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I internally kicked myself. Gah. There was that stupid voice again. I would not let my horniness win.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. Well, we should probably get to bed. I’m really tired.” My voice sounded tinny in my head. I could feel Ansel’s eyes on me as I crawled across the mattress, far away from him, and headed towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind me once I got there.
After splashing cold water on my face and neck, I brushed my teeth and pulled my hair up into a top knot. When I returned, he was already in his gray sweatpants and stretched out on the floor. He wasn’t looking at me; his attention was focused on his hands, or something draped between his fingers he was holding up and admiring in the light.
It was too small for me to see, and frankly, I didn’t care. I needed to get my mind off those damn hands entirely.
“Wait,” he said, before I could switch off the lights. He sat up from his pad on the floor and waved me over. “I have something I need to give you first.”
I hesitated. This felt like a trap. Technically, I was already trapped. Might as well play nice?
I plopped down next to him on the floor. “What is it?”
He covered his palm with his hand before I could peer over and see what he was holding. He shook his head slowly, a wry smile on his face. “You can’t look. Turn around.”
“So bossy,” I mused under my breath, but obeyed. My skin tingled as he brushed his hands across the sensitive skin of my throat, draping something across my collarbone.
I felt him adjust something behind my neck. “There,” he said softly, so close to my ear that his breath tickled my skin. My nipples tightened at the same time, desperate to feel that same brush of his fingers, the heat of his breath, his mouth, on the sensitive peaks there.
“You can look now,” he said, his voice farther away. Too far for my liking.
I reached up and touched the necklace he had secured. I tipped my chin down to examine the small stone hanging just below my collarbone. It was simple—a light blue stone, the same color of the sky on a cloudless day. You didn’t see that rich of a blue in Baltimore anymore, too much pollution. And when I turned the stone, it shimmered in the light like a pearl.
“It’s beautiful,” I said softly. I held the stone between my fingers as I examined it. I set the stone down against my skin and angled my body towards his. “But why?” I had no experience with stones, except the specific diamonds in princess cut engagement rings I would send to Carter’s email in case he needed inspiration. But even with my inexperienced eye, I could tell this stone was rare. I had never seen anything like it before.
Ansel shrugged a shoulder. “You said you needed a token of good faith. A promise no harm would come to you. This is my promise.”
I stared at him as I stroked the smooth stone with my finger. “No, I can’t wear this. It’s too much, too expensive. Where did you get it?” For all I knew, he could have stolen it—
He pressed his hand on top of mine, holding it against my chest. My heart hammered so fast there was no way he couldn’t feel it pounding against my ribcage. “Please,” he said, his gray eyes softening. “It belonged to my ma. I want you to wear it, just for now. You can give it back to me when this is all over.”
His hand tightened over mine and for a moment, and I thought he was going to lean over and kiss me. But just as fast as the feeling occurred, it disappeared. I nodded in agreement and Ansel lowered his hand; my chest still flush with his warmth.
I chewed the bottom of my lip. “So, I had another question I’ve been wondering. How did you join the mafia in the first place? I don’t imagine they hold a job fair for that sort of thing.”
The corners of his mouth raised into a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “My parents, actually. When they moved to this country, they had a hard time finding work. No one wanted to hire an immigrant who spoke broken English, especially not an orc immigrant. So, they had to think creatively. They started a shipping business. An illegal one, but it was very successful.”
My entire body stiffened. Were his parents responsible for the new streamline drug in our city? Not Gregor?
As if reading the thoughts on my face, he quickly added, “Illegal as in unregulated food and supplies. Sometimes stolen art. But never drugs . . . or women.” His throat bobbed and he looked ill for a moment. “My parents were criminals, Skye, but they were good people.” Good criminals? I almost snorted. Good to know Ansel didn’t fall far from his family’s oxymoron tree. “They created jobs for other orcs who were unable to find work,” he continued. “Good jobs that paid well. Now that Gregor is in charge and has polluted the business, I don’t know how those orcs are surviving. A lot of things have changed over the years, but the city’s hatred of orcs is as strong as ever.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “Hiring prejudice may have been an issue twenty years ago, but there are anti-discrimination laws in place now. Everyone has access to good, honest work. Orcs included,” I quickly added. I had been in corporate long enough to hear plenty of managers complain about the headaches of affirmative action hiring and grumble over the ‘outrageous fines’ for noncompliance.
He leveled his stare at me and gave me an incredulous look that made me think I had grown an extra head without realizing. “ Aye, there are laws in place, but things haven’t changed for us. Not really. But I don’t expect you to understand. You’re a faerie, after all. Not as good as an elf maybe, but still one of the pretty folk who get hired to sit in glass offices while the rest of us are lucky to get menial labor. Grunt work still checks an affirmative action box.” His eyes narrowed. “Have you even talked to an orc before me?”
I scoffed. “ Yes, of course I’ve talked to an orc. Our CEO is actually orc . . . well, half, or a quarter. I’m not sure, but still. And the politically correct term is ‘fae’, by the way. Not faerie.”
Ansel slowly raked his eyes over my body, his expression annoyingly unreadable. Finally, he leaned in towards me as if he was sharing a secret. “And I bet good money your boss passes for a faerie or an elf, whatever his other three-quarters are. I bet you didn’t even know he had orc blood until someone told you.”
I gaped at him. How did . . . how did he know? Our CEO was such a light shade of green, it was hardly noticeable. He had the high, angular facial features of an
elf and was every bit as proud. Nobody who valued their job would dare call him anything but elven.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said suddenly, pushing myself to my feet.
“I’m not going to sit here and be lectured on how unfair the world is by an orc who is currently holding me against my will.”
“It’s for your own safety—”
