CHAPTER 30
Krusk
Igrinned over at where Gabbi was leaning her head against my mate’s arm, giggling over the video she was showing her on her phone.
When she looked up and narrowed her eyes at me, I pressed my lips together, trying to hide the fact that my heart was all in for this female.
There was no salvaging it. I was so far gone for her that there was no way I was coming back.
“Aunty Pen is having a baby,” Gabbi said to Emma, tapping at the screen, doing things with her phone that I had no idea how to do, but she did—at four.
“That’s great,” Emma said to her, peering down at my niece with open affection in her eyes.
In that moment, I pictured her this way, sitting with this little girl who’d stolen all of our hearts, but pregnant with my youngling.
The loss of blood to my brain almost took me out.
I would have fainted right away but I was able to keep myself upright by leaning back against the sofa I was sitting on.
Oh yeah, I want that.
Every single part of me was flooded with endorphins and need. My cock was so swollen in my pants that I was almost certain it was going to stay that way for the next decade.
“Did she go into labor tonight?” Emma asked me, her brow furrowed.
I nodded, even as Gabbi did the same. “Abu said that I could hold the baby, but I’m not allowed to drop him,” she said in a serious voice before peering up at Emma. “Are you pregnant?”
Emma’s eyes went huge in her face and she shook her head. “N-no! No, I’m not.” She almost choked getting the words out.
Gabbi’s response was a drawn out sigh. “Mommy isn’t pregnant either.
I keep telling her that she and Abu are going to have another baby,” she explained, rolling her eyes before turning and pressing her hand to my mate’s stomach.
She looked up into her eyes, serious and stoic.
“You too. You and Uncle Krusk are going to have a baby.”
Emma’s gaze popped up to meet mine and I knew I shouldn’t have a huge grin on my face, but there wasn’t any other way I was able to respond.
“Well, that...” Emma trailed off before clearing her throat. “That’s umm...” She looked away, shaking her head.
“She’s a seer,” Enka called from where he was sitting on the sofa next to me, amused. “In case you were wondering.”
“A seer?” Emma asked, brow furrowed. Enka nodded, sending a mischievous smirk my way.
“She’s a witchling. Half witch, half human,” he explained, before a scowl appeared across his face. “Although we try to pretend that the half human doesn’t exist.”
“Agreed,” I gruffed, and the others nodded as well.
“We’ll leave you two to visit,” Rudgar said, standing and tilting his head toward the door before glaring at Enka, who looked like he’d gotten pretty comfortable, and Savla, who just blinked back in confusion as it was his apartment.
“But we’re watching a video!” Gabbi cried, looking over with a wobbling lower lip at Rudgar. He faltered, and I saw his will wavering when Enka stepped in, lifting his daughter into his arms.
“We can watch all the videos you want on the big TV,” he bribed, skillfully.
“We can?” she gasped, before narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “With all the volume?”
His nod was all the response she needed for a loud squeal to leave her and Enka’s sensitive ears to twitch backwards. Grinning, I shook my head as my brothers and niece sauntered out. Rudgar sent an obvious wink my way while Enka grinned and Savla gave us a curious look.
“Sorry about them,” I told her, staying where I was so she wouldn’t be afraid of being around me. “We’re supposed to be distracting Gabbi and staying out of the way while our chief’s mate is having her baby.”
She smothered a laugh with her hand, her eyes twinkling with mirth and I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my life. “That’s quite an assignment,” she laughed.
I nodded with a shrug. “We don’t have much experience with babies and Dristan—our chief—will kill us if we do anything to stress out Pen.
The midwife is worried because of how big the baby is.
” I fidgeted with my fingers pressing against the sofa edge.
“Interspecies babies are common on this plane, but there’s always a risk when there’s a size difference. ”
I rubbed my palms up and down my thighs, not sure if I was making myself or Emma more uncomfortable with my constant blathering.
“And the youngling’s a boy, so they tend to be bigger in size.
” I clear my throat, not sure how to get myself to shut up.
“The midwife just wants to make sure she has a controlled environment without worrying about any orcs other than Dristan possibly fainting during the delivery.”
I watched as she bit her lip, her shoulders shaking. I leaned forward, my stomach knotting with worry. “Are you okay?”
It wasn’t long before she was laughing, her head thrown back on the sofa. “That was... a lot, Krusk,” she said on a gasp of breath and I sagged into the seat.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I just wasn’t sure what to say to you, so I just..
. talked,” I explained, scrubbing my palm over the back of my neck as it heated.
“I... You’re always welcome here,” I told her, looking away from where she was making my cock hard with her mere presence. “But I’m not sure why you’re here.”
“Oh,” she dragged out the word, sitting a little straighter. “You’re right. I’m so sorry for barging in, but...” she trailed off for a moment before she blurted, “I wanted to say thank you for the car.”
“Oh,” I echoed with dejection. “That’s no problem. I just wanted to...” I sighed, shrugging.
“To help me,” she said in a soft voice and I watched with disbelief as she moved over to sit next to me. “I know. I... I know I’m being a complete and utter lunatic going back and forth and acting like I don’t feel anything for you, Krusk.”
My eyes snapped over to where she was sitting next to me, my brows furrowed. “You feel something for me?” I demanded, before gentling my tone. “Something other than friendship?”
She wobbled her head from side to side. Not a yes, but also not a no. “It’s hard to say for me, okay?” She covered her face with her hands before peeking out at me by spreading her delicate fingers. “I haven’t really had any real relationships.”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Me, too.”
Her fingers lowered and she lifted one elegant eyebrow. “You too?” she asked, as if she didn’t believe it.
I shook my head and promptly shoved my foot into my mouth. “Just sexual.”
That elegant brow dropped so suddenly into a frown that I shook my head earnestly. “What I mean is that it was just sex. Lots of sex.”
“Lots?” she asked, fire burning behind her eyes.
“Not lots,” I denied, shaking my head. “Just... sex.” I didn’t think I was helping myself here, because she was looking at me like she wanted to hit me. “A little sex. Not much sex at all.”
She rolled her eyes and turned so she was facing away from me, her arms crossed. “I guess you can tell me about all the sex you had if you’d like. Since we’re friends and all.”
If I could hit myself over the head with a huge stick, I would do it.
“I thought you said that you were feeling things for me that were more than friendship,” I tried, but her shoulders were stiff with annoyance, and I couldn’t even blame her.
It was all my fault. My fault and my stupid big mouth’s.
“I was,” she muttered, sniffing her annoyance in my direction, and I moved closer, settling on the sofa next to her. She yelped as my weight sank the cushions until she was pressed up against my side.
“I’m an idiot,” I explained, pretty certain that she already knew that, but wanting to make sure she understood. “I shouldn’t have said that. What I was trying to explain was that I’ve never had a real emotional connection in any of my previous... relationships.”