Page 28 of Rough Riding Orc Cowboy

“Come on over, Beth. I mean, Ben.” Ruugar waved for me to follow him. I stopped a sizable distance away while he continued, striding right up to the beasts. He patted the side of the loose sorhox’s thick neck. “Meet Barg. He’s a youngling male, but he’s well trained. Gentle. He won’t throw you, but he might step on you if you’re not careful. He won't do it on purpose.”

I stared at Barg. Barg curved his neck around and stared at me. His tail flicked upward, the spike scraping across his back like he was scratching an itch, and he shifted his weight on the dirt.

“I’m glad he won’t, um, step on me on purpose.” I couldn’t tell which part worried me more, that I apparently needed to look out for casual stomping or that youngling male meant something this size.

Ruugar motioned me forward. “You’re convincing people you belong on this ride, right? You’ll need to act like it.”

I didn’t like this. Not one bit. But he was right. If I so much as flinched when I was supposed to be some scrawny stable kid earning his keep, I’d be found out in an instant.

Gritting my teeth, I forced my feet to take a step toward the sorhoxes. Then another. My hands hovered at my sides, flexing, and I was unsure iftouching the beast was smart or asking to be skewered. Though not on purpose.

When I got closer, Barg let out a low, rumbling huff, a deep, bone-shaking sound. His eyes drifted lazily over me as if he was trying to decide if he should accidentally step on me. Or eat me. Maybe both.

Ruugar watched, his eyes sparkling, I hoped not with amusement. He could be gauging both my nerves and Barg's opinion of me. I hoped it was that. He nodded toward the beast. “Come right up here in front of him. Hold out your hand. Let him sniff it.”

I hesitated, not only because Barg could probably crush me with a twitch of his head, but because Ruugar was watching. Closely. Like he was measuring me, deciding something, though I wasn’t sure what.

A dangerous part of me wanted him to approve of me. Actually wanted him to like me. Which was absurd. I was here for a week, and I was a burden he hadn’t asked for. There was nothing about this situation that could end well if I started dreaming about anything more.

But I did have to fit in. This was a job. My first one! And I wanted to do it right. So I made my legs take me over to stand in front of Barg. I pretended he was an SUV. An inanimate object. My hand trembled as I reached out, not entirely sure if the shaking was from nerves or how much I liked being close to Ruugar, something I wasn’t ready to name.

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to make contact with something that could flatten me with a casual step. But Ruugar’s calm voice and steady gaze kept me from racinginto the barn to hide. I needed to act like this wasn't a big deal—when it was.

Swallowing hard, I slowly extended my hand toward Barg, palm up. All of me was one big tremble. The sorhox lowered his massive head, his nostrils flaring as he took a deep, snuffling breath. His dark green eyes shifted up to meet mine, assessing. Before I could react, his broad, rough tongue swiped across my entire palm.

I jerked but kept my hand steady, ignoring my overwhelming urge to yank my hand away.

“Oh.” I stared at my now glistening palm. “Now I’m covered in sorhox slobber.”

Ruugar’s gaze was much too solemn. “He’s…”

I eyed him. “What?”

“Nothing.” He cleared his throat. “This means he likes you.”

I squinted at him. It felt like an incomplete answer, but I had other problems, like figuring out how to wipe my hand without offending the beast in front of me.

Barg flicked his tail, then nudged my shoulder with his wide nose. The force nearly sent me stumbling back into the front of the barn.

Ruugar’s lips twitched. “He wants you to pet him now. He likes when you rub behind his ears.”

As if I could reach. We were talking nine feet—at least—at the top of Barg’s head.

“Will he bend down so I can do it?” I asked.

“Go around to his shoulder. I’m sure he will.”

After being slobbered in sorhox spit, I wasn’t suremuch more could happen unless sorhoxes liked to “accidentally” poop on people too.

Sending Ruugar a grimace, I wiped my hand on my pants and eased to Barg’s side, rubbing along his broad shoulder. He curved his head around to study me some more before he lowered it to my level.

Aw, that was sweet. I still had to stand on my toes to rub behind his ear, but his fur was softer than it appeared. Silky, like a rabbit’s.

Barg let out a slow, happy rumble. I hoped it was a happy rumble and not his way of indicating he was about to swallow me whole. He could be hungry, and this was his belly rumbling. I was the first course.

When he didn't bite with his lethal-appearing fangs, I exhaled, my tension melting a little. This wouldn’t be so bad.

Ruugar watched, something unreadable in his expression. Then he nodded. Grunted, too, a sound I’d learned meant some kind of acknowledgment. “Good. Now let’s saddle him.”

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