Page 45 of My Orc in Uniform

“Bro, you can’twalkand chew gum at the same time,” Jaxon snorted, shifting the strap of his base guitar. “But yeah, the cooler is full of Gatorade for when we need a break from jamming.”

“And the chips are the right kind?” I prompted, having a vested interest in these five kids staying right here in the garage for at least the next hour.

“They’re awesome, Officer Simbel.” Ethan didn’t look up from tuning his guitar. “Name brand and everything.”

“And your parents are picking you up when?”

Hank lifted his hand. “I’m going home with Jax tonight. Ms. Gray said I could leave my keyboard here next to Trick’s drums.”

That made sense. I nodded, trying to figure out how to ask the question again. Trick, however, knew me well enough by now, and rolled his eyes.

“We’re going to jam until nine at least. The school dance is in three weeks, and we’ve gotta be ready by then.”

I offered him a thumbs up, glad to know what time frame we were talking. “You all sound great already. Rock out, or whatever it is you say.”

Jaxon played a riff, beaming. “Good enough, bro!”

As I backed out of the garage and pulled the door closed behind me, I heard Hank say, “Bro, you havethecoolest stepdad!”

And I smiled. Because… I mean, if I’d never considered myself lucky enough to find a Mate, I’ddefinitelynever considered having a kid. And now I had a son any male would be proud of, and he had four friends who were over at our house more often than not.

I was happy to buy them Doritos and Sour Patch Kids and put up extra layers of soundproofing in the garage, if it meant having these five young men trust me—trustus—enough to spend time here. More than one of them had come to me with questions in the last months—questions about females or growing pains—and I’d done my best to answer them in a thoughtful manner.

I felt like I was still learning, but we were learning together.

And that made me proud.

I stopped in the kitchen for two big glasses of ice water. Standing there in front of the dispenser, I thought of where I’d been a year ago.

Living in the tiny apartment Memnon and I shared in the city, working long shifts with the scum of the earth. Our whole lives, we’d had each other’s back…until we didn’t. Until we moved to Eastshore, and life took us in separate directions.

I once thought that losing my twin brother would be the worst thing that could happen to me. But meeting Rissa taught me that I was stronger than I’d expected. And having those kids look up to me filled a hole in my heart I hadn’t known existed.

They were good kids, and having their respect had helped me keep the peace at work too.

Yeah, in the months since our move to Eastshore Isle, in the months since marrying my Mate, I’d found a different path in life. A better one.

And although it had taken him a bit longer, so had Memnon. He and his new Mate were still living in our old apartment above her shop…although I suppose I had to call ittheirshop now, considering what they’d changed the name to.

Anyhow, he was happy, which was something I honestly never truly expected to see.

And me?

I took my two glasses to the bedroom.

I had two hours to dehydrate my Mate as much as possible.

So yeah, I was grinning when I walked in and saw Rissa standing there in the middle of the room, wearing only a robe. Her eyes lit when she saw me.

“Are those for me?”

I only stumbled once on my way to the bedside table, but that was because I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “They’re for both of us, when I make you hoarse from screaming my name.”

She flushed, but I could smell her arousal. “I’m not going to scream anything. God, Simbel, we have five teenage boys in our garage.”

“And they’ve already started playing.” Even with the soundproofing, I could hear Trick’s beats thumping through the house. “I’ve locked our door, and I’ll know if any of them come into the house.” Using my most soothing voice, I moved toward her, already eyeing the tie on her robe, wondering when I could get her out of it. “You trust me, don’t you?”

Her chin rose. “I do. If you think we can do something as wild and crazy as fuck our brains out while we’re supposed to be babysitting, then I suppose I can try.”

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