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

Chapter Five

Tarkhan

If I hadn’t been so attuned to her, I might not have realized anything was wrong right away.

Sami froze, her gaze locked on the notecard, her hands trembling. The pulse at the base of her neck beat double time, and I watched the blood drain from her face.

“Sa—” I began, but with a sound like a whimper, she tipped sideways. That small, broken noise she made cut through me like a blade.

Before I could readjust my hold on her, the card had fluttered to the ground like a falling leaf, innocent and harmless looking despite the devastation it had wrought…and Sami had landed on her hands and knees, sucking in deep breaths as if trying to keep herself from vomiting .

“Sami!” I yelled, my knees hit the rough barn floor with jarring force, splinters catching my jeans as I reached for her “What’s—Gods below, are you?—?”

I couldn’t finish my thoughts because none of them made sense. All I knew was that my Kteer wasn’t going to let me stay away from this female. She was in trouble, she needed me, dammit!

My Kteer was screaming at me to protect, to shelter, to destroy whatever had caused her this pain.

“Sami?” My voice came out rougher than I intended, thick with concern and barely restrained fury.

She was trembling now, and I watched her fingers curl into fists on the dirty floorboards. The old wood was rough and splintered, littered with dust and debris that would cut into her soft skin. Fuck . She was likely to get hurt, kneeling here, but I didn’t know what to do.

Without thinking, I picked up the cardstock—heavy and cream colored, the kind that reeked of money and privilege—and saw the bold script written in the confident hand.

Samantha,

You will be my wife. Expect to be collected soon. The wedding will take place in the city as your father and I planned. I will consolidate our holdings with this marriage, and you will be mine. You cannot run any longer.

—Pierce T. Montgomery the Third

The sharp scent of her fear coated my nostrils, an acrid smell that made my stomach clench and my jaw ache from grinding my teeth.

The stench of it was wrong, so completely wrong that it made my vision blur around the edges.

My Kteer howled in rage so strongly that my arms shook, trying to control my impulses. Protect protect protect !

But she didn’t need my rage, not now.

She needed my calm, my comfort.

Forcing my own breathing into a steady rhythm, I slowly tightened my hold on her, pulling her closer.

“Shhh, Sami. It’s alright. It’ll be okay,” I crooned, carefully trying to get her off the floor.

I could feel her ribs expanding and contracting rapidly beneath my arm, her breathing too fast and too shallow.

But in one sudden movement she surged upward and threw herself at me, knocking me backward against the bench, my legs splayed out.

I caught her in my lap once more, her arms around my waist, her face buried in my chest again.

The impact drove the breath from my lungs, but I didn’t care.

Her weight settled against me, warm and solid and real, and I felt something tight in my chest finally ease.

But her position didn’t hide the way she was shaking. I could feel the tremors running through her entire body, like a small animal caught in a trap.

My own heart breaking for her, I dropped the fucking note and wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her against me, wrapping her in protection. The paper fluttered away, forgotten, while I focused on the feel of her soft hair against my chin, the way she fit perfectly against my chest.

“It’ll be okay, Sami,” I promised her again, not caring that there was no way I could make such a vow.

“No it won’t,” she sniffed. “He knows I’m here.”

Her voice was muffled against my shirt, but I could hear the tears in it, the fear that made my heart clench.

My mind was jumping from one point to another, and I took a final, outrageous leap. “This Montgomery guy…”

“My father’s business partner.” She shuddered.

Ah. “So he left you alone while your father was alive, but now that he’s dead and left everything to you, Montgomery is ready to come claim you.”

As soon as the word claim crossed my tongue, my Kteer stirred again, and I had to swallow down the urge to make more promises.

Yes, I wanted her; the fact I’d been fighting a cockstand while she’d been sobbing on my lap—inappropriate as fuck—proved that.

But she’d whimpered at my summary—a sound so small and broken it nearly undid me, and I had to focus on the dusty smell of the old barn to keep myself grounded so I didn’t do or say anything else to make her nervous.

Like admit I wanted to claim her.

With my tongue, my cock, my heart.

Heart ? Where had that come from? This was just another attraction, right?

“I’m scared,” she admitted against my chest. “I’ve always been scared of him, since I was a little girl. ”

“What did he—” I cut myself off. I don’t think it was healthy for me to ask her that. My hands had curled into fists without my permission, and I had to consciously force them to relax, to stroke her back instead of striking out at ghosts.

But Sami must’ve understood, because she finally stirred, shifting away so she could look up at me.

“He used to put his hand on my shoulder. That was it. But it wasn’t nice.

It was like he owned me already, even when I was small.

” She shuddered and dropped her gaze to my shoulder.

“I guess he and Dad had already come to an agreement then.”

Fuck .

What kind of parent sold his child like that?

A desperately greedy one . The thought left an oily residue in my mind, making me feel sick.

She was scared. I couldn’t focus on the past, not if I wanted to help her through this. Her fear was still coating my nostrils, making my Kteer shift restlessly beneath my skin.

Gently, I squeezed her, just enough to pull her attention back to me. “His letter…do you think he can follow through with his threat?” Surely in this day and age, a man couldn’t force a female to marry him?

But she took a shuddering breath and nodded, not looking at me.

“I don’t think you understand how much money—and influence and power—Pierce has.

He doesn’t just have lawyers on his side, he owns judges .

Hell, it’s possible he has documents that say I’m already married to him, I don’t know!

” Her chin dropped to her chest. “But if he’s determined to have something, he gets it. No matter what I want.”

Well, fuck .

My hand ran up her back soothingly. “So what do we do? How can we stop this asshole from showing up and expecting to marry you?” My voice came out steadier than I felt, and I was grateful for that small mercy.

Her lovely green gaze flickered across my face, as if searching for something. “ We ?” she repeated.

“Sure.” I shifted her in my lap, adjusting my back against the rough-cut wood of the barn wall and planting my heels against the floor so I could pull her across my lap. “I’m here for you now, Sami. I know I’m probably not who you would’ve chosen to be here with you?—”

“No.” Her sudden blush was at odds with the way she’d blurted that, and she dropped her attention to her hands, now in her lap. “I mean, I’m glad it’s you, Tarkhan. I am.”

Her soft words made my chest swell. Or maybe that was my Kteer , crowing in pride. Either way, I let a smile slide into my voice. “Okay then. So you’re okay with talking it through with me?” Warmth spread through me like honey, sweet and golden and completely unexpected.

Her cheeks and throat were still pink when she nodded, and I couldn’t resist studying the way the skin of her shoulders disappeared under those green straps, only to re-appear in the golden creaminess of her arms.

I wanted to taste her there .

I wanted to taste her everywhere . The thought hit me like a physical blow, making my mouth water and my hands tighten involuntarily on her waist.

Whoa, calm the hells down, Tark. Just because there’s a beautiful female sitting in your lap doesn’t mean you get to fuck her .

Well, to be fair, up until now, precedent has shown that beautiful females sitting in my lap are there because they wanted to be fucked.

But that wasn’t Sami. Here and now, she needed me to be someone other than a charming playboy.

She needed safety, protection, comfort—not some horny orc who couldn’t control himself around her.

Besides, if I was ever lucky enough to taste Sami Shayson, I know it wouldn’t be a fucking. I’d be loving her. The thought should have terrified me, but instead it felt right, like something clicking into place.

Focus, idiot. I could practically hear Abydos’s voice in my head, calling me out for getting distracted.

Right .

“Okay.” I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of old hay and summer rain to clear my head. “So is it marriage in general you object to, or just to Montgomery?”

I dunno why my mind went to the marriage issue first—well, maybe I did. Maybe I’d been thinking about what I’d told Abydos the other night. Fuck, I wish he hadn’t stormed out and headed to the airport on the mainland. I could’ve used his advice.

“Just him,” Sami whispered, and I realized I had no trouble hearing her. Was it because orc senses were stronger than human senses, or was the rain finally slowing down? Maybe both.

What had we been talking about? “Just him, what?”

Green eyes flashed toward me, and her lovely lips curled upward just slightly on one side. “I only object to marrying him . I want marriage to be on my terms.”

Nodding, I adjusted my hold so she could rest her back against my arm, which was braced on my knee.

“And if you were married on your terms, then Montgomery wouldn’t be able to force you to marry him, right?

” I could feel the warmth of her back through her thin, damp dress, the delicate ridge of her spine under my palm.