Page 26 of Falling for the Orc All-Star

“Ingrid! Hi! I’m so glad you could come. And I’m glad you got here when you did. Kev is about to haul off and eat, with or without you.”

“Was not!” Kevin lies, sticking his tongue out at me.

“I have evidence,” I say, sticking my tongue out in return.

“May I take your bag?” King asks.

“Oh. Sure.” I pass him my way-too-large tan shoulder bag, and he hangs it on an old-fashioned coatstand. As he does, he lowers his head and whispers, “You look stunning.”

“I’m in jeans and a t-shirt.” I stare up at him, trying to find proof of what I believe. That he’s just doing this for... I don’t know what.

He could have his pick of women. One literally showed up on his doorstep this morning. Why would he want me?

“The clothes are on you. You look gorgeous. I’d think you were gorgeous in anything or nothing.”

A bolt of heat lands in my center, and its twin finds its way to King’s dark lime cheeks, making them an even darker shade of green. I guess that’s the Orc equivalent of blushing.

“Please come sit. You should be off your leg, King. Ingrid, Kevin is apparently starving and ready to eat this second.” Marina comes over and ushers us to the dining room.

Next to her, I feel very underdressed. She looks like a cross between a goddess and a model from Vogue. It takes a special kind of confidence to wear a clinging white sweater dress and stilettos to a random weeknight dinner party.

For the first time, I notice that her smile is just a shade too wide for her face, and her teeth come to triangular points that slot together.

Like a sexy little shark.

I gulp. “Hi, Marina. Nice to see you.” I let her pull me in for a hug.

“Don’t worry. We’ll leave right after dessert so you two can have some time alone,” she whispers.

“I don’t need any time alone with him,” I hiss back.

Marina arches her eyebrows and cocks her head. “Oh. I forget. Human noses.”

“What? What’s that mean?” I take a discreet sniff of my shoulder.

“You smell fine. In fact, to King, you smell like a banquet. I will be full just from sitting near you two,” Marina chuckles.

I’m not sure what she means, and I don’t want to know. I just want to sit and eat, and maybe look at King while he’s looking at me like I’m everything he’s ever wanted.

Dinner is wonderful. Kev asks a ton of questions about hunting and Orc culture. I ask a ton of questions about Scotland, which is on my bucket list of places to visit. King gets to talk a lot, which I would have figured He’d have liked... But instead, he wants to know all about me. Where I’ve been on my travels. Where would I ten out of ten recommend? Where would I go tonight if I had a plane ticket to anywhere? Where would I avoid like the plague? Marina talks about living in Siberia when she was first... made. Not born.

This whole having friends who are supernatural beings is going to take some getting used to.

I talk about my dogs.

Kev and Marina talk about their new cat. Marina talks about Kev being a great father at least three times, and as I examine her skintight dress for a hint of a baby bulge, I notice King has started staring, too.

It’s probably the excellent wine, the ginormous amount of delicious food, and the warm, surprisingly relaxed atmosphere that turns off my brain. “Wait! You’re not a human! Can you get pregnant?” I demand.

Ooh. That didn’t come out the way I meant. I meant she’s a demon—and I... Yeah, I thought demons came with fire, brimstone, horns, and a pointy tail. Marina’s married to a human, and she’s pale, beautiful, hornless, and sitting across from me, licking custard off a spoon.

King puts his wine glass down.

Kev looks at me like I just kicked a dog turd onto the table.

Marina is the only one who is unfazed. “Not ordinarily, but Kev is the keeper of my soul. My literal soul mate. I can only havehisbabies. And we think they’ll all be daughters, because all rusalkas are female.”

“Ah.”