Page 102 of Horn in My Side
“Mal ...”she moaned.“No.”
He froze.“No?”
Sitting up, she sat back on her heels.“I mean, notnow.If we start this now, we’ll never leave this room—this bed—until we check out on Thursday morning.”
“Oh, we would definitely be leaving this bed.I plan to fuck you all over this room.On that couch, in the jacuzzi, against the window—”
She slapped him playfully on the arm.“Mal, please?I’ve never stayed longer than one afternoon in Bayview, and that was because Vrig asked me to run an errand at his main bank branch.I want to go out and do some touristy stuff, eat, and do some shopping.All the fun things us sleepy town dwellers miss out on.”
“I never figured you for a big-city girl.”
“No, but I did live in five major cities in my life.I miss the energy and having stuff to do.”
He recalled what she said, about moving around a lot when she and her father first came here, and how she never had time to plant roots.“That must have been tough, having to start again each time.”
“Yeah, but I understand.My dad wanted a better life for me.All parents want the best for their kids.”
A sudden vision of Jasmine holding a baby popped into his head.Of her playing hide and seek with a rambunctious little boy with green skin.Or comforting a teary-eyed youngling with a scraped knee.The words he’d been wanting to say were ready to spill from his mouth, but he managed to suppress them, because his own parents—and specifically his father—filled his thoughts.Morlak and Karak would be so proud of him if he got the job renovating the lodge.And he knew once he began planning and working on the site his father’s and family’s legacy would be solidified forever in orc history.
Clearing his throat, he said, “So, have you spoken to your dad yet?”
Her shoulders stiffened.“Haven’t had the chance.With the shop and all—”
“I can help you if you want.”
“There’s also the loan paperwork.”Her hands wrung in her lap.“I need to send that off to Tracy soon.”
“Want me to take a look at it?”
He’d offered to help her before, but she’d refused, and he respected that she preferred to do this on her own.However, he was confident in her abilities.He even bought that bottle of champagne he promised her and left it chilling in the back of the office fridge, ready to be popped open.
“No, I told you, I can do it on my own.”
“It shouldn’t take that long.Once you submit it, you’ll have time to talk to your dad.I’m sure he’d be so happy.”
The look on her face, however, indicated she didn’t think so.
“Jasmine?Is that why you haven’t told him?You think he won’t be happy?”It pained his hearts to know she was still blaming herself for her dad losing the chance at gaining his family’s magic.“I told you, it’s not your fault he didn’t get The Inheritance.You think you don’t deserve your abilities because it was meant—”
“Mal, will you stop getting on my case about my dad?”she snapped.A microsecond later, her face crumpled in distress.“I didn’t mean—”
A knot in his chest formed.“Shhh ...it’s okay.”Wrapping his arms round her, he pulled her close and rested his chin on her head.“We don’t have to talk about it.Let’s not argue anymore and spoil this time.”She was not ready to talk to her dad, and he had to respect that.Still, he hoped that she would find a way to at least stop blaming herself.She deserved more than that.
“So, you want to go see the sights?And out to eat?”
She nodded against his chest.
“All right, I’ll take you out.”
As he’d promised, they visited all the sights in the city—from the Bayview Natural History Museum to the Historic Old Town to the Siren’s Sea Gardens, and ended the day with a big walk up the Lucent Gate Bridge where they watched the sun set.In between, they stopped at cafés and food trucks to snack their way through the city, trying out all the hip and trendy eats.Jasmine had loved the fernflower cakes they bought from a food cart run by an old hippie dryad, while the cloudberry muffins at the famous Night Blooms Café had blown Mal’s mind.
Mal was exhausted from their very full day, but at least Jasmine seemed like her normal self again.He didn’t like upsetting her.Thankfully, that knot in his chest had eased, though it wasn’t completely gone.
“Mal, did you hear me?”
Jasmine’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts.“Yes?”
“I asked how you managed to get a reservation here.”Jasmine’s eyes soaked in the ultra-modern glass-and-chrome dining room of the Obsidian Spire, one of Bayview City’s most exclusive restaurants.“They’re usually booked up months in advance.”
