Page 17 of The Orc Who Hated Christmas
“Trim and decorate the tree,
Come and be merry with me,
The fire will keep the cold away,
We’ll have a merry Christmas Day.”
Cas peeled another nut and held it out to Graal. Graal obediently opened his lips and let Cas place it into his mouth, fingers once against brushing Graal’s lips.
“It was like a siren song, calling me in.” Cas laughed. “I flew up to the window and gazed in. A witch stood, singing alone in the bakery, stirring the cauldron on the stove. No one had ever shown me much kindness until that point in my life. Yet somehow, I knew she would. I flew down and opened the door. In I crept. She kept singing. I came up beside her and sat, just watching her, wanting to be near her.”
“Then what happened?” Graal asked.
“She saw me and screamed.” Cas shook his head, a fond smile on his lips. “But then she recovered. She picked me up, cooing over me and saying how cold I must be and how thin and small I was. She made me cookies and hot chocolate, and I never left. They already had so many children. So lots of mouths to feed. They weren’t wealthy. But they took me in and cared for me. And that’s how I became a pixie witch.”
Cas’s smile dimmed. “They died about thirteen years ago, my mother and father. I think of them every single day. I miss them.”
Cas gazed at one of the Christmas trees. Light from the candles and globes reflected off his face, causing the gold paint to shimmer. “Whenever I see Christmas baubles and hear Christmas music, it reminds me of that first Christmas when I came in out of the cold and found my true family.”
Graal’s throat tightened. “I see why you love Christmas so much.”
“I think that’s why I want to spread Christmas cheer, because that’s what my mother, my father, and my family did for me,” Cas said, voice soft. “I want to give that to others.”
Graal nodded.
Cas flew on, and Graal walked beside him. They walked close, arms knocking together.
It didn’t mean anything. Cas feeding Graal nuts, the casual touches, it couldn’t mean anything. How could it? How could someone like Cas want someone like Graal?
But every time Cas leaned in close, heat flooded Graal’s body. He stammered and flushed and dropped his gaze.
If this were another orc, or a troll or ogre, he’d have assumed they were interested.
But Cas couldn’t want Graal. He could have anyone. And he’d seen the captivating incubus who had been Cas’s partner. Graal couldn’t even compare to someone like that.
But as they walked and Cas showed him the markets, he kept casually touching Graal, a hand to his shoulder, arm, or wrist. Cas kept leaning in close, gaze locking with Graal’s and lingering.
And Graal could almost believe Cas desired him. Almost.
CHAPTER 10
Cas couldn’t tell if Graal wanted him or not. The way his yellow eyes filled with hunger, as he stared at Cas, suggested he did. But every time Cas leaned in or pressed his body close, Graal tensed, looked away, or grew flustered.
Maybe he found Cas attractive but just didn’t want to fuck him. It was a bitter tea to swallow, and Cas despised anything bitter, but he would just have to gracefully accept that Graal didn’t want him.
Well, he’d probably sulk at home and eat his weight in cookies in bed. But he would never push Graal.
“Where do you work?” Cas asked.
“I work for a quarry,” Graal said. “Rocks are transported from the quarry to the city to construct buildings. My job is to unload them from the cart and haul them through the narrow streets to wherever I’m told to take them.” Graal shrugged. “It’s not interesting. It’s hard work. But it’s a suitable job for a strong half-orc like me.”
“You’re a half-orc?”
Graal nodded.
“I hadn’t realised. To be honest I don’t know that much about orcs.” Cas hadn’t seen that many orcs in the city. He’d served a few in the bakery. But the few he’d met tended to keep to themselves. “Is it your mother or father who is an orc?”
Graal didn’t speak for several seconds. Perhaps this was not a pleasant topic for Graal. Perhaps he shouldn’t have asked.
