Fake Dating an Orc Cowboy (Sweet Monster Treats)

14. Ostor

Chapter 14

Ostor

W e returned to the resort and sat on lounge chairs in the shade near the pool, watching people play in the water. Staff came by and offered us drinks of every color and taste imaginable. After tequila, I was cautious.

Mary of the blood was not a favorite.

But I adored the pee-pee-na cool-ada, which was as chilly as the “cool” part of its name. Although . . .

“Please tell me there’s no true pee in this beverage,” I said, studying the foamy white drink in the tall glass topped with a smooth stick piercing a round red blob and a square of peen-apple. I’d tasted peen-apple at the buffet at breakfast, and while I was grateful not to taste pine, or pee, for that matter, in the fruit, I also didn’t taste apple.

Why did humans give everything names that made no sense?

“It does not,” Rosey said. “You’ll love it.”

“As much as tequila?”

“Even more.”

“Hey, there you are!” An older human couple strolled toward us, the female dressed in a dress splattered with big pink flowers and the male wearing a button-up, short-sleeved shirt that matched over teal-colored swim trunks.

They marched over and stood in front of our loungers, the woman’s warm gaze gliding from Rosey to light up when it reached me.

The male did the same, studying us both, me most of all.

“Mom,” Rosey said, rising from her lounge chair. “Dad. You arrived.”

“Not long ago, sweetheart,” Rosey’s mother said. “We unpacked and came down to the pool, hoping to find you or Macy.” She peered around. “Where is your sister, my gorgeous soon-to-be-blushing-bride? Where’s Jacob?”

“I assume still in their room,” Rosey said. Her smile slid to me. “Mom, Dad? This is Ostor Bronish, my date for the weekend. Ostor? These are my parents, Brandon and Jenny.”

“Nice to meet you, Ostor.” Jenny leaned close to Rosey. “You didn’t tell me you had a new boyfriend. He’s cute.”

Rosey’s smile widened. “I keep telling him that, but for some reason, the thought of being cute makes him glower.”

Not too much. If “cute” came with a tease or a kiss, I was all for it.

Rising, I extended my hand toward Brandon in the human way of greeting. “Welcome to Cancun.”

“Date for the weekend?” he barked. “What are your intentions toward my daughter?”

My smile wavered, but I shored it up with a jolt of confidence I didn’t feel.

“Dad,” Rosey sighed, rolling her eyes. “Please. I’m twenty-eight years old. I don’t need you vetting my dates.”

Her dad winced. “There’s no harm in asking.” His level gaze met mine. “I don’t want you taking advantage of my daughter.”

“Dad!” Rosey slid between us. “Stop.”

“Come on, now, Brandon.” Jenny sent me a warm smile as she pinched the sleeve of her mate’s shirt and tugged him to her left. “Let’s go find a palapa before they’re all taken. It’s nice to meet you, Ostor. Rosey?” She winked. “Fill me in later.”

With that, they walked away, rounding the pool and dropping their things on two lounge chairs with a palapa overhead providing shade.

“Sorry,” Rosey said. “Dad can be protective.”

“No problem.” I’d find Brandon later and assure him that my intentions were good. While I’d licked his daughter this morning, and I was eager to do more, I wouldn’t take advantage of her. He’d no doubt be reassured when he saw the mating marks on our arms.

Something I had to fill Rosey in on soon. She must’ve noticed her own.

“Thanks for being gracious,” she said, and we sat again, her reading on her phone, me dozing in the chair.

Her parents joined us for lunch, her mother sitting beside Rosey, whispering and shooting me big grins, her father watching me with a speculative gleam in his eyes.

As for Macy and Jacob, they strolled into the dining area as we were finishing, a good thing for me, because, when they joined us, Rosey’s parents stayed to chat with them while Rosey and I slipped away.

We went to the shop and bought me a based-ball cap in orc-size. Now I could fit in, and that made me feel less awkward. I couldn’t mask my larger-than-everyone-else frame, but I could dress and behave like all the human guys did.

Before we left the shop, I guided Rosey around, lifting one thing after another, hoping to find a special treasure that would remind her of me. Then I saw her gazing with longing at a rack of pretty dresses and urged her over to them.

She tugged a pale blue one out but returned it to the rack quickly after spying the dangling tag. “Too much.”

“Nothing is too much.”

“You’re a cowboy. You and your brothers are starting a new business. Perhaps things are tight?”

“To some extent, but not truly.” How could I tell her that while the king had helped fund our new venture, all of us were considered wealthy by human standards. The sparkly rocks we tossed around when we were kids or collected to melt down and turn into plates or items to put on display were made of something humans treasured above almost everything else.

Gold.

The initial orcs who formed the treaty with humans saw right away how much humans treasure this mineral, and we universally decided to keep secret the fact that it lay on the ground for anyone to pick up.

When an orc moved to the surface, they brought a small amount with them, implying that we’d worked hard to extract it from stone and that it was as rare below ground as it was up here. But we all slowly trickled in enough to make us wealthy by human standards.

I could buy everything in this shop. The resort itself if I wanted to, and still have plenty left over to spend on whatever caught my eye.

I wanted to spend all my hoard on Rosey.

“I can afford it,” I said. “Try it on. Let me see how it looks on you.”

She frowned. “You’re sure?” The look of longing on her face when she stared at the dress . . . I’d kill to give this to her.

I nodded as her fingers lingered on the silky fabric. Her resistance only made me want to give this to her more. By the fates, I’d give her the world if I could. Buildings, jewels, dresses—anything. But more than that, if she wore this dress, every time she slipped it on, she’d think of me. I needed her to remember because I was never going to forget. Not one second of this long weekend I was spending with this female I was beginning to love.

“Okay,” she finally said, her lips turning up, shy but with enough excitement to spin my heart.

She took the dress to the changing room, glancing back once more, her eyes questioning as though she still thought I might stop her. I grunted and nudged my chin, urging her to try it on.

While she was gone, I let my fingers trail across the flowing fabric of the other dresses, each as soft and delicate as the one she adored. Maybe I should buy her more than one. Maybe I should buy the entire rack. My people back home would think I was foolish, using my wealth on fine dresses when I could be investing in my business. Wealth meant nothing to me. Knowing I could make Rosey happy was all that mattered.

Kindness, strength, and beauty. Rosey carried all those traits in abundance. I was blessed that the fates had brought her into my life. I couldn’t stop the gnawing fear that in a few days, she’d decide this was fun but that she didn’t need a male she’d only recently met in her life. Certainly not an orc from beneath the ground who didn't understand her world like even the simplest human.

But this morning . . . I grinned at the memory. When I’d touched her, when I’d kissed her, she gifted me with her pleasure. Even if she didn’t realize it yet, I knew in my heart. We had a beginning, and beginnings could lead to something wonderful.

The curtain to the changing room fluttered, and Rosey stepped out.

I could not breathe.

She spun slowly in front of me, her hand smoothing the fabric as it swirled around her thighs in a whisper. The pale blue brought out her eyes, making them shimmer even more the sky and the sea combined. She looked down with yearning.

“What do you think?” she asked, her voice quieter now, uncertainty creeping in all over again as she studied my face.

I swallowed the emotions tangling up inside my throat and tried to shape my thoughts into words that wouldn’t fall short of what I felt seeing her in something I'd soon gift her. I crossed the small space between us, my gaze roving over her like she was the most precious thing I’d ever set eyes on.

Because she was.

“You’re beautiful.” I kept my voice low. “More beautiful than the golden lakes of my kingdom. The dress is pretty but it's only fabric. You glow like the reflection of a star on the clearest water. You . . .” I paused, letting the passion behind my words settle deep, hoping this would help me find the words I needed to tell her everything. What I wanted to say felt unworthy, too flat to capture the depth of my feelings. Finally, breathless with longing and awkward, yet needing to speak, I whispered. “You are why I dare to dream.”

“Ostor,” she croaked.

My face overheated. “I'm sorry. I misspoke.”

She shook her head. “No, you didn't.” Reaching up, she stroked my chest, pressing her palm against the area above my heart. “Thank you. I’m afraid because . . . I've been dreaming too.”

“Dreams should bloom like flowers after the rain.”

“You're right.” She glanced down at the dress. “It really looks okay?”

“It looks amazing. Perfect.”

Crimson flooded her cheeks, coloring her skin in a way that only made me want to kiss every bit of her. She coiled her finger between us, and I bent down, thinking she was going to say something saucy that went with the expression on her face. Instead, her lips pressed against mine. The kiss was too quick and held only a hint of a promise. I’d hold it tight within my heart.

She backed away, leaving my lips tingling and my pulse surging in my throat.

My mate was bold in ways that startled me. Thrilled me. Was I dreaming, or did she actually want me?

Rosey watched me, obviously pleased that she’d stunned me, but also a little unsure. Maybe she was wondering if she shouldn’t have kissed me. Or if I’d changed my mind about buying her the dress.

“The dress is yours,” I said simply.

After a moment, she nodded. She changed back into her other clothing while I stood outside the changing room with waves of protectiveness and need swirling through me.

Pride filled me when I handed the dress to the cashier and paid for it with a gold nugget, without a second thought. Gold appeared as welcome here as slices of money if the woman’s wide-eyed stare at it and eager nod when I asked was anything to go by.

We left and returned to our room, Rosey clutching the bag holding the dress like it meant something to her, as if it was so much more than scraps of fabric.

Inside our room, she carefully hung the dress in the closet, smoothing it with a smile that twisted my heart in all sorts of painful ways.

“I’ll wear it tonight for the rehearsal dinner.” Her voice brimmed with happiness.

My heart swelled so big I figured it would burst free.

I, Ostor, had helped her feel this way. I’d made her smile.

The knowledge was overwhelming and quiet all at the same time. To think that I could touch her heart if only in a small way.

It was enough to make me bloom like flowers after the rain.