Page 22 of His Orc Warrior

It didn’t take long to whip it up, and we chatted while I worked. We had a lot of things to figure out. He had his village and I had my place here. Being apart wasn’t going to work for either one of us, but moving forward was going to require some changes in our life.

We left all of that on the back burner, instead talking about Bolg and taking him to the park, discussing what our week looked like, and what we should do on our next day together. There was plenty of time to worry about the big stuff. Today was about enjoying our new mating bond.

“What do you like on yours?” I set his plate in front of him. “Butter? Syrup? Sugar?”

“I…” He hesitated. “My mom’s jam.”

Now that she didn’t hate me, I was going to need to get all of her recipes.

I grabbed it from the fridge, set it on the table, and we ate together. I knew without a doubt this was going to be the first of many, many, many mornings together.

And honestly? If I had my way, it was the first of every morning. Because I couldn’t envision a future where he wasn’t the first person I saw when I woke up and the last one before I went to bed.

We had a few things to figure out first, but they were all details. The big stuff, the stuff that mattered, we’d worked our way through already. He was mine. I was his. And that was that.

All that was left were the pesky little details.

“I have a bite left.” I put it on my fork and lifted it to my mate’s mouth. “Would you like it?”

He opened his mouth and once the fork was inside, he wrapped his lips around it, closing his eyes, and making anmmmmsound. “I think you are trying to get me back into bed, mate.”

“That depends.”

“Depends on what?”

“On whether it’s working.” I set my fork down.

“Oh, trust me, mate, it’s working. It. Is Working.” And before I knew it, I was in his arms and we were heading back to the bedroom. The dishes were going to have to wait.

Chapter Sixteen

Thrain

“There isn’t one single chain store here,” Lucas marveled. “Or restaurant.”

“No.” I took his arm and led him across the street. “That wouldn’t work for a number of reasons.”

“I guess not.” He paused to look in the hardware store window. “It might be tough to explain to a human corporation why all the employees are in cosplay. Might be against their policies.”

I turned him to face me. “You’re assuming all corporations are human owned and operated.”

“They’re not?” He looked so surprised, again. The expression was super cute on him. “Are we talking big ones?”

“I’m sworn to secrecy.” Giving his hand a tug, I got us moving again. “But I might be willing to talk when I’m not starving.” My stomach rumbled, proving my point. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Ravenous.” But he stopped again, in front of the art gallery, which had a large canvas filling most of the window. “I think I’ve seen a painting like this somewhere.”

“No doubt. The artist is celebrated worldwide.”

“The colors are so vivid.” He cocked his head to the side. “Like a landscape from another world. You orcs don’t travel outside the galaxy, do you?”

I chuckled. “Not that I’ve ever heard of. But look closer and tell me what you see.”

He leaned in. “I don’t—”

“Squint.”

A sharply indrawn breath told me he had followed my instructions. “Is this what I think it is?”

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