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“Tower are a city emergency service. They’re not bodyguards, even if I could afford to employ one.”
She seemed so crestfallen somehow, the longing to put his arm around her was almost too strong for Tor to resist. But he kept his hands firmly locked in his pockets and bit back the offer to pay for a bodyguard for her. He didn’t want to come over as just another controlling beast.
She huffed a little laugh. “I really don’t know why I’m so edgy about it. I haven’t heard from Matteus in months. He’s moved on, no doubt ensnared some other poor woman. I’m pretty sure he’s not even in Motham right now. He goes away a lot on company trips.” He sensed her draw in a breath. “Anyway, let’s change the subject. I was actually going to call you when I got home.”
“You were?” Hope jumped his heart into his throat, and his cock gave a corresponding skip in his pants.
Get down, you mongrel.
“Yes, because—I have good news. Someone is going to call me tomorrow from the Counsel of Towns to arrange a meeting with us.”
“My gods, you are one amazing woman.” He halted in surprise and so did she. They were right outside Dove Realty he realized.
She flushed bright pink. “To be honest, it wasn’t much to do with my efforts. I asked Edgar, my old boss, and he has a contact who’s worked with human/monster land sales.”
“But you had the sense to ask Edgar in the first place. Networking doesn’t just happen, it’s a skill, knowing who can help us out, who we can trust. How do you think I got wealthy? By using my antennae for these things.”
“I guess.” As they stood facing each other outside the door, she said quietly, “I feel like I can trust you.”
The sincerity of it touched him to the core. “You can. Shona. Always. Don’t ever hesitate to ask for my help. I’ll be there in the blink of an eye.”
“You’re a good guy, Tor Arquin,” she said, her eyes full of warmth.
For a second, he thought she might take a step closer, raise her lips to his. Tor held his breath, his heart pumping with anticipation, his nerve endings alight.
But with a whisper of a sigh, she got her keys out of her purse, turned, and put them in the lock.
He waited, hungrily gazing at the silky curtain of her hair cascading around her shoulders, the pert swell of her butt in that figure-hugging skirt. Supposing she asked him in? He wouldn’t be able to resist, would he?
His dick twitched again at the thought.
Once inside, she turned back to him and smiled so sweetly all he could do was return it with a goofy look of hope plastered all over his face.
“Thank you for walking me home,” she said softly. “Goodnight, Tor.”
And then she closed the door, leaving Tor to smirk stupidly at thin air.
Chapter
Twelve
Shona tap-tapped her way into Bellamy’s Patisserie, the scrumptious smell of vanilla and spices making her nostrils quiver.
Bellamy’s was known to be the place to buy cakes in Motham. Both monsters and humans devoured their delicacies in equal quantity. A cute little shop built of sparkling Malibar stone in the old quarter, it had made its name in the last ten years, even though it had been in operation for nearly a century. Truth was, humans couldn’t get enough of the feather light sponges topped with whipped vanilla cream, the tarts with melt in the mouth shortcrust pastry. It was a badly kept secret that Bellamy’s supplied patisseries in Tween and Twill, delivered in unnamed vans that drove out of the city before first light.
Staring at the display, Shona licked her lips. She could devour one herself right now. She guessed she did deserve a reward for her efforts.
After Edgar had given her the lead, it had taken another four days of negotiations to secure a meeting with the Counsel of Towns representatives.
Constantly liaising between snobby Tween officials and Tor’s PA to get appropriate documentation on his business and credentials had made for a stressful few days.
And she was close to her period, of course—or at least, she hoped she was.
Which no doubt accounted for her sugar cravings.
Fingers crossed.
After Tor had said getting pregnant wasn’t easy for orcs and humans, she’d researched it on Moogle and yep, it seemed these mate-bonds were rare and often required assisted pregnancy. Which was a relief, she supposed.
