My female stands near the table. I’m by the door. We look at each other across the space.
“Your parents are wonderful,” she says softly. “Your mother is... intense. But lovely. Your father is intimidating but kind.”
I cross to her slowly and stop a few feet away, close but not touching. She is truly the most beautiful female I’ve ever encountered. Her skin looks unbelievably soft and her lips are plush. The sparkle of her black eyes and the shine of her dark hair is enchanting. “They love you already. They think you are adorable,” I say.
“Keric, I—” Anna stops.
“I know.” I move closer, so very close, and reach out to cup her lovely face gently with both hands. Her skin is soft and warm.
She leans into my touch just slightly.
I lean down because I want to experience my first kiss, but I refrain, lifting my head. I brush a thumb along her delicate cheek and then step back, dropping my arms. “Soon,” I promise.
She nods. “Soon.”
Chapter Fifteen
Anna
Keric almost kissed me.
I swear he was leaning in and his lips were going to touch mine. A brush of those tusks… And then he pulled back.
I’m certain this wonderful kiss was interrupted because I hadn’t said I wanted him to kiss me. He’d already warned that we couldn’t touch in any type of intimate way until I was truly ready, because his orc brain and body would short circuit and consider that a permanent commitment. He’d probably go crazy if I tried to leave him after something like that.
My lips still tingle from the anticipation. From the way his dark eyes went soft and hungry at the same time, the way his thumb stroked across my cheekbone.
Frustration courses through my body in waves. Iwantedhim to kiss me. Every nerve ending is unsatisfied and aching. Three years of celibacy apparently catches up with a person all at once. But it’s not just physical hunger. It’shimI want. This specific, infuriating, impossibly careful orc.
I should be grateful for his restraint.
I really should.
He’s protecting us both, making sure I’m truly ready before we cross a line that can never be uncrossed. Unlike any man I’ve ever known, Keric stops himself even when I can see how much he wants me.
And I definitely saw. The bulge in his pants was... significant. I shift in my seat, trying to relieve the heat. I want that huge cock sliding in my body and in my mouth and the thought of him coming all over me…
He wants me just as badly as I want him. But he holds back.
His parents’ visit echoes through my mind. The way his mother hugged me before she even hugged her own son.Welcome to the family, dear.The wedding talk that made Keric panic and nearly drop the bacon.
But also... didn’t it plant a seed?
I can picture it now. A wedding dress, a ceremony, choosing to become Mrs. Irontree to all my students, instead of Ms. Lee. The thought doesn’t terrify me anymore.
That’s new.
Tiny little Dinah manages to jump up onto the couch and meows at me insistently. I scoop her up onto my lap and she immediately curls up, her tiny motor purring away. At least the kitten provides comfort.
“Your daddy almost kissed me,” I whisper. “And then he didn’t.”
She blinks up at me with those big eyes, utterly unimpressed by my romantic drama.
Keric suddenly strides out of the bedroom, back into the living room—looking like a demi-god. He’s changed out of his loungewear pants, into more serious black pants with lots of pockets and his black boots. “I need to go to the security office,”he announces with a gravely voice that’s a bit rougher than usual.
“Oh you do?” My voice comes out breathier than intended. I can’t keep my eyes off of all that luscious green muscle. I want to climb this orc and lick him all over. Except I’m still not sure if I want to commit to him forever and become a mother in nine months. In all fairness I can’t play with him like that—it would be evil to have an affair with him while I’m here under his protection and then leave. And how would that even work considering I’d be pregnant?
My mind is a jumbled mess of conflicting emotions; all centered around Keric Irontree.
