Page 46 of Grumpy Pucking Orc
I chuckled. “No. Well, there’s this one on my knee from when I came off a skateboard as a teen.”
“I will slay the skateboard beast for daring to harm you.”
He was teasing again, and I absolutely loved it.
“Then there’s this one on my thumb. I was trying to slice a stale bagel, and the knife slipped. Oh, and the one on my forehead from when I was little and decided to slide down the stairs on an outdoor lounge-chair mattress, like it was a toboggan.”
He examined each scar, tutting over every one as if they’d been life-threatening injuries. Most of them were tiny, barely visible after all this time. It’s not like I’d had a minotaur try to impale me or had fallen off a cliff.
“Stay the night with me,” he murmured, pulling me against his chest once more. “We can eat cannoli and the rest of the cake for breakfast.”
I sighed, wanting nothing more than to spend the night in his arms. Tomorrow too. Maybe the whole week. But when you owned your own practice and were the only dentist, you were in the office rain or shine, sexy new boyfriend or not.
“I’ve got some early patients tomorrow. I want to stay with you, really I do, but I need to be up early, showered, and in the office for work, and that won’t happen if I’m here having sex with you all night and eating sugar for breakfast.”
I expected an argument or pouting, but instead he kissed my forehead, then lightly patted my ass. “Next time?”
“Next time,” I promised, thinking that I should bring a change of clothes. Maybe leave some toiletries in his bathroom and take over a drawer in his dresser with some basic clothing. Yes, we were moving at the speed of light in this relationship, but I honestly had no worries at all. Ozar was incredible. No red flags. No friction. No doubts.
I’d never thought that an orc would be my soulmate, but that’s what this felt like.
With incredible regret, I eased out of his arms and outof his bed. It took me a while to find my clothing—especially since I was distracted by Ozar watching me with a satisfied smile on his face. I pulled on my bra, a wrinkled shirt, and pants, stuffing my underwear in one pocket. When I was slipping shoes on, Ozar finally rolled out of his bed. He stood and stretched, and my eyes were riveted by the perfection of his body.
“I will walk you to your car,” he informed me in a tone that brooked no argument.
“Like that?” I waved a hand to indicate his undressed state. “First, it’s close to freezing out there. Second, nudity in public is a crime, and I don’t want to watch the police cart you off.”
He smiled, then reached down and pulled on his pants. The fact that he had a half-mast going on meant he required some adjustments when zipping up.
“Better.” I figured he probably didn’t feel cold the way we humans did. The orc’s normal body temperature felt about one hundred degrees, and he had grown up in an area with high mountains, so our mild fall weather in Baltimore was probably nothing out of the ordinary for him.
I gathered up my purse, deciding I’d leave the bottle of white wine here along with the desserts. I hadn’t seen anything but the beer in his fridge, and it would be nice to have a decent Pino Grigio here when I came back. Ozar walked with me down the stairs, his hand gently on my lower back. I’d decided to carry my heels, so it was far easier going down than climbing up. Once we were on the ground floor, I balanced with a hand against Ozar as I put my heels on. Then he walked with me to where I’d parked my car, his eyes scanning our surroundings and his hand still protectively on my back. He waited as I climbed in and started thecar, remaining vigilant even as I pulled away from the curb and down the street.
It was a little weird. I’d always been self-sufficient, bristling at any hint that I might not be able to take care of myself even in a large city that had far more crime than where I’d grown up. But Ozar’s attention and watchfulness didn’t feel like a slight on my strength or ability to take care of myself. It felt no different than a friend, a loved one who looked out for me just as I’d look out for him, a partnership where two people knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses and gratefully allowed the other to help where they could.
I was falling fast. I was falling in love with this orc. And that scared me. Would this be a love that flamed out as quickly as it caught fire? That worry hovered around the edges of my bliss, but I knew that nothing except time would prove my fears right or wrong.
Chapter 19
Ozar
Islept fitfully without Jordan in bed beside me. Her scent was all over my sheets, all over me. Every time I’d doze off, I’d reach for her, only to wake up in a panic when I found the bed empty beside me.
She was my mate, my soul-bond, the only woman I’d ever love. When she’d consented to our joining, I’d hesitated, knowing she had no idea what that action would mean for me. But in the end, I’d done it, willing to risk a lifetime of painful solitude for even a moment of that joyous connection.
I knew she’d felt it too. I could see it in her eyes. Sex between us had been more than just an orgasm for her. But she was human, and I wasn’t sure if the mate bond meant the same thing for them as it did for orcs.
I’d take what I could get, though. Whatever love she was capable of giving. And if her love was fleeting, not for forever, then I’d watch her leave. And I’d thank the mountain gods for every moment she was mine.
After tossing and turning, I finally got out of bed, finished off the pine-nut cake, and made apot of coffee. My bed furs smelled of Jordan. My skin smelled of Jordan. Faint traces of her scent lingered all over my apartment. I debated taking a shower but decided to leave her scent on my skin for a little while longer. At six, I dressed, grabbed the box of leftover cannoli, and headed over to the stadium.
Just like yesterday, Ugwyll was on the ice. This time he wasn’t on his back, cursing with his legs and arms splayed out. I watched as he made his way around the rink, pushing a puck side to side in front of him with the stick. After two laps, he slowed and turned around, then began to skate backward, still maneuvering the puck as he went. These laps were punctuated with several stops and starts, but the orc managed it without falling or running into anything. I kept watching, letting Ugwyll have his solo time on the ice, then I went to the locker room to get my gear on.
By the time I joined him, Ugwyll was circling the far goal, shooting from a line of pucks as he came around. As I skated over, he halted and turned to face me. Lifting his head, he sniffed the air then put out his hand for a fist-bump.
I completed the human-style acknowledgement.
“When’s the wedding?” he asked, a broad grin on his face.
