Page 30 of My Orc Package Deal

Korrad gathered his papers, his hand briefly covering mine on the tabletop. “You did well,” he murmured.

“I just wrote things down.”

“You paid attention,” he corrected. “That’s the important part.”

We said our goodnights—Jocelyn heading off with a wave, promising to send me her slides; Augustus Frapp declaring he was off to “consult with Melissa on the cinematography angles.” Thebes and Ashlyn melted into the night. Zoe began turning off lights.

Stepping out of the library into the cool, salt-tinged evening air was like surfacing from a warm bath. The shops were dark, their windows glowing with curated displays. It was peaceful.

It was…belonging.

“Ready to go home?” Korrad asked, his hand finding the small of my back as we walked toward the truck.

Home.

The word didn’t send a spike of territorial anxiety through me. When had I started thinking of Korrad’s home as my own?

“Yeah,” I said, leaning into his touch just a little. “Let’s go see what kind of trouble our babysitter let the boys get into.”

Turned out, not that much.

Brakkor was apparently a good cook, but he’d defaulted to pizza from Pastabilities tonight, and hadn’t even made the boys eat vegetables along with it. When he told us that, I began to frown, but Korrad had shrugged passively.

“If you’re willing to babysit, you can feed them ice cream and let them watch TV all night. That’s the deal.”

“Did they at least brush their teeth before bed?” I asked, a little peevishly.

Making a show of finishing off one of the leftover pieces of pizza, Brakkor nodded. “Twice. I have no idea how long humans brush their teeth, so I made Milo do it again since Jay was still scrubbing his tusks. He gave me shit.”

I began to get worried. “What kind of shit?”

It was Korrad who answered for me, his tone comforting. “The kind Brak likely brushed off and redirected, right?”

Brakkor snorted and offered his hand to his twin to clasp. “We still on for this weekend? Joss is planning a whole slumber party theme.” He glanced at me. “Apparently, we’re going to be staying up late and watching animated movies and eating popcorn with gummy candy? Sounds disgusting.”

I’d gotten used to my brother-in-law’s curtness, and always countered with a super-sweet tone. “Popcorn and candy are a vital part of slumber parties.”

Korrad was leading his brother toward the door. “Jay would likely rather watch one of your heist movies. See if you can talk your Mate into allowing that.”

I joined them. “Honestly? Milo would too. Tell Joss she can still be in charge of the food, but you’re in charge of the movie choices.”

“Nah.” Brakkor’s smile was wide and slow, but it was a real smile, which was something I wouldn’t have expected to see on this grumpy male’s face last month. “Happy Mate, happy fate. I let Joss have her way whenever she wants.” His wink was lewd. “Except in the bedroom. I get to determine how many times she comes.”

Judging from the way he slammed the front door behind himself, he’d known exactly how much TMI that was. My cheeks were hot as hell when I pressed a hand against the front door—to support myself?—and exhaled.

“Lord,” I mumbled.

Behind me, Korrad shifted. “Sorry. He’s…uh, he’s always been…”

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and pushed myself upright. “I mean, I’m beyond happy for her. Of course I want my best friend to be sexually fulfilled. It’s just...”

I turned in time to catch Korrad’s crooked grin. “How do you think I feel, having to hear about my brother’s exploits in bed?”

Snorting, I went to slip past him to go investigate the leftover pizza. “And it’s even worse when I’m jealous⁠—”

His hand closed around my elbow, halting my movement and my words. I froze, my shoulder pressed against his chest, and realized what I’d said out loud.

I felt Korrad’s head dip, felt his breath on my ear. “Jealous?” he murmured, and I closed my eyes on a silent groan, trying to keep from swaying into him.