Page 14 of Arrested By the Orc

“And you use your powers for good.”

He glances around my apartment. “I'm happy that this has been where you've been living. Safe here with your sister and her offspring. But I want you to come and live with me now.”

My eyes widen. “You move fast.”

“At first I was going to ask you out on dates and take this slow.” He shakes his head. “I'm tired of slow. You know how I feel and I know how you feel.” He holds out a big hand. “I'll tell you more in the car.”

I hold up a finger. “Give me just a minute.” I quickly pack a bag looking around wondering if I'm ever really coming back.

Soon we’re driving away and I send a quick text to Lila letting her know where I’m going.

Damn, he moves fast, she responds. He better really be marrying you. You know how mom and dad feel about that.

I don’t even bother responding because I love my parents, but their old-fashioned ideas do not decide my future. I once let them delay what I wanted when it came to college instead of culinary school. This time I make my own decisions. And what I want is a life with Bowen. Why wait when we both know that we are right for each other?

I eagerly watch out the window as we drive because I do vaguely know where the Sheriff lives. I've never been there before because he's not in town. He's a little more in the country and it would be too obvious that I was driving there. People say he bought the old Wilson place and it's nice.

As he drives, I ask him the most important question. “Do you think you're going to stay here forever? Or is this simply temporary and you're planning on moving on to bigger and better things than being the Sheriff of this small township?”

He looks at me then back at the road. “Originally it was going to be temporary and I was going to move on, but I do not mind making roots here and creating a life with you. And our sons.”

I suck in a breath. “Our sons?”

He nods. “Staying here is no hardship. If you want to stay here because this is where your ancestors were and this is your place in the world where you have grown roots I will grow roots here with you.”

My eyes are getting watery again. “You're not just saying that and then ten years from now you're going to want to move to the big city because you can't handle this place anymore. That will break my heart.”

“I want to be where you are,” he says and reaches for my hand and squeezes.

“I'm here to the bitter end. I left already and then I came back realizing this is where I want to be. The most I would do is move to a different house within the city. And I could probably handle getting a vacation house somewhere and we could become snowbirds.”

“That's a good solution,” he laughs.

“Sorry, I'm the type who thinks a lot about the future and strategizes,” I warn.

“It does not bother me. What I am worried most about is that you do not fully understand what you are getting yourself into by mating with an orc. I want to make sure I know you understand orc culture.”

“I do. I mean I read the book.”

He chuckles, “You read that? That was written by Drew Overlook. She’s from the same commune as my tribe.”

“Yes. I've read the whole series. I understand exactly what I'm in for. And that's fine.”

He glances at me sharply. “You'll never have daughters. You'll never have children that look half like you and half like me. You will have sons that look very much like me and my tribe.”

“I can do that,” I say.

“I also think the reason why my body is attracted to you and has latched on is because I'm ready to breed. Remember that if we have sex that means you will be instantly pregnant with my son. If we did this tonight, tomorrow you'd be pregnant and you're going to be a mother right away.”

“Yes, I remember orcs are so potent.”

“Birth control does not work.”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that. I've been thinking about it this whole time since I first saw you. I understand the implications that if I were to get together with you, this wouldn't be a thing where there'd be a long, drawn-out dating, and then we'd be engaged. And then we could do family planning years later.”

“No, there will be none of that. I will be comitted to you for life until the day I die. There'll be no other for me and I'll be physically unable to have sex with anyone else. In fact, their touch will disgust me and I will need to come to you sometimes just to inhale your scent so I can calm down because that's the level of my possessive feelings. Can you handle that? I’ve been told that possessive orc nature can be problematic for most human females.”

I laugh. “This actually makes you sound better to me.”

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