Page 25 of Bossed By the Orc

I shook my head, neatly stacking our dishes into the dishwasher before heading over toward the bedrooms. I wasn’t tired. In fact, I’d left much earlier than I usually would and I’d been raring to devour my female as soon as she’d distracted me from work.

I kicked myself for not realizing that she would need more breaks than I would. Humans were fragile compared to us. She needed to be cared for and I had no knowledge of how to do that other than the basics.

I paused in front of her door, listening intently, but when I didn’t hear anything, I sighed, moving along to my own bedroom. I crossed the room to my dresser, removing my watch before I tapped at my phone. My brother’s face popped up when I dialed.

I sat on my bed, glaring at the empty pillow next to me. She should be here, not in an entirely different room.

“Dris,” Rudgar answered my call, his tone amused. “Having more trouble with your female?”

I scowled, irritated by how right he was. “No,” I said, the word clipped.

“I’m sorry for making that assumption,” my brother dragged out the words.

No, he’s not.

“Since it’s not about Penelope, what did you need help with?” he asked, trying to be serious, but I could hear the laugh he was hiding.

I clenched my jaw, my tusks digging into my upper lip as I did. “It’s about Penelope,” I admitted in a rush, huffing with annoyance as my brother cackled on the other end of the phone. “Okay, that’s enough.”

“What do you need?” I could hear the smirk in his voice and swore to myself that I would get back at him when he found his own mate.

“When Zarzel was telling you about mates,” I cleared my throat, referring to the older orc male who’d helped us take over my father’s company when my parents passed. “What did he say?”

“Hmm,” Rudgar replied. “Maybe if someone hadn’t stormed off during that conversation, he’d know a bit more about the topic.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. At the time, I’d thought the old coot was a lunatic. Of course I wouldn’t need help courting my own mate. Thinking back, I was awed at how cocky I was at the prospect. I’d never had enough time to dedicate that kind of focus to females in any way, so what had made me so sure that I would be able to handle the complete disarray of emotions and physical reactions that a mate stirred inside me?

“Just tell me,” I bit out, not willing to admit to him how bad off I was.

“Well, he said that females might as well be a whole other species from us,” Rudgar said, snorting out a laugh. “And yours actually is another species. So I guess it gets more complicated.”

My only response was a grunt. I didn’t need to be told that my mate being human would make things more difficult. She’d already proven that every time I put my hands on her. I needed to become gentler, more careful. It was a difficult task after years of being set in my own ways, but for her, I would try.

“He said that we would have to woo them in the olden ways first. Gifts and gentleness,” my brother told me and I made a low sound of derision.

How the hell would I know what would make an appropriate courting gift?

“Start with flowers,” Rudgar suggested and I heard the infuriating sound of the smile in his voice. “Then we can figure out the specifics. Take your time, Dris. This isn’t something you can crash through like everything else. You have to be patient.”

My ears rang with anger as my brother laughed again.

“And I know you’re going to say that you’re the most patient orc ever created by the Goddess, but that’s a lie and we both know it,” he chided, making me scowl.

“I can be patient if I need to,” I grumbled, annoyed with everything and everyone in that moment.

“Well, you’ll need to be,” Rudgar agreed, tone serious now. “This is about your mate, Dris. No fuck-ups with this one. You only get the one.”

I stared at the door of my bedroom for a long moment before sighing and running my fingers through my hair. “I know. And she’s skittish.” The admission was a rush of words, but my brother heard them.

“Skittish of you? But you’re so approachable all the time,” he pretended to sputter but I could see right through him.

“Har, har. Okay, I’ll start with flowers,” I muttered.

“And a smile,” he insisted, waiting for my response. A grunt was all he got before I hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

I drummed my fingers on my thigh, eyeing the door once more before huffing out a breath.

This is going to be a difficult courting.

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