Page 44 of My Orc Package Deal

“You settling in alright?” I said. Because I was apparently incapable of minding my own.

Dravik didn’t look up. “Fine.”

“Cairo’s good to work with.”

“Yeah.” A pause while he fitted a socket onto the next bolt. “He is.”

That was it for a minute. Just the wrench and the wind over the cliffs.

Then, without preamble, Dravik grunted. “Good move. Coming here.” Quiet, mostly to the engine. “Didn’t expect that. I’m glad you found a real home.”

I opened my mouth to agree.

And I realized I couldn’t say anything.

A real home.

Eight months on the island. Jay had taken to it fast; I’d taken to the work, the quiet, the view from the back porch. Having my own house had been enough.

We’d lived in Brak’s condo while the house was being built to my specs, and I liked the space.

The house was clean and functional. The fridge had meal-prep containers and Jay’s sports drinks and not much else. The living room furniture was positioned for watching hockey and action movies, which was its primary purpose as far as my son was concerned. One brand of shampoo in the shower. My mug on the counter, Jay’s on the shelf, nobody’s shoes by the door because we came in through the garage.

Now…

Milo’s drawings on the fridge, held up with the magnets I’d had let him pick out at one of those cheap touristy shops by the beach.

Kesha’s editing notes spread across one end of the kitchen table, three colors of pen, and a manuscript she’d been working through for a week.

Her reading glasses on the arm of the couch because she never put them back in the case. The smells of her body washes and oils and lotions permeating every room. Milo’s shoes lined up neatly at the back door next to Jay’s, which were always sideways. The TV remote never where I left it.

Jay eating breakfast and actually talking.

The building I’d built had been a house for eight months.

It had been a home for seven and a half weeks.

Thanks to Kesha. Thanks to my wife.

I took a deep breath, so deep I felt my chest aching, and pressed my claws against it, wondering why my Kteer was suddenly pulsing.

Tonight the boys would be heading to Brakkor’s for the weekend. Kesha and I would have the house to ourselves, and when Jocelyn had requested the sleepover, we agreed that it would give us a chance to sort out the storage bins she’d moved from her car into the garage and we’d been ignoring.

Now, though?

Now, I had no intention of thinking about those bins. Not when it wouldn’t matter how loudly she screamed.

Last night had been…I didn’t have adequate words for last night. I’d had a Mate Bond before. Sex with Sharra had been fabulous after the Bond kicked in, and I’d figured that was the best I’d ever have when it came to a physical connection with a female.

I’d been wrong.

Kesha had come apart in my arms countless times before either of us slept, and I’d lain there afterward feeling something close to smug, which was not a feeling I was particularly familiar with. She’d called my name like I’d done something impressive. The sound she made when I⁠—

Focus. Construction site. Beam schedule.

Tonight.

My Kteer hummed along with all of this, warm and present, and I was glad of it. It had been snarling at me for weeks, and it was good to have it quieter.