Page 10 of My Orc Contract Husband (Eastshore Isle #9)

I guess my mind was still stuck on the marriage thing, huh? But she just snorted and shook her head.

“You don’t know him.” She ducked her chin, her gaze locked on her fingers, which were twining together again and again. “If I were married, my husband would conveniently disappear. It’s what happened to his first wife when he used up her inheritance.”

What the— I reared back, my nose wrinkling in disgust. “What ? You’re talking…murder?” The concept was foreign and ugly in my mouth, and I had to fight the urge to spit to get rid of the taste.

She shrugged and tipped her head away from me. “I don’t know… I just remember him bragging that she’d outlived her usefulness and now he was available to marry again.”

“ Fuck ,” I whispered. The curse felt inadequate for the rage building in my chest, but it was all I had .

Suddenly, she rocked forward, trying to climb from my lap, and I wrapped my hands around her waist to help lift her. Distracted by the feel of her body against my palm, I spoke without thinking.

“If your husband was bigger and stronger than Montgomery, the bastard couldn’t win.”

She froze, halfway to standing up, and I froze in response, as I realized what I’d said.

Time seemed to suspend itself, crystallizing this moment into something sharp and fragile.

Slowly, she straightened, and as if I couldn’t bear to lose my connection to her, my hands lingered, sliding down her waist to her hips to her thighs. When she twisted to stare down at me, my tongue flicked against my tusk in a nervous gesture, and I pulled my hands away.

“What did you say?” she rasped, her voice rough with something I couldn’t identify—surprise, hope, fear? All three?

“Nothing.” I swallowed, shifting my gaze to the ruined windowpanes across the way. “Doesn’t matter.” Dust motes danced in the slanted light, and I focused on them desperately, trying to avoid her searching gaze.

“You said if my husband was bigger and stronger…” she whispered, and I could feel her gaze sweeping over me, making my skin burn.

Don’t make a big deal out of this , I whispered to my Kteer .

The idiot didn’t listen. When it comes to biology, it never listens. Instead, it preened under her attention, purring in hopeful anticipation .

“Sami…” Fuck, how was I supposed to finish that sentence? I planted my palms against the rough wood of the barn floor. It was splintered and dry under my hands, a sharp contrast to the memory of her smooth skin. “You don’t need to…”

“You need a wife.” Her eyes were wide, her voice barely louder than a breath.

“You need a wife for a mortgage, right? Otherwise you won’t be able to afford to buy and build your shop.

And I need a husband who Pierce Montgomery can’t intimidate.

” The words came out in a rush, and I could see her pulse beating frantically at the base of her throat.

I was already shaking my head, the floorboards somehow harder against my ass now than before. “Sami, you don’t need to marry me to get me to help with that asshole. I’ll help any way I can.”

She turned completely, standing at my side. My head came to her navel, and I tipped my head back to meet her eyes. From this angle, she looked like a goddess, backlit by the damp light streaming through the barn windows as the sun fought against the dwindling rain.

“Tarkhan, if we did this…”

Desperate now to convince her she didn’t want to take such a risk, I blurted, “You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’ve done!”

“I know you’re sweet and gentle and caring.”

Her hand went to my shoulder, then my cheek. My lungs forgot how to breathe as her other hand rose to cup the other cheek. Sitting before her like this, with her towering over me…it felt like a benediction. As if she were one of the old gods, blessing me.

“Sami,” I breathed.

“Would you?” she asked. “Is this ridiculous? Seriously, tell me what you’re thinking.”

Unable to stand her achingly beautiful gaze, I closed my eyes and considered my heart. “I think…” I swallowed. “I think we would be a good match. Convenient. We both need this, yeah?” Behind my closed eyelids, I could still feel the weight of her attention.

“Yes,” she murmured, and I remembered the faint scent of her arousal when I’d carried her into the barn.

Stifling a groan, I took a deep breath. “It doesn’t have to be permanent or real. Just a legal marriage. You get the protection of my name.” Was I trying to convince her or myself? I forced my eyes open. “I wouldn’t let Montgomery hurt you, Sami.”

The promise fell from my lips with the weight of an oath, and I meant every word.

She still stood staring down at me, her small hands cupping my cheeks. Her touch was the anchor I desperately needed, holding me to this moment, this impossible conversation.

She was still staring down at me, her small hands cupping my cheeks.

“Are we seriously considering this?” she whispered.

I am .

The thought was so loud in my head I was surprised she couldn’t hear it.

But instead, my tongue flicked against my tusk again. “You tell me.” The nervous habit betrayed me, but I couldn’t help it. Everything about this moment felt balanced on a knife’s edge.

“I…I don’t know.” Uncertainty flickered across her features, but underneath it I could see something else—hope, maybe, or possibility.

From the way her brows were drawn in, the way she was chewing on her lip, I could tell she was waiting for a sign from me. I needed to commit. So I straightened my shoulders and reached up to pull her hands away from my cheeks.

Holding them gently in my hands, I met her gaze.

“I like you, Sami, and marriages have been built on far worse foundations. I’ll keep you safe, for however long you need to be safe.”

She nodded. “And you’d have your mortgage.” Her voice was steadier now, more confident, and I felt a flicker of pride at the change.

Honestly, at that moment, I couldn’t care less about the damn mortgage. But distractedly, I nodded. “Right, that too.”

Sami suddenly backed away, pulling her hands from mine. “The rain’s stopped.” Had it? I hadn’t noticed. “I’ll…” She glanced over her shoulder. “Let me think about it, okay?” The loss of her touch was immediate and sharp, leaving my hands feeling empty and cold .

“Of course. I’m not…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Sami, I’m not pushing for this, it’s just an option.”

“Right. Good.” She glanced over her shoulder again, backing toward the door. “I’ll…I’ll call you, okay?” She looked suddenly uncertain again, young and vulnerable in a way that made my chest ache.

“Yeah,” I muttered as she turned and hurried out into the August humidity. The air that rushed in through the open barn door was thick and heavy, carrying the scent of wet earth and summer storms.

As if she hadn’t just huddled on my lap and sobbed. As if I hadn’t been ready to kill to protect her. As if we hadn’t discussed marriage .

But in that moment, I knew the truth; fuck the mortgage. If marrying Sami Shayson would keep her safe, I’d do it a thousand times over.

The realization settled into my bones like truth, unshakeable and absolute. This wasn’t about convenience anymore. This was about her .