Page 31 of The Devil's Viking

“Everyone said so,” she replied. “We were always told to lose weight, so we got porridge for breakfast, salad for lunch, and cold soup broth for dinner. The food that I made was for Gideon and his men only.”

Another silence fell as they looked Iris up and down, each one wondering where, exactly, she might have been expected to have any weight to drop. She had a few curves, sure, and gently swelling breasts, but she was tiny. Now they all wondered if she was smaller than she might be because she’d been starved.

“Well,” Viking said, kicking down hard on his anger. “The food that you make now is foreveryone, even you, baby. You want a muffin or bread or a burger oranything– you just have it.”

She tilted her head at him, her face framed by intricate black braids that resembled wreaths of flowers. With her bright purple eyes, pink cheeks, and red-rose lips, she looked pre-Raphaelite: delicate and yet vibrant.

“You know what,” Iris said. “You’re right. Time to break the habit of denial, huh?”

“You know it,” Dux said. “Starting with a muffin!”

She took the top muffin and looked at it for a few seconds, examining her work. Then she took a bite and looked surprised. “I don’t remember them being that sweet.”

“Your taste buds are off,” Cain told her. “They really aren’t sweet at all.”

“Yeah, well, I’m really not a sugar person. But having said that, these are pretty good.” She took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll make carrot. I remember liking those the best in my life before.”

Rebel emerged from the kitchen with a notebook and pencil. “OK, boys, place your lunch orders here. Me and Iris will get cooking and prepping for when the bar opens in two hours, and we’ll call when your meals are ready.”

“Feeling like a burger today,” Drake said and Dux nodded in agreement. “Bacon and cheese on top, onion rings on the side. Calories to be worked off this weekend with our girl Jessie.”

“Got it,” Rebel said writing busily, ignoring the reference to one of the twins’ many lady friends. “Viking?”

“Erm. I dunno. Why don’t you and Iris surprise me?”

“You don’t want a burger too?” she asked him. “I can cook meat really well.”

“I’m sure you can, Iris, but I don’t eat meat. Me and Zoe are vegetarians.”

She looked surprised, then thoughtful. “You know what’s weird is that I haven’t had meat in a year, and I don’t miss it. I mean, I cooked it every day for the men, but never ate it. I wonder if maybe –maybe I’m vegetarian too, now. I certainly don’twantto eat meat, even though Ican.”

“OK, then,” Rebel told her. “Why don’t you make something for you, Viking and Zee?”

“Yes, that’s a good idea.” She beamed at Viking. “I think it’ll be fun. Maybe I’ll make us all a mushroom pasta.”

“Alright, sweetheart, back into the kitchen.” Rebel gave her a friendly grin. “Let’s prep some sauces and marinades.”

She nodded. “OK, Rebel. See you guys later.”

The men watched her go, then all looked at each other.

“She seems to be doing pretty well,” Viking said. “She’s settling in better than I thought she would.”

“Man, you gotnoidea how good this woman is in the kitchen,” Rebel said. “If she’s happy starting her shift a bit early and putting up some baked goods and baking all the bread fresh, I’ll talk to Wolf about extending her hours a bit. She did tell me that she’s looking to work extra shifts if I have anything for her.”

“But she’s doing all the cleaning down here too, isn’t she?” Viking objected. “The bar, the crash rooms, the bathrooms… she’ll be dead on her feet if she starts baking at six, cooks lunch and dinner, then cleans in between, especially in the evenings when the bar is packed. She won’t get to bed before midnight. We can’tkillthe girl, Rebel.”

“It’s very inhospitable,” Cain agreed. “Especially after she made us such good muffins.”

Viking rolled his eyes. “Jesus.”

Chapter Twelve

Iris dried the last saucepan and hung it up on its designated hook, gave the counters a final wipe, checked that the fridge was shut tight, and took off her apron. Her first full day in the kitchen was done, now on to the cleaning she hadn’t gotten to between meal rushes.

She caught her reflection in the gleaming metal counter, and was surprised at how happy and glowy she looked. It was funny to think how her life had utterly changed in some ways, but stayed exactly the same in others. After all, she was still cooking and serving and cleaning, still getting up stupid early and staying on her feet all day – but this felt completely different.

This time, it was her conscious, informed choice to do all of these things. This time she was getting paid. This time, she could eat the damn muffins and the pasta.

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