Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
OTIS.
When I walk into the kitchen Clem already has the cake out on the benchtop. and all the ingredients ready to ice it.
There’s a big bowl of fresh berries on the counter, red and black and dark blue.
“You bought these from Betty’s stall, I can tell.”
She nods. “They’re the best you can get,” I say.
“I wanted the best for your mom.” She puts her arms out and I stride into them and we hug.
We stay like this for a few moments, my chin resting on her head. I nestle my lips into her hair, making sure my tusks slide either side of her head. “Did you have fun this morning?”
“Yeah. I went to Digger’s after the markets and had one of Tippy’s smoothies.”
“And you survived it?”
“Yes, it was actually delicious.” She hesitates. “Before that, I thought I saw Jax, but I didn’t.”
“How’d you mean?”
“Someone who looked like him anyway—probably a fae, Tippy said, but he looked so like Jax and he was on the same motorbike, I thought. Except he ignored me when I waved, and drove off.”
“We have a gang of fae bikers on level one. And only two different models of motorbike. So it could have been one of those guys.”
She peers up at me. “A biker gang? Should I be worried?”
“No, it’s all for show. They have a track and do burnouts in the northern suburbs, jumping through fire rings and over the top of parked vehicles and the like. Makes up for them not being able to practice magic anymore.”
“So fae aren’t as scary as wolves then?”
“Hey, stop fretting about wolves,” I murmur into her hair. “Like I said, there are good ones.”
“Yeah, and bad ones.” She sighs.
“The good ones are looking after Sammy, I promise. Did you see anyone else?”
“Brody came in to grab a coffee, and he introduced me to Kazmo. He seems really cool.”
I stifle a stab of jealousy. Kazmo is fucking good looking.
Mine.
She is not yours, you possessive green idiot.
But right in this moment, it’s hard to believe Clem hasn’t been sent from the Labyrinth gods as my mate. Especially since our amazing knot-fest last night.
“Brody said something about peripherals being programmed,” she muses. “Is that true?”
I’m not going to deny it. “Yeah, it’s true. They have a chip in their neck, put in by the human authorities.”
“But Jax hasn’t got one.”
I shake my head. “Nope. Not anymore.”
“Why not?” She pauses, “Did the wolves who mauled him bite the tracker out of him?”
I pause. “I’ve told Jax to come and talk to you about it. If he doesn’t by tomorrow, I will tell you everything myself. I’ll be true to my word on that, Clem.”
She shrugs. “Okay.” She flashes me a too-bright smile. “Let’s not discuss Jax. Let’s decorate your mom’s cake.”
I nod, surveying the bench, quite happy to leave that issue behind. “Okay, so we’ve got the berries.” I look at the tiny sugar monster decorations. “Where did you find these?”
“There’s a stall with bonbons and the like. I thought we could scatter a few on the top with the berries.”
“You’ve been here a few days, and you’ve discovered more than I have,” I grumble with a grin.
“I do feel very at home,” she muses. “Like I belong here, already.”
I open my mouth, shut it. Fated mate talk is something monsters understand, but it would probably sound like a load of guff to a human.
We know that there is someone out there, the special one we are meant to be with.
Orcs will usually find an orc mate, but they have been known to mate with other species—just never humans…
At least, there are no recorded cases. I tighten my lips, suck in my tusks and refrain from saying a word.
We work as a team at the kitchen bench. Clem beats the butter and sugar and the vanilla essence, until it’s light and airy. Then we slather it on the cake.
I smooth it with a spatula and Clem places the berries around the edges, then pops a cluster of the little candy monsters in the middle of the cake.
We step back and look at our handiwork. “This is fabulous. Mom will love it.”
I think about the way Mom’s face lights up whenever I take her a cake.
She used to love baking for the whole neighborhood, and she passed that love on to me.
Amy and my twin brothers never understood our love of baking, but they sure loved eating the results.
We all did. Sitting around laughing as Dad told funny tales from his work week.
Friends would drop by all weekend because they knew a Cane cake—or two— would be on the table.
I see Clem’s features soften as I tell her this story. “I wish I’d been there.”
“I wish you had. Those were the good old days.” I try to keep the sadness out of my voice.
“You have beautiful memories, at least, Otis.” She licks the spatula then hands it to me. “Want a lick?”
Immediately my mood lifts, and I grin. “If we start that again, we’ll never get to visit Mom.”
She puts her finger in the remaining icing, raises it to my mouth and I lick it off.
Her lips part on a little moan and her eyelids flutter as I suck her finger into my mouth.
Next, I bend my head and suck on her nipple, and she arches into me. The spoon clatters to the floor.
I wet through the material of her t-shirt with my saliva, her nipples poke out and I suck some more, my tusks gently kneading into her breasts, seeming to add to the experience by the delighted sounds she makes.
“You like that?”
“SOOO much. I never thought tusks could add so much—fun.”
She holds my head and ruffles my hair in her fingers.
When I gather her closer, she wraps her legs around my waist and we kiss passionately. Her sighs and moans combine with my deep growls of pleasure. Our tongues tangle, carrying the sweet taste of vanilla and sugar, and my cock hardens against her pussy, which is pressing into me like an invitation.
“I’d love to fuck you right now,” I grunt out, “except visiting hours are pretty strict.”
We pull apart reluctantly and she hops off the stool while I put the cake in a container.
I rearrange my pants over my still-hard dick and glance at her. “Better go.”
Clem nods.
In the jeep, Clem sits with the container perched on her knees.
“I’m a bit nervous about meeting your mom,” she says after a moment.
“Please don’t be.” I grin. “Mom and Dad were pro-humans. They often talked about how in the early days after the apocalypse, orcs and humans traded and were on good terms. My parents always believed there would come a day when the glamor dropped from the humans’ eyes and friendships would form again.
They talked of a future where humans and monsters would co-exist peacefully. ”
“It sounds like Utopia,” she sighs.
“My parents were eternal optimists.”
She’s pensive for a moment. “So I guess your mom won’t mind when you turn up with a human by your side?”
“I think it will perk her up no end, Clem.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.”
As usual, Clem’s nose is plastered to the window, watching the sights.
We go past the markets and head into the northern zone with its more genteel homes.
Mom’s care home sits in a cozy corner, in a cave that has a rare trickle of natural water running through it.
The staff have worked hard to build a friendly, inviting residence.
There’s a little garden, and the lumen lights have allowed ferns and hydrangeas to grow.
There are lily pads in the pond, and fish swimming around.
I know it’s the best place for Mom to be, but my heart still wrenches at the fact she’s here at all.
When we finally draw up outside, Clem lets out an exclamation. “Oh my, it’s so pretty!”
“When monsters age or become sick we put in the effort to make their care the best it can be. The respect for their work, for their wellbeing, is at the forefront of our minds.”
“That’s lovely. Old folks in Sparkle just disappear.”
“What?!”
“Not literally,” she adds hastily. “They get politely herded into retirement villages away from the young folks. Smart condominiums, with golf clubs, and entertainment, but there is definitely segregation. I guess old people don’t look pretty enough in the trendy spots.
It’s the same for anyone with a disability.
They’re all carefully hidden away.” She laughs, a brittle little laugh.
“It’s completely fucked up, to be honest.”
“That is fucked up,” I agree. “We revere our aged, and support the less abled among us as a priority.”
“So how does the system work here?”
“Old and unwell folks stay within the family wherever possible, but because my siblings couldn’t handle the situation, and I couldn’t be sheriff and care for Mom, I found her the best residential home in the Labyrinth, but she needs…
” I gulp. “What she needs, she can’t have.
She needs our dad back. Orcs, erm, mate for life, and are super loyal, you know.
Once they have committed, they never look at another… ”
I find my cheeks burning as I park the jeep in the small parking lot. “Anyway, uh, we’re here. Let’s go inside, shall we?” I say, and hop out of the jeep before I can dig myself even deeper into that hole.