Page 51 of Grumpy Pucking Orc
“No, he had rubber weapons, and he and I sparred. He was teaching me self-defense.”
Shanelle had given up all pretense of doing work at this point.
“That’s a good excuse for the two of you to get handsy with each other. Not that you need an excuse,” Abby said.
“It absolutely led to romance.” I’d lowered my voice, but Shanelle edged closer. Which was fine. My going on a date with Ozar wasn’t something I wanted to hide, but with her listening, I wasn’t about to tell Abby anything about the spicy part of the evening.
“Meet me and Willa after work for drinks and tell us all the details,” Abby insisted. “The guy cooks. He loves kids. I’m hoping the mattress aerobics add yet one more plus in the tally.”
There were a whole lot of pluses in the tally so far. A whole lot.
“I’m going to the hockey stadium after work to skate with Ozar, then I wanted to take him for ice cream. He’s never had it. Can you imagine?”
“A world without ice cream? No, I can’t imagine that at all. What sort of hell is his homeland?” Abby teased. “And are you sure you want to skate with him? We saw him at the hockey game. He’s liable to fall and crush you within the first five seconds.”
“He was better than anyone else on the team,” I reminded her. “I’m going to teach him a few things because he wants to try to make something of this team. And yes, I trust him not to fall on me.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Hewants to make something of the team? Makewhatof the team? Because the Tusks are not going to be walking home with the cup anytime in the next decade. They’re a group of orcs who don’t know how to play hockey and have never skated before up against teams that have been on the ice before they could walk and who have lived and breathed hockey from grade school on.”
“If they score a point occasionally, it’s a start,” I argued. “Don’t underestimate them. They’re clearly gifted when it comes to physical activities, and they learn quickly. They might suck this year, but they’ll suck less each game they play, and I’m sure that within a few years, they might actually win a game. Maybe two.”
“Hopeless optimist,” Abby teased. “But I’m not going to argue with you about your boyfriend’s hockey team—especially because I’m longing for some comped tickets.”
The door opened, and my first patient for the day came in so I waved my hands at Abby. “I’ve gotta get back to work. Tomorrow night I’ll meet you girls for happy hour and spill the goods.”
My friend pushed the paper toward me. “Keep that. I’m not sure Willa or I can wait for tomorrow night to hear the juicy details, but we’ll try.”
The rest of the day was a crazed blur. I had my implant procedures, an emergency root canal, and a tricky set of enamels that caused me to work late. Just as I was getting ready to finish for the evening, the rep with DarRafi Inc. returned my call about their supplying me with medical equipment for the nonhuman population. It made me extra late leaving the office, but by the end of the day, we had an approved account with DarRafi and they had emailed me a link with access to a library of training videos on their products.
If my plans had been anything besides spending time with Ozar, I would have canceled and spent the evening watching those videos and going through the catalogue of products. Instead, I rushed home and changed—four times. It wasn’t easy finding an outfit that would work for skating, but was still sexy—but nottoosexy. I got the feeling that Ozar’s affections mirrored mine, but just in case, I didn’t want to make our relationship all about the physical.
Even though I fully intended on inviting him home to my house tonight.
Finally, I decided on black yoga tights paired with the Baltimore Tusks jersey I’d ordered after last weekend’s game layered over a long-sleeve silk T-shirt. It was warm enough that I skipped the coat and threw on a down-filled vest instead. Sticking my phone and my wallet into a small cross-body bag, I blew the dust off my skates and left for the stadium.
The parking lot was vacant aside from a couple of cars, and the main entrance was locked up tight with those folding metal security gates. I walked left to a gray, windowless door and pressed the intercom button.
There was a pause while the guard checked my name, then I heard aclick. I wrestled the heavy door open and walked across a small room to the guard booth. I slid my ID through the slot in the probably bulletproof glass. The man checked it, radioed for Ozar, then slid my ID back to me.
I’d barely stuffed it back into my purse before another door opened, a huge green, muscle-bound orc blocking the entrance.
“Jordan.”
Chapter 21
Jordan
Ifelt a flush of heat at his deep voice. Memories filled my mind from last night—his hands on my body, his mouth on my body, that noise of satisfaction that he’d made deep in his throat when I came. But I wanted more than sex from this orc, so I pushed those tantalizing thoughts to the back of my mind and held up my skates.
“Ready to have some fun?” What was meant to come out light and flirty, instead was husky and full of innuendo.
“By fun, do you mean am I ready to have you ride my hand-axe?” His gaze roamed over my body. “Yes, I am. Should our fun happen before or after we skate?”
Both? I sucked in a breath at the idea. “You pick.”
He considered his options for a few, long seconds. “After. If we do the sex now, that’s all we’ll be doing for the rest of the night. When you are naked on my furs, I know I will lack the resolve to do anything but pleasure you until the sun rises.”
That sounded amazing to me, but getting to know him outside the bedroom was important, too.
