Page 12

CHAPTER 12

H ours later, sweaty and spent and sprawled across Khill’s chest with her face buried between his pecs, one of his giant hands palming her ass possessively, Justine finally caught her breath. “I’m so mad at you,” she muttered.

“What did I do?” he grumbled without any heat.

“We could’ve been doing that for years, but no , you let me think you weren’t interested.”

He sighed. “It’s complicated, OK? Orcs aren’t…emotional. Believe it or not, I was considered overly emotional in our home world, which is why I was exiled to begin with.”

With way more effort than it should’ve taken, she lifted her head to meet his gaze. “Can you tell me about your world?”

He looked so uncomfortable she thought he might refuse to say anything. But he eventually asked, “What do you want to know?”

Anything. Everything . She didn’t say that, though. Not when they were just getting to the point where they could actually talk about important things. Scaring him off with too much communication too fast would be a huge setback. “As much as you’re willing to tell me.”

Another sigh. “The orc home world is called Gorlaug. It’s as close to paradise as you can imagine. Sunny, warm, just enough rain to support the natural environment, no storms, nothing destructive at all…it’s like the best parts of Earth with none of the downsides.”

“It sounds beautiful,” she murmured.

“It is. That’s why so few orcs end up here. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I like Earth, for the most part. But it’s no Gorlaug.”

She listened as he told her about the social structure (largely a matriarchy) where every citizen was equal and worked for the good of the many. There was next-to-no crime, very little violence. Not even any weapons. It sounded so much like Utopia that Justine was starting to consider petitioning the government to hand the reins over to Gorlaug’s leadership, because clearly, they had their shit together in a way that the United States never had.

“There’s a trade-off, though,” Khill admitted quietly. “Along with all that perfection comes a complete lack of…passion, I guess would be the best word. Emotions lead to chaos, and there’s no chaos allowed in Gorlaug. Which means marriages are more like a business arrangement than anything humans are used to.”

Justine frowned. “No one marries for love?”

He gave her a crooked smile that made her sad just contemplating it. “ Nothing is more chaotic than love. Expressing emotion in Gorlaug is punishable by exile.”

Well, that was a bummer. She supposed if she had to choose between Utopia and never being allowed to express an emotion, she’d probably leave, too. But then the second part of his statement penetrated her brain. “Wait, were you exiled for expressing an emotion? What emotion?”

“Not exactly a specific emotion. It was more about what I wasn’t feeling, which was a duty to marry the woman my parents chose for me,” he admitted ruefully.

“Why not?”

“It didn’t feel right. I just felt like getting married in Gorlaug would be a mistake.” He eased a piece of her hair behind her ear, letting his fingertips linger on her cheekbone as he added, “I didn’t know why until I met you.”

Oh, God…her heart ! “Any regrets?”

“Absolutely none,” he said without hesitation. “Well, other than not telling you how I felt sooner. I tried a few times. I just couldn’t make the words come out.”

She didn’t hold that against him anymore. Especially not now that she knew more about his upbringing. No one had ever taught him how to have emotions, let alone express them. But she didn’t tell him that. Instead, she eased her legs apart so that she was straddling him. “I suppose I’m willing to let you make up for lost time.”

He hissed when she ground down on him, rubbing her clit over his cock. “Yeah? And how do you propose I do that?”

“Orgasms,” she said, catching his bottom lip between her teeth and giving it a good, hard tug. “I’m thinking ten or so should be a good start.”

She squealed, then moaned when he reversed their positions, dumped her on her back under him, and slid neatly into her. “I can do that,” he growled.

Oh, she had no doubt. “Prove it,” she growled back.

It took him all night, but he more than proved it. Which is how Justine learned what a complete overachiever her husband was.

Yay !