Page 38 of My Ogre Husband
“The pub?” Timble shakes her head. “What happened at the pub?”
I’m still embarrassed by how irrationally I behaved over something so silly, how I put myself in danger and then got so angry at Egorr.
“It’s okay,” Timble says. “You don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready.”
I shake my head. “It’s not that. I was just… stupid. And I don’t like to think about it.” And yet I can’t stop thinking about it. I still worry that one day, Egorr is going to change his mind and send me home, and the likelihood of that happening feels like it’s increasing every day that I’m still injured.
Timble frowns and lets out ahmph. “Stupid? I don’t like it when you’re mean to yourself, Maddie. You’re my friend, and nobody gets to be mean to my friends.”
I laugh because it’s a very Timble thing to say.
“But it’s true. I got really jealous of this ogress who was hitting on Egorr, and that’s ugly.” I’m ashamed of myself and how possessive I felt over Egorr. I regret that I ran off.
Timble just smiles at me. “You’re in a new relationship, so give yourself some grace. I think you don’t fully trust him yet, and that’s getting in the way.”
It hits me like a truck.
“Maybe I don’t.” I hate how it sounds. “But it’s not about him. It’s about me.”
But Timble just nods in understanding. “Trust is something that has to be built over time. It doesn’t appear by magic.” She offers me an encouraging smile. “And you and Egorr are building that together, right now. But trust is also a risk.” We stop where the path ends and becomes a city street again, then turn around and head back the way we came. “You were afraid of me when you first saw me. But you took a risk to come and say hello.”
That’s true. I had to believe she was telling me the truth when she said she knew Egorr. I decided to risk it.
“And now we trust each other more, right?” she asks.
I nod agreeably. I know Timble would never hurt me, and she would make sure no one else did, either.
“Maybe you and Egorr could do some trust building together while you’re healing, so when you’re ready, you’ll have a better foundation.”
“You want us to do trust falls?” I say, a little skeptically. “He’s too big.”
Timble snorts. “No. But there are lots of intimate ways to do it.” She waggles her eyebrows. “You could blindfold each other. Explore yourselves and one another in all kinds of new ways.”
The idea of blindfolds is like a key in a lock. I turn it, and the door opens, revealing an entire array of activities I’d never considered. I wonder what Egorr would do if I couldn’t see him. What wouldIdo if he couldn’t see me?
“Do you want to go visit Dame Yemi?” Timble asks.
I blink at her. “Dame who?”
“It’s a store. They sell all sorts of things like that. You could probably find a dilator or a training kit there, too.”
My eyes go huge. “Are you talking about asexstore?”
She chuckles. “You could call it that. Maybe go with Egorr and browse. You might get some other ideas, too.”
My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Yes. That’s what I want. It would be a fun adventure for us, and maybe it would add some excitement, too, while we’re waiting for me to heal.
I can’t wait to see Egorr’s face when I ask him.
* * *
As I expected, Egorr turns a dark, dark shade of green when I explain that Timble told me all about Dame Yemi—and I want to go check it out.
“Really?” he says hoarsely. “I’ve never been inside.”
“Well, now’s your chance!” I tackled him the moment he came in the door, and he hasn’t even had a chance to hang up his keys yet. “Can we go?”
