Page 7 of Glory Troll

He came back into the restaurant though and I kept my eyes trained on him during almost the entire speech, when Joe Gillespie introduced Blue Kraken’s sponsors. APEX Predator Clothing sounded intriguing, and I made a mental note to check out their flagship store when we’d be in Kirkmuir. One of the owners was present, a magnificent Lion man with a salt-and-pepper mane and a sick body.

An Orc model, Rafe Níelsson, briefly got up and waved at the room, and Gilliatt Clark was introduced as the third co-founder of the charity.

Blue Kraken…of course…

At the mention of him, I saw Callum’s head snap around to look at the man, who wore a modest mask throughout Joe’sgushing speech about how Gilliatt had been donating what sounded like his entire fortune to the charity.

I didn’t linger. Ollie demanded my attention. The longer I stared, the more his face flushed.I’m making him nervous.

I barely even noticed how amazing the food was, over shooting him coveted glances and hanging on his tongue wetting his lips, on his hand rasping over his neck, and on the finger he slipped under his collar to loosen his tie.

We talked a bit about this and that, but most of our team seemed distracted.What’s wrong with the others?Decks and Guns, our goalie, kept looking at their phones under the table. Max seemed completely out of it despite having had nothing but water all night, and Arne spaced out the entire time.

It was a relief when we finally got up and moved around. The APEX guy, who introduced himself as Sadeeq, struck up a conversation about a possible endorsement deal for their brand, and suggested I drop by their headquarters when in Kirkmuir.

“Are you looking to replace me?” the Orc laughed from behind us.

“Rafe!” Sadeeq hugged the man, before introducing us.

“Have you met Bo? He plays for the Veitsreuth Pumas.”

“Not yet.” He smiled, a little flirty, then gave me a quick once-over and grasped my hand. “Rafe, it’s good to meet you.”

“And you,” I told him in my rudimentary Suitian, his native language.

“Oh, you speak it?” A light shone in his eyes, the kind that would turn heads wherever he went.

Sadeeq handed me his business card before excusing himself, but Rafe took little notice.

“A bit,” I admitted, before switching back to English. “Back in high school, I read everything I could find on Tìr Suaite, and the best sources were in Suitian. I picked up a few things.”

“That’s amazing. I left the island as a small child, but my parents made sure I learned the language.”

He was using easy vocabulary, so I could follow, but I could tell he loved having a chance to speak his native tongue.

We talked about his job and mine.

“You know, I still don’t believe anyone would pay for images of my face, but there you are.” He grinned, tusks and long, dark hair gleaming in the candlelight. “It’s super important for me to give back. We have everything we need, but not everyone is that lucky.”

I made a non-committal sound, feeling a little ashamed of myself. I tried to donate here and there, but had never looked into it properly. I would, though. As soon as we were back in Germany.

Rafe took his leave after a bit, spotting Gill, a colleague of his, and I added another business card to my little stack.

“Good turnout?” Callum appeared at my shoulder, a glass of whisky in hand and half-smiling up at me. The man wasn’t tiny, perhaps half a head taller than Ollie, but I dwarfed most of the guests.

“Can’t complain.” I grinned, grabbing a glass from a passing server’s tray and toasting him with it. “Gods, that stuff is amazing.”

“Hall surely knows how to make whisky.” He grinned in return and took another sip.

“Are you enjoying the night?”

Callum hummed. “It’s all right.” Before I could make up my mind if I had the balls to ask about what the deal was with Gill and him, my coach’s voice interrupted us from right behind me.

“All right, team.” Jerke clapped loudly, giving us all a stern look. “Let’s get back to our rooms, so we are all fit for training tomorrow.”Yes, daddy.

“Bedtime,” I told Cal with a grin, shaking his hand goodbye before I was off with the rest of the guys.

Then I spotted Ollie near the door to the barn that housed the yoga studio.

---