True Love's Kiss (A Slow Burn, Orc Romance)

CHAPTER XV

I wonder what she thinks of me
When you stay awake
After you make love to her, but I'm still on your brain

I'm not the jealous type, not like the other guys
I wish you all the best, I'll help you pick her dress

- Chloe x Halle. Wonder What She Thinks of Me. The Ungodly Hour, 2020.

RAYNA

The kiss with Jacyln didn't invoke True Love, and break Vultog's curses. But he did spend the entire night with her.

Juno grilled him for all the juicy details when he let himself back into the apartment the morning after, using the spare key I'd given him.

However, the fingernail impressions on his forearms, his croaky voice, wrinkled shirt and general smell painted a very vivid picture. One containing lots of sex, in a variety of positions.

I avoided him for the bulk of the day, and Vultog steered clear of me.

The evening was quieter than usual, because Juno was out with Chidimma for an impromptu date night. Having spent a string of hours cooped up in my bedroom, I crept out for an excursion to the kitchen. My strange mood meant I hadn't planned what Vultog and I were having for dinner. The prospect of sharing an awkward evening meal without Juno as a buffer, was unappealing.

A holler of irritation reverberated in the bathroom.

I took a detour and discovered Vultog at the mirror hanging over the sink. A tie was knotted lethally around his neck, and he was agonising and yanking at the silk.

Forgetting about my unofficial speech embargo, I strode into the bathroom and took over his wardrobe catastrophe.

I tutted over the cluster of knots and loops. "Yikes. This is wrong, all wrong."

Identifying a loose end, I started untying. As my fingers worked to loosen the tightness around Vultog's neck, the pinkness of his face began to fade and his veins lost their bulge. His long, gulping breaths were a constant wind on my forehead.

"Keep still," I ordered, placing a hand on his chest whilst I unravelled a tricky clump of silk. "Almost done. There."

Under my hand, his heart careened. The tie hung openly around Vultog's neck and dangled over his smart button-down shirt. His formal attire was a far cry from the clothes he usually wore. I peered upward at his thankful face, detecting the minty fresh of his breath and the depth of blue irises. We were closer together than I realised.

Oh.

I was motionless. "Are...er, you going somewhere special?"

Vultog swallowed, searching my expression. His Adam's apple bobbed. "Uh...yes. Jaclyn made a last-minute reservation at a restaurant, with a dress-code."

Function over my limbs was restored. I stepped away from Vultog, and wiped my hands on my old jean shorts. If he was hoping for jealousy, he wouldn't get any from me. I kept my voice light. "Two days in a row. Wow. Things are going well with her then?"

He picked up the ends of his tie, lost at how exactly to resemble the accessory. "She is a good woman."

Something I wasn't.

"Have fun." I nodded and turned to leave. Loneliness squeezed my lungs.

Vultog grappled my wrist and twirled me around, pulling me back to him. I didn't shake off his touch this time. In seconds, the space dividing us flattened into nothing. My chest bumped into his, and heat eased down my torso. He visually appraised every inch of my face and deeply considered my mouth. His pupils burned with the same craving from The British Library.