9. Bailey

I'd only kissed Katar twice, and I was ready to drag him off to my bed. Find out exactly how much cum he could produce. Okay, I also wanted to keep stroking his horns. It was empowering to think I could turn him on with such a simple touch.

I'd never been one to give into my sexy side. Even when I had sex, something I hadn't done since one botched attempt with a man I dated before Flynn, it wasn't fun. The man came almost immediately. After groaning and rolling off me, he went to sleep while I lay there wondering exactly why I'd bothered. I hadn't even been fully worked up, or I would've taken care of it myself.

I had a feeling if I slipped between the sheets with Katar, I wouldn't be lying there after wondering what I'd missed out on.

I slid out of his arms and when he sat up looking all flustered and kissable, I stood between his thighs while he cupped my hips in his big, brawny hands. "I propose we share the bed."

His breath jerked in. "Exactly what will that entail?"

"For now, sleeping. As tantalizing as your cum and stroking your horns is," they were SO tantalizing, "I feel like we're rushing this. We only met today. I only know your name, that you're a diplomat from the orc kingdom, and that . . ."

His head tilted, and he watched my face with complete fascination. "And what?"

"That I want you despite barely knowing you."

He groaned and scrubbed his face with his palms. "You're killing me here, Bailey."

"That's not my intention. I just think we need to slow this down a bit." Even if he was staying here with me.

"I can do that."

What would my neighbors think of a male staying at my house? Helga would snort and tell me to go for it, but she'd been . . . freer than me. She'd gotten staider in her later years, as she noted to me, but she once shared that she'd been a true flower child, even going to Woodstock. She'd planned to marry someone, but he was killed in action overseas. I saw pictures of him—them together—and it was clear they were in love. It was very sad that she'd lost him.

When I was still a teenager, I'd dreamed of having something like that for myself.

Silly me for transferring my dream relationship onto Katar. For all I knew, he was married, or—

My brain screeched to a halt, and I blurted out the words. "You're not married, are you?"

He leaned away from me, and for a second, I thought it was a rejection, that he was married, and he was about to tell me. But he lifted me as if I didn't weigh more than a toddler and plunked me on his lap, wrapping his arms around me. "I'm not married. I'm not in a relationship with anyone. There's only you."

My breath caught. "Only me?"

"There will only ever be you."

Whoa.

He tilted my chin, making my gaze meet his. "Did you think I could kiss you like that, hold you like this, if I was with someone else?"

I shrugged. "Some guys do."

"I'm not some guys."

I was quickly realizing that.

"You're the only one I want in my life." He nodded as if he'd come to a decision deep inside. "When an orc meets his fated mate, the person the fates crafted just for them, they know."

"How do they know?"

"At first kiss, it's like sparks of heat blasting through them, centering in their . . ." His lips curled up on one side. "Well, in that area you seem to want to get wet."

"You're saying it's cock related."

"My cock is only one small part of it. It's a feeling that consumes every bit of the orc. Wonder. Lust, sure. A need to protect and be with that person all the time. That's you, Bailey. You."

"You felt . . . sparks when we kissed?"

"I did."

"I'm not sure what to think of all this."

"Which is why I'll try to take it slowly."

"Try." That one word dominated his statement.

He shrugged. "I'm an orc with a strong sex drive. Trying's all you're going to get out of me, sweetheart."

And maybe my sex drive had taken a sudden bolt in a new direction. I'd always felt there was a side of myself I hadn't unlocked. That Bailey would take what she wanted.

She was wild.

Did I dare let her loose on Katar?

He lifted me—and I was no lightweight—and placed me an arm's length away, then rose, towering over me. "In this, you're right. I also think we should wait at least a few days before taking this further."

My rocketing pulse suggested it was going to be torturous to wait even that long, but I was a principled woman. I didn't rush into anything.

"Come with me to my hotel to get my things?" His flinty gaze scanned my small living room, and I suspected if a threat suddenly appeared, he'd rip it apart to protect me.

"See? I didn't even know you were staying in a hotel."

"There's no embassy nearby."

"And yet you're working on a treaty. Why stay in tiny Mystic Harbor?"

His gaze swept across the room again. "We do the work remotely. I've got a computer."

I hadn't really thought about what kind of tech orcs might use. "You have internet in the orc kingdom?"

He shrugged. "Doesn't everyone? We didn't for a very long time. Orcs were slow to adopt the technology humans consider vital for living. But when we decided to emerge from our lands far below the ground, we knew we'd have to adapt. We initially worked with your government to obtain what we needed to catch up, and honestly, most orcs can't imagine not having phones or computers now. I'd say we're about equal to your country as far as tech goes."

"I understand working remotely. A lot of people do that. But why did you pick Mystic Harbor in particular?"

"Why not?" His level gaze held mine, but for some odd reason, I suspected he wasn't telling me everything. That was okay. We all had secrets. Well, most people did. I wasn't sure there was anything about me and my life that everyone in town didn't already know, some of it quite embarrassing.

"Sure, why not?" I said breezily. "And sure, I'll go with you to your hotel." The thought of remaining here alone, even with Mozzie's dubious doggie protection, made shivers erupt deep inside me.

"I don't want to leave you alone for even one second," he said. "But I ran here."

I frowned. "That's right."

"If I remain on the surface, I plan to get a truck."

Orcs didn't fit well inside small cars, and those who drove bought full-sized pickups or even the trucks used to haul big boxes on the highway.

"We can take my car. No need to run back to your hotel." I scanned his frame. "It'll be a tight fit." I tilted my head. "I'm sure running's great exercise, but it's dark out. Where are you staying?"

He named a hotel I was vaguely familiar with. "That's at least three miles from here."

"A short jog."

I marveled at how fit he was, how his muscles rippled beneath his clothing when he moved, and how he always seemed tight and poised to respond quickly to any threat. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was some kind of orc secret service agent. CIA. Whatever the equivalent was in the orc kingdom.

But someone like that wouldn't hang out in Mystic Harbor, let alone give spontaneous protection to the town's librarian.

"If you're looking for a run, I won't interfere, but you're welcome to ride in my car." Though I doubted anyone would bother me in my car even if I was alone.

He paused before releasing a grunt. "Very well. I'll ride with you."

Sensing action, Mozzie jumped off the recliner and came over to sit beside me, his spiky tail snapping against the wooden floorboards.

"What do you think, Moz?" I asked. "Should we go with Katar to get his things?" I met Katar's gaze, liking the warmth I found there. "You should bring back enough for tonight and tomorrow, and we'll reevaluate this after we speak with the detective. He may have leads already, and this horrifying incident could be over within a day." Though I suspected it wouldn't be.

After strapping Mozzie into his harness and attaching his leash, I grabbed my keys and purse, and we locked the house and went to my car I'd bought with my own money three years ago. A hybrid, I was quite proud of it. I'd been putting a little extra on it each month and it would be paid off by the end of the year.

But it was like a kiddie car when compared to Katar.

I buckled Mozzie into the backseat, and he whined, used to riding up front. Spoiled pup. But Katar was not going to ride in the back—or inside the trunk.

He opened the passenger door and studied the interior.

I trotted over, easing around him to slide the seat back as far as it would go, smiling while waving my hand. "In you go."

"Yeah." With a sigh, he placed one foot inside and settled in the seat, his body curling forward to keep from hitting his head on the roof. Even with the seat back, his knees scrunched against the dash. It was like trying to stuff a giant into a tiny cardboard box.

"Are you okay?" I asked, trying not to laugh at the pained expression on his face.

He looked up at me, his eyes sparkling with humor. "I'm okay. Just . . . get there fast, would you?"

"You should buckle."

"I'm not sure I could get it around me at the moment."

I nodded slowly. "It's important to wear a seat belt."

"I get that, but . . ." Another sigh, and he dragged the belt forward and wrangled it across his tight abs, somehow securing the end in the clasp.

"Good job." I realized I must sound like a prim schoolteacher about to award a good boy a sticker and laughed again.

He huffed as if he thought the same thing and shot me a smirk. "I'm not always this well behaved. You should know that."

My blood started humming. "I usually am." Why was I still hovering in the car door opening?

"Usually?" His thick brow ridge lifting, he peered up at me.

"I think . . ." OMG, I was going to take the plunge, wasn't I? I lifted my chin and met his gaze with a challenge. "I believe I'm ready to give in to my wild side."