Page 53 of Primal

“Hey, Jimmy–I need you to bus some glasses and get that dishwasher running,” I said.

“Yep.” Jimmy reached across the bar to clear the empties patrons had set there, and his elbow hit a half-full drink, sending it toppling toward him. It hit the edge of the bar and shattered, the broken pieces dropping into the worst possible place–the ice bin.

“Mother fu–” He cut off his curse and shook his head in exasperation. “Sorry, Cody. It slipped.”

I groaned. “You gotta be kidding me.” Now we couldn’t serve another drink with ice until the entire ice maker and bin was emptied and cleaned out. I shook my head. “You know what happens now. Empty it out. Make sure you get every last sliver out of there.”

I wasn’t mad at Jimmy. It was a total accident, but ugh. I wanted to howl and run and… fuck my mate to ease this frustration.

“On it,” he said, getting on the pain in the ass task.

Fuck. That left me as the only guy who could tend bar, with only a few clean glasses left to serve them in. I kept my head down and mixed drink after drink as the lines around the bar grew four feet deep and extended for the entire length of the bar.

I glanced over at Riley’s seat to apologize again.

Fuck! She left.

Dammit. Did she leave without saying goodbye?

“Excuse me, fellas.” I heard the sound of her sweet voice although I couldn’t spot her through all thepeople. A cocktail tray floated through the throng, piled high with dirty glasses.

Riley pushed behind the bar and flashed me a smile before she started loading glasses onto the dishwashing tray.

Well, damn. That took a mountain of both consideration and confidence. What a sweetheart.

“Hey, Cody! Cody!”

I stopped what I was doing, ignoring all the patrons calling out my name and waving dollar bills my way to walk up behind her. Fitting my arm around her waist from behind, I buried my face in her neck to inhale her scent. “It is damn sweet of you to pitch in, sugar.” I kissed her skin. “I’ll be sure to show you my thanks later.”

She twisted, flashing me that dimpled smile. “If you think I’m going to sit on my butt while you’re scrambling back here, you’re nuts. We’re a couple, right?”

My heart stopped. Reversed. Sped back up. “Say it again.”

Her smile grew. Holding her between my arms, I lifted the now-heavy tray into the dishwasher and started it.

“We’re a couple.” She turned in my arms.

Wow. Was it true? Had I won her heart? Herallegiance? Was she really ready for me to forever mark her as mine?

Nah, I was probably getting ahead of myself.

“Cody!”

Riley went up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on my lips. “You’d better get to it. I’ll round up some more glasses for you. And you’redefinitelyshowing your thanks later.”

She winked.

I pulled her against my body, filling one hand with her ass as the other cradled the back of her head. “God, I love you.”

Riley went still. “What?”

“Cody! Stop robbing the cradle and make us some drinks!”

For a second, I sort of froze, too. Did I go too fast? Assume too much? But fuck it–I didn’t have time to waste. My female needed to know how I felt about her.

Riley searched my face.

“I love you, Riley Abbott. It’s not just that my wolf wants you. It’s because nature doesn’t make mistakes. You’re the perfect female for me.”

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