Chapter Fourteen
Penelope
I smothered a small yawn in my palm as Dristan listened to someone speaking orcish on the other line. The day was full of learning and scrambling.
My newest realization was that Dristan was a beast when it came to efficiency. There wasn’t a spare minute in his day— he used every one of them.
There were definitely some things that could easily be passed on to someone else—like myself or Fionel—but the male was bound and determined to keep the heavy lifting for himself.
He glanced over at me, his eyes softening for a moment before he glanced at the clock. It was well after midnight and my empty stomach made a loud gurgle in protest.
We hadn’t had a chance to eat all day. At first I’d been too distracted with learning to even notice. Dristan’s lessons were fast and furious and there was no break in between.
He cut off the other male on the phone, mid-sentence, hanging up and facing me. “You haven’t eaten.”
I quirked an eyebrow, smirking at him. “Neither have you.”
He waved that off, standing and ushering me out of the door. I barely had the chance to grab my things. Scrambling after him, I rolled my eyes as he passed Fionel’s empty desk. The male had peeked in on us earlier, shaking his head at Dristan and giving me a sympathetic look before waving farewell as he headed home.
“Is your day always this full?” I yawned, my eyes watering as I stretched on our way down the elevator.
“Mostly,” he murmured, and I noticed his eyes were on my breasts as I arched my back. I immediately straightened, my face heating with embarrassment.
Being around the male all day was easing me into being around him. When his complete and utter attention wasn’t directly focused on me, it was easy to forget that his intensity was brewing beneath the surface at all times.
“We’ll eat when we get home,” he told me, his gaze skimming down my rumpled clothes.
“Did you want me to make something?” I asked, remembering the pantry and refrigerator filled with ingredients I would love to experiment with.
“You cook?” Dristan’s brow furrowed as he gave me an incredulous look while we exited the elevator.
I nodded, my enthusiasm shining through as I said, “I love cooking. I just haven’t been able to do much of it lately.” I looked away from him, too uncomfortable to admit that it was because I didn’t have enough money in my budget for real ingredients.
I’d been sustaining myself with cheap instant ramen, cereal, and eggs. His pantry was overflowing with a plethora of healthy, delicious looking foods and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them.
His wide brow furrowed and he ran a big palm over his mouth. “There’ll be food ready for us tonight. Won’t you be too tired?”
I shrugged as he led me toward his SUV. He opened my door—a consummate gentlemale—and I waited for him to be seated before I continued our conversation. “I don’t mind cooking for us if it’s okay with you.”
“It’s not a part of your contract,” he told me, his voice gruff. “I don’t want you doing anything because you feel obligated.”
I smiled at him, leaning back in my seat. “I never feel obligated when it comes to food.” I grinned over at him and he made a low sound of agreement that resonated in my pussy. I looked away immediately, swallowing hard as I pretended to not feel anything for him.
“What do you like to eat?” I asked, tilting my head as I studied his profile.
He quirked a proud eyebrow as he glanced my way. “Are you asking if I eat raw meat and ground bones?”
I grinned at him. “Well with your attitude, it’s a reasonable question.”
He grunted in response, but I saw his lips quirk at the corners. “I like steak. As rare as the chef’s willing to make it for me.”
“I knew it,” I crowed, watching with amusement as he rolled his eyes. “Bloody meat is your style. It explains so much.” I sent a saccharine smile his way and he narrowed his eyes in my direction for a moment before focusing on the road ahead once more.
When he was parked, I scrambled out of the giant SUV just as he was rounding the front to get to my door. He towered over me, huffing out a breath, his scowl magnificent on his grumpy face. “What did I say about your door?”
I cocked my hip out, my hand going to it automatically. “I’m sorry, but it really makes the most sense if—”
He backed me up against the now-closed door and I felt the heat of his massive chest flooding me. “What did I say?”
Any fight left in me died a quick death under an onslaught of lust. “To wait for you to open it.”
He searched my face, his yellow eyes crackling with fire. “Then what should you have done?” he growled.
I swallowed hard, my panties soaked. “I should have waited,” I whispered, my breathy voice giving away my lack of composure.
“Good,” he murmured, his penetrating gaze focused on where my tongue darted out to moisten my lips. “The next time you forget that, you’re not going to like what happens.”
I swallowed hard, licking my lips again as I stared up at his mouth, distracted by his gleaming tusks. “Okay,” I whispered and he gave a low chuckle that made my pussy clench. It was filled with dark promises that I wasn’t sure I could handle.
He tilted his head toward the elevator. My body followed his silent instruction without my permission, moving toward the gleaming doors.
Every time I glanced up at him, I found him watching me, a seductive gleam shining in his eyes. My knees were so weak, they were trembling as we finally entered the elevator. I held my breath, trying not to inhale his masculine scent.
I didn’t know if I had the willpower to not throw myself at him and I didn’t want to test it. When the doors finally opened, I hustled outside, ignoring his snort of amusement. I made my way into the kitchen, but slowed as I saw two covered trays already laid out on the counter, covered by cloches.
Indecision rose in me as I slowly lifted one, a pleasant scent wafting out. “I guess we shouldn’t waste this, though,” I said, my mouth already watering. After weeks of living off of instant food, being presented with the real thing turned me into a slavering beast.
The grunt behind me, and the feel of a muscled chest pressing against my back as Dristan peered at the food, reminded me that I wasn’t the only beast in the room. He pinned me close with his big palm on my hip before sniffing the food.
“It’ll do,” he said, lifting my fingers and allowing the cloche to drop with a small clatter before turning me to face him.
My body was pliable in his hands, moving anywhere he wanted it to. I faced him, my chin tilted up to meet his piercing yellow gaze.
“Is this going to be okay? I can get them to make something else,” he murmured, tracing a blunt finger down my cheek.
It took long moments before I realized he was speaking to me. “Oh,” I gasped, scrambling to get away from him while he skimmed his gaze down to my exposed cleavage, his wide tongue coming out to lick across his lips.
I’m going to die of heatstroke.
I squeezed past him, my pussy clenching hard and reminding me that she’d like to take him for a test run—something I didn’t know that I’d ever be able to forget if I wanted to—and moved to grab both trays. He exhaled an annoyed breath before snatching them from my hands and taking them to the huge table in the dining room.
I followed him, hesitating only when he pulled the chair out for me. I swallowed hard as I passed by him, settling myself into the chair and freezing as he stood next to me, tipping my chin up with his rough thumb so I was looking up at him. As I did, I realized that we were at the perfect height for me to suck his cock.
With that thought in mind, my brain went blank. His thick eyebrow rose and I realized he’d asked a question. My face was already so hot I wondered if he could feel it. Especially since he kept his thumb under my chin, gently rubbing the skin there.
“Penelope?” he drawled. My name on his lips was the utmost seduction. The sound that left my throat was needy and carnal and I watched his pupils expand until it almost completely overtook the yellow. “Did you want something else?” The gravel in his words sent a shiver down my spine.
“N-no,” I lied, turning to the tray in front of me, tugging my chin from his grasp.
He hesitated for one tense moment before making his way to his own chair. We ate in silence after that—the truth of our attraction to each other sitting heavily between us, almost as large as the male I wanted to fling myself at.