Page 36 of Grumpy Pucking Orc (Orcs on Ice #1)
Jordan
T he Ozar and Judy meeting did not go as well as I’d hoped.
During the short walk back to my house I’d made small talk while silently fretting that my weirdo cat would not react well to my orc boyfriend.
Judy judged, and she sometimes judged harshly.
It had taken Abby and Willa over a month to win her over and she still glared and occasionally hissed at them the first five minutes they entered my house.
My cat had never been a fan of men, and I had a horrible premonition about how she’d react to a seven-foot-tall orc walking into my home.
My little black-and-white tuxedo cat had raced toward me the moment I’d opened the door, then screeched to a halt, arched her back, and hissed as soon as she’d seen Ozar.
“This is my cat, Judy. She’ll follow you around, glaring and hissing at you because she rules this house and humans live to serve her.”
Ozar tilted his head as he regarded the cat, clearly not understanding my humor.
“Most humans are very attached to their pets,” I explained as I picked up the still-upset Judy.
“People who love cats love them, eccentricities and all. They are independent animals. Some are aloof, others are varying degrees of affectionate creatures. Their amazing speed, agility, and hunting ability make them a fun companion that doesn’t require the level of attention and care that other animals like dogs do. ”
“Judy is a hunter?” He sounded awed by that fact. “But she is so small.”
I motioned for him to follow me as I carried Judy into the kitchen, petting the cat to reassure her that Ozar was no threat.
“Cats mostly hunt birds, small rodents, and bugs. They were initially domesticated to kill vermin in human settlements, homes, and buildings. Mice and rats can carry diseases that spread to humans, so having cats not only protected our food from being eaten but reduced the risk of their owners catching those diseases.”
“It is incredible that humans have developed a relationship with such an animal.”
He reached out toward Judy, who flattened her ears and batted him with her paw. She hadn’t unsheathed her claws, so I was hoping that was a sign she didn’t hate Ozar as much as she hated the rest of my visitors.
I put the cat down and she backed away, her fur puffed out and her eyes fixed on the orc.
“Your best bet is to respect her space and just ignore her,” I advised as I pulled a bottle of merlot from the wine rack. “In time, she’ll learn to tolerate your presence.”
We settled on the sofa with glasses of wine and talked about his campaigns in protecting his clan back home.
I told him about my more challenging dentistry cases and my ideas about serving our supernatural community.
The whole time Judy sat on the coffee table in front of us, her tail twitching, and her narrowed gaze fixed on the orc.
It made our little make-out session a little weird, so when Ozar began to unhook my bra, I stopped him.
“Upstairs,” I ordered in a breathless voice.
We climbed the steps, pausing on the way up to kiss and discard bits of clothing while Judy stalked behind us.
The cat ducked between our legs as we crossed the threshold into my bedroom.
I broke off mid-kiss with my bra hanging off one elbow and my pants sliding down my hips to grab Judy and evict her.
The cat stared at me with huge, incredulous eyes as I closed the door in her face and went back to the orc.
I loved my cat, but there were some things she didn’t need to be watching. And Ozar tossing me on the bed and yanking my underwear low enough to fit his face between my thighs was one of those things.
I awoke at five a.m. as was typical, but this morning I stretched lazily, enjoying every sore muscle and feeling incredibly satisfied. If I’d been a cat, I would have purred.
Cat.
I bolted upright, realizing that I’d never let Judy into the bedroom last night.
Ozar and I had made love over and over until I’d collapsed in a boneless heap, falling into a deep slumber with my head nestled against his chest. Judy always slept on my bed, and I’d learned that any variation in her schedule resulted in all sorts of little gifts distributed like landmines around my house.
Judy wasn’t the only thing missing from my bed.
The spot where Ozar had been when I’d fallen into a sexually satisfied sleep was empty.
I’d kinda hoped to wake up with him and maybe enjoy some sleepy, morning sex, but I tamped down my disappointment.
This whole thing was new for us, and I didn’t know what he might have on his schedule today.
I hadn’t slept the night at his house, so I could hardly fault him for leaving.
And for all I knew, he might have kissed me goodbye and had a short conversation with me before he’d headed out.
I slept like the dead, and it wouldn’t be the first time I’d mumbled something incoherently in the middle of the night and not remembered it in the morning.
Rolling out of bed, I threw on an oversized T-shirt, took care of my morning biological functions, and brushed my teeth. Whatever Judy had pooped and vomited on my floor would still be there after I’d finished my routine.
Finally, I opened the door and, being careful to look where I stepped, headed downstairs.
Before I hit the landing, I heard a riot of sounds coming from my kitchen.
Scrabbling of claws on the flooring. Chirping and squawking, and the trill of Judy having the time of her life.
I raced down the final stairs, sure that my cat was after some bird that had managed to find its way into my house.
Sliding to a stop at the entrance to my kitchen, my mouth fell open.
Ozar sat on one of the bar stools that flanked the kitchen island.
He held the small mirror from my downstairs bathroom and was redirecting sunlight from it into a beam on the kitchen floor.
Judy was chasing that beam of light like her very life depended on catching and killing it.
My cat still might consider Ozar a dangerous character worthy of suspicion, but right now, any anxiety on her part had been washed away by the thrill of the hunt.
“She is a truly ferocious creature.” Ozar smiled over at me. “I wish we had cats back home. I would have loved to have a companion like Judy when I was an orclet.”
My ovaries had exploded when I saw the picture of him with the kids at Patterson Park, but now it was my heart that exploded. He liked my judgy cat. He was playing with my judgy cat.
I sniffed.
And he’d made coffee.
“I have a laser pointer toy that she loves to play with,” I told him. “It shines a red dot, and she chases it all over the room. And she loves the mice toys as well. They’re made of wool and stuffed with catnip. They’re all in a basket by the back door.”
He set the mirror on the counter, much to Judy’s dismay, and poured me a mug of coffee. “I believe she was upset at being shut out of your bedroom last night. I found some…. mukaw outside the door when I awoke.”
I hadn’t seen the mukaw outside my door—which I assumed translated to either puke or poop—which meant Ozar must have cleaned it up. How embarrassing that he’d awoken to that. Although he didn’t seem particularly bothered by my cat’s anxious digestive issues.
“I understand what you mean about serving the cat.” He handed me the coffee, then picked up his own, half-empty mug. “I have just met this creature, yet I already have cleaned up her mukaw , entertained her, and provided her with morning food.”
I nearly choked on my coffee. “The cat kibble? Please tell me you gave her the cat kibble from the container.”
He frowned and consulted his phone. “Uhh, there is specific food for cats? Because Judy told me she was to eat the container of shredded chicken from your refrigerator.”
Chicken wasn’t as bad as a bowl of milk or a dozen raw eggs, although I had planned to use that container for the topping of my lunch salads.
“She’ll be okay,” I reassured Ozar. “Judy has a sensitive stomach, so you can’t rely on her opinion of what’s good for her. I do give her chicken as a treat, but only after she’s had her kibble.”
He nodded. “I will remember that for next time.”
Next time. I loved that. My weirdo cat hadn’t scared him away. I hadn’t scared him away. Yet.
Walking forward, I put my mug of coffee on the counter and wedged myself between his legs. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled him toward me.
“Do you have anything planned for this morning?” I asked, pressing myself against him.
“No,” he murmured before lowering his lips to mine.
I was a woman who lived by her schedule, just like my cat. I got up at the same time each morning. I ate the same breakfast. I went to the gym, then went to work. But today? Today was when I was going to deviate from that reassuring schedule.
And I was going to relish every moment of my illicit morning with Ozar. Even if it made me late to work.