Ballad and Blade by M Bonneau

A prequel in the Destiny’s Edge universe.

Widowed for four years and raising her son alone, Tamaka needs an escape from her loneliness and the crushing weight of her responsibilities. When she meets a charming young human bard in a tavern, she seizes the chance to be someone else for a night. He’s moving on to the next kingdom in the morning, after all. She can indulge her long-suppressed desires without worrying that she’ll ever need to see him again.
Anslo is a traveling bard, no entanglements to tie him down. He’s happy to spend a night with a beautiful orc woman and then be on his way. But he can’t stop thinking about Tam, the fire and passion in her touch, the secret sadness in her eyes. Over a single night, she turns him inside out. Despite how hard he tries to forget her, he finds himself returning to the orc kingdom, hoping to see her again.
But his lovely Tam has been keeping far more secrets than he could have guessed. She is a widow with a child, the ruler of all the orcs… and pregnant with Anslo’s baby. Anslo had never planned to settle down and raise a family. He doesn’t know the first thing about being a father. But his heart can’t let Tamaka go, and he’s willing to do whatever he must to be worthy of her.

(“Ballad and Blade” is a monster romance with a dominant heroine and bisexual hero. It can be read alone, or with the rest of the series in any order, though some elements of the book will be enhanced by first reading “Seed.” The Destiny’s Edge series is open door fantasy romance with happy endings but grimdark elements. This particular story is mostly cozy rather than dark. Please see inside the book or on the author’s website (mbonneau.com) for a full list of content considerations.)