The Orc's Protection

He gave her his coat. In his culture, that means she's already his.

Riona
The school's handsome security guard is seven feet of careful restraint—quiet, deliberate, gentle in a way that doesn't match his size.

I notice everything about Vraag. The rare touches. The precise control. The way his presence makes me feel safe and dangerously aware all at once.

When I shiver in the cold and he wraps his coat around my shoulders, I think it's kindness.
I have no idea it's a vow.

Vraag
Eight years of making myself smaller. Quieter. Less. So humans won't fear me.

Riona Walker has never once looked at me with fear—and the night the temperature drops without warning, eight years of tightly leashed control gives way to instinct.

In StoneWatch culture, offering protection is offering yourself. She's been wearing my scent, wrapped in my warmth, and I'm done pretending I don't want to make it permanent.

Some offers can't be taken back. Some come with a seven-foot orc who spent eight years learning patience—so he could spend one very long night using none of it.

Protective hero • Size difference • Slow burn to scorching • "She's mine" energy • Explicit heat • Guaranteed HEA