Page 49 of Steve's Barmaid
“And what should we do with all this?” I waved my hand at the small pile of rags we created.
“Leave them up here for now. I will come back after dinner and dispose of them. We aren’t working on the attic tonight anyway.”
Well, it was the best plan we had for the narrow window of time we had. I straightened my clothes and redid my bun. Assessing Steve, he needed to pull his fingers through his hair and adjust his tunic. Then we’d both look mostly presentable and not as if we’d just fucked out a window. I worried a bit about the smell, but nothing could be done about it. We were out of time. Maybe the other orkin would think I was perpetually horny, and I was kind of fine with that. I went downstairs first, telling Steve to wait a minute in case anyone had arrived. Finding the main bar empty, I called Steve down to join me.
“Quick, where were we at lunch?” I asked him.
He gave me a look that plainly said,how the fuck should I know?Great. Another lie for me to cover up. Our noisy group approached, and my brain spun into overdrive. Why would Steve and I skip lunch? Ugh, why couldn’t I think of anything? I took a few steps away from Steve, so it didn’t look like we’d been doing…what we’d been doing.
Joey and Reykr were the first to walk in, followed by Berit and Tyr. Joey and Reykr gave us both knowing looks but said nothing. Berit and Tyr seemed unaffected and returned to the walls they’d been working on. I joined them to stay far away from Steve. We were almost done with all the internal walls, and it was getting close to time to move in furniture.
As we worked, Tyr asked, “Have you considered doing a cleansing ritual before we open the bar?”
“A cleansing ritual?” I cocked a brow.
“There is a certain herb you burn around a new building to ensure prosperity and a good future. We do it at our tribe whenever we build a new home,” Berit explained.
I wasn’t sure if I believed in any of that—I was not a spiritual person at all—but if it was important to them, I’d give it a go.
“Sure, when do you want to do it?” I asked.
“Well, it is supposed to be done at the full moon, which happens to be tonight,” Tyr interjected. “That is why we thought about it; we discussed it at lunch.”
“Okay, do you want to meet back here after the last meal?” I asked. This all seemed a bit weird, but who was I to judge their traditions? I didn’t want to offend their tribe or Steve by association. If they burned herbs to cleanse a new building… cool.
“Sure, we will bring everyone from Snaerfírar,” Berit said, finishing the last of the log he was working on.
Dinner was a loud and boisterous affair. Everyone was excited because we were getting so close to finishing the bar. Steve kept sneaking what he thought were surreptitious glances at me. We hadn’t planned a “date” for tonight, but he didn’t know I intended to take him back to my room after the Snaerfírar smoke ritual. I needed him, and I needed him badly. Once we finished dinner, we parted ways. I winked at Steve before leaving, knowing I would see him shortly. I was off for another shower before we met Steve and the rest of his tribe for the cleansing ritual. With the way Steve and I kept at it, I would have to start showering twice daily. This would not be good for my curls. I really needed to talk to the healer again about some conditioner situation.
Showered and ready, I practically skipped to Joey’s room and barged in without knocking. We’d gotten so close that I was completely unfazed to find her half-dressed, nude from the waist up.
“Well, aren’t we in a hurry,” she teased as she pulled a tunic over her head and laced up her boots.
“Do you believe in this smoke-cleansing situation?” I asked, tapping my foot impatiently.
“I dunno. My grandparents used to burn incense at religious ceremonies, but I was too young to remember. I am like you; I don’t really believe it, but what’s the harm?” She finished with her shoes and stood.
We linked arms and headed to the bar.
“So, how are things with Steve?” She waggled her brows at me.
“Well. We fucked during lunch, and it was mind-blowing,” I said, biting my lip. “I don’t know if it is the fancy cock, the raw-dogging, or the fact that I am super into him, but I haveneverhad sex like this before.”
“Girl, if you keep up at this pace, you will have to let people know. They aren’t going to believe your secret berry-picking expeditions forever. You’re still drinking the birth control tea, right?”
“Ha. Definitely. It still makes me a little nervous that it is just atea. I would rather have a pill or something like Piper’s arm implant, but Emla ensured us the tea worked, so I’m counting on it. And drinking it every morning like a religion,” I assured her.
I didn’t want to think about babies with Steve yet. I wanted to think about pinning him down and teaching him every single sex position I could imagine.
When we arrived at the bar, we found only Tyr and Berit carrying two torches with dried herbs tied to them.
“Where are Reykr and Steve?” I asked immediately.
Tyr and Berit gave each other an odd look that made me feel a bit uneasy.
“We needed one more torch, so they ran back to Emla to get more herbs,” Tyr said.
He sounded confident, and that seemed logical, so I decided not to question it further. Tyr handed us one of the torches and a fire starter. I cocked a brow at him.
