Page 10 of Loved By the Orc

“Really?” I looked at him, wide-eyed. “You’re saying there were magical creatures living in among us, uh, humans?”

“Don’t lump yourself in with the humans when you’ve obviously got magical talent,” he told me. “And yes, there were and there still are. Most of them wear glamours to disguise themselves so humans don’t notice them. Like, most of your movie stars are fairies, hiding their wings and their pointed ears with magic. And the billionaires and CEOs are almost all dragons—hoarding more wealth than they could ever possibly use just so no one else can have it. So why shouldn’t your asshole boss be a magical creature too?”

“I really doubt he is,” I said, thinking of Mr. Price’s skinny frame and the way he always wore his reading glasses perched on the very end of his long, bony nose. If there was anyone less magical than him, I didn’t know who it would be. Except maybe me—I was sure the fact that I’d gotten into Hidden Hollow in the first place must be some kind of cosmic mistake.

But talking about my boss made me glance at the time charm that Madam Healer had given me…and realize that I had been in the magical little town for almost three hours.

“Oh, I really need to be going!” I said. “But…I don’t know how to get home.”

“Or how to get back again—if you want to,” Tark pointed out. He reached for my hand. “I mean,ifyou want to.”

“I do want to,” I said honestly, squeezing his long fingers. His hand was so much bigger than mine I felt like a kid again, holding hands with an adult. But it was nice—reallynice. There was a spark between us—I could feel it. And that wasn’t something I could say about any of the human men I’d dated—not that there had been very many.

“I want you to, too, Babygirl,” he rumbled. “Come on—I know who we can talk to about it.”

He rose and lifted me off the couch, just like he had before. Then he frowned down at himself.

“Just let me throw on a shirt, okay?”

“Sure.” I nodded, though I was sad not to see his bare chest anymore. He reallywasmouthwatering.

But I wasn’t too disappointed when he came back. He was wearing a black T-shirt that clung lovingly to his chest and abs and a pair of jeans that showed an impressively muscular ass. Damn, did all Orcs look this good or was he addicted to the gym? I didn’t know, but either way, he was hot!

I didn’t have much time to admire him, though because he was already taking my hand in his.

“Come on, Babygirl—let’s see about getting you home…and bringing you back again,” he told me.

And then he led me out the door and into Hidden Hollow.

4

HARMONY

This time I got to notice things I hadn’t when he was carrying me back and forth before. The crisp Fall weather gave me a chill since I was just wearing a thin silk button down blouse, but I liked it. I shivered in delight as a cool gust of wind rushed through the colorful treetops and swirled around my body.

“Oh—it’s actually cold!”

“Of course it is—it’s Fall. It’s almost always Fall here—fucking nice,” Tark rumbled. “It’s my favorite season. But are you cold, Babygirl? Here…”

He put one long arm around me and drew me closer to his side. I slipped my own arm around his waist, glad to get closer to him. He smelled so good and he really was warm—his big body put out heat like a furnace.

But the walk didn’t last long. We passed by several shops, including a kind of supermarket called “Kreature’s Emporium and Fine Groceries” and then Tark led me up the front steps of what looked like a sprawling Bed and Breakfast.

There was a sign out front that read, “The Red Lion Inn” and by the door was an outline of a lion’s head in red paint.

“Goody Albright runs this place,” Tark explained. “She helped me get settled when I first came to town—she can help you too, I’m sure.”

When he opened the front door, we stepped into what looked like a piece of history. There were portraits on the walls that looked hundreds of years old and lots of antique furniture. The rugs on the dark hardwood floor were well-worn but also obviously antique.

A woman—at least Ithoughtshe was a woman—came bustling up to us. She had brown, bark-like skin and the arms and legs that stuck out from her dress were almost stick-like with big, knobby elbows and knees. Her nose was long and crooked and there was a single green leaf growing from one side of it.

“Yes, how can I help you?” she asked in a businesslike way.

“We’re here to see Goodie Albright,” Tark said. “Tell her it’s Tark, calling in his favor.”

“She owes you a favor?” I asked, looking up at him as the peculiar attendant hurried away.

He nodded.

---