Page 12 of My Orc Contract Husband
“Those kids sure are cute, huh?” I hazarded. “Little Joshua is thriving with Aswan as his father.” I kept my tone light, but I was watching him carefully now, noting the way his shoulders had gone rigid.
A few months ago, I’d helped Aswan put together a new swing set for Joshy’s birthday—and byhelped Aswan, I meanI did the whole damn thing. That had been the day where it’d become obvious Aswan and Hannah were Mates, and shortly afterward, she’d realized it too, thank the gods of the ancestors.
It was no surprise I liked to visit his family as often as possible. The kids were adorable, and his happiness, his contentment with his Mate…well, it made me happy to feel some of that satisfaction as well.
As if we’d made the right choice in leaving Bramblewood and everything we knew to move here.
After a long moment, Abydos blew out a sigh and lifted his beer to his mouth. “Yeah,” he grunted before he drank. But to my surprise, when he lowered it, he continued, “They’re cute when they’re little.”
Humans. I didn’t have to ask what he meant.
The unspokenbefore they grow up and become monstershung in the air between us like a toxic cloud.
“Hannah’s nice,” I offered, busying myself with laying out the burgers on the griddle. “So is Rosemary, Akhmim’s Mate. Hells, Abby, all the human females our brothers have found aregood beings.” The meat hit the hot pan with a satisfying hiss, and I pressed down on each patty with my spatula.
“Don’t call me Abby.” His voice had gone flat, emotionless, which was somehow worse than his usual growl. “And I’m not surprised you think that.”
“Yeah, because I like to fuck humans,” I tossed back at him, knowing that’s what he meant. “But seriously,T’kap, they have good hearts. Do you honestly think Aswan and Akhmim and Sakkara and everyone else would have made bad choices in their Mates? Do you think they’d give their hearts to evil humans, ones who hate like?—”
I bit off my words before I could say something I wouldregret, but I couldn’t stop the way my eyes darted across the mass of scars covering the left side of his face.
His scowl told me he’d seen it.
So I sighed and turned back to the burgers. With my back to him, I said, “You know, when you build your house, you’re going to be seeing way more of them.”
“I’m not building on Eastshore because ofthem.”
“I know that.” We’d talked him into it so we—the orcs on the island—could see him more often. “You need to have a base near your shareholders.”
“It’s easier to control the company from my place in Colorado, and the rest of the guys—the other shareholders live out there.”
“It’s noteasier,” I shot right back, starting to flip the meat. “You do everything online and don’t let anyone see you, so who in the hells cares where your base is? Your friends are here, your brothers are here. I’m here. At least when you’re staying here, you can buy me groceries.”
I grinned at him over my shoulder, and was rewarded with something that might have been a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. When I heard him snort, I decided that was good enough.
“How’s the house coming?” I offered the topic change as a peace offering and heard him sigh.
“Good. Good.” A pause, and I heard him swallow more beer. “When Sakkara offered one of my companies the chance to bid on that big construction project, I didn’trealize how handy it would be to have so many connections here on the island.”
“Well I, for one, appreciate it.” Abydos hadn’t gotten me the contractor job; I knew I was talented enough at woodworking to not need his help. But as the new mayor, Sakkara had started the condo construction project rolling, and the whole island—myself included—was benefitting. “You’ve already torn down the old place?”
“Torn it down, hauled it away, and they’ve laid foundation for the plans my architect designed.” Abydos was looking as smug as possible for a guy who never smiled. “You need to swing by and see how much progress they’ve made.”
When he finally agreed that he should have an Eastshore base of operations, Abydos didn’t do anything half-ass. He bought a piece of property on the north side of the island, the one with the cliffs instead of the beach, and tore down the sixty-year-old bungalow to build his own place. It wasn’t going to be a mansion—that wasn’t his style—but I had no doubt it would be beautiful.
“I’ll swing by the day after tomorrow,” I told him as I began to plop the buns, buttered side down, on the pan, filling the kitchen with a rich, golden scent. “I have another tour scheduled with Sami at three, so I took the afternoon off.”
“You haven’t settled on anything yet?” Abydos grunted. “I thought you found a place today.”
“I did.” I slid the buns onto a plate and tossed a new pair down. “Well, we toured a place.”
“And?”
“It was fun.”
Honestly, we could’ve toured a swamp, and it would’ve been fun. Being with herwasfun. I loved the way she smiled, I loved the way she laughed, and I loved being around her. But that didn’t explain why myKteerhad gone into overdrive when that stranger had shown up.
He’d just been a delivery boy. Why did I have to fight the urge to rip out his throat?
