Page 20 of Wrangling the Orc Cowboy

“It's true,” was all I could say.

As we started up the stairs, a feeling of comfort lingered in the space between us.

We climbed in silence. My pulse kept an erratic beat the whole way. Each rise in the stairwell felt like a countdown, and the space between his shoulder and mine buzzed with all the things I couldn’t give myself permission to want. For now, he moved with a grace that belied his size, though his shoulders looked a little too rigid, his hands curling and uncurling at his sides as if he didn’t know what to do with them.

At the top of the stairs, he walked with me down the hall, stopping outside the room he'd shown me earlier.

He looked from the door to me, his eyes widening, before he paused, patting his pockets in quick, jerky movements. “Ah,” he muttered, his brows knitting over his dark eyes. “Ihada key for you, didn't I?”

I arched a brow. “Had? As in, past tense?”

“Wait.” He patted his pockets again, more frantic this time, his ears twitching with each sharp movement. “I…” He frowned my way. “I didn't already give it to you, did I?”

I shook my head.

He smacked his temple with his palm again. “I was certain I had. Or I kept it. Didn't mean to do anything like that.” His hand dove into his pants’ pocket, and he yanked out the key, holding it up between us. “Oh good. Here.”

And then he dropped it.

The clinking sound of it bouncing off the hardwood echoed in the hallway. Tark crouched and scooped it up. When he stood and extended it toward me, his ears lay flat against his head.

“Please, um, take it,” he said, his eyes darting to my face like he was gauging my reaction.

There was something incredibly sweet about this exchange—and him. My big, intimidating orc had expertly crafted a gourmet meal from scratch but was now fumbling a simple key handoff. As if I intimidated him. As if I meant something. It was endearing and deeply Tark. My heart gave another one of those little flips.

“Thank you.” I unlocked the door, swinging it wide. He must've expected me to step in, because he started to follow. I pivoted back to say goodbye, and we stumbled together, me tripping on the sill, him maybe on his feet. Whatever happened, we started falling.

He somehow flipped us around so he landed on the floor with me on top of him.

Straddling his chest.

With our mouths only a breath apart.

Something cracked open inside me, something unexpected yet wildly welcome. I leaned in and let the fear fall away.

I kissed him.

Chapter 7

Tark

Her lips met mine, and the world turned to fire.

I'd imagined my first kiss, even dared to dream of it in the quiet moments when I could think without worrying that someone expected something from me. Nothing could've prepared me for how it actually felt. Gracie's mouth was soft and warm, moving against mine with an eagerness that stole every thought from my head. My body tensed with the shock of it, my heart hammering loudly. She must be able to feel it where she pressed against my chest.

Gracie.MyGracie.

Her hands slid up and her fingers wove into my hair, her touch both tentative and bold at the same time. It sent a shiver across my skin, a current of electricity that lit me from the inside out. She kissed me like she wasn’t afraid of being this close to a huge orc like me, her lips parting, inviting me to do…something. I wasn’t exactly sure what.

Bumbling, awkward orcs like me weren’t made for moments like this, moments tender and fragile. Yet here I was, melting under her touch, my every instinct roaring to protect and cherish her.

Unsure where to put my hands, I gripped her hips, and her warmth sank through my skin, branding me. She fit against me like she belonged there, and for the first time in my life, I felt accepted. Maybe even a tiny bit whole.

But I couldn’t lie there like a boulder while she kissed me. No. Even I knew that wasn’t how kissing went.

Each person was supposed to contribute something to the kiss. Move their lips—I think.

No matter what, this woman deserved more, deserved everything I had, everything I was.

---