Page 55 of Summoning the Orc

“There’s nothing wrong with a type,” Susan said, smacking Pen’s hand. “And I like that orc too. He’d do anything to make her happy. I can already tell.”

I looked over at where Rok sat next to me, eyeing the steak in front of him with a prod of his fork. He leaned over toward me and I tilted my head in his direction.

“It’s not bloody,” he said, brow furrowed. “How do we know it’s a fresh kill?”

I threw my head back with a laugh and he startled next to me, before giving me a smile. “I’ll get you another one,” I told him, pressing a kiss to his cheek, and Pen waved us off, picking Dristan’s plate up from in front of him while he gaped at us.

She passed it over toward Rok and he gave a contented sigh as he tucked into the raw steak.

“That wasmine,” Dristan growled, his fists hitting the table in a loud bang.

Used to his tantrums, no one else at the table even bothered to look his way, continuing with their meals as if they hadn’t heard him.

Rok blinked, glancing from the steak to him and looked ready to give the plate back.

“You can have ziti,” Pen told Dristan with a kiss to his cheek. “I don’t know if I could kiss you later anyway if you ate that. The morning sickness seems to be kicking in and I can’t stand the smell of it.” She wrinkled her nose and he was on her right away, tipping her face back and putting his hand over her stomach, giving it a gentle rub.

“You should have said something, I won’t eat them again,” he murmured, giving her a sweet kiss.

Her happy sigh was all I needed to hear to wave Rok on. He hesitated for only a moment longer before he tucked into the steak with gusto.

“And this is something that Rok made, right?” Susan asked from next to me, cutting into the flaky dessert.

Rok nodded, sitting up to smile at her. “It’s a clan recipe. Passed down through the generations.” His brow furrowed as he shook his head. “Each generation adds their own touch. Mine is the layers. It’s usually done in a tart,” he explained, gesturing with his hands to show a smaller size than the one he’d made. “I like it this way better.”

She nodded, taking a hefty helping and I did the same. One biteinto it made me moan. The tart apples and the flaky pastry along with the sweetness of the honey were perfect.

“Oh my Gods,” I whispered, taking another hearty bite. “You’re making this every day for me.”

His grin was infection as he looked on with satisfaction.

“You like it?” he asked and I nodded, taking another bite and moaning.

That prompted everyone to take a slice. The compliments from around the table made him grin, his chest puffed up with pride.

“I’ll make it again for the next dinner,” her told everyone, and they responded with full mouths as they moaned around bites.

Even Dristan said, “Two more next time,” while feeding Pen a bite and then taking one for himself.

“Handsomeandyou can cook,” I told him, stroking my fingers down the side of his face as he looked down at me. “I think I’m keeping you.”

He grinned at me, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to my lips. As he pulled away, I realized I’d never been happier in my life. Settling my head against his shoulder, I watched my family laugh and chat together, contentment filling me to the brim.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Rok

Staring at the little black box in front of me, I looked over at Rudgar, who gave me a smile, still patient after all these weeks.

“It’s broken,” I told him, with finality.

He touched the little black lump to the right—that Rudgar had called amouse,but it didn’t look like any rodent that I was familiar with—and the black box came to life again, showing an image of blue sky.

“It’s dark magic,” I added, gesturing toward it.

“It’s a computer,” Rudgar said with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “And you’re going to have to learn to use it.”

“My mother said you shouldnevermess with dark magic,” I told him, shaking my head and keeping my hands firmly tucked against my side.

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