Page 10 of My Ogre Husband
“Are you ready?” he asks, just for my ears. “To start the rest of your life?”
I shiver all over at how enticing that sounds. I’m definitely ready for my happily ever after with Egorr.
“You sure know what to say to a girl,” I say, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss his lips.
“What about us?” Mom grouses, and I apologize before introducing them to Egorr. He shakes Dad’s hand firmly, and even my father is thrown by how big he is.
“Good handshake,” Dad mutters, rubbing his hand afterwards.
After we’ve signed off on all the paperwork, my parents help load my bags into the back seat and the trunk of Egorr’s car. Egorr quirks an eyebrow when he sees the pile of three suitcases and two duffel bags, but doesn’t complain.
I hug my parents goodbye, and then it’s time to go. But before I can get inside the car, Egorr stops me. He has to bend down quite a ways for his mouth to get anywhere near mine.
“Your room is all set up at home,” he says in a seductive voice. “And I have some presents, too.”
“Presents?” I immediately brighten. “For me?”
He pauses with his lips just brushing mine. “For you.”
Then he kisses me, hard, and I drown in him. Damn. Who knew ogres could kiss like champs? He picks me up by the waist and swings me around while he devours me, and I feel like I’m flying. I hope my landing will be soft this time.
“Save it for later!” Mom calls out, and I blush as we get into the car. And then, at last, we’re on our way.
Egorr lives on the edge of town to the east. I remember what the Wikipedia article said about ogres living in hills and mountains, and sure enough, soon we start to head upward. We’ve been winding around twisting roads and through hilly countryside for a few minutes when Egorr takes a left turn down a cute little street, with houses that aren’t too close together. He stops in front of a massive oak tree and takes a quick right before pulling into a driveway.
There in front of us is… well, a door. A big wooden door, built right into the side of the hill, with a gorgeous stained glass window in the middle. We hop out of the car, and Egorr leads me by the hand to the house buried in a hillside.
“Here we are.” He turns the knob and pulls the door open. “Home sweet home.”
Inside it’s dark at first, until Egorr reaches in and flips a switch, bathing everything in soft light.
It’s homey inside. That’s the best way I can describe this warm, cozy place. The walls and ceiling are dome-shaped, and a little skylight peers down from above. There’s a fireplace with a couch in front of it, and a well-loved chair by a television. A tidy kitchen with a big island is tucked into the back corner of the open floor plan, and next to it are a small table and two chairs. One of them is very big, and one of them…
“This is the first present,” Egorr says, eagerly walking over to the much smaller chair that looks brand new. He picks it up and shows it to me, hefting its whole weight like it’s a matchstick. “I thought you’d be more comfortable with this than with one of my big chairs.”
It’s so thoughtful, I can’t speak for a moment.
Egorr tilts his head, concern furrowing his brow. “Maddie?”
“Ohmygosh.” It all spills out at once. I throw my arms around him, and he laughs as he hugs me back. “It’s really cute. And wonderful. And thoughtful. Thank you.”
He nods, his green cheeks turning a darker shade of olive, then he takes me by the hand and leads me down the hall.
“This is my room,” he says, nodding at an open doorway. I peer inside, but it’s too dark to make anything out. “And this is your room.” He turns the knob on the next door and pushes it wide open for me.
Inside there’s light—lots of it—coming in through a deep window that burrows out of the hill. The room is small and round, like the rest of the house, with a twin bed on an antique bronze frame.
“I went around to the thrift stores to find things that might match,” he says sheepishly. “I didn’t want to get you some cheap Ikea stuff.”
“Wow.” I run my hand over the comforter, then the worn wood bedside table that has a little lamp shaped like a tulip. “It’s so cute.” There are butterflies doing somersaults in my stomach just seeing how much thought he put into this room. He really wanted to make sure I’d be comfortable here.
“You think so?” Egorr grins at me. “Good. I didn’t know what your taste would be, so feel free to redecorate it how you please.” He demonstrates how to close the big heavy curtains. “If you want to sleep in, you can close these.”
Part of me hopes I won’t be sleeping here much, but I don’t want to dive into things too quickly, either. I wonder if Egorr’s ever lived with a partner before, but it didn’t sound like any of his relationships had gotten serious enough for that.
He shows me to the small bathroom we’ll share, then brings in my bags so I can get unpacked. With a peck on my cheek, he leaves me to it while he makes lunch.
I hang up each of my outfits in the closet, and I think I like the look of them here.
