Page 28 of My Orc Pen Pal

Slowly, I straightened from where I’d been arranging the chairs. Someone likeAkhmim.

This weekend, I’d been hella distracted by the whole “coming often enough to get dehydrated” thing, which was wonderful…and also kinda indicative of what Hannah was saying about a partner who would put her—mefirst. In the bedroom, Akhmim was kind, gentle, and giving.

And outside of the bedroom?

I leaned on the tiny chair.

He was kind, gentle, and giving.

He was funny, and interesting, and more importantly, interested.He treated me better than I treated myself, and I had complete faith in him. I’d known him for months now, and I’d seen him act fairly, honorably, and lovingly in all parts of life.

What was it that Hannah had said?Marriage is a partnership in which you trust the other person to love you enough to always put you first. If I were to marry Akhmim, IknewI could always trust him to put me first.

Trust…partnership…that waslove.

Holy crap, Ididbelieve in love!

It is a knowing. That’s what Akhmim called love—No, he was talking about Mating then.

I gasped and steadied myself on Rebecca’s desk.

That very first weekend, he’d explained Mating to me, and I’d thought it was just his word for sex. But then I’d realized he meant something more, somethingpermanent. After all, he’d said that Mates were devoted to one another for the rest of their lives, yeah?

If that wasn’t marriage, I don’t know what was.

He called it Mating, but was he really talking aboutlove?

If I loved Akhmim, could I commit to a lifetime with him?

The real question was: How could I not?

Chapter 10

Ro

Akhmim’s Jeepwas in my driveway as I turned down Seahorse. I wasn’t surprised.

After my realization, I rushed through cleaning and packing up the rest of my classroom, and texted him:

Meet me at my place ASAP.

Oh yeah? Ready for some more fun?

Maybe something more…

I had to laugh at his reply and wondered what he would think ofmine.

I guess I was about to find out.

When I pulled in behind him, I saw Akhmim pacing in my front yard. He looked…agitated. Itwasn’t until I climbed out of my beat-up sedan that I saw the way his eyes were glowing.

All weekend, they’d been darker, not as obvious, as if he was finally sated, but now they looked the same as they did last week. As if nothing we’d done this weekend had fulfilled him.

Well, here’s hoping I was about to.

When he turned to me, wariness on his face, I marched up to him, grabbed his cheeks, and tipped his head down to mine.

“Akhmim, I’ve realized I’m in love with you.”

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