Page 18 of My Orc Billionaire
Yeah. My lips curled. There was that, too.
Abydos was everything I’d ever dreamed about in a guy: huge, strong, beautifully built, powerful, used to being in command… Maybe this explained the erotic dreams I kept waking up from recently.
I told myself it couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like anything was ever going to come from a little fantasizing, right? He couldn’t stand humans, had no interest in me as a female, and I…?
Well, I wasn’t going to be letting anyone touch me. Not for a long time. Maybe not ever. My body had changed so much in the last year that I didn’t even like lingering in the shower…the thought of letting aguytouch me, feel me…
I shivered.
“You want a blanket?” Sami asked me. “It’s chilly out here.”
Before I could tell her I was fine, her Mate lunged for the wood pile. “I’ll add another log. That’ll keep us cozy.”
I had to smile; Tarkhan was such a caring, gentle partner for my cousin, and it was obvious how much the two of them loved one another. They’d entered a marriage of convenience a few months ago, and I think to everyone’s surprise—with the possible exception of my mother, who didn’t quite know what was going on—they fell hard for one another.
To orcs, Mating was different than marriage. Being married was just a legal thing, butMatingwas like…well, Sami once explained it to me as aknowing. Something biological. They justknewthey were meant for one another, which sounded really special, frankly.
She’dalsoexplained all about how orcs’ cocks were built to cause a partner to orgasm instantly upon entry, so all I could say is:Good biology. Apparently, orcs were winning the evolutionary race, you know what I mean?
And for the record, I did everything possible not to think about that whenever I was in the same room asTarkhan; I didn’t need to picture the two of them in bed together.
“Soooo…” On the couch across the firepit, Sami drew her feet up to sit cross-legged and leaned her elbows on her knees. “How’s the new job?”
I managed not to chuckle at her obviousness. She’d been dying to ask about Abydos since I arrived with s’mores fixings, and had done a good job of containing herself. Since she kept exchanging glances with Tarkhan, I shrugged, pretending interest in spearing my marshmallow on a stick.
“It’s okay. The kitchen is amazing. Full range, a huge fridge, the counter space is amazing?—”
“Riven Michelle Starr, I do notcareabout the kitchen!”
I burst into laughter, and even Tarkhan chuckled. “You’ve given away your game,dkaar,” he announced, throwing his arm around Sami and pulling her closer. He grinned at me. “What my Mate wants to know is how you like working with my asshole of a best friend.”
Still grinning, I arranged the marshmallow over the fire. “He’s not an asshole. Just…prickly.”
Tarkhan’s brows rose. “Iknow that. I’m impressed you know that.”
“What’s he like?” Sami demanded. “What do you do for him?”
Shrugging, I launched into a description of my job and the menus I’d made and the decorations I’d picked up from the farmer’s market so I could start decorating his house while he was gone. I knew my cousin wellenough to know what she was interested in learning, so I told her about my interactions with Abydos…although I didn’t say anything about how those interactions had made me feel almost proud that I could bring him pleasure and joy.
That knowledge was for me alone.
I was on my fourth marshmallow, and Tarkhan had eaten all ten of the s’mores I’d prepared with the salted caramel chocolate wafers, by the time I wrapped up. Sami’s head was against his shoulder, and she blinked sleepily.
He was the one who smiled almost shyly at me. “I know it might sound silly, Riven, but I’m really glad you’re there with him. He’s…used to being alone, even when we all lived in Bramblewood, and it’s not good for him.”
This was my opportunity. What I’d been waiting for. So I took a deep breath and tried not to wince. “Will you…tell me about Bramblewood? And…everything?”
“Everything?” His smile turned gentle.
“How you got there. What he’s doing there.”
With a hum, Tarkhan snuggled back against the outdoor cushion as the fire sparked and crackled between us.
“Bramblewood Bluff is a cute little town in the Rockies populated mostly by non-humans. We found it after…well, after the scientists released us. You know how we came to your world?”
I mutely shook my head.
So he launched into a story about a clan dying out because of a lack of females, and young males being sent through the veil to make contact with the humans, knowing they’d never be allowed to return. Sakkara—our mayor—had been their leader, and he made certain the military couldn’t claim them. Instead, the orcs had been taken to a science facility and—I wrinkled my nose—experimentedon for almost a year.
