Page 14 of Steve's Barmaid
“Joey!” I hissed.
She shrugged. “I’m just saying. It looked like he was into you. And it could be pretty fun to date someone like Steve who had no expectations—he could learn a thing or two.”
I squinted at her, unwilling to admit that there was merit to the idea as we gathered the supplies for the days work.
“What about you and Ottar, hmm?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Alas, I was mistaken. I caught him making out with Bo in the pantry yesterday.” She gave a dramatic sigh.
“Oh, well, Bo is cute. Ottar’s got solid taste.”
“I know, right?!” she stomped her foot and huffed. “Ugh, if I didn’t have a stupid crush on Ottar, I’d be happy for them. At least they’re getting some. And you could be getting some, too.” She raised her brows at me.
“You’ve seen me with Steve like once. There’s nothing there.”
“Hello? Did we not just talk about him walking you home? And… I heard you laughing outside your room on my way to mine.” She sounded sheepish.
Okay, ifanythingwere going to happen with Steve, I would have to keep it on complete lockdown. Joey was too nosy for her own good.
“Honest to God, woman. He’s been here one day, and you are already spying on us?”
“I just happened to walk by at the right time,” she said, feigning innocence.
“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes. “Listen, maybe there is something about him. He’s so open and honest. Vulnerable with me from the first minute. He doesn’t have the tough macho facade. But I know I’ll end up screwing it up, so I don’t even want to bother.”
“What do you mean by screwing it up?” she asked.
“I fall for a guy, and I want to sleep with him. We fuck, it’s great, then I start sharing my feelings and he freaks out and leaves.”
The look of sympathy Joey gave me was enough to show me she understood. I didn’t want to be just a warm body. What Iknew of Steve so far would have had me jumping into his bed in the past. He was kind and thoughtful. He listened to me when I was sharing about myself. And he was hot as hell. But his inexperience and my mess of past ‘relationships’ might make for disaster. For now, I was going to be his friend. If something developed… later, it would develop later.
“Okay, so you aren’t ruling Steve out as an option?” Joey asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“No. I am not ruling Steve out. He feels like an innocent little bean and I don’t want to wreck him completely.”
“He’s a grown-ass man—er, orc. He can decide if he wants to be wrecked by you.”
“Ha, ha. I will keep that in mind,” I said as I started to stalk the bar, looking for places that needed work. “You’re happy to help with this? It’s a lot of physical labor.”
“Oooh, of course!” Joey said.
“You know, there are four new orkin here. And that big one—Reykr? He was giving off definite daddy vibes.” I raised my brows at her.
“Oh lord, I did notice him. He’s huge!”
“Something you’d be into?” I asked suggestively.
“I mean, I’d love to, but I don’t even know how that would work mechanically. I am barely five feet tall!”
“Piper doesn’t seem to have any complaints. Maybe you can ask her if she had to work up to it?”At this, we descended into a fit of giggles.
We looked around the bar a bit more and decided it was time to ask the Snaerfírar to join us. There was a lot of heavy lifting—we needed to empty the bar completely. We headed to their rooms and knocked on one of the doors. No one answered for a moment, so we knocked again.
After what felt like an eternity, but was only a few minutes, the door opened. Steve stood in the doorway shirtless andbarefoot, wearing nothing but pants that weren’t fully laced up. Oh boy. I opened my mouth and closed it, not trusting myself to speak. I knew most orkin were muscular, but Jesus Christ. He was lean, with broad muscled shoulders, impressive pecs, and just the hint of a six-pack above the cut of his hip muscles that pointed directly toward a black happy trail. He was hunching a bit as if that would hide his naked chest or his bright green cheeks. I blinked and blinked again.Holy fuck, how was I going to be friends first with Steve?I could feel myself growing damp just at the sight of him shirtless.
“Hi!” Joey finally said.
“Hi,” Steve responded, a little too brightly, as if he was trying to make up for being half-naked and barely awake.
