Page 9 of His Orc Warrior

And yet, from the second I met Thrain, it far exceeded any preconceived notions I had. Heck, it far surpassed any of my dream expectations. He was nice and gruff and so very green. He was the orc from the invitation—and there was something about him that pulled me in.

He looked nearly identical to the photograph, the only difference being that his tusks weren’t all sparkly like a unicorn-themed birthday party. My guess was that had been a filter and, while they did draw my attention, the real ones were a thousand times better.

Real. Ha! As if this wasn’t all some elaborate movie magic makeup and mask. And yet…I longed to reach out and touch him from the second I walked in. It was wrong on so many levels. I shouldn’t have been spending half my thoughts trying to control my hand from reaching out and stroking his tusks or holding his hand or asking him to pretend he was real—telling me all about his orc family, his orc life, his orc home, what it was like to be an orc.

This was cosplay. Nothing more. He saw this as an opportunity to make a few bucks with his hobby and went for it. I shivered at the thought of how many dollars he lost renting this place out and buying food.

Even knowing this was cosplay, it was easy to forget, to think of him as real. Sure, part of it was the amazing costume andmakeup design. But it was more than that. He was all in on his role. It was like when you went to living museums and the people said they lived on-site. You knew it wasn’t true, but you accepted it for the sake of the experience.

I was so glad Thrain was the one here. I’d have been disappointed had I walked into the storefront and met any other eyes. And then to have him be someone I liked this much—it was winning all around.

But with the intense feelings pumping through me—it was all I could do to maintain my composure as we played game after game of Go Fish. I barely spoke, my nerves mixed with my weakening self-control getting the best of me. I didn’t want to ruin what little time I had with him by being a creeper who couldn’t keep his hands to himself, that was for sure.

Go Fish. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that we were playing a little kids’ game. Not Dungeons & Dragons. Not board games. Just Go Fish. With superheroes, though. So that did make it better, I guess.

But the truth was, he could have asked me to play Tic-tac-toe on a scrap of paper, and I’d have stayed. Heck, I’d have begged to stay. My attraction to him was getting out of hand, and I couldn’t even pretend to be upset about it.

He was huge and burly, and he had that deep, masculine voice that could command me to do anything, and I would ask, how quickly?

But also, there was a kindness. Sweetness radiated from him. And I knew that, even though behind that makeup and the wig and the fancy add-ons that made up movie magic, he was just a guy who couldn’t hurt a flea.

And I liked him.

I liked him a lot.

A slowly as the week had dragged on, this time we spent together was moving at warp speed, and I didn’t want it to. Thiswas when it needed to slow down—so I could savor every minute of my time with him. Because once it was over, who knew if I’d ever see him again and if I did, that I’d recognize him. It wasn’t as if he wore this getup every day.

“So, I have a dog.” I set down my winning hand. It wasn’t the best small talk, but it was something, something that wouldn’t lead me down a path that would have me wanting to take Thrain’s lips with my own. Bolg was a neutral, safe topic, and I needed it. “His name is Bolg, and he’s a rescue.”

“You’re kidding. Bolg? I love that. Is he huge?”

“You get the reference?” Bolg had met a ton of people between our walks and ice cream adventures, and very few even pretended they got the reference. But I saw the recognition in his eyes immediately. Made sense, given he made money cosplaying an orc, but, still, it impressed me.

He nodded. “I’ve read the series.”

“Most people don’t, but I thought it suited him.”

He leaned back in his chair, probably not the best idea, given his size.Please don’t let him tip over.

“You still didn’t answer me. Is he huge?”

When I said it suited him, it hadn’t been his size. It was more how strong he was, overcoming the hardships he saw early in his life and still managing to be the bestest-best boy there ever was.

I took out my phone and tapped away, pulling up a recent picture of him. “Not even close to huge. But he is adorable, and my love for him is huge.”

Thrain took my phone and looked at it with interest.

“He is adorable. What kind of dog is he?”

I got that question a lot because he had similar characteristics to a bunch of different breeds but didn’t fit in with any of them.

“They don’t know. I got him from the shelter. But whatever breeds they are, he’s the best of all of them.”

I put the phone down and picked up the cards. “Another round?”

“Absolutely. I’m going to win this one.”

I shuffled and shuffled before counting them out and setting up the pile.

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