Page 70 of Grumpy Pucking Orc
Unable to resist, I picked up a spoon of my own and fed her some of the bread pudding. Caramel clung to her lower lip from the bottom of the spoon. That, along with her noise of pleasure, so like the one she made when I tasted her body, nearly undid me.
I put down my spoon, swiped my thumb across herlower lip, and licked the sweet caramel. The faint taste of her mouth made it all the better.
Her eyes darkened, and her lips parted as she focused on my mouth. “I think I’ve had enough dessert.”
The breathless tone of her voice increased the sweet agony of my need. “Me, too.”
I barely remember the tussle over who should pay for dinner. I barely remember the Uber ride back to her house. Everything was a blur until I took her in my arms and gave all of myself to her.
Jordan was my mate. My love. She held my very soul in her hands. And I would be nothing without her. Nothing. As I lay in her furless bed, her head on my shoulder and her chest rising and falling under my arm, I knew that now was the time.
In a week, I would be leaving with the team for a series of what the demon owner had called away games. It would be agonizing to be separated from Jordan for so long, but I’d made a commitment and felt as if I must see it through. But before I left, I needed to let Jordan know my intentions. I needed to tell her I wanted to make her my wife.
Chapter 30
Ozar
The following week went by in a blur. I spent every night with Jordan. Sometimes we joined her friends for dinner, and sometimes we ate only with each other. There were nights when she stayed at my apartment for the night, and nights when I slept at her house.
Unable to tolerate the lack of furs on her bed, I had asked Bwat for assistance and had a fifty-pound box of assorted pelts delivered to her house. These were much nicer than the odd-smelling ones I’d purchased at the Home Store for my own bed, and it had given me great satisfaction to place the red, gray, black, and white pelts of various textures throughout her house.
Judy had approved, making happy chirp noises and kneading her claws in the long hair of the ones draped across the back of Jordan’s couches. Jordan had seemed somewhat shocked when she’d returned to see my gift, but had let them remain in place, admitting that the furs were soft and warm, if not really her style of decor.
While my wooing was hitting new heights, the Tuskswere on a descending trajectory straight to hell. Everyone was disheartened after Friday night’s game, and I was lucky if three orcs showed up for morning practices. Ugwyll was the only one who consistently joined me on the ice, and I’d taken to running through the Baltimore streets alone. Normally the disintegration of the team would have infuriated me, but thankfully I knew I’d only need to endure it another month or so, then Jordan and I would return to my clan, where I wouldn’t have to deal with such humiliating defeats or a team that wouldn’t follow my lead.
“Good skating today.” Ugwyll clapped a hand on my shoulder as we walked into the locker room. Eng had arrived but was dozing on a bench. Bwat was sorting through a box of books. Five other orcs were playing a dice game in a corner.
I grunted, glaring at the others. I might be leaving soon, but that didn’t make their indifference sting any less.
“How is the wooing going?” Bwat smiled up at me from the box of books. “Are you to be wed soon?”
I plopped down on a bench. “I believe I am ready to ask Jordan to be my wife. But I don’t want to approach this without thought and consideration. How do human women like a proposal of marriage to proceed? Should I set a tree on fire, prepare an offering of gold and incense, and hand-feed her pickledXlinea?”
Eng nodded approvingly, but Bwat winced.
“What do you suggest?” I asked Bwat, because I valued his opinion far more than I did Eng’s.
“I have read of many human proposals, and the most popular ones seem to involve asking the female while at a sporting event with the request to marry projected on the large screens so that all the attendees can witness the joyous event.”
I shuddered at the thought of such a public spectacle. Besides, the only sporting event Jordan seemed to attend was our hockey games, and it wouldn’t be easy to orchestrate a proposal while I was on the ice and she was in the stands.
“In addition, human proposals involve gifting the female a ring with a large high-value rock,” Bwat added. “You’re supposed to lie down on the ground when presenting the ring. That way, the female knows you are not a threat to them.”
“Jordan knows I am not a threat to her,” I told him.
Eng shrugged. “Sometimes these things become tradition and continue to be done even if the original reason is no longer an issue.”
Bwat nodded. “Like the white dresses human females wear during the marriage ceremony. It is supposed to indicate virginity, but modern human females like to test the virility of their potential mates and ensure they can perform to their satisfaction before they bind themselves in marriage.”
“It’s a good practice,” I said. “I was happy to show Jordan how I would devote myself to her pleasure.” I assumed I should also show her I was sensitive to human culture and traditions. “A ring. A prostrate position while proposing. Is there anything else I should know about?”
“The element of surprise is important,” Bwat continued. “Some males hide the ring in food items, then propose when the female uncovers it.”
“She might chip a tooth,” I argued, horrified at the idea. “Jordan takes the care of teeth very seriously, and I don’t think she would appreciate that sort of proposal.”
“What if she swallowed the ring?” Eng asked. “It would be difficult to propose with the ringin her stomach. You’d need to make her throw it up, or sort through her excrement for the next few days.”
Ugwyll shuddered. “Neither of those options sound appealing.”
