Jax waves his vape between us.
“Otis, meet Clem—Clem, meet Otis.”
She doesn’t respond, just stares at me.
“Otis is the sheriff here,” Jax explains.
Her jaw slackens. Then, grudgingly, she mutters, “Hi—erm, Otis.”
“Hi, Clem.” I wonder if I should add something like,pleased to meet you, ornice of you to drop by.Trouble is, I’m out of practice when it comes to chatting to women, and she’s still staring at me like I’m her least favorite person in the world. I don’t have tickets on myself, but the way her gaze fixates on my tusks is definitelynotfull of admiration.
“You were supposed to ask her if she wanted the job, not force her into it,” I grumble.
“I did ask.”
“Ask!” Clem’s cheeks are pink. “Some ask! You just kidnapped me, no warning.”
“Yeah, well, if I’d stopped to asknicely, you’d have been dragged off for questioning. And that would dump us all in the shit,” Jax mutters.
She grunts, her mouth pouty.
And now my brain is imagining what it would be like to kiss those pillowy lips, how I’d navigate my tusks around them.
Shit man, you are out of order.
Suddenly Clem starts shivering.
“It’s okay,” I reassure her quickly. “Just a side effect of portal travel. Right, Jax?”
“Sure, yeah.” He’s looking somewhat the worse for wear himself. And he’s used to this shit. He portals daily in the huge elevators that move between our world and Sparkle. But the portal cape shakes you up a lot more, so I’ve heard. I’ve never tried it; I stay firmly below ground.
Acting fast, I grab my sheriff’s jacket off the back of my chair and throw it around Clem’s shoulders, registering her sweet human scent with a zing of pleasure. “Would you like a hot drink? Tea? Coffee?”
“T-tea please, milk, two sugars.” Her lips are blue and her teeth chatter so loudly I can hear them clunking.
“I’ll have one too, thanks, mate,” Jax calls out. “You know how I like it.”
I’m tempted to raise my middle finger in a salute, but for Clem’s sake I resist the urge. My mom brought me up to have good manners. And being sheriff means I have standards to uphold.
I stride out of the room, along the narrow corridor and into the kitchen. I put on the kettle, grab the teabags, cups and sugar, and the milk from the fridge, my mind buzzing with what’s just eventuated.
Not long ago, Jax and I discussed bringing Clem to the Labyrinth to help me organize my life. I’d agreed to the idea, partly because we knew Clem would be a person of interest to the human authorities now Sammy has escaped their clutches, and partly because I can’t keep doing everything without some help. But I didn’t expect her to be so gods-damn pretty. So fucking sexy. When my cock decides—yet again—to agree by tightening the front of my pants, I grit my teeth and focus on making tea.
And bringing out my newly baked batch of cookies.
When I get back to my study, tray in hand, Jax has brought a chair close to Clem’s and has his arm around her, and my cynical orc heart melts a little. I wish my family were more like this, but since Dad died, my younger twin brothers and my sister have taken off to far-flung corners of the Labyrinth. Leaving me to support our mom, who’s in a care home. I do my best, but I could sure do with some help.
You could do with a hug.
I brush the thought away.
Two pairs of almost identical emerald eyes look up as I enter.
Except Clem is a hell of a lot prettier than bloody Jax.
I plonk down the tray, hand them the mugs of tea, then pass around the cookies. “Made them myself,” I mutter. “Butter cookies.”
Clem looks at me, her eyes appraising, like she’s trying to work me out.
