Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Sloane
Jonus carries me toward the front room and I try very hard not to think about how his hands felt on my feet.
I fail completely.
This wonderful, sexy orc oh so carefully went through the bother of taking off the old bandages and applied the ointment and did all the wound care prescribed by the hospital. I mean, I could’ve done this myself, but why point this out when I could instead allow Jonus to care for me?
His rough, calloused fingers were so gentle despite him being built like a tank. I noticed that his thumb traced along my arch at the end, soft and slow, like he couldn’t help himself.
I’m still flushed. Hot and bothered doesn’t begin to cover it.
I wrap my arms tighter around his neck as he walks, hyper-aware of everything.
The flex of his biceps under my hands. The warmth of his chest against my side.
The way he never seems to mind that I’m overweight with that persistent roll in my back and thick thighs.
Even after two weeks in the jungle I’m not what anyone would call thin.
And here I am, clean, but without makeup and hair I air dried instead of styling and wearing baggy sweats…
and he gazes at me with heat in his eyes.
Jonus thinks I’m sexy.
A secret smile tugs at the corners of my lips.
What is wrong with me?
I’ve known this orc for months through video calls and texts.
Fifteen-minute interviews that turned into hour-long conversations.
Late nights where we talked about everything and nothing until one of us finally admitted we needed sleep.
I thought I knew him as a very good friend.
I had a fiancé so that’s all we could be. Right?
But after that rescue in the jungle, and being here, in his arms, in his space—our relationship is different. I can feel it in my bones.
Jonus sets me down on the couch in the front room, careful and slow, making sure I’m comfortable before he steps back. And I catch it again—that look. His heated gaze drops to my body for just a second, lingering on my wide hips and my thighs, before snapping back up to my face.
He thinks I don’t notice that he’s checking me out, but I do. He’s been looking at me like that since Colombia. Like I’m some sort of hot swimsuit model.
And I... I like it.
Is it weird that I’m noticing the way this orc looks at my ass while I’m recovering from being held captive by a cartel and still in jeopardy?
Probably. But here’s the thing—I don’t care.
For the first time in a long time, a man is looking at me like I’m beautiful, not like I’m a “maybe if she lost thirty pounds.”
Speaking of men who thought I needed to lose weight—
I haven’t thought about Ryan much since Jonus appeared in that jungle. What does that say about my relationship? Or, I guess, my former relationship, because we’re definitely over now.
Wait. Did Ryan break up with me?
I thought I was the one who’d decided to break up with him. But… I turn this over in my mind as Jonus disappears into the kitchen. The State Department called Ryan and let him know his fiancée was kidnapped by a cartel in Colombia and his response was to “decline involvement.”
Asshole.
That’s a breakup, right? A cowardly, passive-aggressive breakup delivered through a government agency, but still a breakup. He chose to let me rot in that pit rather than get involved.
Funny thing is, I’m not even angry anymore.
I’m relieved. I have no shits left to give for any of that crap.
Because here’s the truth I’ve been avoiding for months—Ryan and I were over long before Colombia.
We hadn’t seen each other in person since last Christmas, both of us too busy with our careers.
The distance made it easy to ignore that we had nothing left.
I think I loved the idea of the perfect Ryan I’d crafted in my head more than I loved the real Ryan.
And finally, my fictional Ryan clashed with the IRL Ryan and it was time to let go and move on with life.
I glance at Jonus, who is in the kitchen chatting with his family.
It’s time to open myself up to something totally unexpected.
Something I never thought about…what if I started a relationship with an orc?
I bite at my lip because this is so, so far removed from how I thought my life would turn out.
Never, in a million years did I think about life with a man who wasn’t even the same species as me.
Wow. Well, this type of life must work really well for some women.
Ellie appears happily married to Garlen and she’s even pregnant with his orc baby. Hmm.
And, as Jonus has told me many times, modern orcs don’t kidnap and they respect the idea of consent.
I think about last night. The nightmare—god, that was embarrassing. Screaming in my sleep like a child. But Jonus didn’t make me feel embarrassed. He just... showed up, sat with me and then slept in that too-small chair in order to make sure I felt safe.
And he looked so damn sexy doing it.
Even cramped in that ridiculous chair, legs too long, shoulders too wide, he looked like something out of a fantasy. Green skin, black horns, tusks that should be terrifying but somehow aren’t. He stayed in that chair all night, uncomfortable as hell, ust so I would feel safe.
I’d offered him the bed and he’d said no.
I really, really wished he’d said yes.
The guest bed is only a queen and yes, it would’ve been a tight fit with his massive frame, not that that worried me much. In fact, the idea of being pressed up against all that warm muscle, his arms around me, his scent surrounding me—
Okay. I need to stop.
I’m supposed to be recovering from trauma and trying to get my evidence organized to take down Aldridge before he comes after me again, not fantasizing about my orc rescuer. This is probably just my brain latching onto safety and confusing it with attraction.
Except it doesn’t feel like confusion. It feels like clarity.
And then there was his growled “No” about the wheelchair. The way his eyes went dark and possessive. He wants to carry me. He wants to help me.
I want his help too.
Whatever this thing is between us, I don’t want it to stop.
“Jonus,” Ellie cries out. “Can you instead move Sloane to one of the chairs at the table? Breakfast is almost ready.”
I smile at her.
Ellie is at the stove flipping pancakes. Garlen is helping Zoe with her backpack, I assume, checking that she has her lunch and her homework. Loki darts between everyone’s legs, hoping for dropped food, still wearing that ridiculous blue sweater I saw from last night.
“Good morning,” she yells out happily. “You look rested now, which is good.”
It’s warm, domestic chaos. The kind of thing I’ve only ever seen in movies.
Jonus returns and settles me onto a chair at the table, next to Aldar, where I can see everything, then goes to help. I watch him move through the kitchen—grabbing plates, pouring juice, ruffling Zoe’s hair as he passes. He fits here. This is his family.
And they’re all... accepting me. Like I belong here too.
I don’t know what to do with that.
Aldar is at the table with his tablet, barely looking up. Probably texting Lucy. I make a mental note to interrogate her about that later.
Before I can say anything, there’s a knock at the front door. Garlen opens it to reveal two more guests. An older orc—dignified, with kind eyes and an air of quiet authority. And a human woman, stylish, probably mid-fifties, with Ellie’s same warm smile.
“Sloane,” Garlen says, “this is my uncle Dane, and Ellie’s mother, Laurie.”
“I’m married to Dane, he’s my husband, and we live next door, that’s how we got here so quickly.” Laurie says as she crosses to me immediately, taking my hands in hers. “And oh, honey, Jonus told us what you went through. We’re so glad you’re safe.”
Her grip is warm and firm. Motherly in a way my own mother never managed.
Dane nods formally, but his eyes are kind. “You are welcome here. You’re family now.”
Family.
The word hits me harder than expected. My throat tightens. “Thank you,” I manage. “That means... thank you.”
“Grandma!” Zoe shouts, cutting the tension. She bounces over to hug Laurie, then Dane. “Grandpa Dane!”
The morning then continues in a blur of activity. We all chat about nothing in particular. The weather. Road conditions. And the super interesting orc/human private school Zoe attends and where both Garlen and Ellie work.
Ellie brings me a plate of pancakes. Everyone eats standing or perched on furniture, the energy of a household that has places to be.
The bus honks outside.
“I’ll take her out,” Laurie says smoothly. She guides Zoe toward the door, chatting about her day, keeping things perfectly normal.
The moment the door closes behind them, the mood shifts.
Garlen straightens. “We need to talk about security before Ellie and I leave for work.”
I set down my fork and wipe at my mouth with a napkin. Right. Reality.
Jonus takes a seat next to me and nods in agreement.
“I got out of that pit alive, but Aldridge is still out there gunning for me,” I say.
“The guards who survived the extraction will have reported what happened. Green skin isn’t exactly subtle.
” I gesture at the three orcs in the room.
“It won’t take long for someone to connect Jonus Irontree to the rescue. And from there...”
“From there they find Truckee,” Garlen finishes.
I bite at my lower lip. “They find all of you.”
Silence.
I admit my biggest fear. What I’ve been feeling since the moment we stepped through the front door last night. “I can’t help but feel I shouldn’t be here. I’m putting everyone in danger. Zoe is six years old. I can’t—”
“Stop.” Ellie’s voice is firm. She crosses her arms over her belly. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“But—”
“Honey.” Laurie has returned. She squeezes my shoulder. “We’ve been through threats before. This isn’t our first rodeo. We’re not abandoning you.”