Page 27 of Fake Dating an Orc Cowboy

“Goodnight, Ostor,” I said, grateful my voice didn’t come out strained.

We laid in place, both on our backs, me staring into the darkness while my mind raced with everything that had been said and unsaid between us today.

Such an amazing kiss, and I’d experienced two of them in the same day.

My breathing slowed after a while, and I shifted, turning on my side to face him. Ostor turned too, mirroring me. His dark gaze found mine in the semi-dark as if he could see me as clear as day. His deep black eyes bore into me with something tender. Gentle. A touch concerned.

Was he worried? No, there was no regret in his gaze. He’d told me our kiss felt real.

This might not be all pretend anymore.

My lips curled into a smile. I wasn’t sure I could fight whatever was happening to us even if I tried.

He smiled back, giving me a slow, honest grin that warmed the air between us.

“We’ve done well, so far,” he said, his voice gravelly. “I know tomorrow will be even better.”

Before I could respond, before I could think about that, he reached across the gap and pulled me gently against his chest, tucking me into him. The warmth of him, the hard wall of his body, wasn’t suffocating. It felt steady. Protective.

Perfect.

His hand found its way to my back, and he started rubbing slow, light circles, each one pulling out tension until my limbs softened. I released a breath and sunk into his embrace, letting it wrap around me like a safe harbor.

Whatever this was, real or fake, it made my worries melt away one by one.

Maybe tomorrowwouldbe better. Maybe this long, wild weekend wouldn’t feel like a mess.

Maybe this could actually be the start of something more between me and Ostor.

And with that hazy thought, I drifted to sleep.

Chapter 11

Rosey

“Wake, Rosey,” Ostor half-bellowed from somewhere close by. The balcony door hissed as he slid it open, and warm air rushed across my exposed skin. “The sun is rising and it’s glorious outside. The day is beginning, and we need to grab onto it and make it ours.”

“Not a morning person,” I mumbled, dragging the covers up over my head, burrowing down into the warmth left behind by his body. I’d slept in his arms all night, and it had been amazing. Almost amazing enough to crack open my eyelids and watch him move around the room.

He really was pretty.

With a roar, he leaped onto the bed, wrapping himself around me without, somehow, squishing me against the mattress.

In addition to being pretty, he was also agile.

“Wake up, tiny one,” he growled in my ear.

“Sleepy,” I groaned, snuggling deeper.

He bounced on the bed like a pup humping a fuzzy blanket, and that thought made laughter bubble up inside me. I peeled back the covers and scrunched my face as I looked up at him.

He was close, much too close, actually. All I’d need to do was lift my upper body a smidge, and I could plant my mouth on his.

Pretty tusks too. They shone in the early morning light as if he’d recently brushed them.

“If you don’t get out of bed, I’ll . . .” His gaze fell on my mouth.

As if he’d flicked a switch, my body came to life, humming with need I suspected only this male could satisfy.

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