Page 19 of Buck Wild Orc Cowboy
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of him and the life he was offering us here. It felt like a dream, and I’d long since learned dreams exploded much too quickly.
I’d trust him for now, but I’d be a fool to let down my guard around him completely. Anyone could start out nice and swiftly turn mean.
After securing the harness over Brelar’s head, Sel dropped the reins on the ground, and Brelar remained in place.
“Very well trained,” I said in admiration.
Color rose up Sel’s neck and landed in his pointy-tipped ears, and he flashed a tusky smile my way. “Thank you. I’ve done a lot of training with the beasts we planned to bring to the surface.We had to make sure this would be a safe adventure for humans, that the odds of anyone getting hurt were slim. We have insurance, naturally, but we don’t care much about the liability of it all. We want this to be a fun place to visit and everyone to leave in the same shape they were in when they arrived.”
That placated me a bit when it came to the thought of Max riding a sorhox alone.
“Come on over and meet him,” Sel said, gesturing to both of us. “He won’t bite.”
“He has long fangs,” I said. I wasn't one bit afraid, but we were talking about a creature the size of an elephant. Maybe bigger. I'd never met an elephant in real life. “And claws.”
“As long as he doesn't see you as a threat, he won't use them.” The patience in this male's voice… It soothed me in a way nothing else ever had. I wasn't sure what to make of my growing feelings for Sel, so I told myself to ignore them.
Max shuffled closer and after Sel nodded, he brushed Brelar’s left side. “He’s warm.”
I joined them, holding my hand out for Brelar to sniff. That's what horses did, right?
“They like it when you stroke behind their ears,” Sel said. “I do too.” More color flooded his face, and he mumbled something that I swore sounded like, “I didn't say that.”
But he had, and those simple words made my heart flip over.
I can't get involved, I told myself over and over as I went to Brelar's side. When he bent forward, I still had to stand on my tiptoes to scratch behind his ears. He had to lower his head even more, and that told me that he really did enjoy it. Max took the other side, and we soon had Brelar groaning with pleasure, his spiked tail swishing back and forth.
“His fur is soft,” I said, stroking the side of his neck to his shoulder. “Do you use any special oil on them to keep it that way?”
Sel shook his head. “Just claw oil to keep their hooves in good condition. This is them in their usual state, though we do groom them daily.”
Once Sel had saddled Brelar, instructing Max in a patient voice while my son helped, he stepped back onto the path leading to the barn. “I’ll call Zist.”
Tipping his head back, he cupped his mouth and released a low, “whoop, whoop, whoop” sound into the air.
Thunder rang out, echoing down Main Street.
Max and I shared a startled look.
A few tourists stopped what they were doing and peered our way, even a few venturing closer with their phones out to take pictures. They must think the next performance was about to get started, and who could blame them? I was beginning to suspect something like that myself.
Pinching Max’s sleeve, I tugged him backward until we stood in the shadow of the barn. We then moved well away from Sel, the object of everyone’s attention because he was one of the orc owners. Let them take videos and pictures of him, not us.
The thunder grew louder.
A riderless sorhox rounded the far end of the barn at full speed, a blur of green muscle and enormous horns. This must be Zist, Sel's personal sorhox. Dirt flew with each step, and when he came to a quick stop in front of Sel, a cloud of dirt followed, soon swept away by the wind.
Gasps filled the air from those watching. Several tourists stumbled backward, pressing themselves against the closest building, clutching their phones in their hands. One woman shrieked and grabbed her child, scooting around a park bench as if that would stop a beast the size of this sorhox. It would plow it over with two stomps. The sound of sandals slapping wood made it clear some tourists had decided now was a good time to get a beer at the saloon or go shopping.
Sel didn’t flinch. He reached out and stroked the creature's long snout.
I pressed closer to Max. “Stay with me until Sel calls us over.”
“I’m not scared,” he whispered, though his eyes were huge.
I kind of was. Maybe. I wasn't sure. The creature looked like he could break a wall in half with a nudge of his shoulder.
Sel scratched under the beast’s jaw like he was greeting a cat, not a creature that could take out a car with one shove. “You feel the shift in weather too, huh? It’s going to be hot tomorrow.”
