Chapter Nineteen
Keric
Iwake before dawn, but for once it’s not anxiety keeping me from sleep.
It’s her.
The front room is filled with shadowy darkness as I stare at the ceiling, replaying the epic events of last night.
My first kiss. Ever.
At my age, I’d wondered if it would ever happen. Would I die without knowing what it felt like to press my lips against a female who wanted me back? And then Anna Lee boldly kissed me.
I close my eyes and let myself remember the taste of her lips. My tusks scraped against the corners and she didn’t pull away. She leanedinand made a sound in the back of her throat that went straight to my cock.
I’d been so careful and controlled, terrified of hurting or scaring her…of being too much. My whole life I’ve been too much where humans are concerned. Too big, too wild, tooprimitive with black horns and elongated tusks that mark me as something other. Something scary.
But Anna looked at me like I was exactly right.
I’m getting there. I’m closer than I’ve ever been.
Her words echo in my mind and I let myself believe, for the first time, that she might actually choose a life with me. Become my Bride and bear my sons.
My body responds to the memory, blood rushing south, my shaft thickening against my thigh. I breathe through the instant need to sink into her wet heat. I’ve had plenty of practice at denial these last two weeks, walking around in a near-constant state of arousal that cannot be relieved.
Dinah meows from the bedroom. Anna’s awake.
I hear the creak of the bed, soft footsteps on wood, the bathroom door closing. And something settles in my chest. She’s still here.
She’s always still here.
Thirty minuteslater we’re in the kitchen together.
I’ve taken a shower and changed my clothes.
Anna shuffles out in one of my flannel shirts over her pajamas, her hair mussed from sleep, eyes still heavy-lidded. She looks soft and rumpled and so beautiful it hurts to look at her.
And she’s wearing my shirt which means my scent is on her skin.
I nearly lose my mind.
“Coffee,” she mumbles, making grabby hands toward the pot.
I pour her a cup before she can reach for it. She takes it, our fingers brushing, and something electric passes between us. We both remember last night’s kiss. The way we’d pulled apart, breathing hard, wanting more.
A hint of pink creeps up her cheeks. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
We stand there like idiots, grinning at each other. I want to kiss her again. Want to push her against the counter and taste her until neither of us can think straight. But I hold back. “I have another security meeting,” I say reluctantly.
“I know.” She takes a sip of coffee, watching me over the rim. “Be safe.”
I step closer and cup her delicate face in my hands, tilting her head back. Her eyes are sparkling and her eyelashes are so long. I’ve always thought Anna was the most beautiful female I’d ever seen. She’s so small compared to me. So fragile. And yet she’s the bravest female I’ve ever known.
I press my forehead to hers—an orc gesture of devotion, of claiming. She sighs and her eyes flutter closed.
“I’ll be back soon,” I murmur against her skin.
