Page 5 of My Orc Contract Husband
She was grinning when she stopped at my side. “What do you think of the place? Should we put in an offer?”
“I’d love to. The lots in this neighborhood are ideal.”
Her fingers were flying over her phone’s screen now, taking notes. “Mm-hm. That’s what’s held us back on the other properties that’ve come available. And the house seemed to be what you want too, size-wise. Although it needs a lot of work.”
Needs a lot of workwas my middle name. Or it would be, if orcs had middle names. Or last names, for that matter.
“You’re right.” Satisfied, I crossed my arms and studied the structure. “I don’t think there’s anything I couldn’t handle. And if it needs improvements, that’s good on our end, right?”
“Absolutely,” she murmured without looking up. “We can offer below listing if you’d like, but the price is fair. But it gives us some wiggle room if we need it.”
I smiled at her, knowing she couldn’t see it. In these last four months, I could admit that I really liked how focused she got whenever she was being all business-y.
She muttered quietly to herself as she tapped on her phone, strolling out through the gate in the fence. I followed her, supposedly investigating the property, but far more intrigued by her. I’d been in the human worldenough to know when I was interested in a female, and I wasveryinterested in Sami Shayson. I hadn’t acted on that interest, because I hadn’t seen any hints that she was interested in me.
But every once in a while, there was a faint hint of intriguing perfume that I hoped was her arousal, and it made myKteercrow. One day, I hoped to spend more time with her in a non-realtor-client context, but I also wasn’t going to rush things.
“Well,” she announced, standing in the shade of one of the big trees out front and slipping her phone into her purse. “I think this is a strong possibility.”
My cock stirred at her words, even as my mind caught up.
Calm down. She’s talking about the property, not this…whatever this is.
So I smiled and nodded, my hands on my hips, definitely not shifting to hide my semi-erection. “Now I just have to convince the bank.”
“What do you mean?”
“The mortgage company. I applied for this price point a while ago, and I need them to approve me.”
Sami winced, and I knew she was thinking that I might have been wasting her time. “They approved me at the lower amount. Remember how we originally just looked at properties without structures? I have approval for that.”
“This place isn’tthatmuch more than what we looked at originally—” she began.
I hurried to reassure her. “Which is why I think the bank will approve the second level I applied for. But even if they don’t, I have enough saved up to build the workshop I want. I can always go back to looking at pieces of land.” I could plumb the workshop for water and electric and live there, as long as zoning didn’t find out…
“I don’t know, Tarkhan. Youarea contractor.” When she hummed and bit her lip, I had to look away, glad she didn’t seem pissed off at me. “A contractor salary, even if it’s really good, can give some banks pause, because it’s not considered steady. You said you have savings?”
I did, but not nearly as much as my friends’, thanks to my choices. “Some,” I was willing to admit. “Not as much as my friends, but I don’t want to borrow money from them.”
Her soft snort was in commiseration, and I was surprised I knew that. “I know all about that. Well, you could always marry for money.” Her grin bloomed. “You know, a second income on the mortgage application? My mom married for money.”
I stared, aghast, and the longer the silence went on, the more awkward it became. Her smile faded and she glanced away, until I realized I needed to say something.
But…marry? For a mortgage? That had never even occurred to me.
“Was she…” I cleared my throat. “Was she happy? In her marriage.”
Sami’s eyes widened. “You know, I don’t know if I ever thought about it. She wasn’t close with my father, but shehad everything money could buy and seemed happy with that. Huh.”
A marriage of…ofconvenience, I suppose. I wouldn’t marry a stranger because they happened to be rich, but what if it was mutually beneficial? What could I offer that stranger?
What? Why are you considering this?
No, no, I wasn’t considering it, not really. Right? Orcs didn’tmarry, they found their Mates. But since I’d been in the human world for years and hadn’t found a Mate yet—and Abydos would say, based on the number I’d fucked around with, I’d been trying my hardest—then I wasn’t likely to.
Marriage, on the other hand, was just a legal arrangement.
Could you live with someone you didn’t care for? Sleep with them?
