Clem cocks her head at me, and I’m pleased to see she doesn’t look majorly alarmed. “Would that be okay?” she asks.
“Um, well yeah, sure,” I mutter.
“Cool. Sorted. I’ll be back soon.” Jax strides out the door.
Leaving me alone with Clem.
Fuccccckkk.
CHAPTER THREE
CLEM.
As I take another bite of cookie, half of it crumbles and falls down the front of the jacket Otis has lent me, right between my tits.
“Oops,” I say with a smirk, and delve in to retrieve the missing half.
I mean—I can’t waste it, can I? It’s the best cookie I’ve ever had.
Glancing up from under my lashes, I see Otis’s gaze fixed on my cleavage. Immediately, he flicks his eyes away and his face turns a darker shade of green.
I guess that’s an orc blush.
Weird thing is, I feel flattered. I can tell by his demeanor and good manners that he’s not the kind of guy who eyeballs women. I sense he’s quite shy behind all that muscle.
And really, those tusks aren’t so very scary when you take a better look. And the smile I got when I complimented his cookies lit up his whole face.
He’s not what you’d call handsome, not in the human sense of the word, but there’s something very appealing about his face, those extra wide cheekbones, and a broad nose offset by a full,sensual mouth. His red eyes are deep set, his brow strong. His hair is darker green than his skin, and almost buzz cut, but it looks soft, and my fingers itch to touch it. My gaze flicks over his huge chest and equally buffed biceps. His forearms in rolled-up shirt sleeves are thickly roped with muscle. His neck is the same, and what I can see of his chest. Gods, he sure is built. His khaki pants are belted tight, and his thighs are like tree trunks. My eyes travel to where his pants stretch over his groin. Yep. He’s built there, too.
Oh heavens, now it’s my turn to blush.
To save myself embarrassment, I do what I always do when I’m nervous: I start jabbering. “This is all a bit of a shock, isn’t it? I mean it is for me, so it must be for you too,” I chirp like a manic squirrel. “Jax is a terrible communicator. I had no idea he was about to, erm, portal me down here and so, yeah… I didn’t have time to prepare or anything…”
I glance up as I stop to draw breath. He’s staring at me out of those red eyes, and they seem to have a sudden twinkle of humor in them, the skin at the corners crinkling.
It’s… sexy.
Don’t think that word.
“I’m not exactly dressed for the job,” I babble, “but believe me, I’m good at administration. I run all the accounts for DeVines department store, I have a very organized brain.” I laugh, a little hysterically. “Not that you’d know that right now. I must look a total mess.”
You look—” he hesitates as if searching for words, “—fine.”
“I’d just arrived back from the beach when Jax grabbed me.”
“It must have been a shock, going from your vacation to the Labyrinth in a few seconds flat.”
“Sure was. But at least I knew the Labyrinth existed. I found out when Jax got beaten up in a brawl three years ago.Well, more than beaten up, actually. More like, erm, bitten and clawed.”
His lips twitch. “Understandable that you thought I’d bite, if that was your introduction to monsters.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess. But since then I’ve found out there are somefantasticmonsters that live down here,” I gush, hoping I haven’t offended. “It was a relief when Sammy met Arlo. I could hardly pretend I knew nothing about the Labyrinth after that, could I?”
“I guess not,” he agrees. “Must have been hard keeping it secret for so long.”
“Yeah, it was. You feel so alone when you can’t talk about this stuff… I always wonder what’s going on down here and if Jax is safe and…” I shrug. “But now it appearsIwasn’t safe upthere… which is kind of ironic, isn’t it? Knowing I was Sammy’s friend must have made the authorities suspicious. But anyhow, I’m here now…” I haul in a deep breath and look around properly. The room is cozy, lit with sconces, and there are pictures on the walls and brightly colored rugs on the flagstone floors. The desk is a real mess of metal contraptions, cords and papers spilling off and onto the ground around it.
I focus on the positive. “You have nice lighting. Are they real flames?”
