He missed my sarcasm, and his chest puffed out with pride as he replied. “This female will be a princess. Our children will rule the kingdom. She will have the best of clothing and jewels, and live in comfort as the mother of the royal orclets.”
Jesus, that sounded horrible.
“I’m not meek and obedient,” I pointed out. I would have added not-fertile, but I was being honest here and I had no idea about my fertility. If I took after the rest of my family, I most certainly was fertile, but I wasn’t about to give this guy any ideas.
“I noticed that.”
Oooo. Sick burn. Dude was an asshole, but maybe he wasn’t an idiot.
“Then we are in agreement that I am not a princess candidate.” I picked up the full pint glass that the server had delivered to me. After a second of hesitation he did the same.
“Agreed.”
We drank. And I noticed that his gaze lingered on my lips as I licked the foam from them. Princess was out of the question, but there was an intense attraction going on here. Strangely, it had only grown since we’d begun this verbal sparring. It wasn’t just on my end either. I’d caught him eyeing my chest, and his leg was most definitely pressing harder against mine than was necessary.
No more bad boys. No more throwing my heart at guys who were only destined to break it. I had a type, and that type had failed me over and over and over. After the last breakup, I’d promised myself to only get involved with men where there was a possibility for something long-term. At thirty I was ready for a relationship, maybe even shacking up together, if not marriage. This orc beside me was not relationship material.
But maybe he was one-and-done material. I wasn’t averse to enjoying a one-night stand. If Eng-the-prince was up for a quick roll in the sheets, then I wasn’t going to say no. Fun was fun, and I wasn’t a nun. Jordan had given up on flings, and had a set of rules concerning sports figures, musicians, and actors, but I had no such reservations. Life was short, and if some hot guy wanted to bump uglies, then I was ready and willing.
And from the look in Eng’s dark eyes, he was ready and willing too. But clearly the orc had too much of a stick up his ass to suggest it.
Time to remove the stick from his ass.
“Are you a betting man…orc?” I asked.
He frowned.
“A wager. A contest.” I nodded toward the bar. “Shots. And whoever calls uncle first loses.”
The frown deepened. “Your uncle is here and wants to challenge me to an archery contest?”
Oh for fuck’s sake. “Each of us drinks as many glasses of liquor as we can. Whoever gives up first loses.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes. “What does the winner get?”
I grinned, placing my hand on his thigh. “The winner gets whatever they want.”
2
ENG
This human woman was a pest. An annoyingmiskal. I’d come to this establishment because it was better than going back to my hovel to stare at the dingy off-white walls. These orcs weren’t my peers, and they certainly weren’t my friends, but their chatter could be entertaining and at least they knew when to shut up and leave me alone.
This human female did not know when to shut up and leave me alone.
Mountain gods knew I’d tried. Grunts didn’t deter her. Single syllable responses didn’t deter her. Insulting her didn’t deter her. Still, I stayed instead of just walking out of the pub. Stayed and followed her to the bar when she challenged me to some sort of drinking contest.
Miskalor not, she was attractive with her black hair and lean-muscular body. The woman wasn’t at all the bland-faced, round-hipped, ever-placid human female I needed to take home as my bride. None of those women stirred my blood like this one, though. Not that my blood required stirring when it came to a suitable bride. My hand-axe would rise to the occasion, andoutside of procreation, I didn’t need to feel any emotion at all toward my future wife.
But seeing this female, feeling her leg against mine, imagining what those firm breasts looked like under her shirt…it brought all the complications that such a marriage would entail to the surface. Would I live the rest of my life without passion? Finding sexual satisfaction elsewhere would mean breaking my marital vows, and that wasn’t something I felt comfortable doing. Perhaps my wife and I could come to an agreement where we could each take discrete lovers after we’d had the requisite number of children.
I wasn’t married yet. Or engaged. A suitable human female hadn’t been found. And it had been a long time since I’d plunged my hand-axe into the warm wetness of a female. And my hand-axe especially wanted thisMiskal.
So I accepted her challenge. I had nothing better to do tonight than go back to the horrible den the hockey team had provided for me and sleep, so I followed her to the bar. Humans had a wide variety of fine beers and wines and I would happily sample whatever she ordered. There was no way a human, let alone a human female, would out-drink me. I looked forward to beating her at this game.
And if I won…maybe my hand-axe would find a warm bed tonight. Although I made a mental note to leave if she started puking.
The male behind the bar served each of us a glass of clear liquid. The second he put the glasses down, I knew.
