I cut Whelan another glance because I can’t keep my eyes off him. If I’m going to cook and he’s going to always do the cleaning, then sign me up. This male is amazing. He’s huge, powerful and intimidating and yet generous, loving and protective at the same time.
I’m beginning to wish this orc was my actual husband. Strange, but true.
He’s handsome in a proud, rough-hewn, edgy way. Whelan stomps over and calmly sits at the small kitchen table, barefoot and bare chested because he said his blood runs warmer than mine. His hands and feet are huge, as are the hard muscles on both arms. His nose is large and crooked but regal. His neck is thick and his lips plush. And I wish I could crawl onto his lap and plant kisses all over that warm green skin.
Both babies are nearby in bouncers and grip a tiny rattle in each hand, smiling and drooling. I love their matching blue outfits and their little starter horns. So damn cute. They both had tummy time earlier on blankets with their daddy at their side and I thought I’d faint from the adorableness.
I really like this wild orc with the large horns and flashing tusks. The male I originally found at a hotel bar is easy to talk to. I enjoy caring for our babies together. Not only is Whelan sexier than I remember but I haven’t found anything about him yet that’s a red flag. I’ve met his father and two of his friends, slept in his bed and snooped in all his drawers and cabinets. It’s only been twenty-four hours, but he seems an open book with nothing to hide.
I’m still wearing super short shorts under my long cardigan and no bra under my thin t-shirt. And I’ve managed to appear half naked in front of him at least five different times since I arrived.
Because a girl’s gotta try.
“I was told you’d gone, hunting?” I ask as turn up the heat on the gas stove because the pot of water is close to boiling. “Does this mean that’s your job? Are you a hunter for the commune?”
“I’m a decent hunter but that’s not my main job. I sit on the council and usually settle disputes between orcs according to our laws.”
“You’re an orc lawyer?”
“There isn’t such a thing within my culture. But I’ve become well known over the years in my dedication to learning orc law, most of which is recorded on pictographs and passed down through oral tradition. My cousin Alden helped to invent a written language for orcs which I’ve also learned and now I want to write down our common law. I’ve barely started on this project, but it is my goal.”
I look over at him, impressed. “That’s a great project. I’d like to help too, in any way I can.”
He snorts, not believing I’ll be around long enough to help him with anything.
I pour a box of pasta into the pot of boiling water. “I haven’t seen any guns or weapons here in the cabin. What do you use to hunt?”
“Orcs aren’t allowed permits to carry guns. We are already considered deadly weapons.”
“Don’t you need rifles to hunt?”
“No. Only weak human males use guns to take down their prey. I hunt with my bare claws or with weapons I create at the commune, in the ways of old. There are a team of hunters who work daily, bringing in fresh meat and we eat what we hunt. Human food is purchased from the local grocery store an hour away, but orcs who live in communes enjoy fresh wild game to retain optimal health.”
“Is it okay that I’m making this pasta? It was next to the pancake mix and syrup I used earlier. The package was dusty and it’s close to expiring but it was in the cabinet along with that jar of spaghetti sauce…”
“No, of course that’s something we can eat. It’s there in case…”
“In case, what?”
“In case I ever had a female.”
I smile wide. “And now you do.”
He shakes his head. “I mainly eat at the communal fires with the single orcs. Mated orcs and their families join us sometimes, but they like to eat together at their own hearths.”
“So single orcs eat together the wild game that’s grilled and males with human wives who like to cook for them eat their meals, that include a lot more human food, together with their children in their cabins?”
“Yes, and they are considered lucky. We don’t want to intrude on their bonding time at meals.”
“Oh, that’s sweet.” I pause to pour spaghetti sauce into another pot, then turn to smile at him. “I think it’s good that we’re talking like this. We have children together, but we were still strangers who didn’t know each other. This is another reason why I wasn’t certain about you that night, because I didn’t know you.”
“I was always certain about you,” he grumbles.
I grab some plates and start setting the table. “You know, I think the problem is that you are used to having family you can count on. You need to know that I’m a very independent person. I’ve had to take care of myself. I never knew my mom. My dad took care of me but always seemed annoyed to have to pay to keep a roof over my head, like he got the bad end of the deal. I moved out and left for college as soon as I was old enough and never looked back. I’ve had a zillion jobs, slept on friends’ couches too many times to count. Working hard and being able to take care of myself is important to me because I learned long ago that no one is going to take care of me but me. Do you see how the idea of starting something with you was scary? I’ve never had a real boyfriend, just a lot of serial dating.”
He crooks an eyebrow at me.
“I didn’t know if I could count on you. It just seemed smarter to do it all myself.”
“Because you always had to do everything yourself?”
“Basically.”
“That ends today,” he says.
“What ends today?”
“Even if you don’t choose to stay, you are not caring for the twins alone. I am their father. I am in fact their main caregiver—this is according to orc law.”
I place my hands on my hips. “Whelan, I flew across the country for you with my babies. You might be their main caregiver according to orc law but I carried those babies for nine months and delivered them and I’ve been breastfeeding them ever since. Never forget that I’m their mother.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “I also wonder if a female from the other side of the country can really live here for the rest of her life. Many males have moved out to live amongst the humans in their cities but that is not me. I go to the nearby town and buy groceries. Humans there know me, but still scream in fear. My father is the leader of our tribe, and it is expected that as his son I will one day also lead our tribe. This means I will also be the main contact with the tribe and the human government. Rogan sent me out on my first mission without him. I had to go out and speak for my tribe and be the representative.”
“This is why you were staying at the hotel?”
“Yes. And did you end up at that hotel bar in Maine if you live in California?”
I turn and stir the pasta and then the sauce, noting that it’s almost ready. “It all started when my best friend, Amelia, invited me to a writer’s retreat on the other side of the country. We’re both full-time professional authors who write thrillers for a living.”
“You tell stories for a living through published books?”
Pride warms my chest. “I do. And I make a good living too with a large readership. This last year Amelia talked me into going to a retreat with her in Maine, of all places. The retreat was wonderful, with five published authors staying too at the same hotel. I mean I got a whole book partially written. Then it ended and everyone left for home. But I stayed one extra night, waiting to catch my flight back home the next morning. I decided to go to the hotel bar that night. I’m not a hang-out-at-a-bar-and-pick-up-guys kind of girl, but I was still high off all that ‘peopling’ and wasn’t ready for it to end. So I got all dressed up, slinked downstairs and sat at the bar, perched on a seat with a drink in my hand. And a huge, sexy Orc with tall twisty horns, long hair and an unbuttoned plaid shirt sat next to me. And the rest is history.”