It’s the first time he’s said my name and I like it. “No…well, yes I want that but…I want to stay and try again. You said you wanted me as your Bride. Maybe I’m ready to try that out.”

He gives me a sharp glance. “Are you trying to trick me again? How can I believe this?”

“It’s the truth. Yes, I thought we were having a one-night stand. But since then, a lot has happened. Like I said, I read that book, many times, highlighting parts and trying my best to learn about orcs. I have Bran and Owen in my life. And I’ve even met your father and cousin and seen many other women living here. I’m…I’m at a different place and I’m not here to simply drop off the babies. I’m here because I know they need you, but I also want to give us a chance.”

“A chance?” he snorts. “You’re willing to give us a chance? There it is again. Human thinking. I cannot simply become your boyfriend and then you leave later when you realize you don’t really want to stay with me or in this commune. You cannot divorce me. I will not start anything with you again because I cannot trust the female who kept my sons from me. You left me once. I won’t give you the opportunity to do it to me again.”

“Whelan, I had a lot of fears. I thought you’d wake up and kidnap me and drag me off to your lair.”

He crosses his arms and frowns at me. “This is preposterous. It never happened. I did not say that, even in my sleep. Stop making up this terrible excuse.”

“Whelan, it’s the truth. I was drunk when I propositioned you and fell into your bed. But it was great between us, of course it was and I probably would’ve woken up with you and said goodbye at least before I caught my plane, but when you started mumbling about ‘kidnapping your Bride,’ I decided it was smart of me to instead sneak away.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You did. Also, you don’t realize what a big deal it was for me to come to you. I mean, I live on the other side of the country. After I learned you lived on an orc commune in Maine, my best friend convinced me to move out to Maine, which is her home state. I always thought I’d be a California girl to the day I died, but instead I moved across the country. I had to fire my beloved Nanny who’d been helping me out with the boys the best she could. The airline wouldn’t allow me to fly with both babies by myself so my best friend Amelia went through the bother of flying out to California, just so she could help me pack up and fly back to her hometown with the babies between us. Flying with them out here was a harrowing experience with lots of exasperated passengers glaring at my crying infants the whole time. I put my condo up for sale and all my stuff is in storage. Coming here with the boys wasn’t easy, but I’m here.”

He blinks. “You moved across the country?”

I sit down heavily in a nearby chair. “Yes. I’m not simply here for a visit. I changed my entire life so I can make a go of this with you.”

“You love your orc sons?” he demands.

“Yes. I am their mother. I love them. They are the most important things in my life. And I’m not kidding. I had no idea until I gave birth to those two that love like that could exist.”

A pleasant sound, almost a purr, rumbles in his chest. Then he stands up. “I am going to check on them.”

“No, don’t wake them,” I blurt out.

“Why?”

“It’s so hard for them to sleep. I think they’re both exhausted. That’s why I fell asleep so easily too, I’m also exhausted.”

“You do appear thinner than I remember and there are dark circles under your eyes.”

My lips thin. “Thanks.”

“Do not worry, female, you did the right thing, coming to me. You will now get all the sleep you require. Our sons will sleep well too.”

“They’ve been fussy,” I admit as I stand and follow him back down the dark hallway. “I’ve been worried they’re too small and not thriving like they should.”

Whelan quietly opens the bedroom door. He walks to the nearest crib and lifts a baby tenderly in his arms, unwraps him and places Owen against his bare chest, skin to skin. Owen snuggles and buries his face into the chest of his father. I can literally see the contentment on his tiny face. Then the massive orc reaches out and uses his other arm to pick up his other son and brings Bran too against his chest. Then all of them are together. It’s a thing of beauty. I pull my cell phone from my pocket and take a quick picture.

Whelan moves to the open window, lifting both babies, so the guards can see. Then he exits the room with them still snuggled in each arm.

“Where are you going?”

“I am taking them to bed with me. We will sleep together this way the rest of the night. They need my scent and I need theirs.”

“Oh.” I shuffle, uncertain of where I belong in this little tableau.

He pauses. “You can sleep in the bed next to us.”

“Are you sure? I thought you said…”

“I am not touching you, female. But your scent in my lungs will also be comforting. When you leave, I will have trouble sleeping again, but at least I will have had it for a time.”

“I’m not leaving.” I repeat.

“Uh huh.”

And then we all go into the dark bedroom together.

Chapter 6

Whelan

“Do you mind if I change into my pajamas?”

I nod, thinking my female will go into the hall bathroom to change but instead she closes the curtains, strides over to the dresser and takes out clothes from the drawer that I’ve never seen.

“What is this?” I move with the babies, so I have one arm free and open the other drawers and find she’s moved much of my clothes and filled many drawers with her own clothing. And that’s when I fully understand the fact that when I took a shower earlier there were so many of her products on the shelves. “You moved in?”

“Of course. I told you I’m here to really try.”

And then she turns her back to me and strips out of her pants and tosses them into a basket for dirty laundry. She takes off her shirt too and now she’s only in her underwear. I swallow hard, my eyes roaming down her exquisite form in the shadowy dark. She’s as beautiful as I remember. That ass was in my hands often as I plowed into her from behind. She turns to face me but doesn’t make eye contact. That’s when she reaches behind and unlatches her bra, bends forward to slip it off and tosses that too into the basket.

Her large breasts are even more spectacular than I remember. Heavier with milk for our sons and still perky and perfectly shaped.

She is tall and slender but not too much of either. My female isn’t delicate, which is important. She was able to easily withstand my violent orc lusts. I nutted in her at least seventeen times, pounding inside of her nonstop and she held up nicely, moaning with delight. I thought this proved we were a great match. But I was wrong.

And I’ve learned her name is Drew Reilly.

She named our two sons Bran and Owen, names which I surprisingly enjoy. But she is also a female who tells untruths about her reasons for leaving me.

She places her hands on her stomach. “I delivered the babies only three months ago but I’m already back to my normal weight and even though I was carrying twins I don’t really have any stretch marks. It’s pretty amazing.”

“Humans who give birth to orcs have always commented on this, going back to ancient times. There is some type of protection that our infants pass to the mothers. The labor is easier too and so is the nursing.”

“Oh wow,” she chuckles. “You know if more women knew that bit of important information it might be easier for orcs to find Brides.” She kicks off her underwear so I can see the dark triangle between her thighs.

This enticement is not going to work. Drew Reilly wants me to fuck her again and of course I want the same. I could easily put our sons back in their cribs and take her all night long.