Page 17 of His Orc Warrior

He knelt down and said his goodbyes to Bolg. Then Thrain stood up, kissed me one more time, before leaving.

Leaving me lonely, hard, and needy. But also, content in a way I hadn’t been in…well…ever.

“Bolg, Daddy needs a shower.” And to get rid of this hard-on if I had any hope of getting any sleep tonight.

The steamy water pounded my back as I pressed my forehead against the cool tile. My every thought was of Thrain: the way he smiled, the way his lips felt against mine, the way he moaned as I touched his tusks, the way he filled his jeans. A simmering need settled into me that refused to be ignored. Itfelt kind of weird jacking off to an image of an actual person I’d just spent time with, but it was either that or embracing a hard sleepless night.

With a shuddering breath, I took a few pumps of conditioner into my palm and reached down, taking myself in hand.

My fingers traced along the hard length, squeezing gently at first. Arousal jolted through me, sharp and insistent, as I imagined the hand wrapped around me wasn’t my own.

I bit my lip, stifling a groan as I began to stroke with firm, steady movements. Had I planned ahead better, I’d have had a toy for my slick entrance, but that would need to wait.

Heat swirled in the small confines of the shower, and I realized for the first time that the two of us would never fit in here together, not in his orc form. I didn’t mind his human side. He was gorgeous in both forms, but it was while he wore his tusks that he looked more “him.”

The slick sounds of my fist sliding over velvet steel had me worried I was being too loud. I leaned into the slippery tiles, as my movements turned frantic, chasing my orgasm. I didn’t want to dwell in here too long, thinking about all the things I wanted to do with Thrain. That felt too invasive and bordering on disrespectful.

But still, forbidden images flickered through my mind—my fingers dancing along his tusks, the planes of his muscles, the tantalizing swell of cock in his jeans. That was all it took and I was spilling thick ropes of cum onto the bathroom wall.

For long moments, I simply stood there, wishing it had been Thrain’s hand.

Soon. It would be Thrain soon. But for now, this would have to do.

Chapter Twelve

Thrain

Luca seemed so shocked when I told him I needed to introduce him to the family. With everything else he’d learned today, I didn’t see how that was the real surprise, but it made me sad.

Had my mate grown up with a family who didn’t care who their scion wed?

Among orcs, that would be unheard of. Every parent wanted to meet and approve of their child’s mate. Of course, they did believe in fated mates, but we had a tradition that went back so far, nobody could remember when it began. Which was beautiful and loving and occasionally confining. But if Lucas and I were lucky enough to be mated and have progeny, I would insist on meeting their mates as well.

Did humans truly not want to get a look at their children’s mates.

Made me even gladder to be an orc.

But leaving Lucas for the night was harder than I’d have dreamed possible. Everyone said once you met your fated mate, you’d never be the same, and I’d held out for the one. But as I headed to my car, all I could think about was picking him up in the morning.

Was he going to have a good night’s sleep? Would he think of me? I slid behind the wheel and drove home, wanting to pull over the whole time and text him. Wish him good night… I managed to hold out until I was home, undressed, showered, and tucked into bed before granting myself the indulgence.

And then, I didn’t know what to say.Miss you?We’d only met that day, and a human might think that too pushy?Nice tomeet you?No, that didn’t begin to cover what I was feeling and was definitely too cold.

In the end, I went with,See you in the morning, before pulling the covers up to my chin and snuggling in to sleep. Or try to. My mind was treating me to reruns of the day. From the moment he walked in, the mental movie reel followed our time together. Our first meeting and playing Go Fish… Our first kiss.

He’d invited me in, clearly offering to continue what our lips had begun…and I’d had to say no. Or rather, not yet. It was the right thing to do, but try to tell that to my cock. And, my heart that wanted to stay with him for the night…for forever.

I must have finally fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, the sun was up and it was time to get ready to take Lucas to meet the folks. It seemed to take forever to shower and dress, but he wasn’t expecting me until nine thirty, so rushing would get me nowhere. Plus, I wanted to look my best—and my best was 100 percent my orc self. Not the way I could easily traverse the human neighborhoods, however, so I didn’t even bother to try. Even if Lucas’ neighbors did assume it was just a costume or cosplay, my large green self was sure to attract attention that he might not welcome.

I’d been warned about that by some of my older cousins.

As soon as I pulled up in front of his place, my mate came running out to the car. He hopped in before I had a chance to open the door for him, but when he leaned in and lifted his face for a kiss, I forgave his denying me that privilege.

His lips were warm and firm, his scent clean with the herbal astringent shampoo aroma blending with his sweet spice. I could have lingered there forever, holding him in my arms, breathing him in, but finally I drew back with reluctance. “Good morning, Lucas.”

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, but probably not long enough. I was looking forward to seeing you today.”

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