Chapter Three
Penelope
I muttered curses under my breath as I pushed the cart into the elevator after leaving the massive, annoying orc behind. He might be gorgeous, but he was a complete and utter dick.
I was scowling the entire way down, my mind replaying our entire interaction in a loop in my head. I bit my lower lip when I remembered the bulge in his pants, trying to forget it and only remember the hateful way he’d treated me.
My brain wasn’t letting me, though. It was reminding me that he was the biggest male I’d ever seen—in person anyway.
I wasn’t a prude by any means and I’d watched enough porn of different species to know that there were bigger cocks in the world, but none that I thought I might be able to take inside.
My face burned as I looked around guiltily, even though it was only a thought. I wasn’t saying that I would fuck the asshole anyway. Just that if I did, he would be the biggest I’d ever had.
The line of thought wasn’t helping the blood rushing to my face or the inexplicable wetness of my panties. I emptied my cart quickly, my face not losing any of its previous heat. This was definitely not what I should be thinking about.
In fact, if I was going to imagine any orc naked, it should be the second one who’d entered the floor after I had. He’d introduced himself as Rudgar and he was a perfect gentlemale.
He’d resembled the other orc so much that at first I’d been startled. When Rudgar had smiled at me, I’d realized that would be what it would look like if my orc smiled.
I stopped dead in my tracks, my hands filled with cleaning products. Looking around again and once more finding myself alone, I gave a nervous chuckle.
Not my orc. I didn’t have an orc. I didn’t have an anyone and it would be best to remember that. I was here for a purpose and nothing should distract me from it.
I moved to the changing room, my bag with street clothes in my hand and I marched forward with determination. I would not be remembering how perfectly gorgeous the male was. In fact, I’d be forgetting him immediately because if there was anyone who was off-limits, it was him. He was my boss and I’d do my best to remember that. He was the boss for the entire company. Everyone answered to him.
No wonder he’s such an arrogant prick.
Holding onto the caustic remark instead of the alluring memories of what he looked like in his suit, I put my bag on the counter at the bank of sinks and mirrors.
It wasn’t as though he would give me a second look anyway. I was a chubby human who he found just as annoying as I found him. Sighing deeply, I worked at the buttons of the dress I was wearing, stepping into the shower area.
I was so relieved when I saw that there were showers in the changing rooms. My roommate’s boyfriend always seemed to appear out of nowhere when I got out of the shower and I kept wondering if he was checking to see if I’d walk out naked.
It also stressed me out to have to keep making sure the door was securely locked. He was creepy enough that I double-checked my bedroom door lock each night, too.
The company was nice enough to provide toiletries and I was so grateful for the free things. That way every penny saved on body wash and shampoo could go back home to my parents.
I was lost in my own thoughts, scrubbing for a few minutes, but when my sudsy hands skimmed my breasts and I instead wondered what a certain orc’s fingers would feel like, everything came to a screeching halt.
No, no, no. Bad Pen. No imagining fucking the boss.
Exhaling a shaky breath, I pushed myself to think of anything else as I finished as fast as I could. Thoughts of the books that I was planning on checking out of the local library ran through my mind instead and the relief was intense. Books were safe. Books wouldn’t get me in trouble.
Grabbing the towels I’d brought along with me—knowing I’d be making good use of the shower facilities, I dried quickly and headed to my locker. The day hadn’t been difficult. In fact, it was way easier than the cleaning I’d done at the shoe factory back home and I was being paid so much more.
I took a deep breath, optimism shining in my heart for the first time in a long time. If I did a good job and kept chipping away at our debt, in a few years I’d be able to move back home.
Everything would work itself out, I just knew it. All I needed to do was focus on the goal and keep my eyes—and definitely my mind—off of the tempting orc.
I failed at keeping my mind off of the orc. In fact, I made it all of two blocks down the street without thinking of him. I was too busy dodging the constant crowds that were hustling to their destinations, even at this time of night, but I was counting my distraction in my favor.
By the time I entered the library though, memories of the thick locks of his black hair pulled me back to him. He had the kind of hair that I’d always dreamed of. Shiny and lustrous. I wondered what my fingers would look like buried in that thick mass. Better yet, with my fingers buried in his hair as he—
Finding myself going down another precarious train of thought, I redirected myself by taking pictures of the interior of the library and forwarding them to my best friend. She ran the library in our tiny town back home, but I just knew she would be obsessed with this one. First of all, there were so many more books and the systems they had were more sophisticated as well.
I texted her all about my first day, leaving out a certain orc who I shouldn’t be thinking about, and attached the picture with a heart emoji. I was hoping I could entice her to move to the city with me but she’d been reluctant so far.
I understood completely, since I’d been wary myself. While there were plenty of opportunities, it was so much more expensive to live in Grebath than our tiny town and it was scarier, too.
Our doors remained unlocked when we left our houses. I’d already seen way too much police activity for the same to be said here.
Still, there were so many perks, I mused, as I stepped up to one of the free computers, already connected to high speed internet and took a seat.
The library stayed open even at the ungodly hours that I was working, to cater to nocturnal species. When I’d discovered that, I’d felt an unholy glee. I loved books so much and this was the cheapest and easiest way to access them.
I forced myself to act casual while I was already frothing at the mouth for more information on the orc that I met this morning. I didn’t want to use my phone while connected to the internet at work to do the search, because I wasn’t the most tech savvy and I didn’t want to be caught researching the boss while there.
I especially didn’t want him to know and I wasn’t sure if those things were captured across shared services. So here I was instead, eagerly typing keywords into the search engine.
Dristan Everlock.
I inhaled sharply at his name. It was so sexy. It fit him perfectly. Annoyed with myself for thinking anything positive about the arrogant male, I skimmed some articles about him.
He’d taken over his father’s company at a young age, after his parents had passed, and he’d ensured positive cash flow and profits ever since. He had one sibling, Rudgar Everlock—the male that I met last night. It would explain the resemblance.
According to the article, the Everlock brothers were the most eligible bachelors around. I rolled my eyes. Just another reason for Dristan to be a dick. Snorting out a laugh, I said in my head, Dristen the dick . It suited him. They were both in their late twenties and unattached. No one saw them out with females often and they tended to skip social events more often than not.
I gave a derisive sniff at the picture of Dristan scowling at the camera. Even though he was still the most gorgeous male ever, he was the worst behaved. He’d probably accosted the photographer after he’d taken it.
Annoyed with myself, I closed the tabs and moved away from the computers. I wasn’t helping myself by stalking the male. I made my way to the romance section of the library. The list that my best friend Becca had sent me was burning a hole in my phone.
She’d promised me heavy spice and swoony romance. She knew I loved multi-species love stories, so she read a few and recommended the best that were available here.
She truly was the best friend and while I was checking out, I asked the nice centaur helping me about possible vacancies. I was directed to the website and I sent her the link before hugging the stack of books to my chest, hiding the cover of the one on top.
It was a random selection that I made, without thinking, and I didn’t want to overthink my choice. My face was on fire the entire walk back to my apartment. It was an orc romance, but had nothing to do with the male I met last night. I was determined to believe my lie.
When I unlocked the front door, I gasped as I almost ran into the man blocking me from entering.
“Oh, Dave. Hi.” My roommate’s skeevy boyfriend smiled at me, still not letting me pass. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Can I get by?”
He moved an inch and I gritted my teeth as I squeezed past him. He was grinning at me the entire time, turning with me. When I scurried away, he laughed, which made me want to face him and tell him off.
Living here was the only place I could afford, and that was only because of my roommate. I didn’t want to piss her off and get kicked out. I had a feeling he was the reason the rent was so cheap. They probably couldn’t find anyone who would put up with his bullshit.
His sweaty smell and pallid skin made me cringe whenever he stood too close, which seemed like always and the feel of his rancid breath on my neck was horrifying. At first, I’d wondered if she was in on the game, allowing him to act the way he did.
But I noticed that he acted differently when she was there. He pretended that all was normal.
I gritted my teeth, promising myself that I wouldn’t give up the search for another affordable apartment—which in layman’s terms meant dirt cheap . I couldn’t afford anything except the shared tiny shithole for now.
“What’ve you got there?” he asked, reaching into my personal space and tapping on the books I held up against my chest protectively. From the gleam in his eyes I knew the asshole was goading me for a reason. I just didn’t know what it was and I wasn’t willing to find out.
“Books.” My response was monotone and I waved at my roommate Kelly as I passed by the living room.
She smiled at me. “How was your first day?”
She really was the sweetest. I hoped that she could eventually see through Dave’s fakeness. “It was great. I’m wiped, though, so I’ll head to bed.”
She nodded with understanding, holding her hand out for the asshole to join her. When he did, still sending a creepy smile my way, it was everything I could do to hold back a gag.
Grabbing a cup of instant noodles for dinner, I made my way into my bedroom, closing and locking my door as I did. I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard the unmistakable sound of Dave the Dickhead testing the door handle to see if I’d forgotten to lock it.
Exhaling a slow breath, I put the books onto the tiny desk I’d found and somehow managed to squeeze into the corner. I avoided looking at the cover of the one on top, even knowing that it would be the one I started with. I turned on the electric kettle I kept in my room before picking up the book.
I bit my lip as I finally looked at it. The massive orc posed on the cover didn’t look like Dristan, but he could be his twin when it came to muscular builds. I turned to the first page, already deeply engrossed in the story when the kettle clicked off. I flinched as the noise echoed in the quiet of the room.
I only put down the book long enough to prepare my instant noodles. By the time I came up for a breath, my noodles were cold, my nipples were tight and all I could imagine was Dristan Everlock.
Fuck .