Page 30 of My Orc (Secret) Boss

It was a poor joke and judging from the way his intense gaze didn’t waver, he hadn’t gotten it.

So I tried for something lighter, shrugging and tucking myself up against him again. “You spent a thousand dollars on landscaping services, but you live in an apartment. What do you want me to do for you?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I heard how they could be misconstrued, but I pushed on. “Five hundred dollars’ worth, at least.”

The thought of what I would do for this male forfreeran through my head, and judging from the way he growled under his breath, Memnon had sensed it too.

So I nudged him. “Landscaping, of course.”

He huffed, as close to a laugh as he got, and repeated, “Of course.”

We sat in silence for a while, listening to the distant sounds of the Festival as the sun painted the western sky. And I contemplated how damn lucky I’d been to be able to hire my grumpy upstairs neighbor.

He was strong, yes, and willing to work hard. But more than that, he was thoughtful, considerate, and had a wellspring of knowledge about the land and plants. I loved that he respected nature and my beliefs the way I respected his, and that we could sit in silence like this, just contemplating the trees around us and the peace within us.

But it was starting to get cold.

“So?” I finally prompted. “What kind of landscaping do you want me to do?

Memnon blew out a breath and turned dark eyes toward me. In the growing twilight, he flashed his tusks, his smile there and gone in a moment. “I want you to build my new home—Eastshore Isle—a community garden. Where we can all gather and grow whatever we want and share it. As communities are supposed to do.”

It was perfect.

Hewas perfect.

I sucked in a breath as the truth hit me.

Holy crap, I loved him.

I loved Memnon. I loved my employee, and that was a human resources nightmare waiting to happen, wasn’t it?

Worth it.

Chapter Eleven

Memnon

Itwasn’t enough.

A week with Maya, and myKteerstill wasn’t satisfied.

As we’d guessed, Simbel’s big boating adventure with Rissa went well enough that he moved into her home the night of the Festival. Well, his stuff was still in the apartment, but every day after work he’d stop by and grab something else and go sleep at his new family’s house.

This meant that the apartment was empty enough for Maya. I stripped my twin’s bed and washed his sheets and cleaned the whole place for her…

But I hadn’t been able to stand the thought ofnothaving her curled up beside me as we slept, so she was in my bed each night. Where she belonged.

So it had been a week of fighting with myself—my instincts, myKteer, and my mind, which knew I had to take things slow.A week of sleeping with her in my arms, smelling as sweet as honeysuckle as she wrapped her limbs around mine, as strong as the plant itself.

A week of tasting her, a week of kissing, a week of exploring her pleasure again and again.

And not allowing myself to give into the ridiculously strong temptation toclaim claim claim.

I wanted her. The gods below knew I wanted her, and myKteerwouldn’t fucking shut up about it! But Maya was hung up on our work relationship. She kept harping on the impropriety and HR nightmare of us doing what we were doing…and that was when she just thought I was her employee.

What was going to happen when I finally grew a pair of balls and told her the truth? If she knew I owned the building, would she consider herselfmyemployee? In which case, did shit get creepier?

Or would she be angry—livid—at me keeping such a secret?

It didn’t help that it had also been a week of avoiding Kelly Willis, the “fitness coach” whose sessions Simbel had gifted me, the asshole. She wouldn’t stop texting and calling, and I’d given up on trying to be polite. I didn’t want to talk to another female, not when I had Maya in my arms.

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