Page 71 of That’s My Orc, Tusk Off

She closed the door and turned to face me.

“Do you want tea?” she asked.

“No.”

“Okay.” She gestured to the couch. “Sit.”

I did as she asked.

She settled beside me, close but not touching, and waited.

“There’s a letter,” I finally said.

Her brow creased.

“From my parents.”

“What did it say?”

I pulled the folded paper from my jacket pocket and read it to her, translating the Orcish language into hers.

Her face went very still.

“They’re coming this week,” she said.

“Day after tomorrow.”

She processed this, her hands folded in her lap. “What counts as a bond? How do they assess it?”

Always asking the right questions.

“The scribe will watch me with my potential mate, which I don’t have. See if we share space. Share things. Care for each other.” I paused. “They’ll ask questions. Watch how we act. Write everything down.” I dragged my teeth over my lip. “It’s thorough.”

“And if you fail?”

“I go back to the kingdom. They pair me with someone approved by the Council and my parents. I’ll lose everything here.”

Her breath hitched. “Your home. Your work.”

“My brothers.” I looked at her. “You.”

She reached for my hand, her fingers weaving through mine.

“I wanted to tell you right away,” I said. “But asking you to be my mate so I can pass an assessment feels like using you. Like you’re a solution instead of a person I’ve chosen.”

“Would you choose me if you could?”

I looked at her face. The soft curve of her mouth. The way her eyes held mine without flinching.

“Yes.” The word came out barely above a whisper.

She shifted closer, pressing her knee against my thigh.

I stopped breathing and leaned in.

Her face tilted up. Her eyes stayed open, watching me close the distance between us.

My mouth hovered above hers.