Page 5 of My Orc Package Deal

Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure Korrad bought it.

His eyes had wrinkled at the corners again, but he wasn’t grinning. It was more like he was searching my expression for the truth. Dammit.

So I tried a smile.

It might have worked, too, had the officiant not, at that exact moment, said, “Then you may kiss.”

And my mind stuttered.

Kiss?

Kiss?

How the hell had I forgotten that part of the wedding ceremony? All my Barbie ceremonies had included that when I was a little girl—you may kiss the bride. I remembered sitting cross-legged on my grandmother’s floor when she babysat me, knocking my Barbie dolls’ faces against each other and making wet smacking noises, my approximation of the kisses I’d seen in movies.

You may kiss.

May I?

I stood staring up at Korrad like an idiot, and thank God he seemed to understand what was going on better than I did.

Because with only a little hesitation, he pulled one hand free of mine and reached for me. When his fingertips slid across my jaw to cup the side of my neck, the pad of his thumb resting against my cheekbone, I straight-up shivered. Didn’t even bother trying to hide it, I shivered.

And I was pretty sure it was in anticipation.

Then he was bending down toward me, and I realized I was pressing up on my sandaled toes to meet him…

When Korrad’s lips met mine, something slid into place.

That certainty I’d been missing.

Because the warmth, the spark, the shiver I’d felt at his earlier touches? Nothing compared to his kiss. There wasn’t even tongue; just his lips—somehow rough and soft?—pressed gently against mine, his exhale brushing my cheek, his beard tickling my skin…

Pretty sure I breathed a sigh into his mouth, and I felt his lips curl upward just slightly.

Oh.

And then it was over, and he was pulling back…and I tried to follow, stretching up after him enough that he returned for one last brush of his lips against mine, before I had to acknowledge it was done and I was embarrassing myself.

I felt my cheeks heating as I sank back down to stand in the sand, my breathing erratic, my body confused as hell about that kiss.

There was some cheering happening, but I could only stare, wide-eyed, at the button in the middle of Korrad’s shirt and wonder what the hell had happened.

Because he’d made it clear this marriage was just a legal thing to help our sons, and he didn’t expect a physical relationship. Hell, that’s what most of our conversations had been these last two weeks; hashing out expectations for a future together. It had been awkward but necessary, and I remembered his words clearly.

You don’t owe me anything, Kesha. I don’t want you to think you have to—to share my bed. Jay and I decided you and Milo can share a room until he’s comfortable moving in with Jay, and then you can have your own space.

At the time, I’d thought it incredibly sweet.

Here was this dude who was bending his life into pretzels for us, and he had the emotional maturity to consider what would make me feel comfortable? I’d been impressed, and it had been another vote of confidence in the Marrying Korrad tally.

Now, though?

After that kiss?

Well, let’s just say that I was standing there, pissed as hell at Past Kesha for agreeing so easily to separate beds. Because I didn’t mind at all the thought of taking all my clothes off and crawling into bed with Korrad and showing him exactly how grateful I was to him…

Try to contain your libido, girl. For your own dignity. You start thinking like that, and you’re basically trading sex for security, and you promised Mama long ago that you wouldn’t do that.