Page 3 of Marked By the Broken Orc
“Yeah, it would suck having to move away. Ooh, how about instead, I just key his truck to make my point,” I counter, and immediately feel bad for suggesting property damage. “No, I shouldn’t. But I want to.”
“You’re better than that,” Riley agrees. “You’re better than all of them.”
The music gets turned up as we get more drunk and defiant. My friends share their own horror stories of the times in their lives when they were passed over for something they’d really felt they’d deserved too and for someone less qualified.
“Sometimes life is just totally unfair,” Jessica declares.
We all nod in agreement.
My hair is everywhere now, falling into my face as I gesture wildly while explaining my qualifications for the hundredth time. I reapply my lip gloss without thinking, a nervous habit that gets worse when I drink. “You know what?” I say, standing up suddenly and nearly toppling over. “I don’t care if the neighbors complain. This is a Friday night and it’s my apartment, and if I want to have one loud night after getting screwed over, then that’s my right.”
My friends cheer, and Carmen turns the music up even louder.
I’m having real fun for the first time in years. I’d been so focused on getting this job I don’t even remember what it’s like to let loose, act silly and remember there’s more to life than training and proving myself.
My friends think I’m hilarious when I’m drunk, apparently, because they can’t stop laughing at my increasingly outrageous commentary about the situation. But underneath the laughter and the alcohol, I’m genuinely hurt. This job meant everything to me. It was supposed to be my future and I suppose proof that the people of this town appreciated me, liked me, wanted me. And now I feel…rejected.
Time becomes fuzzy after that.
We dance badly to the loud music. We eat the snacks Jessica brought. We complain about men and jobs and life in general. My apartment transforms from its usual military precision into a comfortable chaos of friendship, dancing and drinking games.
It’s approaching one in the morning when the pounding starts.
Not knocking. Pounding. Authoritative, demanding, and loud enough to be heard over our music.
“Shit,” Jessica shouts. “Is that building management?”
“Let them come,” I declare, feeling bold and reckless. “I’m not in the mood to be told what to do tonight.”
My friends exchange glances but step back as I march toward the door, my hair flowing behind me like a battle flag. I’m drunk but still formidable, still ready for a fight. I yank open the door, prepared to unleash hell on whoever dares complain about my rare moment of letting loose.
Instead, I find myself staring at the bare, green chest of the largest male I’ve ever seen. Oh wow. He’s massive, easily six and a half feet tall and built like a Greek god. He wears black pants and boots, but no shirt and tribal tattoos sleeve both arms. Black horns jut from his forehead. White tusks are visible past his pouty lower lip.
Dark, sexy eyes meet mine, and for a moment I forget how to breathe. A real-life, and very intimidating, orc stands on my doorstep. I’ve never met an orc in real life before, only seen them on TV or social media.
“Turn down the music,” he growls with an impossibly deep voice. “I’m Kavin Irontree, your new neighbor. Some of us work early shifts.”
My jaw drops open. Kavin Irontree? The orc who got my job…is my freakingneighbor? When the heck did this happen? And he’s on my doorstep, demanding I quiet down, after taking everything I’ve worked for?
Despite my fury, despite the alcohol, despite everything that’s happened today, my traitorous body responds to his sheer authority and the raw power radiating from his frame.
Just the sound of his deep voice caused butterflies to take flight in my belly and heat to settle between my thighs.
Uh oh. This is so much worse than I thought it would be.
Chapter 2
Kavin
The human next door is having an unruly party, and I’m unable to fall asleep the night before the first shift at my new job. Therefore, I stomp over to pound on the door and demand some peace and quiet.
Why did I take this apartment so close to humans? I could’ve moved in temporarily with Orgen from the Brewery who lives on acreage on the edge of town.
Orcs have recently begun moving to Spokane because it’s orc-friendly and the climate is perfect for our body temperatures. The others who arrived before me bought homes on larger properties to give them peace and quiet from other humans. I didn’t think this would be necessary. This apartment complex is extremely close to the fire station where I will be working and I’d decided this proximity was more important, so this is why I’m here.
And now I know this was wrong thinking. Tomorrow, I’m going to hire a real estate agent and start house hunting.
The fantastically beautiful, obviously drunk female who opened the door to the apartment next door hasn’t said a word yet in response to my demand that she turn down the music. Long brown hair flows loose around her shoulders, catching thelight from her apartment. Sparkling blue eyes stare up at me with a hint of defiance. Her skin glows and her lips are glossy and full, slightly parted in surprise.
