Summoning the Orc (The Kingverse Orcs #2)

Chapter Thirty-One

Becca

I walked into Pen’s apartment, my hand tucked inside Rok’s uninjured one, the other wrapped loosely in a gauze to prevent any infections. I wasn’t sure if there was anything different between our worlds in terms of germs.

Just to be safe, I’d tried to cover as much of the affected skin as possible. It was difficult to see the affected skin since it all looked normal. Taking extra precautions couldn’t hurt him, though, so I’d pressed kisses to his lips as I’d taken care of him, ensuring that he was smothered in hugs and had full access to my breasts to distract him from the pain.

He’d had a happy smile on his face the entire time, only wincing once when I’d asked him if it hurt. The hard flinch had told me how much my strong mate was hiding the true brunt of the pain from me.

Pen met us in the entryway of the huge penthouse apartment she shared with her mate, her arms wide for a hug. I gave her a tight squeeze and she exclaimed over Rok’s hand, fussing in the way only a sister could.

“Oh no, Rok! Did you hurt yourself?” she asked, gasping, her fingers pressed to her mouth in shock.

“Helping me,” I explained, guilt washing over me. I peered up at my mate with an apologetic gaze, but he was avoiding my eyes. My heart ached at the thought of him being angry, but I knew he had a right to be. I’d been careless. “He took the ziti out of the oven, and I hadn’t had mittens ready for him,” I told her, pointing to the dishes stacked inside the bag that he was carrying on the pinky finger of his injured hand.

I’d asked him to let me take them instead, but he’d scoffed. And when I’d released his unburned hand so he could use that instead, he’d snatched it back up and given me a little pout.

That had earned him a big kiss in the elevator on the way up. Rok loved affection of any kind, and I was more than willing to give it to him.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Pen said with a frown. “It’s weird though, because Dristan takes stuff out of the oven all the time with bare hands and he never gets hurt.”

“Maybe it’s because he’s not from here,” I guessed, rubbing my palm up and down his arm when he stiffened next to me. “But whatever it is, I’m hoping he won’t have to see a doctor. I don’t want him to leave the building.”

“We can have Dristan’s doctor come here if he needs it,” Pen told me, giving Rok an encouraging smile, turning to lead us to the living room where I could hear voices.

When we entered, I gasped, excitement bubbling inside my body. I threw myself at the couple who were already standing from their seats and heading my way.

“Oh my Gods, I didn’t know you guys were coming. I would have picked you up! I would have—” I started, my voice already shaking with emotion.

The past few weeks had been the longest that I’d ever gone without seeing the two people in the world who I considered my parents. Pen’s mother and father reached for me, squeezing me into tight hugs and I felt Pen wrap herself around us as well.

I held in my tears as something settled inside me that I hadn’t known was missing. With that final piece in place, I looked over my shoulder at Rok, where he was standing, a frown playing across his face.

I grinned at him and held my hand out. He hesitated before moving toward me. When our fingers met, I pulled away from the hug to hold his hand in mine.

“I’m so glad you’re here, though. I have someone I need to introduce you to,” I told them, turning to beam up at the male who’d made his way into my heart. “This is my Rok. He’s my mate.”

His lips parted as he stared down at me, the intensity in his gaze telling me how much he was feeling in that moment. It was the first time that I was introducing him to anyone new and I wanted it to be perfect. Especially this one.

“And these are my parents,” I told him, holding my hand out toward where they stood.

Rok’s eyes went wide and he bowed low in front of them, his fist against his heart. “I’m honored to meet you both,” he told them, not lifting from his pose.

“The honor’s ours,” Keith laughed, reaching out to touch Rok’s shoulder in welcome. “I heard you’re the one who stole our girl’s heart.”

Rok finally rose from his bow, his eyes wary as he nodded. “I should have approached you first, of course. I didn’t mean any disrespect—” he started, but Susan waved him off, grabbing him into a hug and squeezing him as tight as she could.

Rok’s eyes were huge as he stared at me over her shoulder. I couldn’t do anything but grin back at him, knowing that this wonderful couple who’d taken in an orphaned kid when they hadn’t needed to would accept him into the fold as long as I loved him—and I did.

Keith’s arm came around my shoulder and he waggled a finger at Rok. “But you better treat her right. If I hear any complaints, I’m going to sic Rudgar on you,” he announced, pointing toward Rudgar who was in the middle of shoving what I knew to be one of Susan’s famous cookies in his mouth.

He pointed to himself in question and when Keith gave him an encouraging nod, he nodded right back. “Of course,” he choked on his bite of cookie. “I’m available for any siccing that you need.”

He went back to filling his face with cookies and I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll never hurt her,” Rok rushed to reassure them. “And I’ll protect her,” he added. “From anything and anyone that I need to.” His eyes went even bigger and he looked at Dristan. “Do you have the numbers to show them for how much the dragon gold is worth on this plane?” He turned back to Keith and Susan, his expression frantic. “I can provide for her. I don’t have the gold with me, but—”

“No need,” Keith said, holding his hands up to stop the tirade that Rok had started. “Our girl doesn’t need to be provided for. She’s working at the biggest library in Grebath,” he explained, hugging me closer, radiating pride to the entire room and Susan hugged me around my waist to add hers.

My heart was so full, I didn’t know what to do.

“We just need you to be there for her,” Susan explained, turning to give me a stern frown. “She thinks she should be doing everything herself, but that’s not true. Having someone with you to be a partner in this life is very important,” she added, cupping my cheeks and pressing a kiss to my forehead.

I tried to keep the tears from my eyes as I nodded, but I failed. I gave her a watery smile and laugh. “I know that now,” I told her, as she wiped my tear away with her thumb.

“Good,” she said in a low voice, then turned to Rok. “And I made enough cookies to feed an orc army, so make sure you grab some.”

He grinned as I made my way to him, hugging him close as Rudgar’s garbled voice came from behind us.

“This was for everyone?” he asked, holding up the huge, empty, Tupperware.

“I’m so glad you came over,” I told Susan, taking her hand into mine at the dinner table. All of the dishes were spread out and there was chatter all along the table.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” she told me, nudging my shoulder with hers. “One daughter’s falling in love and the other is pregnant.” She waved a hand in front of her face as her eyes misted. “It’s like all of the dreams I had for both of you are finally coming true.”

I leaned over for a hug and Pen hugged her from the other side. “Mine isn’t exciting yet. We just found out. But Becca ,” she whispered. “She’s finally found the orc of her dreams. I remember when we were six and drawing pictures of what our weddings would be like.”

She covered her mouth to smother a laugh. “I drew myself marrying daddy, but Becks . Becks already knew who her knight in leather armor would be.” She snickered and heat rushed to my face as I remembered what she was talking about.

“I like orcs,” I said with a shrug.

“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 was mine ,” 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 bite into 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.

“Handsome and you 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.