A nice summer rose blush for Sunny's ass would do. She wasn't quite as hearty as an orc, and I wouldn't want her unnecessarily uncomfortable.

"A month?" I asked.

Astraeya huffed and tipped her head side to side. "A month…a month should do."

A month, then. A month to resist hunting Sunny. A month to let her find her footing in her new life before offering her a place in mine, claiming a place in hers.

Surely a mated orc could survive a month of waiting?

"Call if you need the number, Khell," Astraeya said with a grim prediction in her tone.

CHAPTER 18

Sunny

I forgot to ring the doorbell outside of Natalie's house. I stood on her doorstep, cool Chicago autumn winds flipping under my skirt, cum sticking my thighs together, and just stared at that old glass door. Really, I stared at my reflection.

I was a mess, hair tangled and eyes wide with shock, lips still swollen and bruised from kisses. There were marks on my throat from Khell's careful claws and gentle nips. I was dressed in a sweater and a skirt, and I hadn't realized how used to being naked I'd grown in just five days, but even the sight of clothes seemed wrong. The soft fabrics abraded the marks on my body, hid them.

A shadow appeared on the other side of the door, and I jumped in place, my brain shocking back into the moment as it opened and Natalie's husband Theo appeared.

"Sunn—Whoa," he said, nose wrinkling and rearing back. Theo was tall and broad-shouldered, and I'd previously thought of him as impressively muscular, but he was lankier to my eye now after being around Khell. He had shaggy brown hair that looked like he cut it himself and bright green eyes behind rounded tortoiseshell glasses. "Um…come on…Nat!" he called over his shoulder.

"Hi," I said weakly as he stepped back and gave his place at the door to Natalie a moment later.

"Sunny, there you are! Just in time for dinner," Natalie said, beaming at me.

Theo leaned in as Natalie threw the door wide for me, whispering into my friend's ear. Her eyebrows jumped, and a startled, brief laugh rose from her lips.

"Umm, why don't I take you up to the guest room and you can…get settled first," Natalie added, gaze flicking between Theo and me.

Theo hustled away, glancing wide-eyed over his shoulder at me and heading back toward their kitchen, while Natalie led me to the stairs.

"I smell, don't I?" I asked in a whisper, my cheeks flaming. I'd been sort of lost when I’d realized Khell had left the cottage and left me to my own devices. The only thing I could think to do was dress and leave.

"Eh. Weres have prissy little noses," Natalie said with a shrug, climbing the stairs ahead of me. "I didn't notice anything."