Page 5 of One Night with Her Untamed Orc (Toothsome Monster Romance #6)
Tarik
W ith each step along the pea gravel path up to my cabin, I ask myself, “What the fuck am I thinking?”
But there’s no way I was going to let her sleep down there, in the wilderness, by herself. I suppose I could have stood guard all night. Pausing, I mull that over. I hear her flip-flopping behind me, and it pushes me forward. Too late for that idea. She’s mine. Now I just have to prove it to her.
The wooden deck of my cabin stretches out on all sides. And the east side overlooks the water. Yep, I can see her little boat bobbing in the water below the hill where my cabin sits, nestled between the trees.
I hear her breath catch behind me; an almost silent “Wow,” escapes her lips. Yeah. I get that reaction a lot…on the few occasions I let people come to my home.
Clearing my throat, I turn half to her, half to the house and say, “Make yourself at home,” then walk inside, leaving the door open .
I’m in the kitchen when she walks in, looking like a sun-ripened goddess. Wisps of hair, loose from her braid, frame her face. She stands with her hands on her hips, backpack still on her back, and asks, “Where do I sleep?” I can hear the tenseness in her voice.
I swallow hard and point at the ceiling. She nods and takes off for the stairs. I rip a head of lettuce apart for a salad and to relieve my idiotic frustration at my idiotic self.
The salad, full of things I grew with my bare hands, is a bright rainbow. I allow myself a moment of pride before I hear her footsteps thundering down the stairs. With a calmness that would surprise my mother, I serve her a bowl as she comes barreling into the kitchen.
“You’re not serious!” It isn’t a question, though it should be. Rather than respond, I pull out my homemade salad dressing from the fridge and shake the jar, then unscrew the lid and pour some on both of our salads. I push the bowl across the island counter to her. She glares at it, then at me.
“I’m not sleeping in the same bed as you. I don’t know you. I tried to imagine how chivalrous you are, an orc refusing to let a lady sleep outside on the ground. But no, this is not okay.”
“I will sleep down here.” Not that I want to.
I want to curl myself around her and inhale her scent all night long.
But of course, that won’t be happening now.
Damn mating bond and my damn mouth getting me in trouble.
This is what happens when I open my mouth.
This is one reason why I don’t like people.
She eyes the salad. “Is it poisoned?”
“No, fresh, organic from my garden.”
“Okay.” She grabs the bowl and carries it out onto the wooden deck to gaze at the water. I eat mine standing where I am.
It made so much sense in my head. And yet now, I’ve completely botched this.
When she comes back into the kitchen, she washes her bowl and fork, leaving them on the dish dry rack, then spins to address me.
“Listen, I’m going back to my camp, check on my traps, and sleep.
Tomorrow, I’ll eat a prepackaged gross breakfast, take the boat out to check traps, and work on my data.
That’s it. I won’t leave a mess. I won’t be loud. And I’m not sleeping here.”
“I hope you sleep well,” I say, a bumbling fool. Watching my mate stomp out of my cabin and back down the hill is heartbreaking. And I deserve it.