Page 62 of Bossed By the Orc

My parents were up and hugging him in the next moment, my mom sobbing against his lapel. I watched with amusement as Dristan stood frozen, his arms wide out from his body as they squeezed him. He met my gaze, his expression baffled, but I shrugged, joining our final hug-puddle of the day.

After a lengthy debate—where my parents were adamant that we should sleep in my old room, and I insisted that Dristan’s toe, much less his entire body, couldn’t fit in the tiny twin bed that had been mine since childhood—I found myself on my way to the nearest hotel. It wasn’t fancy by any means, but they had larger beds than anything we had at home.

I peered up at the male next to me from under my lashes. It was also going to give me privacy to figure out a way to seduce my male. Because there was no way that we were going to sleep in a room together and he was leaving it unscathed.

He glanced over at me, a smile spreading across his lips and he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. I sighed dreamily, happy and relieved for the first time since my mom had gotten sick. The hospital had called before we’d left, saying that they’d found a new experimental drug that they were going to start her on as soon as possible. It had significant results based on recent findings and since she fit their list of requirements to a tee, they were offering it to her for free. It was as though miracles were falling from the sky—especially now that we didn’t have to worry about the mortgage.

I still had no idea how he’d pulled it off, but my male had figured a way out of the mountain of debt we’d been sitting in. I sidled closer to him on the backseat, offering my mouth to him. He took it without question, and I ignored Rudgar’s groan from where he was driving in the front.

“Come on,” he sighed. “Don’t rub your bliss in my face. I’m still single AF, over here.”

I pulled away from Dristan’s lips with a giggle. “My best friend, Becca, is single,” I told him with a grin. “And she’s very pro-orc.”

“Of course she is,” Dristan sniffed, tugging me closer until my side was pressed up against his—his heat and scent surrounding me. “We’re the best species there is.”

I jabbed my elbow into his side, making him grunt, but he smirked down at me, unrepentant. “If you weren’t so damn sexy and I wasn’t in such a good mood, I’d take offense,” I huffed while Rudgar pretended to gag in the front seat.

“Thank the Gods, we’re here,” Rudgar announced, waving his hand at the small-chain hotel in front of us. “Now I can abandon you two and get some actual work done.”

We exited the car and made our way to the front desk. Dristan easily hefted our bags out of the trunk. When I spotted one of my old friends from high school working at the check-in, we both squealed with joy, reaching out to grab each other’s hands.

I heard Dristan groan from behind me and decided to ignore his grumpiness. “Abigail,” I gasped. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Me?” she laughed, “What about you? I heard you got a big-shot job in the city!” That was when she peered behind me and her gaze moved upward until she was looking at Dristan. “Oh, my. Are you here with him?” Her grin was infectious. “Is that why you’re checking into a hotel rather than staying with your parents?” She waggled her eyebrows before putting her hands up. “Not that I blame you. Can’t make any noise with your parents in the next room.”

Heat filled my face again, “This is Dristan.” I bit my lip, turning to give him a shy smile. “And he’s mine.”

I watched his pupils dilate, his entire focus on me. It probably wasn’t the kind of declaration I should be making without consulting him, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Abigail squealed, leaning over the counter while handing me a key. “This is on me, babe. The beds in the suite are strong enough for bigger species. Plus, they can take a beating.”

I turned scandalized eyes her way, but she was too busy giggling up a storm. Then she noticed Rudgar behind us and she fanned herself. “And who’s this?”

I gestured toward him, with a smile. “This is Dristan’s brother, Rudgar. He and their friend Kor will need rooms, too.”

“Mine is available,” Abigail said with a serious face before breaking into a grin. “But that can wait until date number two. In the meanwhile, I can set you up over here while the two lovebirds get settled.” She waved him over and I abandoned an amused Rudgar with my vivacious friend.

She’d been a handful since junior high. Becca and I had gotten into many scrapes with her, but she’d always been able to talk our way out of it. The sheriff was very familiar with her particular brand of wild and free.

I took Dristan’s hand and led him toward the suites. It didn’t take long for us to get there, but before I unlocked it, I turned to him, biting my lip as I peered into his yellow eyes.

“I wasn’t joking back there,” I told him, swallowing hard as I laid my soul bare for him. “You’re mine. Now that everything’s settled, I’ve decided that I’m keeping you.”

Amusement crinkled at the corner of his eyes as he swept his big fingers through my curly hair. “Is that so?”

I nodded, my breathing going shallow as he lowered his face to mine. When we were an inch apart, he murmured, “Good,” before sealing our lips together.

Heat lanced through me, starting at our lips and spreading all the way down my body. “Dristan,” I murmured, fumbling behind me with the key. He pulled away, taking the key from me and opening the door before locking it behind us. I didn’t even notice the room before his arms wrapped around me and his huge palm cupped my ass.

He lifted me against him and I gave a short squeak as my legs dangled off of the floor.

Gods, this male is strong.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, clinging to him as he pressed me to the door, his fingers tugging my hair until my head was angled perfectly for him to fit his lips against mine again. Bracketed by his tusks, I moaned in the back of my throat as he ravaged my mouth.

The male was made for kissing. All of his bottled intensity poured out of him. I cupped his cheeks, twining my fingers through his beard and holding on for dear life as his tongue took me on a journey of seduction. He nipped my lower lip with his fangs and I gasped, pulling away.

He grinned at me, quirking a challenging brow and I sighed with joy, leaning in to seal our lips together again. He could be as cocky as he wanted to. He was damn good at this.

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