Page 6 of Orc's Pretend Mate

My lips tremble. An insane curiosity as to how his lips might taste fills my head. They’re good lips. Full and wide. Wide enough if he leaned in to kiss me it might look as if he was trying to eat me. Get it together Phoebes. Gods above, what is wrong with me?

“Thank you,” he says.

I blink, not moving. The words don’t make sense. I have to replay them in my head before I realize what he actually said. I don’t know what I expected him to say, but it wasn’t that.

His hand slides across mine. A thrill races down my arm, hitting my heart like a shot of adrenaline. I part my lips and a tiny gasp slips out between them. His fingers close on the towel and then he takes it from my grip and time returns to normal.

I’m standing too close. Uncomfortably close. He spreads the towel over his hand then presses it to his face, drying the mess I made. Heat rushes over my chest and onto my cheeks. Feeling awkward and my natural fear of pretty much everything returning, I take a step back and keep backing up until I come up against the counter.

He rubs the towel over his face then lowers it. When he does, he sees that I’ve moved and he freezes. His eyes bore into mine ashis deep frown returns. He blinks, his mouth parts, then snaps shut as if he was going to say something then thought better of it.

I cross my arms over my chest, turning to the side so as to avoid having to make direct eye contact. He rumbles. It’s a low, soft sound that doesn’t really qualify as a grumble and I honestly don’t know what to make of it. We stand a few feet apart and I don’t think either one of us knows what to do now. I know I don’t. I startle when he shifts his weight. He grunts in response, shaking his head.

“Sorry,” he says, his voice a deep rumble.

He steps forward, pauses, and takes a long stride to the left before continuing. He puts the towel down on the counter, resting his hands flat on its surface. He leans forward, bowing his head.

“Sleep,” he says at last and my heart painfully skips a beat.

I hadn’t realized how much I was holding on for him to speak. To say something. Or how much I like the sound of his voice.

“Yes,” I agree. “You take the bed. It’s fine.”

“No,” he barks while slapping the counter. I jump backward, heart in my throat. He growls, balling his hands into fists. “No.”

He repeats, calmer, but the tension in the room is through the roof. My eyes are so wide that it’s drying them out. I tremble in fear.

“S-s-so-sorr-sorry,” I stutter through teeth I can’t keep from chattering.

He growls, shaking his head which makes the rings jangle.

“No, gada… no.”

I don’t recognize the word he uses but the way he spits it out I take it for a curse of some kind. Which doesn’t help me to understand what is happening in the slightest. I’m so scared that my muscles have locked up and all I can do is stand here waiting for whatever happens next.

He straightens, squares his shoulders, and unclenches his fists. He turns towards me and if I didn’t know what to expect, what I see on his face goes beyond even that. It looks like, but surely it can’t be, remorse.

Why is he feeling remorse? He’s the one in charge. I was too bold. Whatever happens next, I know that I caused it by running my mouth. By forgetting, if only for the moment, that he isn’t a friend or an ally. He’s my captor.

He raises his hands, palms up towards the ceiling, shaking his head. I don’t know what to do and I don’t think I can speak, which leaves me standing and staring. He waits, clearly expecting something, but I’ve got nothing to give.

“Sorry,” he says, dropping his hands to his side. He watches me close, waiting for something still but I can’t. Terror has me in its freezing grip. “Take bed. Please. You are guest.”

“No,” I say in a tiny squeak of a voice. I clear my throat, finally regaining some control of my body. “Not a guest.”

I need to get away before I say or do something even stupider than I already have. Keeping a wide berth of space between us I circle wide and go to the stairs. I’ll take the bed, if only to get away. I feel his eyes watching as I climb.

3

VAPAS

The Star Person climbs the stairs in silence. I watch, not moving until I hear her settling into the bed. Only then do I clean up the mess she made, wash the dishes, and put everything away.

It’s mindless work but it keeps my thoughts under control while I do it. Keeping my hands busy has always been the best way for me to avoid thinking about things I do not want to. She is definitely something I don’t want to think about.

I knew there were Star people among us. I can’t imagine anyone in the entire city doesn’t know. Even those living in the dregs know they are here. But I certainly never expected to have one in my house. Why she is here, I don’t know. I never asked. I didn’t intend to get involved, but when that gada covered Maulavi was abusing her…

I couldn’t. What would I be if I stood by while they did that? Ready for the end of this world or not, I am still a male. I am still an Urr’ki and we may be beaten, but are we also defeated?

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