Page 41 of My Orc in Uniform

“Calm down?” she was saying against his shoulder, her arms tight around him. “Calm down? You don’t tell a woman to calm down when she’s frantic with worry—” But then she bit off her words and peered up toward the spotlight. “Allthe guys?”

“Hi, Ms. Gray,” came another sheepish voice, while a fourth called, “We were worried about you.”

“I…can see that.” Slowly, she straightened away from her son. “Hank, Ethan, Jaxon… Is Brian up there?”

“Holding the light, Ms. Gray.”

Rissa was still holding Trick’s hand. “Do your parents know where you are?”

“Dad said I could borrow his boat, Ms. Gray,” Jaxon offered. “He said he trusted me. Ethan’s mom made us swear on a stack of Bibles to call as soon as we got reception again, and Hank messaged his mom to let her know we’d be back by two, but we didn’t hear back.”

“And you know how my mom is,” Brian offered.

Rissa was slowly shaking her head. I didn’t know what kind of home life Brian or Hank or the other guys had, but I could see that Rissa was in shock. She turned wide eyes my way.

“Can you believe this, Simbel?”

Smiling broadly, I strode to the edge of the water. “You know what? I can.” I clapped my hand around Trick’s shoulder. “Thank you, son. I could use your help.”

I didn’t need the firelight to feel the pride emanating from the kid. He straightened. “What do you want us to do?”

“If you could hook up our stern line to your bow and use this boat to pull, I’ll go around to the bow and push. I think we can get our boat unstuck.”

No need to tell him that the tide would’ve been right for me to push it off myself in a half hour or so. The way he was practically vibrating with pride was enough. “Yessir!Ethan, you and Hank come help me and Simbel. Brian, you light us all up, okay?”

I squeezed his shoulder. “Spoken like a real leader,” I murmured, and I heard Rissa make a noise of approval.

We were a long way from settled, but for now, I had to focus on getting us off this island and getting us—allof us—home.

Chapter Fourteen

Marissa

I wokeup to the smell of bacon.

Honestly, Sunday mornings were delightfully relaxed and comfortable around my house, and bacon often featured. But…waking up to it?

Slowly, I sat up, pulling off my eye mask.Iwas the one who made bacon, usually to get Patrick to wake up. I couldn’t recall a time that he’d ever woken before me and cooked. And considering we’d gotten home at two in the morning…

I glanced at the clock and winced. Almost noon? Well I guess itwastime for some food, huh?

I was pulling my hair into a messy bun as I stepped out of my room and rocked to a stop.Simbel. Simbel was standing in my kitchen, hip propped against the counter, cradling a steaming mug. He was giving pointers toTrick, who was standing in front of the stove, tending the bacon.

The male was teaching my kid to make bacon?

Be still my heart.

On the other hand, I can’t believe that I had forgotten, until that moment, that Simbel had spent the night.

He’d cared for me, calmed me during my freak-out, said exactly what I needed to hear…then he’d blown my mind with three consecutive orgasms, and told me we were—what? Destined to be together?

There is a knowing.

I couldn’t deny it was the truth.

He and Patrick and Patrick’s friends had worked together to get our boat off the sandbar, then we’d returned to the marina at a moderate speed. I’d made certain the boys all checked in with their parents right away, then we’d dropped them—and their various bikes and scooters—off at their homes. Except for Brian, who was spending the night with Ethan, since his mom was partying on the mainland.

Only then had we returned home, and I’d been near asleep. Simbel had been the one to ensure teeth got brushed and doors were locked…and then he’d tucked me into bed.

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