Page 9 of The Orc’s Sweetheart (Creatures & Cottages)

Chapter 9

Tilly

B eryl leads me to the curved booth in the back corner where I can just make out some shapes in the dim lighting. I try my best to compose myself quickly, subtly rubbing at the bruise on my hip I’m sure is blooming quite beautifully already.

“Tilly! It’s so nice to see you again!” Calixta says warmly, getting up to wrap me in a welcoming hug.

“You know each other?” Bodin asks flatly.

I take a deep, calming breath at the sound of his voice, reminding myself that I need to control my emotions because many of the species present can sense moods, and I’m not going to be the one to bring down the vibe in here.

Calixta swings an arm around my shoulders and carefully leans her head against mine. “Don’t you know that Tilly is my wife’s BFF and therefore mine too?”

“When did this happen?” Bodin asks, his brows furrowed in a way that makes me wonder if he’s even capable of smiling.

Beryl steps slightly in front of me, holding a threatening finger up at Bodin. “Calm your tits, little brother. We’re all friends.”

Bodin shakes his head. “I didn’t say you can’t be friends. Just wondering when it happened since she only arrived here like a week ago.”

Half of me wants to retreat to my cottage, curl into bed, and pretend this isn’t happening. The other half, though, is tired of Bodin’s shitty attitude and is feeling a little diabolical.

Batting my eyelashes in the most innocent expression I can muster, I say, “Jealousy isn’t a good look for you, Bodin.”

Beryl and Calixta snicker and Bodin blinks blankly back at me. Before he can come up with a retort, Calixta ushers me into the booth on the opposite side of him.

“Do you want something to drink? Beer? Wine?” Calixta asks, gesturing for me to scoot over to make room for her.

“A glass of wine, please. Anything they have. I’m not picky.”

The frown on Bodin’s face intensifies as I say that. He really must’ve thought I’m some snobbish city girl only wanting top-shelf liquor.

What could’ve possibly given him that impression? I’ve been fairly easygoing this entire time. I shake my head, giving myself a mental slap. Or maybe this actually has nothing to do with me. Maybe he’s just a dick who has made assumptions about me because I’m from the city.

“I’ll get it. Anyone else want something?” Beryl asks the table in general.

Calixta climbs her fingers up her wife’s arm. “Can you please write my name down for that song I rehearsed for you last night?”

“Which one, my heart?”

“The one that’s safe for public viewing. I’ll give you an encore at home.”

The sexual energy radiating off the couple is almost palpable and I try to look anywhere but at them. Unfortunately, my gaze lands on Bodin’s forearms resting on the table. The dark green veins running along his dense muscles have my eyes tracking them up to where they disappear under his sleeves stretching around biceps that might even be thicker than my thighs. My traitorous pussy likes the view, and I squeeze my legs together in case someone can sense the effect Bodin has on her.

Calixta’s attention snaps to me and I close my eyes. The succubus is probably picking up on the direction of my thoughts already. But like the cool friend she is, she doesn’t call me out on it.

Beryl walks off to the bar as Calixta props an elbow on the table. “Look, bro. We like Tilly, so I’m only going to say this once. For every rude comment related to her, I’ll tell one embarrassing story about you. And you know I have fresh material.”

I want to see Bodin’s expression, but instead, I look down to give them a moment to work this out. Staring at my chest, I realize my dress must’ve slipped lower on my walk here, and I currently have a bit more cleavage on display than when I left the house. My tits look fantastic though.

Should I pull the dress up and risk drawing more attention to my boobs? Or do I hope gravity doesn’t let me down and have them spring free of the dress?

Bodin shifts in his seat and I chance a glance at him. He looks oddly contrite.

Dipping his head, Bodin says, “I apologize if my comment came across as rude. I was only curious about how you know each other already.”

To my right, Calixta gives him two thumbs up and I relax a little, my shoulders dropping as tension leaks from me.

I explain to Bodin, “Doc Calla gave me an easy schedule to adjust to, so I only worked mornings this week. I popped into some of the shops in the afternoons to introduce myself and get supplies for my house. When I went to say hi to Beryl at The Viny Shears, she took me next door to The Horned Pearl to meet Calixta. That’s the long and short of it.”

Calixta bumps me with her shoulder. “The whole town basically loves her already. The creatures who’d visited The Bandaged Heart this week are all gushing. Tilly also got Samara to stock the apothecary with some new drugs that your mom wasn’t aware of. Isn’t that right, Tilly?”

“Oh, I can’t comment on what I diagnose—patient confidentiality and all that. But I can say that Samara has been a great help by showing me the medicines she has in stock. And The Sparkling Cauldron is a beautiful apothecary, so convenient to have it next door to the clinic. I only made a couple of suggestions to her for newer medicines on the market that we found to be effective at my previous hospital.”

A muscle twitches in Bodin’s jaw and I brace myself for another snide comment. “Yeah, Ma said something about the new drugs and that the town seems to like her.” His voice is flat, but not cold, confusing me to a whole new level.

Raising my brows, I look to Calixta, waiting for some kind of explanation.

Should I know who Ma is? Samara is a naga and not old enough to be a mother to a male of Bodin’s age, so it can’t be her, right?

Flicking her gaze between me and Bodin, Calixta asks, “Has no one told Tilly that Doc Calla is your Ma?”

My eyes round exponentially as I try to make sense of that, then quickly neutralize my expression in case I draw more of Bodin’s ire.

Before I can ask a follow-up question, Calixta continues, “Adopted, of course. I don’t think goblin bodies were necessarily made to birth orcs, never mind twin orcs. But if someone would be up to the challenge, it would totally be Doc Calla.”

For the first time, I see Bodin’s face soften as he considers Calixta’s statement. “She totally would.”

Why does he have to look so sweet when he’s not scowling at me? If Doc Calla’s his mom, then he can’t be that bad. No, Tilly, don’t even go there. Remember, he doesn’t like you.

I decide to remove all thoughts of Bodin from my mind and enjoy my first night out .

I will not think about him. Or his big hands. I will not look at the way his jeans hug his thighs. I will not imagine nibbling on the pointy tips of his ears. I will not imagine what it would feel like to have his tusks dragging across my skin and those lips sucking on…

Calixta props her chin on her hand and slides her elbow toward the center of the table, a devilish glint in her eye as she looks from me to Bodin.

Oh, shit.

As if it can’t get any worse for me, Aurelius waltzes toward our table in a golden brocade shirt, unbuttoned all the way to the top of his toned abdominal muscles. He flares his large moth wings out behind him in what I think is a flirtatious manner, but it only serves to dry my pussy up as they bump against the tables on either side of him. Behind Aurelius, a few patrons smirk and shake their heads in a way that makes me think this is not unusual behavior for him.

Might have to take Aurelius with me everywhere I encounter Bodin so the two can counteract their effect on my panties.

“Good evening fair ladies, good sir,” Aurelius says with a sweeping bow that almost knocks the glasses out of Beryl’s hands behind him.

I give him a small wave and a stiff smile. “Hi.” I hope Aurelius didn’t think this was a date. He told me about karaoke and Katie said everyone will be here, but the way he’s looking at my chest makes me think he might have had other ideas than a platonic drink.

Bodin grunts a greeting and Beryl hip checks Aurelius as she sets the drinks down. She may have put more effort into that than needed, but he quickly rights himself, dusting off invisible lint from his shiny shirt.

Calixta slides closer to me. “Can you two move up a smidge more so we can all fit around the booth?”

Bodin pretends he doesn’t hear Calixta, keeping his gaze fixed on Aurelius, who still seems incapable of staring anywhere else but my chest. I move closer to my left, trying not to brush against Bodin, but Calixta keeps moving until there’s a fraction of space open on Beryl’s other side.

Bodin gestures to the sliver of seat available next to Beryl, yet makes no effort to scooch to the end of his side. “That might be a tight fit for you, Aurelius. Maybe you’ll have to sit elsewhere.” His tone isn’t exactly unkind, but it’s way more frosty than what he’s used with me tonight. Glad it’s not just me who seems to irritate Bodin.

Aurelius smiles back innocently but the way he squares his shoulders tells me there’s some kind of game these two males are playing that I’m not privy too. “That’s alright. I wouldn’t want to deny the lovely Tilly my company tonight. I was the one who invited her out after all,” Aurelius announces proudly, puffing out his chest.

My pussy just about shrivels up and dies. I open my mouth to say something, but Calixta places a hand gentle on mine, wordlessly silencing me.

Bodin cocks his head and there’s this weird alpha energy radiating off him that even my poor human senses can pick up. “Tilly seems to have many friends here. It’s not polite to be greedy with our new nurse’s company. ”

Aurelius narrows his eyes before settling into that cocksure attitude again. “It seems like she does. I’ll bring a chair over to join your table. It gives my wings more breathing room anyway. Always good to stretch one’s wings, you know? Or maybe you don’t,” he adds with a tone just shy of pity.

“Not everyone needs wings.” Bodin lays the statement out with a confident smirk, then leans back, leisurely stretching out his right arm along the back of the booth—behind me. I tilt my head toward Calixta to see her expression, but get distracted by Bodin’s relaxed fingers hovering above my right shoulder. It almost seems like he’s staking a claim.

Are these two posturing? Over me ?

I squeeze Calixta’s hand and she squeezes back, answering a question I dare not ask. Beryl looks down and lets the longer side of her hair curtain her expression, but not before I spot the smile she’s trying to hide.

Aurelius thunks the low-backed chair down across the table and drapes his wings elegantly behind him, flaring them so the four circles are angled like eyes staring right at me.

Bodin sinks deeper into his chair, spreading his thighs until his right leg rests against my left. The hand above my shoulder comes down a fraction closer to my skin, his fingertips hovering just out of reach. This doesn’t mean anything, does it?

“So, how do you and Tilly know each other?” Hearing Bodin say my name in that deep voice of his is just as shocking as the first time he said it earlier tonight. My brain can’t process what the fuck is happening, so I just sit quietly and hope not to breathe too loudly to draw more attention to myself.

Earlier tonight, that same question from Bodin sounded rude and made me want to tuck tail and run away. Now, it makes me want to lean into his side and hope he wraps that strong arm around me.

This orc is seriously fucking with my brain. And my pussy. No, not my pussy. Not yet. Maybe. No. I mean he is, but not literally, but would he? Does he want to? Would I let him? Activate those brakes, Tilly. Or better yet, get a chastity belt for your pussy and your brain.

Aurelius’s antennae pop up at the question then flick with agitation before he smooths them back into his blond hair. “If you must know, Tilly came by The Lonely Rake for some supplies this week. She wanted to do a couple of home projects and needed the right… tools.” How is he making “tools” sound sexual?

“Being the helpful gentleman that I am,” Aurelius continues, unwittingly making himself sound like anything but a gentleman, “I made some suggestions and offered to help her at her home this weekend.”

Needing to put an end to this before they all think I actually invited him over, I finally find my voice and say, “It was a kind offer. Thank you, Aurelius. I do prefer to work on my own, though—as I told you at the store.”

Beryl takes my cue and directs the conversation into safer territory. “What project are you working on this weekend?”

I sit up a little straighter as I get excited about my biggest project yet. “I’m taking off the doors from the kitchen cupboards. I really like an exposed shelving look and want to display these pretty dishes that I bought before coming to Starry Hill.”

Calixta raises her eyebrows. “The infamous plates?”

My shoulders sag and I nod. “Yeah. I thrifted a mismatched set from this store next to the hospital I worked at. Sometimes it would get a little overwhelming at work, so I’d walk up and down the aisles on my breaks to clear my head. It was almost like an emotional haven where I could switch off from the hustle of the hospital, where the mortality I stared in the face way too often could disappear for a couple of minutes, and I could focus on finding menial objects that sparked joy. I collected little treasures in that shop and now have a box of cheerful knickknacks I need to unpack. When I found those dishes, it felt like a little farewell present from my favorite shop.”

Bodin doesn’t say anything, but I can feel his eyes burning into the side of my face. I wonder what he’s thinking now knowing the plates I was sad about breaking had no actual monetary value to me, it was all just sentimental.

Beryl’s eyes crinkle with a smile. “I’m glad you have something special that’ll help turn your cottage into a home that’s uniquely yours. Changing a building from a house to a home is the best way to put down roots.”

I place my hand on my heart as Beryl’s comment resonates with me, and accidentally brush my arm against Bodin’s chest. He doesn’t move away from the touch, instead he presses his leg a bit more firmly against mine as if lending me his support, or is it an apology? I don’t know which it is, but I’m not hating it.

Pausing with my wine halfway to my mouth, I ask the table, “Talking about dishes, do you know if there is somewhere I can donate the ones that are currently at the cottage? The previous owner kindly left some behind for me and I don’t want them to go to waste.”

“I’ll take them,” Bodin says, lowering his beer. “I’ll pick them up tomorrow. Have to go that direction anyway.”

My eyes snag on the slight upward curve at the corner of his mouth, and I nearly do a little dance in my seat to be the recipient of an almost smile for once. I manage to peel my gaze away and up to his dark eyes. “It’s no rush. I could always bring them to you.”

Bodin’s eyes dip to my mouth and a single butterfly takes flight in my belly. “Uhm, that’s okay. I can pick them up tomorrow. Then maybe I can help you with the doors too. If you want, of course?” he adds hastily.

“Oh, I—”

“I offered first,” Aurelius says, his wings flaring with his words.

Beryl slams a fist on the table. “Tilly is not some toy you call dibs on, Aurelius. It’s her home and she can decide who she wants inside of it. You only show up if you’re invited. Both of you boys got that?”

I try not to giggle at her calling these grown males “boys” and send her a look of appreciation.

Leaning into me, Calixta whispers, “So who will you invite ‘inside’?”

I take a sip of wine to avoid answering the hidden meaning, and the table’s attention shifts to the first karaoke singer taking the stage.