Page 56 of Bossed By the Orc

She laughed, dropping to her knees in the grass in front of her house, her arms held wide-open in welcome. A vision immediately popped into my head. I saw us as we were, returning home after a long day and a tiny green-skinned mixture of both of us would race to greet us.

The longing was so visceral that I felt my throat tighten.

The little human boy slammed into my mate, almost throwing her down and I steadied her with a palm on her shoulder. She gave me a grateful look as she stood, squeezing him tight.

“Oh my Gods, Marley,” she gushed, “You’ve gotten so big.”

“I grew two whole inches since you left, Pen,” he pulled back in her arms—somewhere it was obvious he was used to being—as he held up three fingers.

“It shows,” my mate pressed a kiss to his cheek and he wrapped his arms around her neck, grinning under her attention. He blinked those owlish eyes up at me.

“Who’s the scary orc?” he asked and I hid a laugh as I held my hand out to him.

“My name’s Dristan,” I told him, and the little one took one of my fingers into his hand, shaking it with professional gusto.

“I’m Marley,” he said, his chest puffing up. “And one day I’m going to be as big as you! I eat my spinach!” His announcement was met with coos from my mate and I watched as a human couple—who held a good resemblance to the little one in my mate’s arms stepped out of their home. They had a huge grin on their face when they spotted Penelope, but the look turned tentative when they saw me.

Rudgar stepped up behind me, and I regretted that we hadn’t worn something more casual for this meeting. Two orcs in suits didn’t scream here for a family visit.

“Pen,” the female called, waving at her. “It’s so great to see you.” The couple moved closer, still not taking their eyes from us.

“Hi Liz, hi Mike.” Penelope walked over to them and I followed close behind her. “It’s so great to see you guys. Marley’s grown so much.”

Their strained smiles gave my mate pause and she turned and gestured toward us. “This is…” She trailed off, her eyes going wide as she wondered how to introduce me. Marley fixed that with a simple,

“Bristan.”

Amusement curled inside me at the sweet mispronunciation of my name. “Dristan,” I corrected, attempting a friendly smile.

“That’s what I said,” Marley told me with a firm nod.

“We’re having some issues with the developer. He’s here to help,” Penelope told them and the couple nodded with understanding.

“We already sold,” Liz sighed, reaching for Marley. The little bundle went to his mother without an issue before squirming down to stand on his own. “We just couldn’t fight them anymore. I’m so glad you guys are still holding out.”

“Did they pressure you into selling?” Rudgar asked, taking a step closer.

Liz nodded, turning to her husband who hugged her around the shoulders. He nodded also, jerking his thumb toward the quaint home behind them. “We’d never have sold if they didn’t keep hounding us. It got to the point where it just wasn’t worth the hassle. They were calling us at work, at home, showing up at weird hours.” He shook his head, adjusting his glasses. “They aren’t even paying that much, but we figured we should get out before they got worse.”

“They visited my parents a bunch of times too.” Penelope shook her head, reaching out to squeeze Liz’s hand in commiseration. “That’s why I’m back. They’re telling Mom that the house is already theirs, but that’s just not possible.”

With that, I glanced back at Rudgar and he nodded, turning to return to the car after waving at everyone. A tug on my pants had me looking down at Marley. He held his hands up to me in a gesture that even I understood meant that he wanted me to pick him up.

With a hesitant glance at his parents—who didn’t throw up an immediate protest—I lifted the tiny form, replicating what I had seen Penelope do earlier. I hadn’t held a child in a long time. Not since Rudgar had grown up. The muscle memory came back without much fuss and Marley cheered.

“I’m so high up! Look, Mama!”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Penelope

My ovaries gave a hearty sigh as I watched Dristan lift Marley into his arms. I hadn’t expected it. I’d been ready to distract Marley with a chocolate that I kept in my purse, but I didn’t need to. He held him with such ease that I melted at the sight.

I’m going to have his babies.

The thought—one that I’d never had before—was so jarring that everything else took a back seat for the moment. Did I want to have that level of commitment with Dristan?

As I watched him lift Marley even higher—with a secure hold under his arms—while the boy giggled with glee, the answer was a resounding yes.

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