Epilogue

Karnak

Saturdays were the best days.

I mean, let's be honest; up until I fell in love with Jess, all of my days were similar. But now I understood why humans complained about Mondays, and loved Fridays, and how bittersweet Sundays could be. Even Jess, who loved her job, looked forward to the weekend.

Because we could just…be.

Also, we slept in on Saturdays. And by "slept in" I mean we spent extra time in bed.

Doing whatever we wanted.

And yeah, we did that—I hope it's obvious I'm talking about sex, yeah?—most mornings too, but Saturdays were nice because we could be lazy. Languorous. Loving.

"Oh—oh my Go—Karnak! Yes!"

By all the gods of the ancestors, I loved the way my Mate clamped her thighs around my ears and rode my face. I could suffocate like this and I'd die happily, surrounded by her scent.

But I should've known it wouldn't be enough. "Get up here," she panted, tugging at my hair, urging me upward. I crawled along her body, licking, kissing, gorging myself on her taste, until I settled between her legs.

"Yes, my little human?" I all-but-purred.

Jess was flushed, her cheeks the same color as her hair, but she was smiling as she threw her arms around my shoulders. "Isn't it in our agreement that I have to orgasm at least twice each morning?"

When I grinned, I felt my tusks tugging at my lips, and loved that I no longer had to hide from the world. From her world. Our world.

"Only twice?" I teased, positioning myself at her entrance.

"I would be satisfied with—ohhh." Jess' snark turned into a moan as I slipped into her and her inner muscles spasmed around my cock as her next orgasm overtook her.

This?

Thiswas home.

I'd moved into her house, moving her old bed into her guest room and managing to fit my big one in here. I regularly woke with one of her cats curled up on my chest, and Jess in my arms, and I was coming to understand what Jess had meant about keeping pets because they are family. Smelly family, at times, and ones who have strange rules about when and how they want to be petted…but family nonetheless.

Since I was living here, now I used my house as my studio, and most days I had two or three other artists in there with me, learning orcish techniques or teaching me theirs. That house would always have a place in my heart, but I lived with Jess now.

But even this house wasn't home.

Homewas here, in her arms.

The way she moaned my name, the way she gasped and panted. The way she responded when I licked her nipple or gave her an orcish love bite or stroked her clitoris. The way she clung to me, urging me harder harder oh god yes like that!

The way her inner muscles tightened around my cock, pulsing in time to my heartbeat. The way her scent changed as she got closer to orgasm.

The way she clasped my cheeks in her palms, gasping as her pleasure built. The way she met my eyes and whispered I love you in that single beautiful frozen moment before she dropped over the edge of infinity.

The way she welcomed me into her body and her heart.

She knew my true name now—along with the reasons the government had chosen Karnak as my designation—and she panted it over and over again. Or at least, as close to it as her adorable human tongue could attempt.

And me?

I roared her name as I came, spilling into her, claiming her yet again as mine.

"Uuuugh," she groaned, flopping back against the rumpled pillows. "That was—whew."

Smiling wickedly, I gathered her in my arms and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "So, three is enough this morning, wife?"

"So far." She poked me with her finger. "Mate."

We were married last month. Honestly, I think Jess understood it wasn't necessary to me; in my clan, just declaring ourselves Mated was good enough. And I think she feels the same way. But things were easier in Eastshore if we were officially—legally—married.

For one thing, I was learning all about health insurance, which is apparently what I should have used when I'd been bitten by that shark a few years back. Actually, I should've just gone to the hospital, period. I grinned, remembering the rant Jess had gone on when she'd learned I'd healed myself using the plants and herbs I'd learned from my grandmother.

And although Jess assured me she had something inside her which worked as a contraceptive because we weren't ready for orclings yet, I remember Giza once telling me that once a couple was Mated, a child usually followed. Being married meant that if her hormone implant wasn't strong enough to ward off orc seed before we were ready, at least we were settled together.

Yes, we were married now, although the actual ceremony had been much simpler than my people's annual mating ceremonies. Jess explained the Justice of the Peace wasn't the same as a church wedding, but she didn't want anything too fancy.

She'd asked Meli to be a witness, and when I asked Cairo, he'd told me to fuck off. So I asked Mrs. MacGee instead.

The old woman had stood next to Meli and spent the ceremony muttering, "Maybe these two will pipe down with their carrying on and let an old woman watch her shows in peace!"

My new wife had blushed at the thought that our elderly neighbor had heard us…carrying on.

In my arms, Jess stirred. I was attuned to her feelings, although honestly, the closer we became, the more I could literally scent her moods. She was distracted.

"Not enough, huh?" I murmured, loosening my hold so she could roll away. "The vet said it could take hours yet."

"Well, okay, but I can check on her, right?" Jess asked, reaching for one of my t-shirts she'd thrown over the bedside table.

I smiled as I watched her pull it over her head—it hung almost to her knees, but the weather was warm and she'd be fine. "You promised not to hover."

"I'm not going to hover. I just want to see."

When she held out her hand in invitation, I rolled from the bed as well. In deference to Muffin's modesty—although how a cat had any sense of modesty, I don't know—I pulled on a pair of swim trunks and followed her to the laundry room.

"Look!" Jess gasped, when she realized what she was seeing. "The first one's been born!"

I grabbed her around the waist to keep her from throwing herself into the room. Instead, I slowly pushed open the door the rest of the way and stepped softly up to the cardboard box atop the dryer where Muffin had chosen to have her babies.

Only then did I gently set down my Mate.

On her bare toes, Jess peered into the box. "Oh, he's perfect," she breathed. "Look at his tiny nose, Karnak!"

I was looking. The kitten was tiny—barely bigger than one of my fingers—and instead of being black like his mother, he had white patches over his face, back, and one leg.

"Four to go," I reminded her. "If the vet was right."

"Five kittens," she whispered, reaching up to brush a finger along Muffin's forehead. "You got this, mama."

In the past two months, I'd had the chance to witness Jess's organizational talents. She'd researched everything anyone would want to know about the gestation of typical housecats, and had taken Muffin to the veterinary office twice as often as necessary.

And already had an appointment to get the young black cat spayed later this year.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched her coo over the tiny kitten, being careful not to come between him and Muffin. She really was adorable.

You're a lucky orc.

I really was.

Sakkara's reminder had been unnecessary, but welcome, since it had been given in person. My old friend had moved to Eastshore the week after our marriage ceremony, along with Emmy and another male of our clan. Sakkara had shaken my hand, then pulled me into a hug, grinning proudly as I welcomed him to the island.

Thanks to his efforts, and the fact that he stayed connected with everyone, I was confident Eastshore Isle would quickly become a refuge for our kind. Orcs from subsequent migrations were already responding, and the island was growing.

Not just with orcs, but other non-humans who'd joined the world after our emergence, and also humans who wanted to live near us or learn from us. For instance, my art classes were booked up into next year already, and the bed and breakfasts in town were doing great business with the tourist boost. One of the empty storefronts had already been filled, and Jess had done a little happy dance when she'd learned about a young woman who wanted to buy the used bookstore.

Yes, the future of Eastshore Isle was bright.

Almost as bright as my future with the woman I loved.

"Jess," I urged, slipping my arm around her waist again. "The vet said we should leave her to it. Muffin knows what to do."

"I know," she sighed, pressing back against me. "I'm just…I'm not going to be able to concentrate on anything, knowing what she's going through in here."

"I could lock you in the spare bedroom with Pickles," I murmured, nuzzling her neck.

Although her tone was unconvinced, she tipped her head to one side to give me better access. "I dunno…that doesn't sound like very much fun."

"You're saying you want to find something distracting that's also fun?" I dragged my wide tongue along the sensitive spot beneath her ear, and loved the way she shivered. "That might be…hard."

I flexed my hips, letting her feel just what kind of hard I meant, and Jess sucked in a breath which turned into a giggle. She turned in my arms and grabbed my shoulders.

"Gosh, Karnak." Big blue eyes blinked up at me. "Whatever will we do?"

"Breakfast?" I prompted.

Jess licked her lips. "I'm not hungry for food, husband."

When I was a youth, I'd heard stories from my elders that the most tantalizing, most addicting scent in the entire world was the scent of your Mate when she was ready for you.

They were right.

Growling, I reached down and wrapped my arm around her legs, then straightened and tossed her over my shoulder. Squealing, Jess beat my back as she tried to squirm free.

"What are you doing, Karnak?" she half-yelled, half-laughed as I stomped back toward our bedroom.

Lightly, I smacked her ass, which caused another flood of arousal to hit my nostrils. Her laughter turned to a moan and she rubbed her clit against my shoulder. A wash of fresh arousal scented the air.

It was a promise. A vow.

"I'm taking my Mate to bed, orc style."

Don't worry,we're not done with Jess and Karnak! You get to see them again in My Orc (Fake) Boyfriend, when Jess's bestie Meli falls hard for grumpy, reclusive Cairo (keep reading for a sneak peek)!

Not only that,but Jess and Karnak have a bit more fun in The Best Thing About Hot Tubs, a special bonus epilogue for my subscribers. Click here and get ready for some sweetness, some introspection, and a whole lotta hotness!