Page 9 of Bread By the Grim
He huffs a laugh. “I can’t even draw a stick figure. Trust me, no one wants to see a cake I decorate, but Bernice would do it every once in a while.”
“It was kinda my thing back in school. I had a little side hustle back home selling birthday and wedding cakes. Would it be something you’d be okay with me pursuing here?”
His eyes meet mine for the briefest of momentsbefore he looks away. “Sure. I’d love to see what you come up with.” He clears his throat and turns away quickly, putting distance between us. “I’ve got to start mixing up the tuna salad and the chicken salad.”
“Do you need me to slice deli meat or vegetables for lunch?” I ask, digging around in drawers until I find the hairnets in the drawer off to his left-hand side. I don’t mean to invade his personal space—it’s obvious it makes him uncomfortable—but the kitchen is only so big. I have no idea how he and Bernice worked together. Even if she was out front while he was back here, there had to be times where they shared this space. Maybe he’d just gotten used to her. I wish I’d asked.
Of course, I can’t just grab a hairnet like a normal person. My hand has to get caught in the box, and I’m there fighting to get it out when Grim gently takes my wrist in one hand and the box in the other and frees my hand. I’m just inches from him as our eyes meet again. I’m sure he’s thinking he just agreed to take on the world’s biggest idiot.
His eyes hold mine just a little too long. What is he thinking?
They’re so incredibly dark. I feel like he has me pinned to this spot. I can’t or won’t move. But honestly, I would love to be pinned by him—against the wall, over the island—good goddess, what is wrong with me? I must be ovulating if the sight of ashirtless man is all it takes for me to be ready to climb him.
He sucks in a breath that he doesn’t release.
“Yes, please. Tomatoes are in the cooler,” he gets out.
To be honest, I’ve forgotten what the question was.
“Tomatoes?” I repeat.
“For lunch. The mandolin is underneath the island. Wear the kevlar gloves.”
“Tomatoes, got it,” I repeat and wander off to the cooler, determined more than ever to keep my head in the game.
Chapter 6
Grim
Iwake up the next morning, my cock in my hand, my mat completely soaked, with absolutely no memory of anything since I locked myself in for the night. A chill runs down my spine.
Has the spell stopped working?
I sit up and check the door locks. Everything is still locked.
The locks don’t guarantee I can’t get out when I shift, but it definitely slows my gremlin down. What I gain in strength when I shift, I lose in fine motor skills, and opening the five locks I have on the closet takes a lot of dexterity I just don’t possess when I’ve shifted.
I unlock each lock slowly–first the combination lock, then the digital one, followed by the fingerprint one before the deadbolt and the one just below the doorknob. The clock on the bedside table reads 6:30.I should have been downstairs an hour ago. I scroll through my contacts on my phone and find Phil’s:
SORRY I’M RUNNING LATE. NOT FEELING WELL TODAY.
She messages back almost instantly.
I’LL PUT SOME SOUP ON FOR YOU. TAKE YOUR TIME!
Great first impression, Grim.
The most perfect woman you’ve ever met shows up at your door, and you make yourself late to work having wet dreams about her. AND, IF THAT’S NOT BAD ENOUGH, she offers to make you soup when you lie about it.
I’m the absolute worst.
I want to hurry up and get down there, but I need a shower before I show up to work. I’m literally covered in my own cum. My gremlin is no joke. Is he going through some sort of a phase? A weird shifter puberty? I turn on the shower and catch sight of myself in the bathroom mirror. I’ve shifted a bit in my sleep, and my face isn’t completely back to normal. It’s close but not quite. I can still see the strange angles and the scales along my cheeks.
“Great timing, Grim. You really know how to impress the ladies,” I grumble to my reflection before steppinginto the hot water.
Rain is coming down in buckets as I hurry down the back stairs and into the warmth of the kitchen. Phil is up front making change and conversation with a woman at the counter.
As promised, there’s a pot of chicken broth with vegetables on the stove, and somehow she has everything under control after being here for only a day. There is a small variety of donuts and donut holes along with cream cheese danishes in the display case. The dough for the sub rolls is set out and rising. Tomatoes have even been sliced. It’s not Bernice-level, but it’s amazing for her first full day on the job.
