Page 18 of The Kraken Games

He wondered, yet again, if Marrick would compete.

If so, Kai had done his homework. He’d figured out the tricks the big orc would pull. He was ready for him. Kai scanned the crowd again. But he wasn’t really looking for Marrick, was he?

Still no sign of that lithe little human anywhere. Disappointment slugged his gut. Which was fucking dumb and irrational. Kai started to feel antsy. Once the formalities were finished and the bar had opened, he decided it was time for something stronger to knock this insanity out of him.

As he made his way toward the bar, he was assailed from all sides. He took the combination of greetings and insults witha good grace, smiling, laughing, returning arm punches with a handshake. Gods, shaking hands took some getting used to.

And suddenly, there she was. Seated on a stool, her elbows on the bar, her legs swinging. Like a bored kid at a grown-up’s party.

Kai ground to a halt, his hearts pounding. He guessed if she was Marrick’s girlfriend and Marrick was here… that made sense.

Fuck buddies, she’d said. Hardly a committed relationship.

Why do you care?

Casually, he strolled over and stood next to her. “Hi. Didn’t we meet yesterday?”

Her golden eyes panned to his face, then slid away. A ridge of pink rimmed her cheekbones. “Oh, hi.”

Her energy was prickly, but still he got the sense that it masked something else…an undercurrent of vulnerability below the surface.

“Is Marrick here?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Somewhere, I guess.”

“Isn’t he your boyfriend?”

She tossed her head. “Nope.”

“Right.” His hearts jumped crazily in his chest. Before he could stem the words, he said, “I hoped you might come.”

“Why?” She cocked her head, a frown furrowing her brow.

“Probably because you seemed to like me,” he teased. She let out a snort and looked away.

A moment’s highly charged silence followed. Finally, Kai managed, “Can I get you a drink?”

She held up her glass, which was nearly empty of clear liquid.

“Vodka?” Kai guessed.

“Water.”

“Would you like something stronger?”

She looked like she was about to refuse, then shrugged. “Yeah, why not? Vodka.”

“Cool.” He moved in next to her at the bar. The energy short circuited in the space between them.

“Anything with it?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Ice.”

She wasn’t exactly trying to charm. No please or thank you. Kai felt completely devoid of tactics. Stripped bare of any artifice, he focused on ordering their drinks.

Clearly, flirting wouldn’t work. Maybe“I want to fuck you”would.

He imagined her just nodding, dragging him with that grim-faced expression into a corner and opening those slender, muscled legs for him without a word spoken.

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