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I hated it. I needed him to laugh and dance again. I shuffled closer and positioned my feet in his field of vision.

“Am I too late?” I asked quietly.

Chapter 3

Beryl

“You came?” I rose from my seat and was of half a mind to fling myself into his arms before I thought better of it.

“Yes,” Kjartan replied unnecessarily.

Gods, he’s so cute.

“Would you like to come home with me?” I asked him, sounding a lot bolder than I felt.

Cute and tall.

This time he nodded. Before I could get a word out, bus number 603 arrived.

“This is ours. Come on, we have free public transport in Kirkmuir.”

Kjartan followed me onto the crowded bus, throwing out his hand to grip the overhead rail for support when the driver sped up and we fought for balance.

His other hand splayed on my hip as he pulled me against his solid chest.

“Thanks,” I gasped, unable to look at him. A grin spread over my face when the driver stepped on the gas pedal again and I ended up plastered to him—just the way I’d imagined earlier.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he murmured in my ear.

By all the wind gods.

I was a moment away from climbing him like a tree. Kissing Kjartan also sounded like a fantastic idea.

You can wait another twenty minutes, Bee. Relax.

Every time the bus sped up or lurched, I was pulled or pressed into his body. A long, thick ridge dug into my stomach. I shivered with anticipation.

Kjartan was huge. I wasn’t a size queen, per se, but imagining myself bouncing on his big dick wasn’t the worst fantasy with which to entertain myself.

I’d never been with an Orc before. How would his tusks feel when we kissed?

His mouth dropped to my ear.

“Are you cold, Vindur?” he whispered.

“What did you call me?”

“It’s just a word in my language; it means ‘wind’.” He brushed the hair off my brow.

Shit, he’s going to kiss me.

“Rosgrave Row,” the tinny voice from the speaker over our heads announced.

“This is us.” I pouted as he let go of me and followed me off the bus. Damn. A first kiss on a bus wasn’t super romantic, but I wanted him to kiss me already.

Why do you want it to be romantic, Bee? It’s just a hookup.

We walked in silence down the street to my house, and I let us in.