Page 64 of Valpar

“Eat,” he growled again.

I opened my mouth, took the food he offered and chewed. Slowly.

It was like he was a step above my parents. He was attentive, affectionate but not overly so, he talked to me but that was where it ended. He was my mate that wouldn’t go further with me because… I didn’t know why.

Just like everyone else in the realm, I put him off.

Was it how I acted? The way I looked? Did I stink?

I discreetly sniffed my armpits while he took a bite of his own food.

Do my lady bits?

That would be more awkward to sniff but I was a super clean person. Maybe he wanted it shaved. It was neatly trimmed down there but maybe he was a clean pussy kinda orc.

Once the food on my plate was done, he sat me back on the bed and wrapped a blanket around me, and I watched him clean up.

He was annoyingly sexy, and I couldn’t even get a bite out of that scrumptious butt he had.

It was like a large biscuit. Soft, yet firm.

I clicked my teeth together.

Valpar glanced back at me. His eyes narrowed when I let the blanket slip, and maybe the strap from my dress fell a little, too.

Yeah, you like that, my big green giant?

Valpar cleared his throat and came toward me. “I need to step out. Will you be alright if I go alone?”

I stared at him for a moment. Valpar had done this several times throughout the day. He would go out, maybe twenty minutes, and come back inside several times a day. He’d be slightly sweaty but took a towel to wipe himself off. He was never dirty, even after he punched the heck out of the trees outside.

He told me orcs had repellant skin, that they didn't have to bathe often, and didn't have odor either. Lucky them.

My guess, he was punching trees outside. Valpar said orcs were active creatures and need to expel a lot of energy. They do that by pounding, hitting and otherthings. Things he wouldn’t explain.

I’d let him pound me if he would just…

“Sure,” I shrugged my shoulders as I wrapped myself in the blanket and reached across the bed for one of the romancenovels that Aunt Melina kept putting in the baskets. I huffed out a long sigh and didn’t look back when Valpar let out a sigh of his own.

If he had any sort of brain in his head, he would know something was wrong. Which, I think he did, but he didn’t have the communication skill to express it.

And I had never been in a relationship before, so I don’t know how to bring it up, other than sitting on his face while he was sleeping and letting him suffocate on my little fairy parts.

I didn’t know how many times I’d asked what was wrong. After the third day, I gave up.

Once his footsteps were gone, Simon hopped up on the bed, carrying a tiny compact mirror. When I looked into it, I didn’t see my reflection, but Melina’s.

“Hey, favorite, why the long face?” she asked sweetly.

Communication mirrors were common for royals to use. A witch had to cast a spell on a mirror in the royal palace and then smaller mirrors could pull magic from the main mirror to be used in them. To my knowledge, my aunt and uncle didn’t like to do that unless it was necessary, so I was a little surprised that I could see Aunt Melina.

I shrugged my shoulders, my head lying on the pillow. “Why are you calling? Is something wrong? Are my parents okay?”

Melina shook her head. “Everyone else is fine, Calliope. It’s you that I’m worried about. You know there are eyes all around the forest, and it sounds like Valpar is being too tender with you, isn’t he? My little light isn’t shining as bright.” Aunt Melina tried to console me further.

I nodded, sadly. “He was fine the first day. He’s great, very thoughtful and nice and…

“He isn’t the barbarian you saw the first day, hmm?” Melina quirked her eyebrow.

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