Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Brakkor
I managed to stay calm throughout the ceremony, although my Kteer’s near-constant rumble was damned distracting. Korrad glanced at me once or twice, and I wondered if he could sense my edginess.
So I schooled my features and tried to remind myself that this was an important ceremony for my brother, and that it would suck to ruin it by throwing the maid of honor over my shoulder and running howling into the night.
No matter how tempting it was.
So instead I spent the rest of the ceremony staring, deciding I didn’t give a fuck if everyone could see my hunger.
Even Jocelyn.
She was here. And even though I was desperate to taste her again, everything seemed…I dunno, better somehow. Like, shit wasn’t fixed, wasn’t right…but it would be. Soon.
Soon.
I figured I was home free once Sakkara declared Korrad married, but then there was a kiss, and the mechanicalness of it dragged my attention from Jocelyn long enough to glare at my brother’s back. He called that a kiss?
Dipshit.
Finally it was over, and I was ready to rip open this collar—when Jay announced it was time for photos. “Fuck me,” I groaned under my breath, and even Korrad echoed the sentiment with a put-upon sigh he hid from his new wife.
Wife. The poor bastard was married now.
Sylvik—Abydos’s personal assistant who’d moved to Eastshore and apparently fallen hard for Abydos’s so-called-Mate’s sister—was put in charge of taking photos, because apparently he had the best camera.
Brooke—I still didn’t buy she was his “Mate,” and not just the female he was committed to—took charge, directing everyone where to stand, who to pose where.
I suppose her event-planning gene couldn’t help it.
So I spent another forty minutes moving in and out of various shots as we posed in front of the arbor, in front of the waves, in front of the full moon, whatever. I just stood where she told me, put my hand where she told me, I did my best to smile.
I mean, by the end of the torture, it was more of a grimace, but whatever. Korrad was in the same boat.
Actually, for that matter, so was his new wife. And her kid. Jay seemed to be the only one enjoying this, but then maybe he was just happy to show off the suit his dad had bought him for the occasion.
He was the fanciest dressed us of all.
Then finally—finally!—Brooke declared us free to go, and both boys beelined for the dessert table, which had been set up down the beach, where the rest of the guests were mingling. Korrad and Kesha followed, not speaking, and I figured this was my chance.
I angled my way toward Jocelyn. She took one look at me, her eyes went wide, and she grabbed the hem of her dress and chased after her friend.
Damn.
Except…that hadn’t been fear I’d read on her expression or scented in the air. Her arousal had teased my nose enough to know what I smelled, and I found myself grinning arrogantly.
What were the odds she wanted me as much as I wanted her at this moment?
I strolled after her, enjoying the way her ass moved in that purple dress.
It was sleeveless and a hell of a lot longer than that sexy red minidress she’d worn on our date, but it framed her tits beautifully.
I’m guessing it was considered modest, and maybe it was only that I knew what was underneath it that made me find this arousing.
Or maybe you’re just being fucking gross, ogling the female.
Maybe.
Never said I wasn’t an asshole, did I?
So yeah, I kept my eye on her. At first, she seemed nervous, awkward…
but after Brooke handed Jocelyn a second glass of champagne, she began to loosen up.
I watched her seem to gain confidence as she laughed with the females Brooke introduced her to, and by her third glass, her cheeks were rosy, and she seemed to really be enjoying herself.
I, on the other hand, knew I was getting more and more anti-social. I hung out with Dravik, Varron, Harkaan—the males who’d moved from the Colorado mine to Eastshore the same time as us, but they knew me well enough not to be surprised by my surly glares.
Luckily, none of them noticed I hadn’t been able to tear my gaze from Jocelyn.
Strangely, she seemed aware of it. Every once in a while, she’d glance my way—as if to be certain I was still looking at her?—and her lips would curl. I wasn’t sure if the smile was for me or for herself…or maybe she was just drunk.
I wanted to get her alone.
But she was having fun, and I wasn’t that much of an asshole to try to lure her away.
Still, I wasn’t going to give up. She was here on Eastshore, and until tonight, I hadn’t realized how much I needed to see her again.
My opportunity came when I finally got around to scoping out the tables of food.
There wasn’t a full meal here, just a lot of little things made with cheese and fruit.
You know, the kind of shit where I could fit six in my mouth at once and still not be satisfied?
Guess I should be glad I had that half a chicken earlier.
I finished chewing and had turned away, only to be almost knocked down by Jay’s friend. Milo, that was his name. He took a wide step around me, looking worried, and the part of me that was always attuned to her felt Jocelyn suddenly hurrying toward us. Did she think I’d hurt the kid?
I saw the way his gaze kept flicking to the food behind me, and when I realized I was standing in front of the dessert table, I figured that was what he wanted.
So I made a show of stepping out of the way and gesturing him toward the cupcake display, just as Jocelyn stumbled to a stop beside me, tripping over her feet again. She wasn’t in real danger of falling—she’d just moved too quickly—but I wasn’t going to let this prime opportunity pass.
I caught her. Then, under the pretext of setting her upright, slid my hand down her side and around her back. Even without looking at her, I recognized her shudder, and I wanted to sink into that sensation.
But Jay chose that moment to appear at my other side. “This is Milo,” he announced, and I figured for his sake, I could force my attention back to his new brother.
I didn’t move my hand, though, and Jocelyn’s heat branded me through her dress.
To my surprise, the kid hadn’t moved around me to get to the cupcakes.
In fact, he had transferred all his attention to me, his head tipped back almost too far in order to watch me.
I was tempted to pick him up under his armpits, the way I used to do with Jay, and hold him up to my eye level.
But I didn’t know the kid, and no matter what the mayor or that ceremony said, he wasn’t my nephew yet.
So, with a sort of mental sigh, I forced myself to draw my hand away from Jocelyn’s warmth. I lowered myself to one knee in the sand in front of Milo so he didn’t have to crane his neck. His eyes went wide.
“Hi,” I said, wondering how stupid I sounded. “I’m Brakkor.”
“Jay calls you Uncle Brak.”
“Uh. Yeah, that’s what his dad calls me too. I guess you can, if you wanted.”
The kid’s gaze flicked to Jocelyn. “That’s Aunt Jossy, but she’s not my real aunt. She’s my mom’s friend so she’s known me since before I was born. You were both in the wedding too.”
Jocelyn cleared her throat. “You did so well during the ceremony, Milo. Are you ready for your cupcake reward?”
Godsdamn, her voice was just as creamy as I remembered, reaching into my trousers and squeezing my cock…
But the kid was still staring at me, and I didn’t like it. “What?” I barked, maybe a little too harshly, what with the trying-to-distract-myself-from-a-hard-on situation.
“You have a lot of tattoos.”
Oh. “Yeah, I guess I do.” In our world, tattoos were used as memories. There was shit I wanted to remember, shit I didn’t want to remember, and some random designs I’d chosen just because I liked them. “Why are you nervous?”
It wasn’t until I heard the words that I realized I’d said them out loud. Damn, that was probably rude to point it out.
The kid bristled as Jay moved up beside him. “I’m not nervous,” Milo muttered.
And I felt my lips twitch. “Good, getting angry is better.” I tipped my head toward Jocelyn. “Your aunt’s like that, she’s hiding her nervousness.”
I heard Jocelyn shift, heard her sharp inhale, even as Milo asked suspiciously, “How can you tell?”
Embracing my asshole qualities completely, I let a wicked smile curl my lips, knowing she was watching me, and made a show of inhaling. “She doesn’t smell nervous.”
Oh no, that was an entirely different scent caressing my nostrils right now.
Jocelyn made a noise like a groan and dropped her forehead to her hand, which made me grin wider.
Her nephew’s response was unexpected, though. He got excited. “You can smell what I’m feeling?”
So I shrugged. “Human fear is sour-smelling. Nervousness or worry is more muted.”
The kid whirled on Jay. “Can you do that? You never told me you could do that!”
My nephew was looking awkward, glancing between me and Milo. “Kinda,” he finally admitted. “Dad says it’s not polite to bring it up though, because humans can get weird about it.”
My grin grew conspiratorial. “I’m not real polite, kid.”
Jay nodded solemnly, although I could see the amusement flickering in his dark eyes. “Dad says I shouldn’t take my social cues from Uncle Brak.”
I shrugged. “I’m kinda an assh—”
“Okay!” blurted Jocelyn. “Who wants more cupcakes? Two more? Eight more?” Under her breath, probably too low for anyone but an orc to hear, she muttered, “Anything to shut you up.”
And I realized I was having the time of my life, kneeling there in the sand. I was talking to two kids, but all my attention—and my Kteer’s—was locked on her. On teasing her.
She was here, she was with me, and I had another chance at her.
But Milo hadn’t been distracted by her offer. Instead, he cocked his head as he studied me. “What do I smell like now?”
I didn’t even have to inhale. “I would guess you’re more interested than anything. You haven’t been around many orcs?”