Chapter 5

Jess

I still wasn'tsure if this was a good idea or not.

Eastshore was fabulous, of course, but Karnak was so awkward and stiff. And not in a good way, either.

He had been waiting outside my house this morning at the agreed-upon-time, and I had to smile at how handsome he looked in khaki shorts and what had to be an XXXL t-shirt, to fit across those shoulders. His shaggy hair was brushed back from his forehead, and he was wearing a set of flip flops.

Actually, now that I thought of it, I couldn't recall ever seeing him in shoes.

"You ready?" I asked as I bounced down the steps, unaccountably excited for today's adventure. "I thought we'd start at the market, which is basically like fruits and veggies and fish. Then we can check out the fair."

He grimaced, but turned to walk beside me as I headed for the street. "I don't think this is such a good idea, Jess."

"Why? Because you don't know anyone in town?" I knew I was being deliberately obtuse, but I wanted to see what he'd say. What would his excuse of choice be?

"No." It was funny how even his voice sounded, as if he was trying hard to keep it that way. "It's because I'm seven feet tall, outweigh them all, and have tusks."

"Also, you're green," I quipped, swinging my arms as we walked. It was a gorgeous spring day, the breeze was cool, and I was excited to be spending it with him.

"That too."

At his deadpanned response, it was as if his words finally registered. Tusks? What?

I abruptly darted in front of him and stopped, forcing him to halt or run me over. We ended far closer than we'd ever been before—even last night, in his house—but he didn't back up.

"Jess?"

"You have tusks?" I demanded. I'd seen plenty of pictures of the orcs from his world, back when they'd made the journey, and most of them had tusks. I had seen Karnak"s before, but they were small and he was always trying to keep them hidden. Was that why he never smiled? Well, that was about to change! "Show me."

He blinked, then frowned. "No. The whole damn point is to keep them hidden."

I grinned in challenge. "Show me."

He stared down at me, having to almost tuck his chin against his chest to meet my eyes. I could see the indecision in his gaze, as he tried to figure out how to counter my insistence.

My smile felt forced, but I wasn't going to back down. Show me, I silently commanded.

Finally, he heaved a huge sigh…and smiled.

It wasn't a nice smile, but it didn't have to be. His tusks popped free from his upper lip, which contorted into almost a snarl.

They shouldn't be sexy.

Somehow, they were.

Holding my breath, close enough I knew he could feel it if I sighed, I reached out and placed my fingertips on his forearm. It was the first time I'd touched him, and I could swear that the contact sent little zappy electrical currents up my arm and through my chest.

I kept my expression neutral and my gaze serious as I said, "You have very nice tusks, Karnak."

His bark of laughter surprised us both, judging from the way his expression eased into one of chagrin as he shook his head. "You're not afraid of me?"

"Of course not. Should I be?" Before he could answer—I wasn't certain I wanted to hear his answer—I swung back around and began to walk. "Now come on, or all the bearclaws will be gone!"

It took four of my strides before he caught up to me, and fell into an easy sort of lope at my side, his shoes slapping oddly against the pavement.

"Should I know what you're talking about? We're going to buy claws from a bear? Do you need claws?"

A huge green hand came into my vision, the fingernails visibly lengthening before my eyes.

"Whoa," I breathed, not halting as I reached out and captured his hand. I cradled it in both of mine as we walked, trusting him to ensure I didn't do something stupid like run into a pole. "Does it hurt when you do that?"

"No. It's just the skin retracting, really."

I hummed, brushing one fingertip over his. "Like a cat's, I guess. That's so cool."

When I glanced up at him, he was staring at me with something like bemusement.

Or perhaps confusion.

"Cool," he echoed, sounding doubtful.

Who the hell made him so uncertain of himself? Who had taught him that humans would find him scary or whatever? Why did he hide himself away?

With a little noise of frustration, I twined my fingers through his and dropped our hands between us. It was awkward, since he was so tall, but within a few strides, we'd found a rhythm.

He didn't say anything about us holding hands, and I didn't point it out.

I wasn't certain what to say, after all. He was my friend—wasn't he? I'd told him that when I'd opened my big mouth and yelled at him for endangering himself. But friends didn't hold hands when they walked.

Well, okay, some friends did, I shouldn't make generalizations.

I suppose what I meant was that I don't normally hold hands with "friends" whose touch made me shiver and who I fantasized about in my jetted hot tub.

We'd turned on Clownfish Court—which was actually the longest street on the island—before I felt him exhale. "So my claws aren't the right kind of claws?"

I could hear the teasing tone in his voice, so I sent him a smirk. "Bearclaws are a kind of pastry. Mrs. Mackay makes them for markets, and they're so good. You're going to love them, assuming we get there in time!"

We did, and watching Karnak eat a bearclaw while also eyeing his surroundings with that suspicious I'm a big bad hunter look of his was, frankly, adorable.

The market went well. It was as if a memo had gone around and everyone knew to be on their best behavior; no one pointed or screamed or did any of the things Karnak had obviously been concerned about when I had offered him my muffin last night.

I mean, when I offered him Meli's baked goods!

I was going to ignore my burning cheeks and hope Karnak did too.

After the bearclaws, I bought two bottles of Sammy DeLoache's cranberry sparkle, and we sipped as we strolled around. Well, I sipped and Karnak chugged, his lips turning bright red.

When I pointed that out to him, giggling, said lips curled into a sheepish grin.

I was becoming addicted to his smiles, all the more special because they were so rare.

The fair was next, although as I explained to Karnak, they happened on the first Saturday of each month, and only the mid-summer one and the holiday one were really worth writing home about.

"Writing home? About a fair?"

I giggled. "I guess, back in the days before phones and stuff, when something exciting happened you'd write home to tell your family about it. Seeing the elephant or overcoming pneumonia or whatever."

His gaze swung slowly around the parking lot in front of the hardware store, settling on the tent the local animal rescue organization always set up. "I think this might be slightly better than pneumonia."

"I think you're right," I agreed, laughing, as I tugged him toward the animal tent.

Huge, sexy next-door neighbor in swim trunks? Hot.

Same neighbor trying to fend off puppy kisses? Even hotter.

I'll admit that I'd become totally distracted from my original intent, which had been to talk to him about my plan for the town. Part of the point of this outing was, frankly, to show him Eastshore, and how great the people were.

In that sense, it was a success.

Everyone we met was as friendly to him as they would've been to me, and I'm pretty sure the dogs weren't the reason more than a few ladies snapped pictures of Karnak and the two beagle pups.

Yeah, I was selling Karnak on the town of Eastshore, trying to show him why I loved this place so much.

At the same time, I was selling the town on the idea of Karnak.

Karnak, and Cairo and Tanis, and…more like them.

I just had to figure out how to spread the word.

After I managed to drag the puppies off him and we made our escape, I showed him the rest of the stalls with the local artists and food vendors. He stopped in front of Susan's stall, and with a delicate touch, lifted a large bowl.

"This is beautiful. Did you throw it on a wheel?"

Susan, a cheerful middle-aged woman who worked at the grocery, lit up. "I did! And I make the glaze myself."

"The ombre here shows you have a real eye for color," Karnak said solemnly. "The whole thing is very satisfying to hold. It must be equally satisfying to eat from."

His tone had gone weirdly formal and stiff, but Susan didn't seem to mind.

"Satisfying! Yes, that's what I was going for, but I wasn't certain how to say it. I wanted something utilitarian, and symmetrical, but also beautiful in its simplicity."

Almost reverently, he returned the bowl to its place, then turned to face the older woman. "You have succeeded. It is most memorable."

With that, he placed a hand in the middle of his chest and bowed. Well, really, it wasn't any more than a little incline of his shoulders, but I was certain it was intended to be a bow.

And judging from the way Susan's eyes rounded and her breath hitched, she understood as well.

"Oh, my, well, thank you. I'm delighted to know you appreciate it," she stammered.

"I would be honored to purchase the piece from you, if you would allow it."

Susan's lips formed the words "Allow it?" but no sound came out.

I jumped in excitedly. "I'm certain she'd be thrilled, Karnak!" I don't think a lot of fair-goers regularly bought pottery.

"Thrilled," Susan squeaked.

She was even more thrilled when he handed her twice the quoted amount in cash, and the poor woman fumbled her way through wrapping the bowl.

Still, Karnak nodded again, solemnly, as he took the bag from her. "Such a satisfying piece will be a joy to use." Again, weirdly formal, almost ceremonial…but it was apparently the right thing to say.

And I had to drag him away to save poor Susan's head from exploding from her blush.

Karnak stopped at three more stalls, complimenting each artist with exactly the right words, although they didn't make much sense to me.

Still, it was remarkable to watch him interact with people who were interested in the same art he was. It was as if he forgot he was supposed to be hiding from them, and in turn, they seemed thrilled by his opinions.

I was definitely thoughtful by the time we left the fair and I steered him toward Main Street.

"You certainly have an eye for art," I finally ventured. "I think you made Susan's day. And Mikey's, when you correctly identified the chisel he'd used—"

"It was a gouge," Karnak corrected, lips twitching. His fingers—which had somehow found their way to mine again, not that I'd said anything—squeezed slightly. "I…enjoy carving. And painting."

"Is that a Karnak thing? Or an orc thing?"

He didn't answer for a while, long enough for us to turn off Sea Pickle Street and onto Main. He stopped there and tipped his head back with his eyes closed, as if enjoying the sunshine and the breeze.

He took a deep breath. "Both, I think. I was a young man when I left my people, and like all young men, I didn't think about the future. I hadn't cared to learn what my elders had wanted to teach; I just wanted to hunt and fight. That's what warriors do."

His lips twitched ruefully when he dropped his gaze down to mine. "After your government was done with us, we had nothing to do with our time. Your world made it clear warriors weren't welcome, and although we could hunt, the rules on what's acceptable are confusing."

"So you found other ways to test yourself," I offered quietly, squeezing his hand. "You swim, and hope to fight sharks?"

This time he grinned, and it was a genuine one, where his tusks popped free and he looked as if he might laugh.

"Yes, but I still had plenty of time left over. I'd been trained to destroy, and one day I wondered what it would be like to create. I used my knife to carve something simple from a piece of wood, and I was hooked. I researched all sorts of techniques for all sorts of art."

"But your designs…" I was thinking of his house.

Nodding, he tugged me back into motion. "I learned to paint. Then I learned to make my own pigments. Then I wondered how my ancestors did it, and although the internet is full of lies about my people, I was able to find some information. I learned to paint as they do, and carve, and make their pottery."

All without being there.

"Have you ever returned?" I asked quietly.

He was silent for a few steps, then said, "We aren't welcome there."

And he felt he wasn't welcome here.

My heart tightened.

The whole point of today is to show him that there is a place where he's welcome!

I just had to convince him.

So I nudged him toward Meli's shop. "Who's ready for lunch?"

Karnak

Jess ledme to the inaccurately spelled bake shoppe, where I met a bubbly brunette even curvier than Jess who was introduced as Meli. It was clear Meli had at least heard of me, judging from the sly looks she sent Jess's way when she thought I wasn't looking.

I wondered what Jess had told her.

What they had said together.

Jess talked about me to her best friend?

The thought made me…preen, I suppose. Whatever she had told Meli was clearly complimentary, judging by the way the pair of them were whispering behind the counter.

"OMG you said he was sexy, Jess, but this dude is gorgeous. And those forearms!"

"Shut up shut up shut up!"

"No wonder you—"

"Shut up!"

I hid my smirk as I pretended to study the baked goods in the display case, wondering if Jess knew I could hear them.

Considering how much more advanced my senses were than humans', I doubted it.

She managed to steer the conversation toward the muffins, and when I admitted I'd never tasted anything better, Meli began to pack up another half dozen.

"You finished all the ones Jess brought you yesterday?" she asked as she used tongs to snag an orange-cranberry-crunch muffin. "I thought that would last you a few days at least."

I shrugged, my hands behind my back. "Orcs have high metabolisms."

Meli's wide eyes landed on my pectoral muscles and her tongs snapped at empty air. "I guess you do," she murmured.

"Meli," Jess groaned.

"Right. Muffin. Another muffin for that hungry appetite of yours." The brunette bent over the counter once more, tongs snapping. "Not a euphemism."

What was it with these ladies and their euphemisms?

It turned out that we hadn't actually come to the shop—shoppe?—for more muffins, but for sandwiches. Meli had a display of ready-made sandwiches on her specialty breads, and I chose a brie-and-prosciutto-on-baguette while Jess opted for a tomato-and-mozzarella-on-a-ciabatta-roll. Meli heated and wrapped them, Jess grabbed two sodas, and she pulled me out the door.

We didn't speak again until we were settled on the grass under the sprawling oak in the middle of the town park. It stood at one end of Main Street, and while we weren't the only people enjoying the beautiful weather, we had enough privacy I figured I could bring up what had been bothering me all day.

"So, Jess, you going to tell me why I'm actually here?"

She'd just taken a big bite of sandwich, so she did that human thing where she gestured to let me know she'd answer me in a minute, and then proceeded to chew awkwardly and try not to choke at high speed.

She was really fucking cute, wasn't she?

Finally, she managed a gulp of soda, took a deep breath, plastered a smile on her face, and said to me, "I thought you'd enjoy seeing Eastshore."

It was such bullshit I had to laugh, which caused her to frown, then reluctantly shrug.

"Okay, so yeah, I did want to show off Eastshore, and show you that it's a really great place, and the people here could accept you and become your friends."

"But…?"

"No but." Contrary to her brave words, Jess's gaze dropped to her lap, where she fiddled with her sandwich's wrapping. "It was also important to me that the people of Eastshore meet you, and see that you're a regular guy."

"Who happens to have tusks."

She peeked up at me from under her lashes. "And is green."

"There's that." I'd finished the sandwich—high metabolism, remember?—and reached for Jess' muffin. Oh hell, now they had me making euphemisms. "Does this have to do with yesterday's meeting?"

Mutely, she nodded.

"The meeting where you were going to pitch your ideas to the council to save the town without building a bunch of tourist traps?"

"I had a few ideas which might've worked, but the one I think is the best…that one I didn't formulate until after I'd chatted with you."

Which time? I'd been living beside Jess for four years—being tormented by her scent and her nearness—but we'd only spoken this week.

So I demanded, "Tell me."

Taking a deep breath, she locked her gaze on my chin and began to speak.

"You were talking about how you liked Eastshore because it was private, and you could be alone. I know you meant alone like, not participating in the community, but Eastshore is kinda private and secluded. That's the problem—we need to entice more people to move here, live here, because we have negative population growth."

Right. I knew all this.

"So I thought…" She licked her lips and met my eyes, and frankly, could have said whatever the hell she wanted at that point and I would've nodded along, because that little motion went right to my cock. "I thought maybe you could be the answer to our problem. Well, people like you."

"People like me?" I echoed, still looking at her lips.

"You said that people like you—displaced orcs and other non-humans—didn't feel welcome in our world, and I thought maybe that meant you needed a place of your own."

Her words managed to make it past my Kteer and hammer at my brain. A place of our own? I shook my head, trying to understand. "Humans already live in Eastshore."

"Yes, but what if it wasn't just humans here? You and Tanis and Cairo have been living here for years, even though you don't exactly socialize, and today should have proven that you are accepted and could be part of the community. What if other orcs—do you think other people like you might enjoy living here too?"

Jess' gesture took in not just the large oak under which we sat, but the quaint Main Street, the cars parallel-parked around the green space, the broken clock tower, the distant beach.

"Do you think others might enjoy it here? Semi-secluded, full of friendly people and fresh air. Where they wouldn't have to worry about what others thought of them?"

I snorted, unable to help myself. "My people will always have to worry about being seen as monsters."

Jess leaned forward and placed her hand on my forearm. We'd been holding hands all day, but that touch shot through me, little electric currents zipping up my arm and settling in my chest.

And my cock.

"What if there were plenty of their own people here as well?"

"What?" I muttered, distracted by her touch.

"Karnak, if we could figure out how to invite your people to Eastshore, letting them know it's a good place, then we could have a large population of non-humans. Don't you think that would be a compelling reason to move here?"

There was something she'd said which had definitely caught my attention. "We?"

A pink flush climbed her cheeks, but she didn't drop my gaze. "I… Can you help me? Is there anyone you're in contact with who could help me? Anyone who might be interested in moving, or is looking for a place to belong?"

A place to belong?

Holy shit, that was a gut-punch, huh?

Isn't that what we were all looking for?

"I…might know a guy," I admitted reluctantly. I wasn't going to throw Sakkara's name into the conversation, not yet. But he had told me he needed a new place for Emmy. Eastshore might actually be good for a little girl like her, a child who needed structure and privacy.

And Sakkara keeps track of all the guys.

He would know anyone else who wanted to move…

But Jess's expression had lit up when I'd admitted I knew someone who would be perfect for her scheme, and her fingers closed around my forearm in excitement. Her little gasp of pleasure put thoughts of the island town completely from my mind, and I lowered my chin to hold her gaze.

When her expression lit with joy like that, it made me want to do whatever I could to repeat it. It made me want to pretend I was the hero who'd made her gasp happily like that.

Or gasp in any other way.

Maybe my gaze communicated some of that to Jess. As I watched, her expression slackened and her lids lowered part of the way. Her lips parted, and it took everything in me not to lower my head just slightly and claim them as my own.

She was petting my forearm now, an unconscious motion. "Karnak, do…do you think…" she breathed.

I don't know what she meant to say, but when she trailed off, it was clear she couldn't hold a thought for any longer than I could.

Lifting my free hand, I brushed a knuckle down her cheek, and when her eyes fluttered shut and she let out a noise somewhere between a gasp and a whimper, I almost crowed.

Even better, a new scent flooded my scenes. The same one I'd scented that first night we'd actually talked, in her backyard.

Not just Jess's scent—which had been both intoxicating and mocking all these years—but the scent of her arousal.

As a kit, I'd been told that the scent of one's Mate was unforgettable. Seems they'd forgotten to tell me about the warm, addictive scent of her arousal.

I brushed my knuckle over her soft skin again, just to see what would happen, and she leaned into my touch.

"Jess…"

"Yes," she breathed.

She wanted me.

Jess wanted me.

Something deep inside me, something I'd thought broken for so long, flared into life.

My Mate.

I tucked my finger under her chin and lifted it, determined to taste her, to claim her.

She stretched forward, her hold on my forearm tightening.

I was so close….

And a sneering voice behind me sent my protective instincts into overdrive. "Well, it's nice to know the citizens are being so accommodating now, huh, Jess?"