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Sunny
"You'll be rid of me soon."
I froze in place, spoon in the ricotta mix for tonight's lasagna, eyes on my new kitchen backsplash. "What? Why?"
Khell appeared in the narrow doorway, his phone in hand but too far for me to read the screen. For a moment, I forgot what we were talking about. Khell in street clothes scrambled my brain. They were always so fitted, and he seemed to favor sweatpants over jeans since it was easier to find his size. Which meant it really wouldn't take much effort at all to tear them off of him.
"Job offer," he said. "Built-ins for a new yarn store in Andersonville."
"Oh," I said with a sigh, my shoulders softening. "Congrats! I told you reference photos would do the trick."
Khell purred and inched closer. My kitchen was a tight fit, but we'd already made it work a couple times. My counters were the perfect height for me to perch on and for Khell to slide right inside of me.
You're out of control, I told myself, but then Khell appeared before me, crowding me between my cupboards and the stove, pressing me up against the back wall and bending his knees until our faces were level.
"Did you think I meant permanently?"
I blushed. Khell's teasing was warm and prickling, constantly tearing at the little defenses I put up to try and make our situation seem less sudden and extreme than it was. He'd been more or less living in my house for two weeks. We'd been fucking like rabbits. We'd already picked out a new tub for the upstairs and had plans to demo into the guest room to expand the bathroom's footprint nicely.
"Sunny," Khell purred, skimming his lips against mine.
"It just caught me off guard," I admitted.
"You're not losing me," Khell rumbled, claws digging into my hips.
"I know," I said, nodding, flushing at his resulting smile.
"Do you need reminding?" he asked, words crisp.
When he used that voice, I wanted reminding, but—
"The lasagna," I said, words thin and breathless and Khell's grin growing. "Natalie and Theo will be here in an hour. We have dinner."
Natalie had been kind of pushy about meeting Khell. I didn't blame her, but I was feeling sort of funny about how much I'd already confessed to her. She knew everything we'd done together. She even knew I'd nearly told Khell I loved him, something I hadn't confessed to Khell yet, although I was getting close to blurting it out lately.
"Mmm, that reminds me. Orcs have a custom amongst mates when it comes to house guests," Khell said.
"A custom?" I asked, blinking.
Khell hummed and finally leaned back, turning to the lasagna. "Mmhm. Of course, since we're dating, it might not apply—"
"Quit baiting me," I laughed, joining him as he scooped out the filling and spread it over the noodles.
Khell, and apparently orcs in general, ate primarily vegetables and high-protein grains and only occasionally meat. Since Theo and Natalie were both eager carnivores, I'd opted for a veggie lasagna with meatballs on the side. Khell had grabbed us a bottle of some small batch pepper moonshine from a mothman he knew. It'd been a long time since I'd had any kind of dinner party, and I was equal parts excited and nervous for tonight.
"I love to bait you, just as you love to bait me, petal," Khell answered, twisting and bending to kiss the crown of my head as I added the sautéed veggies to our lasagna and then draped over another layer of noodles. "Get this in the oven, and I'll teach you the custom."
I narrowed my eyes up at him briefly. Teaching me the custom was not explaining to me the custom, but I was too curious to argue.
"When does the job start?" I asked.
"Monday. Will I… Will you want me to…"
Khell was almost never nervous or hesitant, but I could guess the question.
"If it's easier for you to get up and go to work in the morning, I could come stay at your place tomorrow night," I offered, focusing on the food in front of me.
Khell purred at my back, his body framing mine easily as I smoothed another layer of cheese into the dish. "You won't mind trading on and off?"
