. “Although I’m having trouble imagining how we’re going to fit.”

His body is pressed against mine, and there’s no hiding his reaction.

The length and width of that thing feels bigger than anything I’ve felt before.

But in reality, I’m not scared. Instead I’m turned on more than I ever thought possible.

The evidence of his desire is hard and insistent against my hip, and instead of being intimidated, I feel powerful.

This massive, intimidating orc is undone by one kiss from me.

“Corinne,” he growls. “Don’t worry about my size. I am indeed bigger than any human male, but I’ll make sure you can take me.”

“I know.”

We stay close and quiet for a long moment, his hands still framing my face like I’m something precious. The filtered sun casts golden light across his features, softening the harsh lines of his scars and making his dark eyes look almost warm.

“Have dinner with me tomorrow night,” he says suddenly. “Let me cook for you. Let me show you who I am when we’re not surrounded by other orcs and your family.”

“You cook?”

“I’m learning. I want to learn everything that might please you.”

The simple honesty in his words makes my chest tight. “Okay,” I hear myself saying. “But I have one condition.”

“Anything.”

“I’m bringing my cat.”

He blinks, clearly not expecting that. “Your cat?”

“Remember how I originally wanted a tattoo of a cat? I wasn’t kidding. I love cats. My cat is named Sterling. He’s a Russian Blue, and if we’re going to try this—whatever this is between us—he needs to approve of you because we’re a package deal.”

A slow smile spreads across his face, transforming his features completely. “I would be honored to meet Sterling.”

“He can be judgmental.”

“So can I.”

I laugh, and some of the tension between us shifts into something lighter but no less intense. “Give me your address, and I’ll be there tomorrow at 5.”

He pulls out his phone—the latest model, I notice—and we exchange information. His fingers brush mine as he hands my phone back, and even that simple contact sends sparks up my arm.

“I should go,” I say, though I don’t move away from him.

“You should,” he agrees, but his hands are on my hips.

“My sister is probably listening at the door.”

“Probably. And Kavin is definitely wondering what we’re doing out here.”

“Definitely.”

But neither of us moves. We’re caught in this bubble of possibility, and I don’t want to break it. I don’t want to go back to the real world where I have to analyze and overthink and worry about the consequences of falling for an orc I barely know.

Finally, I force myself to step back. The loss of his warmth is immediate and unwelcome, but I need to think clearly, and I can’t do that when he’s touching me. “Tomorrow,” I say.

“Tomorrow,” he agrees.

Just as I’m about to suggest we go back inside, the patio door slides open with a soft scrape. “Are you two done out here?” Mia asks.

“Yes,” I say, grinning at my sister’s obvious eavesdropping. “We’re done.”

“Good,” she says dramatically. “Because Rhys is hungry and Kavin is pacing a hole in my kitchen floor.”

The next evening, I’m sitting in my car in my driveway, staring at the address Harken gave me and questioning my life choices.

Sterling meows impatiently from his carrier in the passenger seat, clearly annoyed about being stuffed into his travel prison. I’ve packed an overnight bag, just in case, though I’m not entirely sure what I’m hoping will happen.

“Okay, handsome,” I tell Sterling, starting the engine. “Let’s go meet Mommy’s maybe orc boyfriend.”

Sterling gives me a look that clearly says he disapproves of my life choices, which, to be fair, is pretty much his default expression.

The drive takes me away from the area where my apartment is located, out toward the outskirts of Spokane.

At first, the neighborhoods are modest, but as I follow the GPS directions, things start to change.

The houses get bigger. The yards get more manicured.

The cars in the driveways start having luxury badges.

“Okay,” I mutter, “this is weird. Maybe there are multiple streets with the same name?”

But the GPS is confident in its directions, leading me through increasingly upscale neighborhoods.

And then we’re on the edge of town, in a neighborhood that’s nothing but huge, huge houses on acreage.

By the time I turn onto Harken’s street, I’m driving past glimpses of actual mansions.

Houses with circular driveways and three-car garages and landscaping that probably costs more than I make in a year.

“There has to be a mistake,” I tell Sterling, who has gone suspiciously quiet.

But then I see the house number, and my heart nearly stops.

I pull over to the side of the road and just stare.

This can’t be right. The address matches, but the house in front of me is much too fancy.

It’s a massive, modern structure that looks like it belongs in Architectural Digest , all clean lines and floor-to-ceiling windows and stone accents.

The driveway alone is longer than my street.

“Sterling,” I whisper, “I think we made a wrong turn somewhere.” But even as I say it, I’m checking the address on my phone again.

This is it. This is where Harken Overlord lives.

Sterling meows, and I glance over to find him giving me a look that clearly says, “I told you this orc was trouble.”

“How does a tattoo artist afford a place like this?” I ask him, but Sterling just flicks his tail dismissively. “Is he a secret criminal and I didn’t know?”

There’s only one way to find out.

I pull into the circular driveway, feeling like my beat-up Honda is somehow contaminating the pristine stonework. The front door is massive. It’s easily twice the size of my apartment door and made of what looks like solid oak with iron hardware.

I sit in the car for a moment, gathering my courage.

I was raised in a middle-class family and nowadays I work as a digital marketing specialist for local businesses.

I didn’t go to a fancy college for a degree but instead I’ve racked up certificate programs. I work hard and wanted a life partner who was the same.

This type of wealth is unknown to me, something only seen on TV and in the movies.

And now I wonder if Harken and I really have anything in common.

Part of me wants to turn around and drive home and pretend I never saw this display of wealth that makes me question everything I thought I knew about Harken Overlord.

But the bigger part of me, the part that’s been thinking about that kiss for the last twenty-four hours, refuses to back down now.