Page 2 of Claimed By the Orc Emperor

“It’s an eight-foot-tall alien, Kai! You want him to have an average human cock? Those are, like, five inches.”

“Really?” Kai asks, looking down at his crotch. “Guess I’m above average, huh?”

I cover my ears with my hands and make a gagging noise. “I donotwant to hear about your dick.”

Kai and I have been friends since high school, making an odd match to most people. I took advanced placement classes and was a bit of an outcast because I skipped a grade in middle school. Kai is…not the sharpest tool in the box. When we met, I was in the cafeteria, eating alone and he sat down with his tray laden with shitty school lunch and said, “You have a very bright aura.” I smiled at him, then ended up laughing my ass off when he leaned in and asked, “What does aura mean? I heard someone say it and always wanted to use it in a sentence.”

I loved him immediately. He was just a happy person, always so positive and welcoming to everyone. His jock friends wondered why we hung out, but Kai wouldn’t let them give me shit. He’s had my back for years, especially after my mother died and my older brother basically cut me off because I ‘had my head in the clouds’.

Kai is the brother I always wanted.

He smiles widely at me and snaps the tape measure shut, wincing when the strip slaps against his thumb. “Just thought you should know.”

I roll my eyes, turning back to my computer and the blank page in front of me. No matter what I try, the beginning of this book just isn’t coming to me. I like to have at least three books in a new series completed before I send it to my publisher, so I’m not behind schedule or have to push back releases. But fuck, I want to finish. I don’t often write a female lead, but this one really spoke to me and I thought I had enough of an overall plot to write a three-book series. Should have known better than try and write a slow burn. The alien and his human mate only kissedoncein the first book. That’s it.

I would have been better off writing a fast burn and them fucking in the first five chapters.

Sighing, I close my laptop and spin my chair back around to Kai. “I think I’m going to go camping for a week or so.” Hiking usually helps me figure out a plot and outline. “I can walk some trails and see if it sparks something.” Hiking and camping are some of my favorite things to do. When I took a short hike with Kai one day, I figured out the plot for my best selling mafia-orc monster smut romance.

He frowns, poking his lip out. “I can’t go.. I have that deck project this week.”

“It’s okay. I’m just going to Forest Glen. Nowhere fancy. There’s that trail that leads to Sumner Cave I want to check out. It’s long, but it’s an established trail. Hell, I might even explore the cave. Sounds like fun.”

Kai grins at me, leaning in like he’s telling me a secret. “You know what they say about Sumner Cave. People go there to explore and never come back. Be careful.”

I snort. “We’ve been here most of our lives. We know people get lost on those trails, trying to explore shit they shouldn’t. Nothing supernatural is going on. People just get disoriented.”

“Well, I heard there’s some kind of great beast that snatches people right outside the cave, takes them inside and?—”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” I say, waggling my eyebrows.

“Your mind is always on monster-fucking.”

I cackle, standing to stretch my sore muscles. “So is yours. As my beta reader, it’s your job to always think about monster-fucking.”

He grins widely. “True.”

“Think you can help me twist my hair?” I reach up and touch my coily ponytail. “I don’t want to have it loose when I go hiking. Last time I got branches caught in my hair and didn’t know until I washed it when I got home. Imagine the jump scare I had when I felt something scratching the back of my neck.”

I started growing my hair shortly after high school and it’s not only thick, but long. Twisting it on my own is a nightmare. After I taught Kai how to twist it so it wouldn’t unravel, he’s been doing half for me so I can save my poor wrists from the strain.

“Yep,” he says, cracking his knuckles. “Get your supplies and I’ll meet you in the living room.”

I kiss his cheeks, making him laugh. “You’re a god. I’ll brush your hair when we’re done. You’re getting shaggy.” I tug on the ends of his long blond hair. He chuckles as I rush to the bathroom to get my hair supplies. I’d washed and detangled my hair a few days ago, but just threw it in a ponytail so I could write.

That’s going oh so well.

Not.

When I get my hair supplies, I hustle to the living room and sit on the floor between Kai’s legs.

I love when someone helps me with my hair. It reminds me of my mom. Before she passed, I would go to her house and she’d either twist or braid my hair for me while we talked or she told me stories of my childhood that I had no memories of. I’d even tell her about some of my book plots, sans all the fucking, of course.

“Your mind is an amazing place, my sweet Rainn Cloud,” she’d say, making me laugh.

My name isn’t Rainn Cloud, but she loved to poke fun at my name. My dad allowed her to name me Rainn, but drew the line at having my middle name as Cloud. He was a saint for that.

She told me she knew I’d be a free spirit, so she wanted to give me a name that reflected it. A lot of family members had something to say about it, especially since my older brother’s name is Theodore. She said multiple people tried to talk her out of naming me Rainn, but she stuck to her guns. As always, my mother was right. Rainn fits me perfectly. I’m definitely a free spirit, loving being in nature and as she put it, I flow freely.. That’s where I feel like myself.

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