Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Sakkara

She was my Mate.

Nikki was my Mate.

If I hadn’t been sure when I’d seen the reflection of my glowing eyes—something which happened to male orcs when we were in the midst of a profound emotion or a Mating Heat—I would have been sure last night.

When I spilled into my Mate’s sweet cunt and felt the rightness of it.

It had smacked me in the back of my head hard enough to take my breath away. Or maybe that was the mind-numbing climax I’d just experienced, the best one in my life. Either way, in that moment, I’d known .

The same way my brothers had described their knowing when they’d claimed their Mates. Last night, I’d claimed Nikki, and I’d known.

She was mine, and I was hers. Mates.

Was it any wonder I made waffles the next morning in a bit of a daze? I didn’t even blink when Emmy used the whipped cream can to spray a pile of pressurized sugar as big as her head on her waffle, although she kept sending me a side-eye, expecting me to object.

I just found myself staring across the table at Nikki, amazed that such a thing could happen to me.

My Mate .

Nikki obviously didn’t know what to think of my stares or smiles, and kept blushing and trying to ignore me. I didn’t mind. I had our whole lives to get her to pay attention to me, didn’t I?

After breakfast—brunch?—I was washing the dishes while Emmy showed Nikki the boxed train set we were supposed to set up around the tree sometime this week. Maybe that was going to be today’s Christmas prep activity, I don’t know… Emmy hadn’t announced it.

But after I finished the dishes and dried my hands and stuck my fingers in the cookie jar—just a nibble, not like I was hungry—my daughter was suddenly at my side, arms folded and a big frown on her face.

I froze, feeling guilty. “What?”

She pointed to the cookie jar. “Save those for the party,” she whispered.

We had plenty of cookies from the triple batch we’d made the other day. “What party?”

Her little eyes opened wider, as if surprised, then she huffed a mighty sigh and rolled them, as if to say What an idiot .

Who did I have to complain to when eight-year-old girls could be as sassy as teens?

But then it hit me. “Oh shit, the party!” I blurted, and Emmy rolled her eyes again.

See what I mean?

I didn’t have time to focus on my daughter’s attitude though. I spun in the kitchen, sending my gaze over the countertops, mentally making lists and trying to remember the ferry schedule to decide if I had time to run to the mainland for cheaper groceries.

“Everyone’s coming at four, right?”

Emmy grabbed my hand and held up five fingers. Five p.m. I felt some of my tension drain. Okay. Okay, this was doable. I had enough beer for the guys, and there were half a dozen bottles of wine in the cabinet. Everyone was bringing a side dish, and all I had to worry about was cleaning the entire house by five p.m. and also making…

“ Shit ,” I muttered again. “The ribs!”

Nikki was suddenly there with a scolding smile. “You’re doing a lot of cursing. What’s wrong?”

Sighing, I raked a hand through my hair, feeling as unprofessional as possible. “After last months’ Kap’parral , Emmy decided we should do a Christmas feast too. I told her we could host if it was less formal—our people celebrate midwinter, not Christmas.”

Emmy nodded. “The solstice.”

Right. That was still a few days away, but today had been the afternoon that worked for everyone. “And I completely forgot. My brothers and their Mates will be here at five, and we have to clean, and finish decorating the house, and make the potatoes and the ribs.”

Nikki made a little noise of understanding in the back of her throat. “Well, luckily you two keep your house immaculate as it is—”

“Are you kidding?” I pulled my hand from Emmy’s to scrub it over my face. “The guest bathroom needs a deep clean, Emmy’s room looks like a tornado hit it, and we have Christmas decoration boxes all over the living room.”

My Mate stepped closer and placed her hand on my forearm. I glanced down at it, amazed yet again by the way my body responded to her. The way my body knew hers. I’d know where she was if I was blindfolded.

“It’ll be okay, Sakkara,” she promised in a low voice. “How can I help?”

I blinked. She was offering to help? I shook my head. “No, you’re our guest—”

Before Emmy could ask why her teacher was our guest, and why she’d spent the night again—more importantly where she’d apparently spent the night—Nikki interrupted. “I have a rib rub recipe that’ll knock your socks off, and my mashed potatoes are really good too. Well, technically, they’re more of a dairy dish, with the amount of butter and sour cream in them, but still.”

I was still frowning. “I don’t want you to have to work. It’s my job to take care of you .”

She kinda reared back, but she didn’t let go of me. Her warm gaze darted across my face, then cleared in understanding. Did she finally get the fact that I was her protector? My purpose in life was to take care of her. And Emmy. And my brothers and Eastshore Isle.

I would take care of them all, even if that meant dressing as Santa and tossing candy canes from a fake sleigh.

“But I’m good at it, Sakkara.” Her voice gentled. “I’ve worked hard to be good at it. Just like my job at the school.”

Oh hells, had I really just told her I didn’t want her to have to work? I shook my head again, flustered. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that you should put your feet up—”

“While you scrub the toilets?” she snorted. “Can I help with the cooking, please? I mean, if you wanted to do the ribs, I could do the bathroom—”

“No, no, I’d planned on looking up a rub recipe. I don’t have a lot of experience cooking them.” I slowly relaxed. “You really don’t mind helping?”

“Mind?” She moved closer and tipped her head back, a small smile on her lips. “I’m excited to be a part of this.”

A part of this. A part of my family.

Mate .

I reached out, my hand settling against the back of her head, pulling her toward me. Nikki rose eagerly on her toes, and I bent down to claim her lips with mine. The way she’d showed me she liked last night.

I would spend the rest of my life doing what this female liked if she’d let me.

Her little whimper told me she liked this very much, and I felt her lips curl beneath mine as her fingers held onto my shirt. As if she wanted to keep me there.

Forever.

I don’t know how long I kissed Nikki, because it was like time ceased to exist. I sank into her, and even with all my senses, I couldn’t tell you where I stopped, and she began. We were one.

But eventually, a little noise broke through my focus, and I realized it was a snickering. “ Taba !” came a scandalized little voice, and with great effort I managed to pull myself away from my Mate.

Emmy was standing at my side, her eyes wide, her smile wider, her hands on her hips. She looked utterly delighted, while also being a bit scandalized. “ Taba, ” she repeated, “Gentle hands.”

It was such a ridiculous reminder of what I used to say to her during her tantrums that I burst into laughter.

Nikki, who still seemed flustered at being caught kissing a student’s father, pressed her fingertips to her lips. “Ta-ba?” she repeated. “Oh, I remember you translating it at the diner! ”

Emmy took my hand while I nodded. “It’s a title for…” I glanced down at my daughter. “Well, I suppose godfather is closest. Could mean stepfather too, or honored uncle .”

The little one gave a tiny bow, hands folded prayer-like before her. “Honored uncle,” she whispered gravely, and I burst into laughter again.

When I glanced up, Nikki was smiling. “I like it. Taba . That’s beautiful. What’s the word for father?”

“Baba, but Dahshur was Emmy’s birth father, and we’ve always used that for him. Stephanie was Amma , although since she was human, Emmy called her Mama.”

“Baba and Amma,” Nikki repeated with a nod. “So… Tama would be godmother ?”

I was impressed. “I knew you were an etymological prodigy.”

“Don’t be silly,” Nikki quipped with a wink. “I hate bugs.”

And for the third time in as many minutes, I burst into laughter again.

Emmy, of course, merely rolled her eyes and tugged on Nikki’s hand. “Gingerbread houses?”

Although it was clear Nikki didn’t understand what was being asked, I did. “Young lady, we have a million things to do in the next few hours. You go clean your room—I mean it, clean , do you understand? Don’t shove clothes under the bed. Then we’ll work on the boxes in the living room.”

It was Nikki who suggested, “How about I start prepping the ribs—we can do them low and slow in the oven—while you two clean. Then we can go through the boxes. Maybe your friends would like to help put up the rest of the decorations? You could call it a Christmas decorating party? ”

“You’re a genius,” I announced, pulling her into another kiss.

Behind me, Emmy made a gagging sound and ran off.

At least she was cleaning.

Reluctantly, I pulled away, but I gave my Mate a caress on her ass as I did, to let her know how pleased I was with her. The way the scent of her arousal spiked told me it was probably a good thing I had to go scrub a toilet, or I’d end up pulling her down to the kitchen’s tile floor and burying myself in her again.

My Kteer liked that idea, but I had to be reasonable.

So I gave all three bathrooms a deep clean, then I cleaned around Nikki in the kitchen—stealing kisses here and there—while occasionally having to redirect Emmy back on track. Why in all the hells she didn’t think I would look in her closet to find all her magically cleaned-up stuffed animals, I don’t know.

Nikki was slicing up an orange when I returned to the kitchen. As I unloaded the dishwasher, I watched her drop the slices into a large pot to simmer on the back burner, then pull out cinnamon sticks from the spice cabinet. I loved that she’d made herself at home in our kitchen in such a short time.

“What are you doing?”

She jumped, and the small jar in her hand fell. I leaned to one side and snatched it out of the air before it could hit the counter, then handed it back to her.

“Th-thank you.” She was blushing. “I’m making…uh…I don’t know what it’s called. It’s like a potpourri for the stove?”

Cinnamon sticks, oranges, and that jar was cloves. I smiled. “I think that’s a great idea, thanks for thinking of it. ”

She snuck a peek at me from under her lashes. “You don’t mind me poking around your kitchen?”

“I love it.”

Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say, judging from the way she chewed on her lower lip and glanced down at her hands. “I, uh…I really enjoyed helping today. Thank you for letting me.”

Concerned now, I moved to place myself in front of her, my ass against the counter, and pulled her to me. “I should be thanking you , dkaar ,” I murmured, tucking her teal strand behind her turquoise-bedecked ear. “You saved my ass today. This party wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t know what to do.”

She was staring at my chest, and not in a good way. More like a Don’t want to meet your eyes kinda way.

“I made a sauce for the ribs, it’s in a covered bowl in the fridge. I’ll leave instructions for them, when to vent the foil, that kind of thing.”

She was talking as if… I placed a finger below her chin to move her gaze to mine. “Nikki, you’ll be here to do that.”

“I’ll leave you be,” she blurted, eyes worried. “It’s your party, I shouldn’t have butted in. I wasn’t invited, and that’s cool, because this is for your family, and I needed to get out of your hair anyhow—”

I shut her up with a kiss.

A kiss that started harsh and turned slower, sensual, when she melted against me.

After a long moment, I straightened. “Did that feel like I want you to leave?”

Since she could feel exactly how little I wanted her to leave, what with her sweet body pressed against my cockstand, I understood her flush.

“Nikki…” I traced my fingertip down her jawline. “You’re a part of this. You’re a part of me . ”

She sucked in a breath, eyes going wide, and began to shake her head.

I interrupted before she could deny it. “Please, Nikki. Help me tonight? With the party?” Please stay. Please let me protect you, love you . “I could really use your help, and Emmy’s excited to introduce you to everyone.”

That might’ve been manipulative, but it was probably better than blurting out, “ Also you’re my Mate, and we’re destined to be together and don’t freak out .”

Nikki glanced over her shoulder toward Emmy’s room, then nodded somewhat reluctantly. “If you’re sure you’re okay with it…I’d like to stay. To help.”

The band around my chest relaxed. “I’d love your help. And I can’t wait for you to meet my family.”

Her smile was soft and shy, and sustained me through the rest of the prep work, which turned out to be kinda fun. Who knew peeling potatoes involved so much teasing? We got everything done in plenty of time, arranged the boxes of decorations—the guys were going to help me hang Christmas lights on the back porch, whether they wanted to or not—and even had time to vacuum.

And the house smelled amazing by the time the doorbell started ringing.

Karnak and Jess were first, probably because Jess wanted to chat with me about something or other on the docket for the next Town Council meeting. They brought a huge apple pie, which impressed me.

Tanis pulled up in his golf cart as Jess was stepping past me, and I saw him hurry around to the passenger side. His Mate, Olivia, was alarmingly pregnant, considering how tiny she was. The sight of her leaning on Tanis—he carried two dishes in his other hand—made my Kteer speculate on how Nikki might look, carrying our kitling .

“Broccoli casserole,” Tanis announced, in that easy-going way of his, “and Olivia’s father’s fried rice recipe.”

“I hope you don’t mind,” she whispered, cradling her stomach. “Now that I’m eating for three, it’s my favorite comfort food.”

I held the door for them both, surprised by how good it felt to welcome them to my home. “I’m honored you’re joining us, Olivia, and I hope there’s enough I can try some.”

“I’m sure—” she began, but her Mate interrupted, “Don’t count on it, my sons are hungry!”

Olivia gasped and Tanis snorted with laughter, as they went in to greet Jess and Karnak.

Next to arrive were Cairo and Meli. The grumpy male was loaded down with pink boxes from her bakery.

When I opened the door, I saw his nostrils flare, then he looked me up and down. “Thank fuck, you’re finally getting laid. We brought bread, here.” With that, he shoved the boxes in my arms and stalked past, probably to find the beer and scowl in the corner.

It was Meli who patted my arm cheerfully. “Three different kinds of bread, and the bottom box is two dozen cupcakes. I’m happy for you. Is she here?”

I barely had time to introduce Meli to a slightly shell-shocked-looking Nikki before the bell rang again, and this time I heard barking.

Groaning, I pulled open the door to see a grinning Luxor standing there cradling his beagle, Seamus, who was trying to perch on his shoulder. “Merry Christmas!” he declared.

“Usually it’s customary to ask the host if you can bring a pet,” I informed him dryly.

But he didn’t seem repenentant. “I didn’t need your permission when I only dragged him along because Emmy demanded it.”

His Mate Zoe patted the pup on his head. “He’s right, Sakkara. Emmy was very clear that Seamus would be coming to her Christmas party.”

Since this was said with a smirk, I wasn’t sure I believed it. Had Emmy spoken to them? I’d find out later.

“Well, come on in. Your favorite niece is holding court in her living room,” I announced. “Seamus better not pee on my rugs.”

Zoe gasped in mock outrage. “My baby? He would never . Where do you want me to make my world-famous salad?”

Before I could answer, Luxor nudged her into the house. “It’s my world-famous salad, you’re the supervisor.”

“Hey, I chop cukes with the best of them!”

I didn’t even have time to shut the door behind them before Thebes and Ashlyn were there, both carrying platters. “Merry Christmas!” she declared at the same time Thebes held up his platter. “We brought apps!”

“Perfect,” I sighed happily. “That’ll keep everyone happy while I put you to work.”

“You’re putting us to work?” Ashlyn asked, brows raised.

I took her platter. “No, I’m putting you to wine. It’s in the living room, where I’m going to put these apps. I’m putting your Mate to work.” I shot Thebes a grin. “Emmy wants you to help hang garland down the banister. I think she has a to-do list.”

“My kind of girl,” he quipped with a wink to Ashlyn. “Emmy, your knight in shining armor is here!”

Giza and Harper were the last to arrive, and the older male was fussing over his pregnant Mate as I opened the door .

“I’m just saying you can catch up with your sister while you’re sitting down.”

“Giza, what have I told you about making decisions for me?” she shot back sternly, and I was struck by the difference between her and Nikki, who seemed to welcome someone taking control.

The older male sighed. “I’m not making decisions, love, I’m making suggestions. I trust you to take care of yourself and our daughter.”

Harper’s expression melted, and she leaned in to brush a kiss over her Mate’s lips.

Feeling a bit like Emmy must’ve felt earlier, I cleared my throat. Giza glanced at me, but his grin died on his lips, and he slowly straightened, looking me up and down as he tucked Harper against his side.

I wondered what he—and Cairo—saw when they looked at me.

But all he murmured was, “Well, well.”

I cleared my throat. “Harper, Meli and Ashlyn are in the living room. You’re welcome to sit with them, but they’ve already opened the wine.”

“No worries,” she dug into the bag at her side. “I brought sparkling cider. And cheese and crackers.”

Giza, clearly seeing something in my expression, dropped a kiss on his Mate’s forehead and shooed her inside. “I’ll be in shortly.”

As the door shut behind Harper, Giza swung on me.

I expected him to give me grief the way Cairo had, but he merely folded his arms and raised a brow at me.

Raking my hand through my hair, feeling more than a little unsettled, I turned away from him to stare at the now-dark street. The streetlights were just beginning to come on, which meant I couldn’t see the stars .

“Well?” Giza finally rumbled. “You going to tell me who she is?”

Who who is ? I wanted to ask, but I didn’t. One, because it would make me sound like an owl, and two, because there was no use denying it.

“I found my Mate,” I whispered.

Just saying it out loud to the night sky made it seem more real.

A pause, then Giza said quietly, “I am beyond happy for you, D’malk .” It was the old word that meant chief . “Why don’t you sound happier?”

I swallowed.

“Because…”

When I trailed off, I felt him step up behind me, one large hand coming to rest on my shoulder. “I knew Harper was my Mate as soon as she conceived our kitling. But the others had a harder time. Both to convince themselves and to convince their Mates. Well, except Zoe. She’s smarter than Lux anyhow.”

I snorted in agreement, then fell silent.

“My point is, D’malk , that there is no reason to worry yet, if you haven’t been able to convince her. Christmas is the time for miracles, right? When can I meet her?”

“She’s inside right now,” I admitted softly. “I begged her to stay.”

If he had thoughts about the advisability of her meeting all my brothers at once, he kept it to himself. “Why did you need to beg her?”

Leave it to Giza to get to the crux of the matter.

“Because she’s running. She’s afraid. She hasn’t told me why yet, but each hour she’s with me feels like a victory over her fear, and I…” Growling, I dug my fingers into my chest, my claws scratching even through my layers. “I need to protect her. ”

Giza’s fingers tightened. “I understand. I do. But her trust must be earned. You cannot demand she trust you to protect her.”

Not understanding, I turned to him. He was my mentor in so many ways, and having just won his own Mate through a long and difficult dance, he could help me more than anyone. “How?” I whispered.

But he shrugged. “You must show her that you trust her . Once that trust is shared, she might be willing to trust you with her fears and her past.”

Earn her trust?

Show Nikki I trusted her?

I swallowed. If I opened up about my fears and my past, would she be able to trust me?

My nod was jerky, uncertain… I didn’t know if I could share all that with her, but I could try. I was so used to being the strong one, of having others rely on me…

Could I rely on her to share my burden?

“Maybe,” I whispered, and Giza nodded.

His hand closed briefly on my shoulder, then fell away. “Good, now invite me inside so I can meet this Mate-who-doesn’t-know-she’s-your-Mate yet.”

“And then…” I took a deep breath, forcing myself back to the here and now. “You have to help me hang lights on the back porch.”

When the older male started to object, I held up my hand. “Emmy’s orders.”

When it came to her uncles, Emmy always got her way.