Page 14 of How To Woo A Warrior Orc

“To sleep here. Your sleeping clothes, toiletries, that sort of thing.”

“I sleep naked,” I tell her, still slightly confused. “What sort of clothes do people normally wear?”

Her face turns red. Not the pretty rose I’m used to when she’s flustered, but a full-on cherry shade of crimson that makes a laugh bark out of me in surprise.

Piper blinks, her mouth opening, then closing again.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” I tell her slowly, loving the delicious way her throat moves as she swallows. “Or be coarse. I don’t have things to collect. I wash my clothes every night, I sleep naked, and put them back on in the morning.” I shrug a shoulder, and a muscle twitches in her temple.

Her gaze drifts down my body, and when she bites her lower lip again, I nearly jump over the counter and press her mouth against mine in a fierce kiss.

A delicious scent perfumes the air, and it’s not the first time I’ve scented her desire… but it is the first time I’m fairly certain I’ve caused it.

CHAPTER SEVEN

PIPER

Iam doing probably the worst job ever at being alluring.

By the front door, Ga’Rek waits for me, a half-smile on his face, and I fervently wish I’d charmed some cookies with a teensy seduction spell earlier.

I brush my hair from my face, where it seems resolutely determined to fall, and untie my apron, hanging it on the peg to wash later.

Which, of course, makes me go hot all over at the mere thought of laundry. Laundry! All thanks to Ga’Rek’s admission about how he sleeps.

Naked.

In the nude.

Just him and the sheets.

I loose a shaky exhalation, attempting to school my thoughts back into a productive place.

“There’s a more secretive part of the Night Market, did you know?” The question slips out before I can catch it. Icringe inwardly, well aware that he absolutely does not know, considering he hasn’t been before.

“Secretive?” Ga’Rek repeats. He tilts his head, and the thick, glossy black bun on the back of his head moves with it.

I have been dying to touch his hair since the first week he worked here. He combs it out with his hands, tying it back with quick efficient movements I envy as much as I envy the luster of it.

“Piper?” he asks, and I startle, realizing I’ve been simply standing still, staring at him like a bump on a log.

“It’s uh, it’s not in the main square, but we can do that too,” I say in a rush. Oh goddess, what if I’ve misread him entirely? What if wanting him has made me oblivious to signs that he’s not into me the same way?

“I like the sound of being somewhere secret with you.” There’s a glint in his eye.

Hope and excitement fizz through my bloodstream, the heady combination a magic all their own.

“They have great food, this place,” I tell him. “I’m a bit picky.”

“I had no idea,” he says, completely straight-faced, and we both stare at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Beaming, I make my way from behind the counter, brushing careful hands over my favorite red skirt.

“Sorry I’m not dressed very fancy,” I tell him. “I feel like I should be dressed up to go out with you.”

He blinks, his long black lashes fluttering like soft moth wings. “I just told you I have one set of clothes I wash nightly. You are a goddess, and I will have the envy of every male in the entirety of Wild Oak Woods with you on my arm.”

Pleasure at the compliment turns my knees positively wobbly, and I fluff out the asymmetrical hem of the skirt.

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