“Jeez…” she whispers, eyes sparkling as she continues to stare up at me.
“So am I throwing you over my shoulder and barging out of here with a war cry?” I ask, flicking my gaze between her eyes and lips. “Or do you want the civilized approach?”
Another laugh escapes her, and she smacks my bicep, before putting her small hands against my chest and giving me a mighty push. Which I choose to step back for, since I’m a gentleman.
“Alright, let’s go before you Hulk-smash this place apart.”
She threads her fingers through mine, and I allow her to lead us out the doors into the still buzzing city night outside, mostly so I can look at her ass as she walks.
But after a few steps watching her hips sway, I tighten my fingers round hers and draw her off the main road, leading us down a quiet street before turning so that she’s caged between a brick wall and me.
She shows no hesitation, instead staring up at me curiously, and I lift her hand and lay a kiss against her small palm. She doesn’t shudder or pull away from my tusks, and I press my lips to her skin once more before letting her hand drop.
“Before we go any further, I want you to let me do something.”
Her dark brows raise, and her lips quirk. “Uh, I’m not really one for voyeurism.”
I snort and shake my head. “Trust me.”
“Okay.”
For some reason, her easy admission to trust settles in my chest, and I smile. How this woman has got me smiling more in one night than I’ve done all year, I don’t know.
“Move your hair to the side,” I order quietly. “Bare your neck to me.”
“Is this some sort of orc ritual?” she murmurs, but she doesn’t seem fazed as she does what I ask and tilts her neck.
“Maybe.” I lean my forearm on the wall above her head, bend down, and take a long, deep breath with my nose just barely grazing her skin.
She smells incredible.
Her smoked-honey scent races straight to my cock and through my head, making me dizzy with a longing like I’ve never felt before, and my heart thump, thump, thumps against my ribcage.
I groan and drag my nose up the column of her throat and into her hair, taking a step towards her and wrapping my other arm around to clutch her thick ass and push her lush little body flush against me.
“Gods,” I find myself saying, as her body and her scent engulfs me entirely, tugging at something deep within my chest as if trying to bind to me. “I’ve never scented anything like you before.”
Slowly, her arms trail up my chest before winding around my neck, and I draw back. “Is that a good thing?”
“Very fucking good,” I growl. “Give me your number.”
She chuckles, a little nervously this time, but her breaths are coming quicker, and her eyes are full of heat. Her fingers curl up the base of my neck where my hair is cropped short, before it lengthens to pull up into my topknot. “Let’s focus on tonight before we think about tomorrow.”
“Tonight, huh?” I push my hips into hers with a grin, pressing her back into the wall. “Alright, little Miss Eager.”
But I need more than that. I need more of her.
I already know one night won’t be enough, not ever.
Chapter 2
Ella
I tap my keycard over the sensor on my door, and with a quiet click it unlocks and we enter.
The reality of the situation kicks in—I’m about to spend the night with an orc, a non-human, and while many people are still just prejudiced enough to warn me away from doing this under the guise of ‘cultural and physical differences—’while really being just a little bit racist or species-ist or whatever you want to call it—I find that I’m not worried in the slightest. I feel safe with Rho. I feel more than just safe, I’ve never been so attracted to anyone in my life. It’s insane the way my body calls for him, tugging me towards him like a magnet, despite only knowing him for a few hours. When I turn to face him and his big hands immediately come to grip possessively at my waist, I can neither help the way my stomach flutters at the sheer size difference between us as he looms over me, nor the way my lips spread in another smile as soon as they land on his face.
His very handsome, green face.