“It’s quiet out here,” my brother said. “Becken says it’s quiet in town too. Maybe her room being searched was a random thing.” The sharp look in his eyes and the concern in his voice told me he didn’t believe that any more than I did. “How is Allie?” His gaze drifted toward the house. “She was pretty shaken earlier, and now we know why.”
“She’s alright. Sc-scared, of course.”
Dungar nodded. “It’s to be expected. We’ll keep the patrols going tonight. Don’t worry about anything.”
“Thanks, brother.”
“Family,” Dungar said simply, the same way Greel had. He melted back into the darkness, and I went back inside, locking the door.
I found Allie in the living room, sitting on the couch with Tressa curled up beside her. She was stroking the wolf’s fur, and Tressa was practically purring from the attention.
“She’s beautiful,” Allie said without looking up. “I’ve never met a wolf before. I only saw pictures.”
“She likes you. Tr-Tressa doesn’t warm up to people easily.”
“Maybe she knows I need a friend.”
The quiet sadness in her voice made me want to sit beside her and pull her into my arms. Instead, I stayed standing, fighting the urge to touch her.
“I have extra tusk-brushes,” I said, then felt my face heat. “I mean-mean, if you n-n-need one. They’re probably bigger than what you’re used to.”
Allie looked up at me with the first real smile I’d seen from her since we left the hotel. “Tusk-brushes?”
“What do you call them?”
“Toothbrushes. Because humans have teeth, not tusks.”
I touched one of my tusks. “Right. Human t-t-teeth are different.”
“I think tusk-brushes is cuter.” Her smile made everything inside me flame.
While she rose to follow, I backed out of the living room, arguing with my cock, telling it to behave. She hadn’t meant anything sexual by her comments. She’d only smiled.
For my body, that appeared to be all it took.
We got ready for bed like it was the most natural thing in the world. She used my oversized bathroom, taking one of my tusk-brushes and washing her face with soap. I undressed and donned a loincloth in the bedroom. I didn’t know any orcs whowore clothing to bed, but I knew humans did. I tried not to think about the fact that she’d be sleeping close beside me.
I liked having her here too much, and that scared me. This was temporary. She wasn’t moving in forever, no matter how much I wanted her to.
Just because orcs fell in love fast didn’t mean humans did.
When she emerged from the bathroom wearing a simple cotton top and shorts, I had to remind myself to breathe. She looked soft and sleepy and perfectly at home in my space. She only paused to study me dressed in my loincloth.
Her perusal felt like a caress, and it was all I could do to suppress my cock from responding.
I eased past her to use the bathroom, grateful to have the chance to splash my face with cold water and give myself a talk in the mirror.
When I returned to the bedroom, she was sitting on the end.
“Which side do you prefer?” she asked, nudging her head back toward the bed.
“Either. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
She chose the left side, climbing under the covers with careful movements that suggested she was as nervous about this arrangement as me. I shut off the light and got in as well, maintaining a careful distance between us.
“Good night, Hail,” she said in the dark.
“Good night, Allie.”
