11. Bailey

He said nothing for a very long time. Years, it felt like.

At least a minute.

Then his tongue—long and thick—darted out to run across his upper lip. His tusks.

"I've made you uncomfortable," I finally said.

"If you could see my cock trying to stand at attention among my scrunched-up limbs, you'd know exactly how uncomfortable I truly am."

I frowned. "Are you saying my request has turned you on?"

"You're my fated mate. Just being near you turns me on."

My low laugh came out different from any before. It sounded . . . husky. Sexy. As if I was aroused. Which I was. His simple words made heat shoot through me, centering in my core. I was getting wet without direct stimulation, something else that had never happened to me before.

"You don't need to say yes," I added.

"Oh, I'm saying yes. I'd be wild and out of my mind myself if I told you no." He twisted, somehow bringing his knees around to rest on the console between the seats, facing me fully. "Explain exactly what you want from me, sweetheart, because I'm going to give it to you any way I can."

My heart floundering, I sucked in a breath. "Wild, for me, isn't all about sex. Just putting that out there."

"We did say we wanted to wait at least a few days before taking things in that direction."

"That seems about right."

He grinned. "And in between then, I assume you want me to teach you how to let go, to be the person you've kept locked inside all your life?"

"It sounds crazy when you put it like that."

"I accept."

I lifted my eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

"I'm moving in with you anyway, right?"

"That was to be with me until we figure out why someone broke into my office and home, plus see if we can determine what they're searching for. You're staying with me to make sure they face justice."

"I'm staying with you to protect you. To hold you. To tell you that you're gorgeous and that there's nothing I want more than to taste every single bit of your body."

Whoa. I was going to melt onto the floorboards. "I, um, sure."

He flashed me a tusk-filled grin, and I remembered how our mouths fit together, how his tusks weren't hard and that they didn't hurt. My mouth fit in between them, and his lips . . . They were full and made my skin tingle wherever they touched.

"I'll be happy to teach you how to go wild," he said. "Orcs are good at stuff like that."

My laugh snorted out. "I know so little about orcs."

"You, with all those books at your disposal?"

"You know we don't have much about orcs there. You guys are new to humans. I mean, there are some fiction books featuring orcs, and the romances, but in most of them, orcs are snarly beasts in fantasy stories. They eat children and use the finger bones to pick their teeth."

He placed his palm on his chest. "I promise I don't eat children."

I tilted my head. "What do you eat?"

"Everything humans do. We have our own delicacies, but most are consumed within the orc kingdom. We're slowly bringing them to the surface with mixed reviews. You know what it's like. Some human cultures eat insects, yet others cringe at the thought. We have our own specialties we love that others might find unusual or cringeworthy, but I'm happy to say most people are willing to give them a try."

"I want to try some of your favorite dishes."

"I'm an excellent cook. I think we can call eating orc dishes as part of your lessons in going wild."

"Excellent."

"Let me go get my things—all of my things?" At my nod, he continued. "I'll check out of the hotel, and we'll return to your home."

Mozzie yipped as if in agreement.

"I'll wait here with him," I said.

He grew stern. "Keep the doors locked and hit the horn if you see or hear anything suspicious."

My nod jerked out.

He pried himself out of my car and waited until I'd clicked the locks before entering his hotel room. He didn't take long, and I popped the trunk for him to put his things inside after. Once he was back in his seat, I drove across town, parking in my driveway. Nothing appeared changed at my house, and I breathed a sigh of relief once we were back inside and the doors and windows were locked, and I noted everything looked the same.

We did some more tidying, and I was happy once my world felt like it was returning to order again.

"First lesson," he said after he'd placed his bag inside my bedroom and returned to the living room.

Sitting on the sofa, I tilted my head, looking up at him. "What's that?"

"Take off all your clothing."

I gulped, but hell, no didn't roar up my throat. Actually, my body went suddenly languid, and if he touched me down there, he'd find me slick with desire.

Smiling, I rose from the sofa, moving to stand close enough to him I could pick up his scent. Cinnamon? Like, give me all the hot crossed buns right now, you cinnamon roll hero.

"What are we going to do once we're naked?" I whispered.

"Strip, sweetheart, and you'll find out."