He was… changed. Irreparably.
He didn’twantto be changed. He didn’twanta mate — especially not one that was a fucking priestess who didn’t know how to stayput.
But he was.
The proof was there, just as he knew it would be, staring him and the old orc in the face.
And for reasons he couldn’t explain, the sight of it made him feelproud.
“Oh, that’s fresh!” the old man exclaimed. His tone was suddenly jovial, lacking the bite of his earlier wariness as he sank back into his creaky rolling chair. “Not even a day, I’d say. Did you just meet her?”
“Yes,” Kaz answered. He swallowed hard. “It’s only been a few hours.”
The orc whistled low. When he leaned over to peer around Kaz’s shoulder again, it was with a sympathetic wince. “That why you’re all muddy? She didn’t take to it, huh?”
“You could say that.”
“You chase her down?”
A low growl built in his throat, but he ruthlessly squashed it before it could escape. “Yes.”
The old orc slapped his thigh. “Ha! That’s the way of it!” He leaned forward, all eager smiles now. “You know, they say you’re not supposed to snatch mates these days, but the gods gave us these instincts, so I say we best listen to them. I did! Chased my love two miles, full sprint through a battlefield, snatched her up, threw her over my shoulder, and ran away from enemy lines.”
He pointed a crooked finger at Kaz’s chest. “Me and her were locked in an abandoned, half-shelled sugar processing plant for near three weeks. She hated me for a while, but they always come around.” His eyebrows moved suggestively, wrinkling his already creased forehead. “An orc knows how towoo,even when we’re under fire.”
Kaz fought to keep his usual neutral expression under the onslaught of the orc’s enthusiasm. He didn’t have the heart, nor a modicum of desire, to explain that he had no intention of winning his mate, norwooingher.
Now, what exactly his intentionswere…Well, he didn’t need to think about that just then.
Using the orc’s need to gulp in a deep breath after his jubilant retelling, Kaz quickly prompted, “Yes, that’s why I need a room. I’d rather not… woo her in the back of my car. You understand, right?”
Right now, at least.
Later, when he hadhiscar, he wouldn’t mind sitting her in his lap and watching her ride him, her knees sunk into the padded leather seats and her head thrown back. His hands would span her waist with ease. He could help her keep the rhythm, and when he was ready, he could bend her over backwards onto the center console and drive himself deep.
Gods, she’ll look so fucking pretty stuffed with my cock.
“You’ll be wanting a nesting suite, then.”
His attention snapped back to the old orc, who was looking mournfully at his computer monitor. Heat rushed to his face as he subtly adjusted his stance, trying to take a little bit of his fly’s pressure off of his aching erection.
His voice was rougher than normal when he said, “Anything you have is fine.”
“S’just as well. I forgot our one nesting suite is still shut for maintenance. We had a nasty freeze last winter. Pipe burst. We thought we cleaned up all the flooding, but come springtime you start to smell what you missed.”
His cock felt like it was trying to rip a hole in his jeans, his skin was beginning to itch, and he was quickly losing his patience with the well-meaning old man, but Kaz still somehow managed to say, “That’s fine. A regular room is— Just anything. Please.”
“I’ve got you. We have a nice one on the corner. Good view. Every room comes with thick curtains, so you’ll feel nice and safe with her in there. Not the same as the nesting suite, but it’ll do for a night.” The old man snagged a small blue key fob off of a hook behind the desk. Running it under the scanner by his computer, he said, “I’ll have some extra blankets and things sent to you. I know she’s not an orc, but your instincts will—”
“She won’t be nesting here,” he rushed to interject.
The orc eyed him skeptically as he accepted Kaz’s fake ID and cash in exchange for the fob. Scanning the ID, he asked “You sure? It’s best to give in early, boy. Let that build up and you’re in for a mess. Nesting’s serious.”
Kaz tucked the fob into his pocket and offered the old man a small nod. His ID was passed back and then unceremoniously shoved into his back pocket. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“If you say so.”
Turning on his heel, Kaz strode swiftly to the glass door. His eyes were locked on his mate’s scowling profile, just visible through the glass and the passenger door’s window, when the old man called out, “Word of advice?”
