Page 56 of Pursued By the Orc
“I don’t have to walk any dogs this morning. Did you...” she trailed off, nibbling on her lower lip and looking away, her shyness back.
“Did you want to do anything?” she asked, and it was everything I could do to not push her back into the bed and kiss her until she couldn’t remember her own name.
“Now,” I said, putting her needs before my own. “I want to take you to breakfast. And after that… we see if the world can handle us.”
Her smile was less shy now, the corners of her eyes crinkling with her pleasure. “Bold of you to assume the world gets a choice.”
I laughed—low and genuine—joy lighting up inside of me.
CHAPTER 37
Emma
Icouldn’t quite believe that I was here with this male while he stared down at me like I was the best thing that had ever happened to him. I hadn’t wanted to give in to the attraction that roiled between us for practical purposes, but now I was realizing that something else had played a role as well.
A deep, dark insecurity inside of myself that was telling me that he’d only been interested in me for the sex. And yet here he was, my hand firmly gripped in his as he stared at me across the table of my favorite café. One that I hadn’t been able to go to for almost a year. I hadn’t been able to afford it.
I cooked everything at home or heated up leftovers from my meals at Hans’ restaurant. He always made me something, setting a plate for me right when I arrived. It blew my mind that there were people in my life who were so inherently kind without having a reason to be.
It pushed away the moments when I wanted to be bitter with the world. Instead, I was just deeply grateful.
“Did you want to see your grandmother after this, Zemar?” Krusk asked, running his cheek over the back of my free hand.
My eyebrows went up and I bit my lower lip. “I already missed my dog walking today. I don’t think I can miss a shift at the Bureau.”
“Why?” he queried, his eyes closed as he ran my palm over his cheek. It was as if he wanted to mimic the feeling of me touching him.
“I don’t want to lose my job,” I explained in a low voice. The murmur of words was filled with worry. I knew I shouldn’t think that anyone would be more likely to fire someone after they filed a harassment complaint, but I also wasn’t oblivious to the fact that I was just a temporary worker in their mail room and he had been the head of an entire department. They might think they were looking out for themselves if they terminated me as well.
His eyes opened and he looked at me for a long moment. His brow was furrowed and I knew that a million thoughts were swirling around in his head, but he wasn’t voicing them.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I said with a smile, and he grinned at me.
“I can’t hide anything from you, can I?” he chuckled.
“You shouldn’t want to,” I whispered. “Now that I’m your—” I cut myself off, my face heating as embarrassment washed over me. I’d almost called myself his girlfriend, when he hadn’t said any such thing.
Fuck.Please pretend you didn’t hear me!
I tried to pull my hand away, but he didn’t let me, continuing to stroke his cheek with my palm. Our server—a beautiful Gumiho with her nine tails dancing behind her—came up to our table with a wide smile on her pretty face. “How’s everything going?” she asked, as she placed another plate of pancakes between us.
This one was covered in strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. When we’d first entered the café, Krusk had asked me what my favorite items on the menu were. It was easy, since I was intimately familiar with it. It had been one of the spots my dad had taken me to since I was young.
He’d ordered italland I’d just blinked at him, unable to comprehend how he thought we would be able to eat that much food. As it turned out, I shouldn’t have worried. I was able to take a few bites of each item and then Krusk demolished the rest, licking his lips and groaning over the taste.
I had to admit, I never knew males eating could be erotic in any way, but watching him throw his head back and make overtly sexual noises while he ate certainly did it for me. Maybe my mind was in the gutter, but I couldn’tunhearthe way he’d sounded last night.
And I knew that the Gumiho found him attractive too, because she kept returning to the table, taking her time to deliver the food. It irritated me to no end. But I wasn’t going to say anything to her. I was a grownup and I could deal with my insecurities on my own. Especially since he wasn’t giving her any unnecessary attention.
Just small, polite nods and words when she came by. Compared to the traditional type of beauty that she held, I was a frumpy mess in comparison. Yet I was the one holding his gaze. I was the one he kept touching, feeding and looking at.
Crowing at her and rubbing it in her face would be themostimmature thing I could do, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t tempted every single time she sashayed byaccidentallyhitting him with her tails. Even now, her smile was all for him. She’d barely paid me any mind at all, even though it was clear we were on a date.
“Everything’s great,” Krusk said with another forced, polite smile. “Thank you.”
She waited for a moment while he continued eating and didn’tpay her any more attention. That was the first time she glanced at me, sending a smile that looked closer to a grimace. I returned the expression as she turned to walk away, but she was stopped in her tracks by Krusk’s words.
“Actually, can you do me a favor?” Krusk asked, and she spun around, eagerness written across every inch of her gorgeous face.
