Page 1

Beryl

T he little café on Finnegan Square was packed this evening. Maeve, my colleague-turned-boss, had invited the people who had been involved in the renovations for a party.

Struan Fox, the contractor, and all of his employees had come. Even Ross Graham, our new coffee supplier, was here. The hulking Minotaur stood in a corner and kept his huge melancholic eyes fixed on Autumn.

My colleague was gorgeous, but sheesh.

Let ‘ s hope he doesn ‘ t get drool on his shirt.

I heaved a little sigh.

You ‘ re just jealous, Bee.

And it’s true, I thought to myself as I wiped down the shiny new counter. Nobody had looked at me like that in ages .

My bestie, Rhys, had tried to hook me up with the son of one of his lace suppliers, but the date had been so bad I’d left on a pretence after only half an hour.

Apparently he had a big cock, but I wasn’t that desperate.

“ Did you know that there are four hundred-sixty-five different kinds of white lace?”

My eyes flitted over to the Orc carpenter who stood only a few feet away from Ross. He talked to one of his colleagues, a beefy human guy.

I bet the he was boring, to.

“ Did you know that there are four hundred and sixty-five different kinds of wood?”

Sure, babe. But I’m only interested in one kind.

As usual, I lost control over my facial features. I turned away, but not before I caught the Orc’s gaze flickering over to me.

Look your fill, big boy. I know I look great.

My boss’ mate, Taran, had connected me with his corset maker. I was so sure he was the reason I’d been able to afford getting anything from their shop, and for the first time in my life, my pride hadn’t gotten the better of me.

Taran always looked hot as sin in his corsets. His lacy black one was a personal favourite of mine. Looking didn’t hurt anyone, did it?

We Sylphs appreciated beauty; it drew our eyes. Exactly like that sexy Orc across the room drew mine.

I’d gotten Maeve to lace my corset up, strapping me in. I loved how it hugged my upper body.

It ‘ s almost indecent.

I wanted it so much and had never felt hotter than I did in my new silver-white corset. It might have been one of the reasons for the seductive glances I kept throwing the hunk across the room.

The Orc was so solid and composed. The spot where a fox logo was stitched into his shirt was also directly where his pec bulged and his pebbled nipple pressed against the tight fabric.

He also had a tortuously sinuous line of scar tissue on his neck and walked with a limp, and it all made him even more attractive.

Beauty, not perfection.

I found it so hard not to stare.

Get a grip on yourself, Bee!

I wanted to get a grip on myself. That is, I wanted to rub one out to take the edge off. The corset teasing my nipples did shit to help me keep my cool, either.

I was thankful our new work uniform came with heavy leather aprons that prevented my hard-on from taking someone’s eye out.

Maeve had taken it upon herself to introduce us to everyone who’d worked to make the cafe this new, better version of itself, and damn me if that worker of Struan Fox’s didn’t intrigue me.His name was Kjartan.

Bowed down with the weight of the world, he still stood tall and proud, his feet planted a little wider than his broad shoulders, as if to anchor him to the ground. Deeply rooted, unbreakable, a pillar of strength…

I was so lost in thought that I completely missed that the man crossed the room and flinched like an asshole when he suddenly appeared in front of me.

“Hello,” he rasped with a faint melodic Suaitan lilt and gave me an apprehensive nod.

Shit, I bet he thinks I’m prejudiced about Orcs.

“Hi, what can I get you?” I asked him in a breathy voice.

By Zephyr, keep your head on!

“Whatever is easiest for you to prepare.”

“What?” I gaped at him.

“You have a lot to do.” Kjartan gestured at the jam-packed room behind him.

“I’ll drink whatever is the least trouble for you to make.

” He shrugged his shoulders, stretching his shirt out even more, and I feared for that fucking garment.

I wanted to switch places with it, wanted to be plastered to his thick chest and—

Stop it!

I glanced around to see if we were by ourselves. Most people had been served and had settled around the room.

“No, I don’t think that works for me.”

“No?” His dark brown eyes narrowed on me, the long braid flopping around his shoulder as he tilted his head.

I hated how insecure he seemed. I was barely half his size. If anything, I should be unsettled by him .

“You made sure Scales & Steam looked great,” I explained. “The least I can do is make you a nice cup of coffee.”

The muscles in the planes of his face relaxed. “You want me to have a…”

“A nice cup of something you’ll enjoy, yeah. Let me walk you through the menu, okay?”

His gaze dropped to my chest for a moment and hung on my corset before he turned back to my face. His green cheeks had a dusky brown tinge.

How is he so adorable?

Kjartan nodded. I explained the different drinks we had and loved how his eyes lit up as I mentioned the Brewtiful , an iced latte with raspberry syrup. It sounded weird but was one of the best drinks we offered.

Not that I’m partial because it’s my recipe. Nope, not at all.

“That sounds good, yes,” he said in a stilted tone. “I will try this.”

“One Brewtiful it is, gorgeous,“ I said with a grin, then felt my cheeks heat as well. “Come over here to the other side, okay?”