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“Yes!” I exclaimed. If I could talk to people now, I could get a job that wasn’t on-line. Maybe I could even follow my passion and bake for a living instead of drudging away writing stupid add copy and doing web design all day!
(Let me just say that if you like doing on-line work, more power to you. It had never been my choice though—I would much rather be making batches of muffins and mountains of cakes and pies and pastries than spending my time as a keyboard warrior.)
“Let’s go then!” Rath took my hand in his and smiled down at me.
As our fingers entwined, I couldn’t help feeling a rush of emotion for the big Orc. He had protected me and helped me get to where I needed to go and to face Baba Yaga and get myself unbound. And he was the sweetest, most patient, most protective guy I had ever met.
Could it be I was falling in love with him?
“Is he your Heartmate?” Baba Yaga’s voice whispered in my memory. And hadn’t she mentioned that I would be safe from the family curse as long as I didn’t have a Heartmate?
I pushed the memory and the worries aside. I didn’t even know what a Heartmate was. It was probably some kind of outdated superstition and I had no time for it.
I would worry about the family curse later, I told myself. Right now, I just wanted to enjoy my new freedom and meet the people in my new town. Right now I just wanted to have fun.
Pushing all my worries to the back of my mind, I hurried to keep pace with Rath as we walked into town.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The next few days were the most amazing of my life. I was finally able to talk to people and I adored every minute of it.
You might think that living all my life as a shy introvert would keep me shy and introverted, even after the curse was removed. Instead, I found the opposite to be true. I suddenly loved talking to people—even ones I didn’t know—especially ones I didn’t know.
I went and had tea with Goody Albright several times and she told me stories about my Grandma that made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes at the same time. I got to be on a first name basis with Goldie at Goldie’s Diner where Rath and I often went to eat, and I met Celia the owner of The Lost Lamb, Hidden Hollow’s gourmet bakery.
She was friendly—but also extremely busy, with orders pouring in. When Rath talked up my baking skills to her as she rang us up, she agreed to taste some of my baked goods as a kind of job interview.
“If I like what you make, I’d be happy to have some help around here,” she told me, brushing a lock of honey-colored hair off her forehead with one arm. “It’s gotten awfully busy lately!”
“I’ll bring you something soon,” I promised and she gave me a friendly wave as we went out the door.
“You should make your Grandma’s apple pie,” Rath advised me as we walked home. “Once Celia tastes your flakey crust and that amazing apple filling, she’ll hire you on the spot.”
“I’ll make the pie and at least one other thing,” I said. “Maybe I can find another recipe of Grandma’s that will impress her.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Just don’t brew another lust potion, okay?”
I laughed and elbowed him in the ribs.
“Hey, you know I didn’t do that on purpose!”
“Yeah, I know. I’m just teasing you, baby.” Rath grinned.
Speaking of Rath, our relationship seemed to deepen every day. And in case you’re wondering, yes—I finally lost my virginity.
It happened not long after the unbinding, as I had come to call it in my mind. Rath came over for dinner one night…and stayed for dessert, so to speak.
He spent a long time getting me ready first—spreading me wide and lapping my pussy until I came several times for him, moaning and tugging his hair which he seemed to love. When I protested breathlessly that I wanted more—that I wanted him inside me—he told me to be patient.
“Want to take things slow with you, baby,” he growled softly, looking up from between my thighs, his mouth shiny with my juices. “Want your first time to be special.”
“It will be because it’s with you,” I said, really meaning it—because Rath was special…he was different and not just because he was an Orc.
When I thought back on the other two human guys I had dated and tried to have sex with, I couldn’t believe I’d been willing to give it up for either of them. Neither of them had been as sweet and patient and protective as Rath. I knew that the big Orc genuinely cared for me—that he was maybe even starting to love me, the way I was starting to love him.
The thought gave me an uneasy tingle. Is he your Heartmate? whispered a little voice in my head. I pushed it aside. I didn’t want any bad thoughts or feelings to mar this night together.
