Page 15 of My Orc Contract Husband
But his words still stung, hitting something vulnerable I’d tried to keep hidden.
“I’ve dated fae before,” I reminded him, although that hadn’t been what I was considering. “One of them would marry me, surely.”
“They’re not worth marrying either,” he grumbled as he leaned back in his chair, twisting the top off the beer and propping his feet on the third chair, his glare directed out the window of the apartment, where the sun was slowly sinking. “Besides, you know any fae on this island? Rich enough to get you that mortgage?”
“I don’t need her to be rich,” I protested, focusing on my food and pretending this conversation wasn’t hurting me. “I just need someone with an income I can show the mortgage company. We don’t even need to stay married, honestly.”
Without looking at me, Abydos muttered, “All you assholes are Mating humans. Aswan, Akhmim…Sakkara and hells, even Giza.Giza! He had his chance and now he gets a second chance? Fuck.” His voice was getting rougher, and I could see his knuckles whitening around the bottle as he took another swig. “Fine. Find a human and marry her. You got one picked out?”
Did I?
No, no, of course not. I mean, obviously not. It’s not like there was a female who was in my thoughts constantly, who made myKteergrowl and my cock stir and flustered me whenever we were together.
No.
Knowing I was lying to myself, I took it a step further and lied to my oldest friend. “Not at all,d’kap. She only just gave me the idea today. I don’t know if it’s possible.”
Slowly, Abydos turned to me, his beer dangling forgotten in his hand, his glare fierce. “Fucking hells, youdohave someone picked out,” he growled. With another snarl, he slapped the bottle on the table and pushed himself to his feet. “You’re going to marry this female, move her in here, when I’m gone? You’re fucked, you know that? You’reallmoving on, aren’t you?”
Before I could answer—before I could figure outhowto answer—my friend turned and stormed out of the apartment.
And I sat there, stunned.
Was I that obvious? How had he read me so easily?
Because even though I know human marriage was different from orcish tradition, and even though I knew a wife wasn’t necessarily a Mate, Ididhave someone inmind. As soon as Sami had joked about it, I’d been unable to forget the thought of waking up beside her each morning, helping her face her fears, keeping her safe, bringing her joy.
Bringing herpleasure.
What sounds would she make when she came on my tongue?
With a groan, I dropped my head to my palm.
Abydos was right.
Iwasfucked.
Chapter Four
Sami
By the timeWednesday rolled around, I was doing better.
I mean, notbetter, but at least I wasn’t bursting into tears every chance I got. Luckily, I hadn’t had any appointments yesterday, and Aunt Sharon took time off from her volunteer work at the food pantry to keep me company—mani/pedis and a new purse from one of the cute little shops on Main Street meant I was suitably distracted.
But whenever I had a moment to sit, the dread came back.
My aunt had assured me that, as an adult, I couldn’t be forced to take over my father’s business interests. I could sell them—we both knew they were worth alot—or Icould hire someone to take care of them for me. I didn’t have to be involved at all.
But just the thought of having to face the legal battles, or sticking my toe back into that fake, cruel world made my stomach knot up and my heart start pounding in dread.
So I was glad I had this meeting with Tarkhan this afternoon to distract me once more.
Because Tarkhan wasverydistracting.
Look, let’s be honest: I didn’t have a lot of experience with guys, okay? When I’d been living in Dad’s world, he’d been the one to set up my dates, and then later that disastrous arranged engagement. There’d been no one there Iwantedto get to know better, if you know what I mean.
Once I moved to Eastshore and reinvented my life, I was…well, I guess you could say I was aloof when it came to dating. Dating and…more.
