Page 4

Chapter Four

I ’m absolutely buzzing with excitement—and a tad of horniness—by the time I get back to my house. The second I’m in the door, I call Celeste to tell her what happened.

I did it. I asked Egorr to take the next step with me, and he agreed. I’m simply soaring.

“You’re doing a trial marriage already?” Celeste asks the second she arrives at my house. Her lips screw up in uncertainty. “But you just spent the last month getting over Shisek, Maddie. Are you sure it’s wise to jump in so soon with someone else?”

“I know, I know.” I put on some hot water while we talk. “But I have a good feeling about him. A really good feeling. We got along great, we had an amazing time together, and we have serious chemistry. I just want to know if it’ll work out or not before I invest too much more in him.”

“A trial marriage is a big investment,” Celeste says in that even tone that says she’s trying to bring me back down to earth. Then she narrows her eyes at me. “You want to sleep with him, don’t you?”

My shoulders curl defensively. Sitting on Egorr’s lap certainly didn’t do anything to remove that possibility from my mind.

“Is it so bad that it’s important to me?”

Celeste sighs. “I guess not. I just don’t want you to rush into anything and then maybe…”

“What, ruin it?” I ask. My tone is more biting than I mean it to be, but I still feel responsible for what happened with Shisek. I still wonder, even now, if I was the issue, if I was the reason it all fell apart.

“No,” Celeste says, with a pitying look. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

If I know anything, though, it’s that Egorr won’t hurt me. He would never. He’s a gentle giant with a funny, playful side. He’s sweet and thoughtful, and even a little dirty. He has a good heart.

I wave her off. “It’ll be fine. I know what I’m getting into this time. I’ve done a trial marriage before.” I don’t mean it as a jab, since Celeste has never gone on more than one or two dates with a monster, but I can tell by the look in her eyes that she’s hurt.

“You’ll find someone to go home with, too,” I say quickly, apologetically. “I know you will.”

“Maybe.” Celeste gets up to make the tea now that I’ve forgotten all about the kettle. “So tell me about your date with Egorr. What made you so sure?”

“Well,” I begin, “He had the biggest boner I’ve ever felt in my life.”

She bursts out laughing.

“Kidding,” I say. I have to think a little harder about an honest answer. “I think it was that I could be myself, you know? I didn’t have to be quieter or change my sense of humor. He just… accepted me. He thought my jokes were funny. And he held my hand. A lot.”

Celeste quirks an eyebrow. “That’s what does it for you, huh?”

“Shush. But it was a nice touch.”

“I’m sure he’ll have lots of other nice touches for you, too,” she says, and I can’t help cackling.

I hope so. I really hope so.

* * *

Telling my parents about my decision is much easier than telling Celeste. I fill them in on our first date—minus the part where I sat on Egorr’s lap and we made out—and they’re thrilled for me.

“I think someone like this would be a good fit for you,” Mom says, reaching around my shoulders to squeeze me in a hug. “Much more genuine than that Shisek .” She practically spits the name, and I have to laugh.

At the end of the week, after Egorr has had some time to prepare his home for me, it’s time to go. It’s a Saturday, so we’ll have all weekend to get me settled before Egorr has to go back to work. In my little house on the preserve, I pack up what I think I’ll need, hoping that I won’t have to bring it back.

Mom and Dad wait with me at the entrance to New Eden for Egorr to arrive. He’s right on time, pulling up in his tiny sedan and popping the trunk open. I run out into the road to hug him, ready to be wrapped up in his soft arms again, and he chuckles as he brings me in close. He kisses the top of my head.

“Are you ready?” he asks, just for my ears. “To start the rest of your life?”

I shiver all over at how enticing that sounds. I’m definitely ready for my happily ever after with Egorr.

“You sure know what to say to a girl,” I say, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss his lips.

“What about us?” Mom grouses, and I apologize before introducing them to Egorr. He shakes Dad’s hand firmly, and even my father is thrown by how big he is.

“Good handshake,” Dad mutters, rubbing his hand afterwards.

After we’ve signed off on all the paperwork, my parents help load my bags into the back seat and the trunk of Egorr’s car. Egorr quirks an eyebrow when he sees the pile of three suitcases and two duffel bags, but doesn’t complain.

I hug my parents goodbye, and then it’s time to go. But before I can get inside the car, Egorr stops me. He has to bend down quite a ways for his mouth to get anywhere near mine.

“Your room is all set up at home,” he says in a seductive voice. “And I have some presents, too.”

“Presents?” I immediately brighten. “For me?”

He pauses with his lips just brushing mine. “For you.”

Then he kisses me, hard, and I drown in him. Damn. Who knew ogres could kiss like champs? He picks me up by the waist and swings me around while he devours me, and I feel like I’m flying. I hope my landing will be soft this time.

“Save it for later!” Mom calls out, and I blush as we get into the car. And then, at last, we’re on our way.

Egorr lives on the edge of town to the east. I remember what the Wikipedia article said about ogres living in hills and mountains, and sure enough, soon we start to head upward. We’ve been winding around twisting roads and through hilly countryside for a few minutes when Egorr takes a left turn down a cute little street, with houses that aren’t too close together. He stops in front of a massive oak tree and takes a quick right before pulling into a driveway.

There in front of us is… well, a door. A big wooden door, built right into the side of the hill, with a gorgeous stained glass window in the middle. We hop out of the car, and Egorr leads me by the hand to the house buried in a hillside.

“Here we are.” He turns the knob and pulls the door open. “Home sweet home.”

Inside it’s dark at first, until Egorr reaches in and flips a switch, bathing everything in soft light.

It’s homey inside. That’s the best way I can describe this warm, cozy place. The walls and ceiling are dome-shaped, and a little skylight peers down from above. There’s a fireplace with a couch in front of it, and a well-loved chair by a television. A tidy kitchen with a big island is tucked into the back corner of the open floor plan, and next to it are a small table and two chairs. One of them is very big, and one of them…

“This is the first present,” Egorr says, eagerly walking over to the much smaller chair that looks brand new. He picks it up and shows it to me, hefting its whole weight like it’s a matchstick. “I thought you’d be more comfortable with this than with one of my big chairs.”

It’s so thoughtful, I can’t speak for a moment.

Egorr tilts his head, concern furrowing his brow. “Maddie?”

“Ohmygosh.” It all spills out at once. I throw my arms around him, and he laughs as he hugs me back. “It’s really cute. And wonderful. And thoughtful. Thank you.”

He nods, his green cheeks turning a darker shade of olive, then he takes me by the hand and leads me down the hall.

“This is my room,” he says, nodding at an open doorway. I peer inside, but it’s too dark to make anything out. “And this is your room.” He turns the knob on the next door and pushes it wide open for me.

Inside there’s light—lots of it—coming in through a deep window that burrows out of the hill. The room is small and round, like the rest of the house, with a twin bed on an antique bronze frame.

“I went around to the thrift stores to find things that might match,” he says sheepishly. “I didn’t want to get you some cheap Ikea stuff.”

“Wow.” I run my hand over the comforter, then the worn wood bedside table that has a little lamp shaped like a tulip. “It’s so cute.” There are butterflies doing somersaults in my stomach just seeing how much thought he put into this room. He really wanted to make sure I’d be comfortable here.

“You think so?” Egorr grins at me. “Good. I didn’t know what your taste would be, so feel free to redecorate it how you please.” He demonstrates how to close the big heavy curtains. “If you want to sleep in, you can close these.”

Part of me hopes I won’t be sleeping here much, but I don’t want to dive into things too quickly, either. I wonder if Egorr’s ever lived with a partner before, but it didn’t sound like any of his relationships had gotten serious enough for that.

He shows me to the small bathroom we’ll share, then brings in my bags so I can get unpacked. With a peck on my cheek, he leaves me to it while he makes lunch.

I hang up each of my outfits in the closet, and I think I like the look of them here.

* * *

That afternoon, we decide to go out to the store together to buy things I might want to have around the house while Egorr’s at work. He pushes the rather large cart, and I dart up and down the aisles, finding all sorts of snacks I’ve never even seen before.

“Egorr!” I say, bounding over with a box of sandwich cookies. “These have lemon filling. Can you believe that?”

He chuckles. “You want them?”

“Um, yes!” My mouth is watering just looking at the big illustration on the box.

“Then add them to the cart.” Even the frozen food aisle is incredible to me. It’s like they have every option on the planet and then some.

“What did you eat at New Eden?” Egorr asks as I grab a box of frozen jalapeno poppers and add it to the growing pile in the cart.

“Oh, you know. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Salad. Pizza, sometimes.” In the cafeteria, we usually had three options for each meal. Here… the options are limitless. Speaking of which, we’ve just stopped in the frozen food aisle, in front of a huge freezer completely full of pizza.

“Holy shit.” I can hear angels singing. “This is incredible.”

“You know, delivery is probably better—” Egorr begins, but I’m already choosing the best-looking pepperoni pizza they have. He doesn’t object when I add it to the pile.

“Wow.” I gaze down row after row of food options. “The grocery store is amazing.” And I get to choose from all of it.

“Ready to check out?” Egorr asks when we’ve explored all the way from one end of the store to the other. I’m breathless.

“Yes. Yes, I think so.” I turn to him. “We’re definitely coming back here.”

Egorr gets a big grin on his face. “We can come to the store whenever you want.”

We get in line at check-out behind what appears to be nothing but a skeleton dressed in a long, black cloak. It turns around briefly to look at us, and the bare holes in its skull make me squeak in alarm. I reflexively grab Egorr’s arm, and I can’t tell what the skeleton is thinking because, well, it doesn’t have a face. It turns away and starts loading goods onto the conveyor belt, shaking its head.

“Sorry,” I say to Egorr, letting go of him. He tilts his head down.

“This must all be pretty new for you, huh?” The skeleton steps forward to check out, and Egorr puts a divider on the conveyor belt between our groceries and theirs. “I can’t imagine what it’s like living on the preserve your whole life.”

“I’ve definitely never seen that before,” I say quietly, gesturing at the skeleton. I wonder if skeletons ever apply for human companions. It might be hard without lips. Or… you know.

“You said you did another trial marriage, right?” Egorr asks. He rests a hand on my lower back. “The one that didn’t work out. Did you never go to the grocery store?”

I swallow. “Yeah. Though he didn’t eat anything at all, and he just brought home the bare minimum. We didn’t even go to a restaurant once.”

“Well, we can go out all you want.” Egorr puts yet another box of cookies on the conveyor belt. “Or stay in, if that’s your thing.”

“I’m not sure what my ‘thing’ is, to be honest,” I say, helping with the fruit and vegetables.

“I guess we’ll find out then, won’t we?”

Egorr grins. Am I imagining the slightly filthy lilt to his voice when he says it?

Once the cart is empty, he talks to the cashier—a basilisk in a pair of sunglasses, her tail curled up around her to fit into the checkout stand. She rings everything up, filling all the bags Egorr brought along and a few extras because we bought so many things.

Oops.

Then we’ve loaded it all in the car and we’re heading home.

“I liked that,” I say. “Maybe my ‘thing’ is going to the grocery store.”

Egorr’s laugh fills up the whole car.