Page 10 of Marked By the Broken Orc
Tomorrow is a day off, then I start my regular two-day shift rotations. Everything is falling into place exactly as planned.
Except for the female next door who’s managed to scramble every rational thought in my head.
I lean back in my chair and close my eyes. All I can see is Mia as she looked today by the mailboxes. Her long brown hair catching the afternoon sunlight, that glossy lip treatment she always wears making her mouth look impossibly inviting.
I wanted to invite her inside. What would it be like to have her here in my apartment, sitting on my couch, making this sterile space feel like something more than just a place to sleep between shifts? I even entertain crazy thoughts of stripping herbare and putting my face between her thighs so I can lick her to orgasm and hear her cries of pleasure for me alone.
A growl rumbles in my chest and my jaw clenches. I cannot entertain these subversive thoughts. We can only be friends.
Friends.
I repeat the word to myself like a mantra, but it rings hollow even in my own mind.
The smart thing would be to delete her number and avoid her completely. Find a different apartment, maybe that house I keep promising myself I’ll look for. Create distance before this attraction becomes something more dangerous.
Instead, I find myself reaching for my phone to call Talon Overtree.
“Took you long enough,” my best friend sourly comments by way of greeting. “I was wondering when you’d call to talk about your loud neighbor who came by today.”
I grunt. “She told me.”
“Attractive human female, long brown hair, blue eyes. She said she was getting a sandwich next door and decided to check out Heat & Ink. The good news is that I didn’t scent any arousal for me emanating from her though.” There’s amusement in his voice. “She mentioned she was your neighbor.”
My grip tightens on the phone. I am pleased to hear that she did not feel attraction towards my friend, but I still find it highly irritating that Talon has noticed her beauty. “What did she want?”
“To meet me, apparently. And my cats.” Talon chuckles. “That’s the interesting part.”
“What do you mean?”
“Shadow, Ink, and Cole all accepted her. Let her pet them, even started purring for her. Shadow hissed at first, but when she hissed back at him, he backed down and allowed her totouch him. I enjoyed that female’s bold demeanor. She wasn’t frightened of me, or the cats.”
“Mia told me what happened with the cats, but I assumed she was exaggerating.”
“No, it’s all true. Those cats have never accepted a human before, Kavin. Not even the other orcs who work here can get near them. They barely tolerate you.”
A snort leaves my lips. If Talon’s guard cats accepted her then that means she’s possibly…
“I’m telling you she’s different,” Talon continues. “I could see it the moment she walked in. And the cats confirmed it.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, though my voice sounds strained even to my own ears. “I’m not looking for complications.”
“You’re attracted to her.”
It’s not a question, and I find myself admitting what I haven’t even fully acknowledged to myself. “Yes. I’m attracted to her,” I admit.
“And you’ve scented her reciprocal arousal for you?”
“Yes.”
“Then pursue her. It’s still fall so there should be no problems. Now is a good time.”
“No.” The word comes out sharper than intended. “She is a female who is becoming a friend and that’s all she can be.”
“Kavin, not all females are the same as your mother.”
A growl rumbles in my chest. “Human females can’t be trusted.”
“You’re saying I can’t trust my own mother, who has been married to my father and living in our commune for the last thirty-five years?”
