Page 14 of Marked By the Wild Orc

“I know. I know. A part of me wonders too if she knew that she had nothing and was embarrassed. I don’t know which it was. I guess I was used to it, because she was always like that, not telling me about her finances and hiding her money from me. She wasn’t mean about it, accusing me of any stealing or anything. But it doesn’t really matter. She had nothing either way. But I was able to keep her furniture and her car. A lot of people don’t even have that, so I’m still blessed.”

“You’re a very forgiving human.”

She gives me a cheeky smile. “I’d have to be to work for you.”

Oh hell, is she flirting with me? Her arousal is thick in the air. This female is playing with fire. The large bed in her apartment is only a few steps away. What if she is a virgin, as I am, and Itake her too roughly? “Why did you move to Spokane when you grew up in Portland?”

“My brother had moved here and since he’s my only family now I decided to start over here too.”

“Were you sad to leave your friends behind?”

“As I said before, I didn’t really have any local friends.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Nope, no boyfriend either.”

I look her up and down. This female is fantastically beautiful. I have to often growl at the humans who want to ask her out. “How is this possible?”

“It’s because I’m an introvert. I can be social with you and with the customers right now, but after this I have to go back into my cave and recharge. I have no need to have a group of friends. It sounds exhausting. I mean, I know my brother, and I’ve met some of his friends in the past, but he and I weren’t raised together. I ended up being raised by my grandmother, and he was raised by his father, but we did get back together as adults; we found each other through the orc ancestry database. And I feel blessed to have him, because I have no one in this town, and at least now that Grandma’s gone, there’s someone.”

“You have me.”

Her beautiful hazel eyes grow watery and her voice thickens. “I do?”

And then I scoop up all three cats in my arms and shout on my way out, “Lock this door behind me.”

Chapter 5

Krissy

The very next day, after I saw heat in Talon’s eyes while he was gazing at my bed, the shop closed for the winter holiday.

I knew this vacation was happening, but it was strange to suddenly be in a situation where I wasn’t going to see Talon for a whole month–because I swear I caught a glimpse of a hard on in his pants when he entered my apartment.

He kept eyeing my bed. And he was standing very close to me while he spoke and there was a difference in his voice, it sounded almost…seductive. And he was so sweet, that big, hulking orc, with the tusks and the horns, telling me that he’s got my back. I wanted to give him a big hug, or really a passionate kiss.

But then he basically ran away and slammed the door shut behind him.

I really believe he feels something for me beyond friendship. But how is that possible? I can’t get pregnant, so our relationship has been professional friendship and me pretending I’m not falling in love with my boss. I work there, we have dinner together, I care for his cats and run his shop so he and the other artists can do their work.

All four of us have become a great team.

I enjoy working at that tattoo shop, greeting all the customers and watching them proudly display their new ink. Some of them save money for months or years to be able to afford our services, because we’re exclusive. I’m proud of the high quality work we provide for our customers. I like working at Heat & Ink much more than I ever thought possible. Talon trusts me and allows me to make changes that I think will be beneficial to the business. In fact, I’m being very lazy about trying to find another job. I haven’t looked anywhere else yet, even though I really need to. It’s not good for anyone for me to be there, with my unrequited love for Talon Overtree.

It’s a silly attraction on my part; that’s in fact tearing me up inside. I should find a new job and try to meet other people my age. He doesn’t think I know, but Talon scares away any of the guys who even hint at the possibility of asking me out on a date. Maybe he thinks he needs to protect me, for my brother? But in fact, he’s isolating me. If I can’t be with him, I should be allowed to find someone else.

But it’s hard to think of anyone else when my mind and body desperately want Talon.

It’s a crazy situation, made worse that now I’ve been given an inkling of hope of something happening between us by the way he acted when he dropped me off at my apartment.

Or maybe I was misunderstanding and that was nothing? It must be nothing, because again, how could he possibly want me as more than a friend when his species only mates with a woman they know will instantly conceive? It’s a biological prerogative he can’t circumvent and neither can I.

Ugh.

Maybe it’s good that Heat & Ink is closed for a whole month over the holidays, mainly so that Talon, Oreg and Doril can each return to their respective communes for a winter break. But also, this provides me with a sorely needed break from seeing Talonevery single day. This could be the break I need to get my head on straight and start updating my resume.

They’re all gone but meanwhile, I’m sad because this is my first Christmas without grandma.

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