Page 3 of My Orc Pen Pal (Mated to the Monster: Season 3)

Akhmim

I will be the first to admit that I am not an expert on human women. The single real relationship I’ve had, back in Bramblewood Bluff, was with a lovely half-pixie female named Tracy, and lasted approximately four months.

It had been an education, but not exactly helpful here. I hate to say it, but I think I was going to have to ask Tarkhan for some advice later.

Because…because I think that was the scent of Rosemary’s arousal, teasing my tongue as we drove toward the restaurant.

And when I opened her door for her and took her hand as we climbed the steps, I was incredibly aware of her warmth pressed at my side .

We sat across from one another at the restaurant, and while I missed the sensation of her nearness, being able to gaze at her without excuse was the better alternative.

The server brought us water, and Rosemary asked if I wanted anything else. “May I see the wine list, please?”

As the older female bustled off, Rosemary nudged me with her foot. “Oooh, wine? Fancy!”

“You don’t mind, I hope? I just felt that tonight…” My gaze dropped to her shoulder, laid bare by that stunning dress she wore. “Was momentous. We should mark it somehow.”

“Hey, I’m all for wine. Are you okay with seafood? I like the fried flounder here.”

Ah, yes, she’d said that. I perused the menu, a little overwhelmed by the options. “I’m not used to this much seafood. It’s limited in the Rockies.”

“Not as fresh, certainly,” she giggled. Her finger—capped with a bright pink nail—tapped a section of my menu. “The Waterfront is known for their oysters, although the season is over, so they ship them in. Seafood linguine is always a safe option. Their fried seafood platter is good, but it’s a lot of fried food.”

Somewhere around the oyster dissertation I’d stopped looking at the menu, more pleased to watch Rosemary. Now she caught my intensity and flushed. “Or whatever you want, I guess.”

I want you .

I didn’t say it. Not yet .

Instead, I smiled gently. “If you recommend the fried flounder, I’ll get that. But I’d like to order a side or appetizer…” I patted my stomach. “I suspect I eat more than you do.”

She brightened at that. “The she-crab soup or the crab wontons are the best apps here. Oh, and their hushpuppies are amazeballs!”

Chuckling, I nodded and scooped up our menus. “Done and done.” When the server returned, I ordered everything she’d recommended.

Then, cupping the wine glass in my much larger hand, I settled back in the booth. “Okay, I’ve been dying to ask; the dress you’re wearing. Did you design it?”

From her pleased blush, I’d guessed correctly. She glanced down at herself. “I did. I found the fabric on sale, and I just wanted to mess around with a design I’d seen online somewhere. It turned out so well that I like wearing it. Look!”

With that, she scooted to the end of the booth and stood. Before I could wonder if I was supposed to follow her, she spun in a circle, causing the skirt to swoosh out around her. “And look! Pockets!” she exclaimed, shoving her hands in her pockets and looking so damn pleased with herself that I had to chuckle.

“Truly remarkable!” I saluted her with my glass. “And it billows beautifully.”

It was her turn to chuckle at the compliment, and she spun again. Only this time, she tilted to one side, perhaps too enthusiastically, and stumbled toward my side of the booth .

In a blink, I reached out to steady her, and she ended up sinking down beside me. I couldn’t complain, not with her so close. Not with my hand still on her arm.

I held her topaz gaze and murmured, “You are a wonder, Rosemary.”

Her grin didn’t belie her flush. “Most people on the island call me Ro. Or RoRo if you’re one of my nephews.”

“Would you prefer me to call you Ro?” When we’d met on MonsterSmash, she’d used the tag Rosemary , and it wasn’t until we began to email that I discovered it was her real name. “I don’t mind.”

She shrugged, then seemed to reconsider. “I guess I kinda like that you call me Rosemary. It sounds more…formal.”

“I could come up with a nickname if we ever needed to be informal.” I moved my hold down to her hand, trying to keep it casual while I focused on placing my wine by my plate. “Pookie? Sweetheart? Muffin.”

“Peanut,” she suggested with a straight face. “Honeybun? Hey, you?”

“Darling. Steve?”

Rosemary dissolved into giggles, shifting one thigh higher in the booth so she was facing me. “Steve? How about Glenda? Or Adele. It’s my middle name.”

“Rosemary Adele,” I murmured, unable to help swaying toward her. “ Dkaar .”

Beloved .

“Oh, that’s lovely. What does it mean?” Thank the gods of the ancestors she didn’t give me a chance to admit the truth before asking, “And for that matter, what does your name mean, Akhmim? Should I come up with a nickname for you? Mimsy? The big Akhmimus?”

I didn’t know what either of those were, but I was pleased to just sit here and talk with her. And learn. I’d be happy to share about my world.

“It’s in an orc’s nature to change his name many times in his life as he passes milestones. When we passed through the veil into your world, we would have chosen new names, but the scientists who were studying us assigned names to us, archeological sites from your Ancient Egypt.”

“This was in Denver?” she asked, stretching across the table to snag her wine from where she’d originally been sitting. “At the government facility where you were all kept?”

I was pleased she remembered, and when I could stop staring at the amount of delicious-looking skin her movement had revealed, I’d tell her.

Aaaany minute now .

“I think it sucks that they kept you hidden like that for so long.” Rosemary sipped her wine. “I was a teenager when your arrival hit the news, and I wasn’t the only one who was super-curious about all the secrecy.”

I managed to wrestle my Kteer into obedience so I could focus on what she was saying. “Our leader was Sakkara, and he was bright enough to realize if your military got us, we might never be seen again. So he timed our emergence so the media would be there, and thus the scientists won the debate, and we went with them.” A full year of being poked and prodded, while we learned English and the necessary skills to live in this modern world. “And then they gave us their blood money and sent us on our way.”

From the way she cocked her head and studied me, I hadn’t managed to hide the bitterness from her.

“You’ve told me about the laboratory—” she began but was interrupted by the arrival of our appetizers.

The soup was delicious, and Rosemary nibbled at the wontons as I made appreciative noises and tried not to slurp. But then…

“Oh shit, Rosemary, why did no one tell me about these things?” I held a little ball of fried dough in the light, staring at it, aghast. “What did you call them? Dog biscuits? They’re delicious!”

Chuckling, she snagged a few for her plate. “I guess I’d better pick what I want before you whoof them all down.”

“Oh, ha-ha.” I didn’t take all of them. “Seriously?—”

“Hushpuppies. They’re just balls of fried dough, but each place makes them differently. The Waterfront’s are almost like cornbread except…sweet?” She used one to gesture. “They’re supposedly named after the scraps the chefs would throw to the dogs. Like, if you were battering and frying fish and the dogs were bugging you, you’d toss them some fried batter to keep them quiet.”

I swallowed and eagerly reached for another. “ Hush. Puppies . I get it. I’m definitely getting another order, and bringing the guys back here.” I sent her a grin. “Thanks for recommending this place. I don’t know seafood, but I’m lucky to have you.”

In so many ways .

She dropped her gaze to her plate, but not before I saw the pleased grin and the slight blush. Experimentally, I shifted closer, until my thigh brushed against hers, and I heard her suck in a breath at the same time the pulse in her temple jumped.

Interesting . I lowered my voice. “And I’m very glad to be here, dkaar .”

Her breath caught, and there was that faint sweet scent. Was that her arousal? I knew my senses were unusually attuned to her, but could it be possible that she found me as arousing as I found her?

Hoping to put her at ease, I asked her, “You’ve lived on Eastshore Isle your whole life? I remember you said you moved back home after school, but of course I didn’t know that was here .”

In months of emailing, the information we traded had been interesting. Sharing personal stories of our childhoods, our beliefs, our opinions, our adventures…but very careful not to give a hint of where we lived or even our last names.

The MonsterSmash terms and conditions stated as much, but it was also just smart to play it safe. My cousin Tarkhan, who was used to human women throwing themselves at him, had warned me about the possibility of sex-crazed stalkers, and I had to laugh .

Imagine, a female being interested in me .

Except…it seemed as if, on some level, Rosemary was .

As she told me about her extended family here on Eastshore and made me laugh about stories of big family get togethers, I noticed her leaning toward me. She placed her hand on my arm, seemingly without noticing, to hold herself upright as she laughed while recounting a practical joke played on her brother. And she met my eyes, holding my gaze, something alluring danced in those pale depths.

“…And that’s how the Yule log tradition begun!”

Chuckling, I clinked my wine glass against hers. “In my childhood, we also burned a large log to celebrate the Midwinter Festival, but it was an actual log . I’ve never heard of using a Christmas tree for it.”

“Yes, well, it was already dry and crackly by New Year’s Eve, but since then, we’ve made sure to light it on fire outside , and my brother doesn’t get to play with matches.” She sipped. “Did your people have Christmas trees?”

“No, but…” I couldn’t help the way my tone turned wistful. “Bramblewood Bluff does the holiday season particularly beautifully. The snow and the lights and the warmness. I will miss it come winter.”

“So you’re staying here in Eastshore?” She sounded surprised.

I allowed my gaze to rake Rosemary, lingering on her shoulder, her fingers, her lips. “Yes,” I murmured lowly. “I am. ”

From the way her breath caught, there was no confusion about what I meant. Good.

The food arrived, and the fried flounder was just as good as she’d declared. The conversation also continued, offering more insights and shared stories, making us laugh and tease as if we’d known each other for months.

You have .

My Kteer knew this female, despite having only just met her tonight. I knew her mind and her heart, thanks to her beautifully written letters to me.

But the longer I spent with her, the more I knew that she was meant for me.

“How did you end up in Bramblewood Bluff?” she asked, slumping back in the booth with her wine, her flounder half-gone. “You and your—are they your brothers? The other newcomers to Eastshore.”

“Tarkhan is my cousin,” I explained, “although in our clan, most of us are related in some way. Aswan and Abydos are twins, older brothers to two of the males already living on the island.”

She nodded eagerly. “Simbel and Memnon! My friend Maya is married—sorry, no, Mated to Memnon. They run the floral shop, Nature’s Gift, and I buy myself a flower arrangement from her each Monday.”

How…unique. I loved that she loved herself enough to do such a thing, and I also wanted to buy her flowers. If that’s what made her happy, I would cover her with them .

“Memnon and Simbel went to New York City after the scientists released us from their laboratories because they said they wanted to experience human life to the fullest. Their older brothers had the opposite opinion.”

Rosemary cocked her head, eyeing me. I shifted in my seat, self-conscious for the first time. Wondering what she saw.

“And you, Akhmim?” she murmured. “Why did you go with Aswan and Abydos and your cousin to Bramblewood Bluff?”

I blew out a breath and admitted the truth. “After spending a year being tested and experimented on, not all of us had the best opinion of humans. Sakkara was a natural here; he learned the stock market and made us all a bunch of money with investments. Giza and Luxor moved to the coast to work; Tanis, Karnak and Cairo found their way to this island. Dahshur and others spread out throughout the country.”

“But you didn’t want to live among humans,” she guessed in a quiet voice, still watching me.

Her words and her tone didn’t make me defensive, but I felt as if I should apologize. “I didn’t know?—”

“It’s okay, Akhmim.” Her hand came to rest on my arm. “I’ve seen the horrible stuff humans can do to one another. I can only imagine what they’d do to another species. It makes sense that you’d want to get away from us.”

“From them .” I enveloped her hand in my big one. “If there had been someone as kind and gentle as you in those facilities, Rosemary, I would have stayed forever. ”

A laugh burst from her lips, but she blushed at the compliment. “So you and the others have been playing woodsmen for the last decade? Living in trees in the mountains? No, that’s not possible, you had a great internet connection.”

“I did.” Although we all had plenty of money thanks to Sakkara’s investments, I enjoyed my job working remote cyber security for a big California firm. I was the only one of us who’d really mastered computers, likely because I was younger than the rest of them. “And yeah, originally, I think it was Abydos’s plan to go hide in the woods for the rest of our lives. The Rockies reminded us very much of home.”

“What happened?”

“We found Bramblewood. It’s a lot like Eastshore, but there are more than just orcs and humans living there. They accepted us, and I think we were mostly happy. But then Sakkara tracked us down and told us how Eastshore had become a haven for orcs—not just our cohort, but others. We decided to visit.”

When Rosemary shifted, her calf pressed against my knee. I glanced at her face, and her half-lidded eyes as she sipped her wine told me she knew what she was doing.

“Just a visit?”

“We’ve all been sharing an apartment since we arrived, and the place is cramped. Tarkhan is talking about buying a house with more space, so I guess that means he’s staying. I don’t know what the others think, but their brothers are here. As for me… ”

I took the chance I’d been wanting to take all night.

I leaned toward Rosemary, my gaze holding hers, my body language open…and she reciprocated. I saw her pupils tighten, her nostrils flare, then she was leaning toward me.

I stopped with my lips inches from hers.

“As for me, I’m definitely staying.”