Fighting hearts

Eight

Evie shrieked and clung to Roth's hard body when she felt something tickle the side of her neck. She rubbed the place it tickled.

"Oh, uh..." Could she embarrass herself any more? "It was only my hair."

She should have worn her hair up in a bun, but she wanted Roth to see what she looked like with her hair down instead of that strict bun she always wore to work.

"Are you okay now?" he asked, looking at her with twinkling eyes.

She felt his body shake against hers as he laughed. They weren't even halfway down the stairs, and she was already acting like a clown.

"Yes," she answered. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He grinned. "I'll be sure to tease you about this for the next few weeks."

"Don't make fun of me, you horrible man," Evie said as she let go of the orc. She wasn't really upset with him, though, and he knew.

His smile was still there. "I think it's funny."

"I'll keep myself under control from now on."

"Please don't."

Evie rolled her eyes and took a breath to calm her heart. But the opposite happened when a whiff of Roth's smell caught her attention.

What was up with the orc's scent? Why did his sweaty body smell so good to her? Evie had never experienced this with anyone else. He was the only man she had ever been close to who didn't smell like overripe onions while sweating.

Roth's scent was seductive. Evie had noticed that the other day, and she had not forgotten. Even while standing in this musty cellar, his scent was divine.

"For what it's worth..." Roth said softly. "I'm not bothered by having you close to me."

Evie blinked up at him. Was the man flirting with her? It certainly sounded like he was. Or was her mind playing tricks on her? Roth had never flirted with her before, so she was a bit confused by his comment. Perhaps he had a playful side to his character that was coming out now that they had gotten to know each other better. They had spent lots of hours together, after all. Whatever it was, she liked what he said.

Before she could answer, Roth cleared his throat and said, "Uh—I mean, let's go before you scream again and make us fall off the stairs."

"Y-yeah..." Evie didn't have a snappy comeback, but she grabbed Roth's hand again. As Roth looked at their hands, she added, "You still need to protect me from bugs."

The truth was that she wanted to see his reaction to their touch. She also liked to have that hand in hers again. His hand was so big that it almost felt like a cocoon around her little one.

Roth smiled, which Evie took as a positive sign. He liked this as much as she did.

"You're right about that," he said while stroking a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes back behind her ear. He cocked his head and explained, "Before you think that's a spider again."

"Thank you." Her stomach fluttered, and her heart skipped a beat.

What had gotten into her? This man was Roth, the orc she had worked with for a long time! Since when did he evoke such feelings in her?

***

Twenty minutes later, Roth had inspected every corner of the cellar and Evie had survived a rat that ran past her feet. She survived, but that didn't mean she hadn't screamed. She had, and loudly, too. She was sure that Roth would never make her forget that.

Roth's report about the cellar was less optimistic than the one about upstairs. There were some problems with the ceiling, two floor beams were rotten and had to be replaced, and something wasn't right with the floor because of water damage.