Page 1 of Bound to the Orc Warrior

CHAPTER ONE

Naomi

I lock the door of my bookstore, tuck the key into my bra, and start down Main Street, putting extra swing in my strut, faking it with everything I’ve got. My cute strappy heels tap out a confident beat on the concrete sidewalk, and the evening breeze is a little cool on my bare arms and shoulders, but I ignore it. My hot-pink slip dress is my favorite, the one that makes me feel like the big, beautiful woman I am.

I need that extra layer of confidence tonight, because I’m about to walk into my ex’s engagement party like I don’t have a care in the world.

“Naomi!” Hannah calls from across the street. “Wait up!”

A sigh of relief escapes me. All of this will be much easier with my bestie by my side.

She looks both ways before crossing the street, which is funny and sad all at the same time. It’s six thirty in the evening. Ferndale Falls should be experiencing rush hour, but once Old Joe putters by in his vintage Ford pickup truck, Main Street is painfully empty.

Just like my bookshop. Just like all the stores still struggling not to go out of business.

Our tiny New England town is just as cute as can be, filled with ornate Victorian houses and old, quaint buildings and lots of laws about keeping them looking like the historical monuments they are. The heavy forest that surrounds the town even boasts the picturesque waterfall that gives us our name.

But for all of that, the town is still dying a long prolonged death brought on by the fact that the narrow state highway that used to feed us tourists got replaced by a multilane interstate located over fifty miles away.

Hannah skirts the street’s infamous pothole, scowling down at it. “Damn thing. I just had Larry fill it in again last week!”

“How many times does that make?” I ask.

“Too many! I don’t have any more roadworks budget.” She throws out a dramatic hand, gesturing to the gaping hole. “That thingateit all.”

As town mayor, my best friend works herself to the bone, trying to keep Ferndale Falls going as best she can. If sheer willpower alone worked, we’d be standing in a thriving tourist hotspot instead of surrounded by closed and empty storefronts.

When she reaches the sidewalk beside me, she pretends to do a double take, her light face breaking into an expression of awe as she looks me up and down. “Girl, you are looking fierce!”

“Thanks.” I smooth my hands down the silky hot-pink satin of my slip dress, molding it to my curves and loving the way it gleams against my brown skin. My hair’s looking on point, with my loose curls freshly scrunched and well defined.

Then I grin at her. “You’ve got it going on, too!”

Tall and thin, Hannah looks like the models you see stalking New York City catwalks, with her long hair falling like a glossy brown waterfall down her back. She wears a chic black pantsuit without a blouse under the jacket, turning it from businessy to sexy with the deep V showing off lots of skin.

I’ve always envied her height. She’s always envied my butt and boobs. We both got over it in ninth grade, when Mrs. Bernstein paired us as lab partners in biology, and have been best friends ever since.

Hannah hooks her arm through mine as we continue down the sidewalk, her tone changing to careful concern. “You okay? Because it’s totally okay tonotbe okay, if it’s okay for me to say that.” She gives a muffled snort. “God, could I say ‘okay’ more times?”

“I’m okay,” I say.

“Really?” She raises an eyebrow.

“No.” The air whooshes out of me, and my shoulders slump as we come to a halt. “Or yes. I don’t know.”

“Do you… do you want Matt back?”

“God no!” A laughs sputters out of me. “I’m seriously glad the ex is theex.”

“Then what is it?”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Because I love my best friend, and she’s spent every waking moment for the past three years doing everything she can to turn things around for our town. How am I supposed to admit I want to leave?

I’ve spent my entire life here. Even my English degree came from the online program at the state university, everything done on the computer in the back office of the family bookstore. Ferndale Falls is home, and I love it.

But I want more! I want to experience the things I read about. I want to travel and see new places and people. I want to eat different food and try to puzzle out a language I don’t know.

I want the world to not feel so… small.

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