Page 39 of Falling for the Orc All-Star

Ingrid doesn’t say anything, just sidesteps me and heads up the stairs. “Coming?” she asks.

I nod.And you will be, too.

Iturn the lights off, but I don’t know if that matters. Do Orcs see in the dark? How much?

My nerves make my stomach tight, and I worry about the whole idea of “sitting on his mouth.” That’s too much, right? It’s just an expression?

King sits on the edge of the bed, hands on my hips. He’s tall enough that with him sitting on the bed and me standing, we’re the perfect height to keep kissing. The perfect height for his hands to slowly start massaging my waist, and then my thighs. I wait for things to get pulled down or off, but he doesn’t. Just lies back and scoots over, groaning softly as he drags the clunky immobilizer with him.

“I’ll be careful not to bump you,” I say, voice broken by uneven breaths.

Guess I climb on. Guess I act brave, even though all I can picture is him pushing me away, and I steel myself for learning that this whole getting an oral orgasm isn’t going to happen. It’s in books. I don’t think it’s in real life.

Sweats drop. Soaked panties follow. My big green ride awaits, but I snuggle up to his side. “We could just do this. I like this,” I say, chickening out.

King sounds thrilled. “You do? Okay! I like this, too.” He cuddles me under his arm and easily pulls me onto his chest, like I’m a blanket he’s pulling over himself.

I wait for the tone to shift, for King to start insisting—and he doesn’t. I’m the one half-naked and wriggling. Wanting to kiss him. Loving the way he strokes my hair and keeps sighing. “You sound happy.”

“I’m so happy,” he chuckles and squeezes me. “I’m sorry if I was pushing you earlier. I thought it would be something you liked. I like this. I like just being around you, but I hope one day you might want to do more. Is that okay to say? Is that like... I don’t know. Is that a creepy thing to say?”

“That you want to do more whenIwant to? No. That’s not creepy. And I do want to do more—I just know I shouldn’t. Because... It’s so soon.” Yeah. That’s the reason that I’ll give. There are more, bumping around in my brain while I ignore them, marveling in the fact that I actually feel “delicate” in this guy’s arms.

“Yeah. Yeah, I bet this does seem fast. That might be my fault.”

“Definitely your fault,” I mumble, but there’s a smile in my voice.

“I mean, because the only ‘relationships’ I’ve had in the last couple of years have been one-night encounters on the road,” he says, making air quotes with his fingers. “And because I’m an Orc. Orcs often spend all their time with their clans, and they meet up a few times a year for a gathering of clans. It’s a big deal, right? And if you see someone you’re interested in, you have to speak up then, before the clans all go back to their own lands. You can’t be afraid to speak, or you lose your chance. But you get being brave and taking a chance.” He tugs the sleeve of my shirt. “War Maiden.”

My heart speeds up right after it had begun to slow. “War Maiden?”

“Navy parents. Brave and stalwart.”

“Stalwart isnota sexy word,” I warn him.

“It is to me. Everything about you is sexy, Ingrid.” King smiles up at me, and a long curl of still-damp hair tumbles from my bun and over his face. He smooths it back, eyes following it as he tucks it behind my ear.

Lovestruck. Even in the darkness of the room, where everything is shadowy and dim, that’s the only word for the look on his face. My face drops to his, lips brushing, then anchoring.

Anchoring. I’m already settled. I have my home. He has his. We have our lives, our careers, and all of that, but I realize afresh... I don’t have my “person.” The one whom I feel comfortable with, safe with, in love with.

Mrs. Y was right. I don’tneedthat, but I want that. Maybe I ought to let myself get it.

When King’s hands land on my back and scoot down to my cheeks, I don’t stop him. When he kneads me with his strong hands, I involuntarily grind down against him. “Okay?” I whisper.

“Perfect.” His fingers move over my hip, and his hand turns into a cup, palm against my short curls and fingers over my lips. “Better?”

My hips test his position. The first pulse makes me jump, his fingertips coming into contact with my slippery folds. King keeps searching until he finds my clit. “Better.”

“My hand can stay here?”

“Uh-huh.”Please stay there. Right there.The short bursts of pleasure make me ache for more, but the bulge that rests along my thigh is... alarmingly big.

King’s fingers move in delicious circles, right where I wanted him, like he’s reading my mind. “Mmm. Mmmm. More.” The moans turn into words, and I don’t know what I’m asking for, not exactly. My pussy twitches in excitement when I let myself think about more of him. More King. More parts of him.

That cock... I’ve had guys who were average or less. Never big, above average, or off the fucking charts.

Damn it, now I’m curious to know what happened on those “one-night encounters” he mentioned... Was it just the tip? A couple of inches? Do I need to work up to him?