Chapter 10

Luxor

"Hey man, you feeling okay?"

Karnak's question jerked me out of my—my…wherever I'd been. I'd been standing in the middle of Main Street, my head tipped back, my eyes closed, relishing the feel of the rain on my face, amazed that I could feel each separate raindrop against my skin.

Tropical Storm Ursula had blown itself out by this morning, but I'd spent the night lying awake, holding Zoe. Unable to stop touching her. I made love to her three more times during the night, until she was hoarse from screaming my name, and I still didn't feel fulfilled.

Don't get me wrong; burying myself in Zoe was the best feeling in the world, the only way to calm my recent unexplained twitchiness. But within an hour, I'd been feeling wrong again, needing her again.

It was an addiction, and I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Anyhow, Karnak was talking to me about…something. Shaking my head, trying to clear it of the confusion, I dropped my chin down and met his eyes. His eyes widened, and he stepped back.

"Whoa, you are definitely not feeling okay," he blurted.

I frowned down at the half a tree in my arms. "What? And where did…?"

"Lux." Karnak's palm slammed against my shoulder. "We're in the middle of town. You're helping me with that tree that came down last night. There was a hurricane. Do you remember the hurricane?"

Scowling, I shook off his hold and hefted the limb. "I remember the damn hurricane. I didn't hit my head. Where do you want this thing?"

The other male was smirking when he jerked his head toward the sidewalk, where the rest of the tree had already been cut into cords, and hefted his chainsaw. "Lay it there. Then drag over the rest, then go have a lie-down."

I dropped the huge limb on the curb where he could use the leverage to cut it into pieces, then stalked toward the remainder of the maple the winds had brought down. "I'm fine."

"You are not fine," Karnak called, revving the chainsaw. "You need to talk to Giza!"

"Don't need to talk to Giza," I muttered, but I also knew the other male couldn't hear me over the whir of his machine.

Other male . That was the issue. I knew Karnak and his Mate were blissfully happy together. And I knew Giza saw me as his T'mak , his little brother, and wasn't going to make my life hard. But still, just thinking about other males right now made my tusks ache to rip into something, made my claws extend.

Get a grip. This isn't you, it's your stupid Kteer , trying to make shit confusing .

I grasped the last tree limb and planted my foot on the maple's trunk. With a loud growl, I ripped the thing apart. Standing there in the middle of Main Street, surrounded by the sounds of rain and Eastshore residents trying to put their town back together, I cursed my stupidity.

It was just my Kteer that was making me so antsy, I knew that. I needed to focus. Focus on Eastshore.

The winds hadn't done much damage. Some trees down in residential areas, and more damage in the nature sanctuary. The island was still without electricity, and the rumor was that water would go out if these rains continued. The king tide coming this weekend wasn't going to help either, and I knew some residents were already talking about flooding possibilities.

So yeah, I was out here busting my ass helping wherever I could. Cairo and Giza were loading sandbags on what was left of the beach, and Karnak and I were cleaning up the streets. I didn't have time to get all biological about…about… whatever the hell this was about .

Eastshore needed me.

Cursing myself, I dragged the last two pieces of the maple over to Karnak, who smirked behind his safety goggles. I jerked my thumb toward the next block.

"I'll set up the next pile," I yelled, and he gave me a little wave.

Preparing for a hurricane was easier than cleaning up after a tropical storm. I'd learned that in Newport News, but the island was different. Everyone helped everyone else here, which was nice. But we also had the beach erosion to worry about, and the properties directly on the sand—like the library—were always in danger.

I spent the afternoon slogging through the rain, helping people pull limbs off their roofs, unscrewing hurricane shutters, and pulling trash out of ditches. As the hours dragged on without the electricity coming back on, neighbors started to pull out their perishables, grilling steaks in the rain and making big bowls of salad to share.

It would've been almost festive, without the constant drizzle. And the fact that my fucking Kteer wouldn't calm the hell down and let me get on with my life. Almost everyone I ran into asked me if I was okay, so I was assuming no , no I wasn't.

By the time the sun was setting, and we were ready to call it a day, I felt as if every nerve ending in my body had been electrified. I could feel people looking at me. I could taste colors, I could hear smells. Swear to the gods.

No, man, you're not okay.

I needed a drink.

But as I sloshed home—I'd only owned this house for a few months, and it already was home —I knew that's not what I needed . No, I needed one thing, one person…and I could scent her from here.

I guess, whatever was wrong with me, it hadn't affected my senses at all. Or rather, it had attuned them…attuned them to Zoe.

My steps picked up. She was there, she was in the house. I knew it, the way I knew where my tusks were and where I knew my left leg was, the way I knew how to breathe without thinking of it.

I burst into the house, already kicking off my boots when I called, "Zo! Zoe, where are you?"

My heart slammed against my chest three—four times before I heard her call from her bathroom. "I'm here! Everything alright?" in a happy sort of tone.

As if I wasn't desperate to…to what?

I stripped out of my soaked jeans, tossing them atop the washer as I passed the mudroom, stalking toward the back bathroom. The door was open, a hurricane lamp sitting on the counter. Zoe was standing there with a towel wrapped around her, already turning toward me with another towel in her hands.

But she froze. "Lux? Are you okay?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I growled, yanking my dripping t-shirt over my head and tossing it into the bathtub.

"Because you look…" When I whirled on her, my head already tipped back so I could inhale more of her scent, she shook her head in surprise. "You look like you've had a hell of a day. Come here."

I didn't hesitate, and I loved that we moved together. She backed up to the counter and placed her butt against it. I grabbed her hips and lifted…and then she was sitting up there, legs spread so I could settle between them.

I breathed in Zoe.

I couldn't breathe her out.

My Kteer crowed, knowing she was in my arms, knowing she was mine .

All yours, Luxor.

She'd said that last night. I wondered if she understood what she was saying. Hell, I didn't understand what I was saying, how could I hope she did?

"Zoe," I murmured, dropping a kiss to her naked shoulder.

"Baby, you need a shower. You must be freezing."

She used the extra towel to rub my shoulders, then my hair, but I didn't care. I moved closer, pressing her legs open and her towel apart, as my cock pushed against my wet boxers, searching for her heat, her warmth.

"That's not all I need," I muttered as I used my tusk to graze the sensitive spot at the base of her throat. "Gods, I've missed you, Zo."

Her voice sounded amused as she dried my back. "It's only been a few hours, hon. I've been at the library, but I saw you working on Main Street."

"I know." I hadn't seen her, but there'd been a few times throughout the day I swear I could feel her gaze on me, but I'd chalked that up to the whole going crazy thing. "I still missed you."

I wrapped my arms around her, nestling my cock against the heat of her entrance, burying my face in the crook of her neck. This calmed my Kteer somewhat. Mine .

"Lux…" She stroked her fingers down my arm. "Sweetie, you're not okay."

No, I wasn't. I didn't know what was wrong with me.

I lifted my head and caught sight of myself in the mirror behind her.

What in all the hells?

"My eyes…"

I'd been almost twenty when I saw my full reflection in a mirror, after the operations, but I'd grown up seeing my face in puddles and in streams. This…this male staring back at me was not me.

"They're green, Lux, that's what I'm trying to tell you. They started last night."

Last night. During the storm?

Is this what everyone had been talking about when they'd spoken to me today, asking if I was alright?

My Kteer pounded in my chest, the reverberations linked to my cock, which seemed to pulse in time.

Why were my eyes green? Even in the light from the lamp, I could see that.

Zoe took my face between her hands and turned my head until I was looking into her eyes. "It's okay, Luxor. We'll figure it out."

"Cairo," I muttered, only half able to focus on her words when her body was so close, so warm, so right . I could smell her pussy. She wasn't fully aroused yet, but she was getting there. "He…"

I remembered when I'd first shown up on Eastshore. Cairo was my cousin, and I'd visited him first. He'd been going through some shit like this with Meli, hadn't he? His eyes had been green, right?

I shook my head, unable to hold onto my thoughts. They kept slipping away, and thoughts of Zoe Zoe Zoe intruded.

"It'll be okay," she murmured, before stretching forward to press a kiss on my lower lip. "I've got you."

It was such a…gods, did she realize how that spoke to my Kteer ? The long-dormant orc in me, the orc I thought had died when I'd dragged myself through the veil after my kin into this amazing world of opportunity.

"Mine," I growled, unable to help myself.

And she reached between our bodies.

Zoe freed my cock, stroked it a few times while holding my gaze with an impish sort of grin, and positioned it at her warm entrance. Her pussy stretched for me, all for me, as she held my gaze.

" Yours ," she murmured, before she slid forward.

Zoe arched her back on a gasp as her first orgasm shattered over her, the towel falling away to reveal her perfect tits, her perfect body. Mine . I remembered the way she'd responded last night when I'd held her, when I'd taken her the way the orc would. I remembered the patient way she taught me to love her, the places she liked to be touched, to be licked.

And I knew I had a long evening ahead of me.

Just as well we had no distractions.

As her inner muscles spasmed around my cock, my Kteer howled.

I met my gaze in the mirror over her shoulder and noticed the green glow in my eyes had diminished.

I was going to be just fine, as long as I had Zoe.

Growling low in my throat, I gathered her in my arms and lifted, waiting for her to wrap her legs around my waist. With her still impaled on my cock, I turned for my bedroom.

I had to worship her two or three more times before dinner. My Kteer demanded it.