Page 23 of Grumpy Orc Daddy
"Rayna, will you just listen to me?" His voice is laced with frustration as he bursts into the room. "I've done nothing wrong!"
I whirl to face him, my chest heaving with barely contained emotion as months of pent-up frustration threaten to boil over. "That's just it, Janta. You never think you've done anything wrong!"
His brow furrows, confusion and anger warring on his features as he tries to make sense of my outburst. "What's that supposed to mean?" he counters, his voice edged with a defensive bite.
The words come tumbling out, unleashed after so long kept bottled up inside. "It means you've been so wrapped up in your own world, you've been blind to how much you've been neglecting us!" I gesture wildly between us, the motion fueled by a desperation for him to finally understand.
Janta regards me in stunned silence, his jaw working as he struggles to formulate a response. Then, with a shake of his head, he lets out a mirthless chuckle that sends a chill down my spine. "You're unbelievable, you know that? All this over a few innocent conversations."
"It's not just about the conversations!" I cry out, my voice cracking with the weight of my anguish. Hot tears prick at the corners of my eyes as the dam finally breaks. "It's about the late nights at the office, the way you've been slowly pulling away. And I can't keep pretending like everything is fine, because it's not!"
Janta's shoulders slump, the fight seeming to leave him all at once as the truth of my words settles over him like a shroud. "What are you talking about!” He yells before composing himself. “Rayna..." he says firmly before trailing off, shaking his head slowly, his expression a tumultuous mix of guilt and sorrow. "I had no idea you felt that way."
A bitter laugh escapes my lips, the sound laced with equal parts pain and disbelief. "Well, I do."
The heavy silence hangs between us like a leaden weight, pressing down until I fear it might crush me entirely. Janta's gaze remains guarded, a tempest of emotions swirling just beneath the surface that I can't quite read.
"Say something," I plead, my voice barely above a whisper.
For a long moment, he doesn't respond, and dread coils like a vice around my heart. But then, in two strides, he's before me, calloused fingers grazing my cheek with a featherlight touch.
"Rayna..." he murmurs, his deep baritone sending an unexpected shiver down my spine. There's a raw vulnerability in his expression that I've never seen before, not even in our most intimate moments.
I open my mouth, but the words catch in my throat as his thumb brushes away the stray tear that spills over onto my cheek. Suddenly, the air itself crackles with an energy I can't quite put a name to, rendering me utterly breathless.
"I'm sorry," he rasps, his gruff voice rough with emotion. "I've been such a fool, I didn’t know you were jealous and that I was hurting you when you're the only thing that makes sense in my world."
A strangled sound escapes my lips as I search his eyes, seeing the depth of feeling shining back at me. This isn't about endings, but new beginnings forged in the fires of our turmoil.
Janta's hand cups my cheek, his touch featherlight yet laden with a tenderness that steals what little breath I have left. "You deserve everything, Rayna. And I promise, from here on out, I'll spend every day showing you how much you mean to me."
I want to respond, to give voice to the torrent of emotions swirling within me, but all thoughts flee as his next actions render me speechless. With an urgency that sets my pulse thundering, his mouth captures mine in a searing kiss.
It's desperate and messy, laced with months of unspoken longing and a passion I didn't realize I'd been craving until this moment. I cling to him, pouring every ounce of my love, my hurt, my hopes into the heated embrace.
When we finally part, my legs are trembling, my heart racing as if I've run a marathon. Janta's eyes are bright with unshed tears that mirror the dampness on my own cheeks.
"Why now?" I manage to rasp out, struggling to make sense of the whirlwind thundering through me.
He lets out a shaky breath, his thumb tracing the line of my cheekbone. "Because I finally saw the truth. I've been so caught up in my own head, I couldn't see what was right in front of me."
His words hang in the air, driving the breath from my lungs as their meaning blossoms in my mind. All this time of doubt and fear...and he's been harboring the same feelings I have.
"Janta, I..." My voice cracks with the intensity of the emotion coursing through me.
But he silences me with another soul-searing kiss, leaving no more need for words. In this endless stretch of moments, our hearts have finally intersected on the same path forward – one paved by an all-encompassing love reborn from the ashes of our arguments.
And as his arms envelop me, the jagged shards of hurt and doubt are washed away by a profound sense of rightness. Of coming home, at last, to the place I've belonged all along.
CHAPTER 14
Janta
My hands dwarf Rayna’s body as I pull her closer to me, deepening the kiss. She’s so delicate beneath my hands, fueling my passion for her. She gasps parting her lips against mine, and I slip my tongue against hers, groaning into the kiss and sliding my hands down her petite curves.
Her hands fold in my shirt as if to pull me closer.
“Rayna,” I pant while breaking the kiss, but she silences me as she pulls me back in.