Page 25 of Witches and Wine (The Mythical Mates of Arcane Cove #1)

“Tambie, when I said I needed a distraction, this wasn’t what I had in mind,” I mumbled, staring at the plate piled high with meat pies and four mugs of steaming coffee she had yet to touch.

Tambie tapped a petite claw against one mug’s rim but still didn’t drink it. “If you wanted something specific, you should’ve asked, D. Besides, who doesn’t get distracted by food and caffeine?” She graced me with a singular glance. Otherwise, her attention focused behind me.

Scowling at my long-time friend, I turned in my seat, narrowing my eyes at Dagnar, the orc owner and chef of The Minty Boar .

He flipped a towel over his shoulder before shaking hands with a customer who purchased one of his famous meat pies.

Throwing Tambie an exasperated glare, I pointed at her.

“You have the hots for Dagnar. That’s the only reason we’re here. ”

Tambie gasped and gripped the table’s sides. “Will you keep your voice down?”

“Since when were you shy ?” I snagged one of the plates because there wasn’t a reason for all of this to go to waste.

“I’m not shy. I’m incredibly nervous to talk to him.” Tambie scratched one of her antlers, her gaze damn near twinkling every time she caught a glance of the tall, staunch orc.

Scooping some of the pie into my mouth with an iron fork, I continued to chew while I talked and used the utensil to reference the overabundance of coffee. “Is that why you keep ordering coffees you have no intention of drinking? As an excuse to get a whiff of him?”

“A whiff?” Tambie rolled her eyes and folded her arms in a huff, slouching in the wooden chair. “Not all of us have a beast mode.”

Shrugging, I combed a hand through my beard, ridding it of flaky crust crumbles. “No, but you do have a working nose, don’t you?”

She went silent for a beat, staring at me like she was about to hate admitting something. “He smells like butter and pine, alright?”

Chuckling, I rested the fork on the now-empty iron plate and jutted my thumb behind me. “Want me to go talk to him?” I wiped my mouth with a cloth napkin.

“No,” Tambie shouted, lurching forward, her cheeks heating when everyone turned to look at us, including Dagnar. “No, Dion. I forbid it.”

Damn it all to Tartarus. This was distracting.

“You forbid it, do you?” Tossing the napkin onto the table, I pushed off my thighs to stand. “Now it’s a must.”

Tambie opened her mouth to protest, but when nothing but squeaking and gurgling came out, she sat back in defeat. “Fine. Please don’t embarrass me, D.”

“No promises.” I winked at her before walking to the counter.

Dagnar snapped his green fingers when I approached. “Dionysus, right?”

“That’s right.” I propped an elbow on the counter. “I’m surprised you knew that, considering this is probably only the second time I’ve been in here. No offense.”

“None taken.” Dagnar let out a hearty chuckle, the large two tusk-like teeth protruding over his top lip shifting when he talked. “I frequent Bacchus. Hell of a place you run there.”

“Glad to hear it. Other people’s enjoyment gives me joy.”

The words stung more than they usually did. I wanted to make Chelsea happy. It would bring me far more joy than the glee of dozens of strangers on any given day.

“What can I get for you? The ale here isn’t mixed with ambrosia wine, but it tastes damn good. Perfect honey hops froth, too.” Dagnar clapped himself on the chest with pride.

Patting my stomach and blowing out a breath, I replied, “I’m already filled to the brim from one of those pies, thanks. But I did want to?—”

A female with pink skin, red eyes, and bleached white hair snaked her arm around Dagnar’s waist from behind.

She walked her fingers up his stomach and pressed her crimson, plump lips to his bicep, kissing him there.

Her darker pink spade tail flicked and spiraled itself around one of Dagnar’s legs.

She was a female demon I gathered—a succubus.

Peeking over my shoulder, I slid to the right to block Tambie’s view of the unfortunate setback. “This the missus?” I gave a curt nod to the succubus, who flashed me sultry eyes the moment they landed on my face.

Dagnar chuckled and kissed the demoness’s cheek. “Not my betrothed, but she is mine. Isn’t that right, Vila?”

Vila scanned me from head to toe, attempting to cast whispers into my mind.

It wouldn’t work. There were only so many beings that could manipulate a god’s mind, and a succubus was certainly not one of them.

After realizing this, Vila chewed on her bottom lip, seemingly more intrigued.

“That’s right,” she cooed at Dagnar but still looked at me.

She stroked one of his tusks with a single finger.

Godsdammit. Poor Tambie. The first being that she’d shown interest over in years, and this was what happened.

“On second thought, Dagnar, why don’t you pour me one of those ales?” Sighing, I stood and tried not to look back at Tambie.

Dagnar gave a prideful, toothy grin before moving to a display with three golden taps and tubes leading to giant metal casks with wooden fencing around them.

He lifted a mug, tilting his head to one side as he stared at the foam forming.

Once satisfied, he slid the drink to me, and I handed him a lyyke coin, Arcane Cove currency.

After giving Dagnar a nod as a thanks, I sipped from the mug and fought back a moan. Fuck. It was good. I stared at the orc over my cup’s rim, and he flashed me a pair of expecting eyes.

After wiping the foam collected on my mustache, I pointed at the ale. “Fucking good, bro. Real good.”

“That’s what I love to hear,” Dagnar answered and circled his arms around Vila’s waist.

It was a wonder the hulking orc was a retired warrior. I could hardly imagine him lodging an ax into a person’s skull after making dough for his meat pies on the same day.

Tambie sat with her spine zipped straight, and she raised a hand when I approached the table. “No need to beat around the bush. I saw everything. He’s taken. Moving on.”

Slamming the mug down and purposely making her jump because I was not having it, I leaned over the table and pointed behind me. “She’s a succubus, Tambie. She tried to seduce me right in front of him. You think that’s going to last?”

Tambie shrugged and flicked a crumb from the underside of her claw. “Plenty of beings try to seduce you, Dion.”

I flopped back to my seat and snorted. “You’re not wrong. And if it weren’t for Chels, I may have taken her up on it to prove a point to both you and the orc.”

“Ah ha,” Tambie announced, pointing a stiff arm at me. “So, she was what this whole distraction business was about. I knew it.”

Why was it that whenever it came to matters of the heart, everyone else around you fucking knew better than you?

I smacked my lips together and let my expression fall neutral. “You’re diverting the subject.”

“Damn straight I am. If Dagnar doesn’t wise up to her succubus ways, then quite frankly, he’s not the kind of male I want to be with anyway. I can wait.” Tambie shrugged and propped her booted feet on the table. “What happened? Did she get weirded out with our escapades in the woods?”

I groaned. Tambie had to bring that up and entice memories to warp back in droves. “No. She was more than fine with it. She’d probably ask to go there repeatedly.”

Tambie’s brows quirked, and she flopped her feet to the floor. “Well, then, what in the Seven Hells is the problem?”

“I don’t know.” I punched the butt of my fist against the table. “She won’t talk to me.”

Tambie crawled across the table to flick me between the eyes. “Then make her Dion. And I don’t mean hog tie her and treat it like a torture interrogation. I mean tell her you want to talk. Refuse to leave until she does.”

“Ow,” I mumbled, rubbing my forehead. “I’ve talked my way out of harrowing situations with giant monsters, convinced kings to do obscene things, and delivered punishments I’m almost ashamed of. So, why is this witch so difficult for me to deal with, Tambie?”

Tambie let out a fluttering sigh before sitting. “Because she’s yours. It’s not supposed to be easy.”

It was subtle, but I caught her fleeting glance in Dagnar’s direction at that last point.

“Thanks, old friend.” I squeezed Tambie’s arm. “And I mean that. I don’t say it enough.”

Tambie giggled and yanked her limb from my grasp. “I said go get your woman, not go all soft on me, D.”

“Fine.” I stood. “But if this blows up in my face, I’m making you work doubles at the club.”

Tambie’s eyes sparkled like they always had when she was about to counter me. “And if it works out, you give me an extra week’s vacation of my choosing.”

“You know you could just ask for that? You don’t have to bargain for it.”

Tambie shrugged and stuck out her hand. “Sure. But this makes it more fun.”

“Alright, you have a deal.” We shook, and I slid the full mug of ale toward her. “And finish this for me, will you? Something tells me Dagnar will get more of a kick out of seeing you drink it.”

“Oh, yeah?” A flirty grin crested Tambie’s lips as she wrapped her hands around the mug.

“And make sure to lick the foam off your lips slow and deliberate, yeah?”

Tambie tossed me an exasperated glare. “I do not need you to school me on how to flirt.”

“Sure, you don’t,” I teased, patting the top of her head as I headed for the exit.

She turned in her seat and shouted, “I don’t.”

“Sure,” I quickly yelled back before ducking out the door.

There wasn’t much I knew about being mates with someone, but I did know they often shared a strange form of unspoken communication.

It was as if you had an internal tracking beam to know their location at all times.

Which was great and all, but fuck if I knew how to do it.

Pausing on the sidewalk, I closed my eyes and thought of her. My Chelsea. My wicked little witch.

It started as a tingle at the base of my spine, traveling to my head. Her voice whispered into my ear as if she stood a breath away from me.

“Riley, what am I supposed to do?”

And just like that, because of a ferret, I knew where she was and ported straight to the middle of her living room without a passing thought.

Chelsea yelped and grabbed a pillow from the couch she was sitting on, dragging it over herself like she was naked. Much to my dismay, she wasn’t, given the tight pants and tank top she wore, but it was better for my concentration that she was fully clothed.

“Chels, we’re going to talk, and we’re going to talk now .” I ground my teeth and swallowed down my pride. This was Chelsea. She deserved every part of me. “Please.”