Page 61 of Steve's Barmaid
“Oh, were we spending the night with a certain petite spitfire?” I asked.
“Well, since yourElska matealready knows about it, I don’t see any reason to keep it from you,” he said, his tone oozing with harsh judgment, intensifying the tension in the room.
“Hey. That just happened. You and Joey are the first two to find out. I am genuinely as surprised as you are,” I said, my voice filled with unexpected shock.
“Ha,” he barked out a laugh. “You think I am surprised? I saw this coming a mile away.”
“What the fuck? How?” I asked.
“Um, you are clearly obsessed with her. But if that wasn’t enough, you told me you can smell it when she is turned on. All male orkin can smell when a female is ripe, but when it is your mate it is enough to drive you insane,” he said knowingly. “You’ve been particularly insane in the last few weeks.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” I cried.
“I knew you’d figure it out eventually. It seems as if the kidnapping was enough to push you over the edge.”
“What do you mean?” I asked with a huff.
“Well, sometimes mate marks just appear spontaneously, but they often appear when one mate senses the other is in danger,” he explained. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up late last night.”
“They did. Billie saw them when we were…” I trailed off.
“When you were fucking her?” He smirked.
“Must you be so crass?” I spit out.
“Would you call what you did last night ‘tender lovemaking’?” he asked, giving me a withering stare.
He did have a point there. I dragged my fingers through my hair, my head still spinning. Mate. I had a mate.
If she’d have me.
“Well, what do I do now? Just sit around while she makes up her mind?” I asked plaintively
“Did you agree on anything?” He asked.
“She said she’d stay in the kitchen with Joey and Runa, working on mead and cocktail recipes so I can work on the bar and we can have some space from each other,” I said, trying to keep the melancholy out of my voice. I didn’t want to think about spending two days working without Billie, especially because I’d have to work with Tyr and Berit, whom I still wanted to strangle. I sighed.
“Think about it this way,” Reykr said. “Work yourself to the bone to keep your mind off of it and so she’ll be proud of how much you’ve accomplished when she returns.”
While that didn’t sound nearly as appealing as working alongside Billie, it was a solid plan.
“Okay, let’s shower and head to the bar,” I said.
“Shower, breakfast, then bar,” Reykr corrected.
Realizing I hadn’t eaten since the night before, I agreed.
Reykr and I arrived at the bar to find Tyr and Berit already there, looking terrified but working away. Osif and his crew were there as well. Good. We’d need every pair of hands to complete this in time for the equinox. Billie would have her bar in time for the celebration if I had to work myself to bone. I would prove to her that I was here to stay.
Osif ambled up to me. “Where’s Billie?”
“Mymateis spending time with Emla to learn how to make more drinks and finalize the menu,” I growled. “We are going to finish the bar in her absence.”
Osif raised his brows in surprise but didn’t say anything.
“Alright, all,” I called in a booming voice to get everyone’s attention. “Billie is taking some time to focus on the menu and the drinks. We will finish the bar and make it absolutely perfect in time for the equinox.”
I was met with a lot of muttering and even some eye-rolling from Osif’s orkin when I heard another low voice growl behind me. “Do you all want to eat, drink, and be merry on the equinox, or do you still want to be working away while the rest of the tribe celebrates in the longhouse instead of the beautiful new bar we’ve restored?” Reykr crossed his arms in front of his hulking frame and gave them all a look that would have immediately brought me back to work.
