Chapter Thirty-Two
Penelope
My ovaries gave a hearty sigh as I watched Dristan lift Marley into his arms. I hadn’t expected it. I’d been ready to distract Marley with a chocolate that I kept in my purse, but I didn’t need to. He held him with such ease that I melted at the sight.
I’m going to have his babies.
The thought—one that I’d never had before—was so jarring that everything else took a back seat for the moment. Did I want to have that level of commitment with Dristan?
As I watched him lift Marley even higher—with a secure hold under his arms—while the boy giggled with glee, the answer was a resounding yes.
It was going to be an exhausting task to keep my hands off of this male. Biting my lip, I watched Liz smother a laugh, mischief in her eyes as she looked between me and the huge male holding her son.
“It was so great seeing you,” I told them, leaning in for hugs as I pointed to my home. “But I want to make sure my parents are okay.”
They nodded, their expressions transforming to looks of concern. “Of course,” Mike said, reaching for his son who gave a wail of complaint as he left Dristan’s arms. I pressed a kiss to his sniffling face and he squeezed me in a tight hug before releasing me. He reached for Dristan next and I watched the big male allow the child to wrap his arms as far around his neck as they could go.
“Bye, little one,” he murmured, chucking him under the chin with a gentle finger.
“Bye Bristan. Will you come over to play again soon?” Marley asked, his sweet eyes pleading.
I watched Dristan fight a losing battle. This male who ruled over the boardroom gave the child a nod, unable to say no. I hid my smile as I took his hand into mine, tugging him away.
“Bye Pen,” Marley called as an afterthought as his parents took him inside the home that they would have to leave soon. I waved, huffing out a little breath and shoving my elbow into Dristan’s side.
He quirked an eyebrow as he peered down at me and I wanted to grab him by the beard and kiss him. That soft look in his eyes was giving me ideas that I was trying hard not to have.
“I used to be his favorite before you showed up,” I huffed, pretending to be annoyed.
“The kid has impeccable taste then,” he boasted, preening as he tightened his fingers around mine. We made our way over to my home and I took a deep breath, standing in front of the door.
“Do you want younglings?” Dristan asked, the question seeming to come out of nowhere. My eyebrows swung up, but I gave him a slow nod.
“Yeah. I’ve always wanted them. You?” I asked, nibbling on my lower lip.
The slow, heated smile that crossed his face had my entire body feeling like it was on fire. He reached down to cup my ass, yanking me hard against the front of his body. His hard cock pressed against my soft stomach and I had to bite back the moan it elicited.
“The sooner the better,” he purred, and my already soaked panties gave up the fight. They were probably on fire.
I didn’t register the sound of the door opening next to us until a cheerful voice called, “Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise.” I turned to see a grinning Becca along with my gaping parents behind her. “When Liz said you’d brought someone with you, this isn’t what I expected.”
I squeaked, jumping away from Dristan, trying to get his incriminating hand off my ass, but he wasn’t having it. He gave a polite nod to my parents and Becca and my ass a not-so-polite squeeze before he let go.
“I’m Dristan,” he said, holding his newly freed hand out to them in greeting. “Penelope’s male friend.” I felt my face heat up at the word, but I forced a grin on my face. I was almost certain it was more of a baring of teeth than anything else, but I held it firm anyway.
“W-we haven’t actually put labels on things—” I started, but I was ignored as Becca ushered him inside, reaching out to grab me in a quick hug before leading him off into the depths of our home. I stood in front of my parents as they beamed at me.
“I didn’t know you were seeing someone, sweetheart!” my mom exclaimed, opening her arms for me to step between them. I took the invitation, squeezing her close, even though she felt fragile in my hold. I reached out to pull my father into our embrace and we stood there, bundled together, the way we used to when I lived there.
“We missed you, Pen,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “It’s good to have you home.”
My mother released us, peeking toward the living room where Becca had rushed Dristan off to. “Well, it looks as though you’ve been doing well in the city.”
I felt the heat climb into my face, pressing my lips together so I didn’t spill everything. At the moment, we needed to focus. “You’ll get all the details later, Mom. How about you tell us what’s been happening?”
Their expressions turned serious and I regretted it for a moment, but they hurried me to the living room where Dristan was already seated—looking ridiculous on our human-sized sofa. I smothered a laugh while he glared at me.
He stood, holding his hand out to my parents. “It’s very nice to meet you,” he said, his head bobbing in what was an unmistakable bow. I covered my mouth to hide the grin, but I knew I failed when he shot me a narrow-eyed look.
My parents—for their part—were nothing but overjoyed to meet him. Before they could return to interrogation-mode, I interrupted. “We’re here to talk about the bank, remember? You can get better acquainted with Dristan later.”
He grunted, making it obvious that he wasn’t pleased with the interruption, but he took a careful seat on the sofa again. The old squashy three-seater groaned its protest as he did, but it didn’t break and I considered that a win. Not wanting to chance any extra weight on it, I perched myself on the ottoman.
“Okay. Tell us everything that’s been happening,” I said, holding my hand out for the letter that Becca already had read on the side-table.
“Well, it started off just like everyone else,” my father said, taking a seat on his old recliner while my mom perched on the arm next to him. “They sent the usual letters with the offer to buy our home at above market prices .” He scoffed the last three words, using air quotes to emphasize how far from the truth those offers were.
I nodded, knowing that he was saying most of this for Dristan’s sake and not mine.
“Then they started with the calls,” my dad continued and my mom put a supportive hand on his shoulder. “At all hours of the night. They didn’t care that my wife’s sick and needs her rest.” He shook his head with disgust. I’d been here when they’d started with those calls. I’d fielded most of them and handled it with as much politeness as I could until they’d started with the threats.
“That’s when they started saying that they could just buy the house from the bank since we were having a bit of trouble paying the mortgage,” he said, clearing his throat. I heard the embarrassment in his voice and my throat tightened with tears.
“Because all of our money was going into my treatment,” my mom rushed to assure Dristan, who nodded with understanding.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” he said in a low, earnest voice. “Banks have more humane options that they can take for customers in your situation. It’s just that they hardly ever choose to use them.” He shook his head and my parents gave him watery smiles.
I love this orc so much.
I couldn’t stop the thought from popping into my head and I reached out to give his hand a squeeze. His eyes met mine, surprise filling them, but whatever he saw in my expression softened his.
“I don’t even know how they knew our mortgage was in trouble,” Dad continued, oblivious to the moment between us. Dristan released my hand, returning his attention to my parents and that alone stole whatever was left of my heart. They came first. They were my priority, and the fact that he saw that—understood that—and was doing the same, told me that my fate was sealed.
He’s mine.
“There’s no way that they could know that without there being some breach in privacy,” Dristan said, rubbing his thumb over his lower lip in thought—something that he did often when pondering a problem. “How big is your bank?”
“Tiny,” my mother shrugged, giving him a small smile. “There’s only five employees. Including security.”
“Then you know who handles your mortgage?” Dristan asked, his gaze focused, his brow low.
My parents nodded. “Yes, of course. Trevor’s handled our mortgage since we moved into this house when Pen was born. He’s the manager now, but he knows all about it. That’s why we knew something was wrong. He’s our friend,” my mom said, shaking her head in disbelief. “He’d never do this to us unless they were putting pressure on him, too.”
I wasn’t so sure about that, since I figured that these developers had to be greasing the wheels and getting information somehow, but Trevor was a part of our community and seemed like a good enough man.
“Anyone can be bought, I’m sorry to say,” Dristan’s voice carried an apologetic tone, but his expression was getting darker by the moment. “And Pen mentioned something about an eviction notice?”
Becca, who’d been leaning in the doorway connecting the living room to the dining room pointed at the letter in my hand. “That one. We got that yesterday. And it says that Pen and her dad don’t own the house anymore.”
“Which is ridiculous,” I said, scooting closer so Dristan and I could read the letter together. “Since I’ve been making all my payments since I got the promotion.”
My parents nodded, beaming with pride at my words, but I was lost in the letter, my brow furrowed. This was an eviction letter. It stated that the development company had bought the mortgage after it defaulted—which it hadn’t yet—and we were required to vacate within thirty days.
“How many payments did you miss?” Dristan asked, taking the letter from me and giving it a more thorough read through.
“Six months,” I said, biting my lower lip. “But I paid that off with the advance you gave me,” I added, shaking my head.
My mom choked on air and I looked at her, my eyes wide with guilt. “Oh! What I mean is—”
“I’m also her boss,” Dristan said with more nonchalance than I thought the moment deserved. “And I need to see those receipts.”
I nodded, grabbing my phone and opening my banking app. When I turned it to face him, he frowned at the balance, giving me a narrow-eyed look before he scrolled through the payments. I felt the heat in my face, but tried to ignore it. After making the payments for our home, my balance was woefully low.
“Good. Now, did you receive any written notice from your bank?” he asked, handing the phone back to me. I glanced at my parents to confirm, then we all shook our heads together. “Alright. There’s no grounds for a resale then,” he shrugged, pulling out his own phone and tapping away before lowering it. He reached out to take my hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze. “There’s no way they’re taking your house.”
Becca and my mother released happy squeals while my father exhaled a sigh of relief. I grinned, reaching over to press a smacking kiss to his lips.
“I’m sending the plane for my lawyer,” he told my parents. “We’ll have everything sorted right away. It shouldn’t take more than one visit to the bank and I can have everything cleared up. Any deed that this development company is drafting is illegal.” He swiped his thumb over my wrist, eliciting a shiver down my spine. “And we can have the police draft a cease and desist for the harassment.”
My parents were nodding, matching relieved grins on their faces. Becca was doing a little jig in the doorway and I laughed, throwing myself into Dristan’s arms before pulling away in a hurry when the sofa gave an ominous creak. My male stood, sweeping me up in a hug instead.
“This might be the first time I’m meeting you, son,” my father said, beaming over at us, “but I can’t tell you how grateful we are.”
“There’s no need for your gratitude,” Dristan said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m just glad I can help.”
“I want to come back to the fact that you’re her boss,” my mother said, and I felt my face heat. “How long has this been going on?”
“Yes,” Becca drawled, a wide, mischievous smile on her face. “How long has this been going on?”
“She wants to make sure everything here is settled before she commits to me,” Dristan said with a shrug and I turned to gape up at him.
“Oh, Pen,” my father sighed, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t put that kind of pressure on a relationship.”
My mother nodded, hugging my father around his shoulders. “If we’d waited for everything in our lives to be settled, sweetheart, we wouldn’t have gotten married. We wouldn’t have had you. And you’re the best thing that ever happened to us.” She said the words with a matter-of-fact tone and I couldn’t stop the tears that popped into my eyes.
I made my way over to them, dragging Becca with me to form another group hug. I felt my mother gesturing behind me and when I felt my male join the hug—reluctance clear in the way he only pressed against me —it was as though I was experiencing pure happiness for the first time in my life.