Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
“Thank you,” I whispered. My heart was suddenly pounding and I wished I dared to kiss him. If he wasn’t so far away, I would have done it. Then I realized we were standing on the steps. “Hey…go down a few steps—would you?” I asked, nodding at them.
“Why?” he asked, even as he did it.
“Because…because I want to kiss you,” I told him in a rush. “If…I mean, if you want me to.”
His golden eyes blazed.
“Fuck, Babygirl—of course I want you to!”
He went down three full steps before I could reach him and even then I had to lean forward, but I did it.
Tark leaned towards me too and when our lips met, I felt it all the way down to my toes. I mean that—it was like a tingle of pure pleasure ran through my entire body and suddenly my nipples were tight and my pussy was hot and wet. In fact, I felt right on the edge of orgasm!
“Wow!” I breathed, when the kiss broke at last. “That was…intense.”
“For me too, Babygirl.” His golden eyes were half-lidded as he looked at me. “Never felt anything like that before.”
“Me either,” I confessed. I hadn’t even noticed his tusks—maybe because he’d been being careful not to cut me with them.
We stood there for a minute longer, looking at each other, and all I wanted to do was lean forward and kiss him some more. But I was afraid if we started up again, I would never stop and I was going to be late if I didn’t get back to work soon.
“Well…I guess I’d better, uh, draw a door,” I said at last.
“Guess you should,” Tark acknowledged, though he didn’t sound happy about it.
I stepped down off the porch and went to the middle of Main Street. I felt self-conscious about doing magic right in the middle of the road, but nobody seemed to be paying attention. All the humans and Creatures just kept passing by on the sidewalks and since I didn’t see a single car, I supposed the middle of the road was as safe as anywhere to draw my magic door.
Leaning down, I used my index finger like a pencil and began to drag it upward from the road.
I gasped in surprise when a glowing red line appeared as I was drawing and Tark let out a bellow of laughter.
“Hey, what’s so funny?” I demanded, freezing with my finger in mid-air.
“You—you look so surprised!” He grinned at me good-naturedly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. I know it’s probably the first time you’ve ever done magic.”
“It is,” I said, smiling a little. It was hard to stay mad at him, even when he was laughing at me. Maybe because I could tell there was no cruelty in his laughter—no malicious intent. He was just tickled at the expression on my face.
“Well, keep going.” He made a motion with his hand. “Even I know that once you start a spell you need to finish it, and I don’t have any magic at all.”
“What? But you’re an Orc,” I protested. “How can you not have magic?”
“Because I am magic,” he explained. “Humans are the ones who are magic wielders. The rest of us magical folk are just Creatures—we don’t have magic because we are magic.”
This seemed confusing to me, but I didn’t have time to get into a long discussion about it. I finished drawing the door and saw that it had grown a doorknob I could turn. I reached for it but before I could grab it, Tark turned me towards him. He cupped my cheek in one big hand and stroked it gently with his thumb. “There’s something special about you, Babygirl—and it’s not just your magic,” he rumbled. “Will you promise to come back and see me again?”
“Sure.” I felt my cheeks heating and my heart pounding as I looked up into his golden eyes. “Uh, when were you thinking?”
“How about tomorrow?” he suggested. “Same time as today? Or even a little later—we could have dinner together. I’ll cook you a vegetarian feast.”
“That sounds wonderful,” I said, smiling. “I’ll be here.”
“I’ll be waiting,” he told me, dropping his hand at last. “Can’t wait to see you again.”
I couldn’t wait to see him again, either.
5
HARMONY
Igot back to the office in time to fix the documents for Mr. Price. Of course, he wasn’t happy with my work—he never was—but this time I was able to let his criticism roll off my back.
“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir,” I said, nodding automatically when he yelled at me.
He frowned and narrowed his watery, pale blue eyes at me.
“You seem awfully composed, Miss Ward, for someone receiving a dressing down from her superior!”
I opened my eyes wide, trying to look innocent.
“Do I? I’m sorry, Sir.”
“You look just like a cow when you say that!” he snapped. “A stupid, fat cow who will never understand anything about the work we’re trying to do here at Bentley Pharmaceuticals!”