Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

BILLIE

I was practically buzzing as I headed back to my room. The sun was fully set and I could slink in, unnoticed. Laying back on my bed, I replayed the events of the date in my head. Though it was technically a date, we didn't even get through our dinner before we started groping each other. It felt good to kiss Steve. Really good. While the last few weeks of getting to know him had been agonizing at times, when all I wanted to do was jump his bones, it would be worth the wait. At least, that's what I was telling myself.

I laid down on my bed and thought of Steve's lips on my neck and chest. I knew going further on our first date wasn't a good idea. We both wanted this to be more than a casual hook-up, but now I was wound up like a top. I loved a good blow job, and giving Steve his first one was terrific. Even his cum tasted good. I couldn't get the image of his astonished face when I wrapped my lips around his cock out of my mind. I smirked at the knowledge that I would forever be his first, in hopefully many things. His lack of experience made everything feel like a new and surprising adventure. The knowledge that I would get to be there for all of these new experiences caused me to feel warm down to my toes. I couldn't wait to show him everything we could do to make each other feel good.

As Steve's every touch, lick, and kiss whirred around in my brain. I propped myself up on my pillows, and I slid my hand down the waist of my pants, yanking my bra under my tunic and giving myself access to my nipples. I dragged my fingers through my folds and was unsurprised to find myself swollen and soaking. It had taken all of my willpower not to strip off my pants and ride Steve's cock while we were in the woods. I stroked my slit up and down, wetting my fingers before I brought them to circle my clit. I massaged my tits and pinched my hardened nipples. Steve had gotten me so heated I was going to come hard and fast. I switched to circling my clit with my thumb so I could dip two fingers inside, pumping in and out.

I whined in frustration that my fingers were no comparison to a cock, let alone a giant orc cock with extra bells and whistles. I continued to pump my fingers while adding more pressure to my clit. I tugged and pinched my stiff nipple, thinking of Steve's teeth dragging across it and licking me with his rough tongue. I bet his tongue would feel incredible on my clit. The texture of it made me light up in ways I'd never though possible—I wondered what oral would be like with him. And with that thought, I combusted. I clamped down on my sad, pathetic fingers, wishing for more. My toes curled as an orgasm ripped through my body, causing me to twitch and moan. I panted, realizing I had been holding my breath. If I could come like that, just thinking of Steve… I was a goner.

I snuggled into my bed and was pleased to find I still smelled like him. I drifted back off, trying to come up with other date ideas.

The next morning, I was at the bar early, trying to be chill and not think about Steve. We had made significant progress and were getting down to the finer details. Osif and I had gone through paint samples and sconces until I was so bored I couldn't see straight. I wasn't an interior designer and was completely over all the decision-making. I had finally roped Piper in for some of the aesthetic choices so she could help me cut down my options. Today, we were sanding down the interior walls of the bar and relacquering them. I understood almost none of the process, but Osif assured me it would be straightforward. I was surprised but pleased to see Steve walking toward the bar alone.

"Where's your band of merry men?" I called.

"My what?" he asked, looking confused.

I laughed. I would never tire of confusing orcs with slang.

"Where is the rest of the gang?" I asked.

"Oh, at breakfast. I said I wasn't hungry. I hoped maybe I'd get a moment alone with you if I showed up early. " He was blushing deep green.

"Oh really?" I sauntered up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "What did you hope to do with that moment alone with me?"

He wrapped his arms around me, eyes hooded with lust.

"I dunno, I was a big fan of that kissing that you taught me," he said, brushing his lips along my neck.

I broke out in goosebumps at the gentle caress, and pressed myself against his warm body. Wrapping my fingers in his hair, I pulled him away from my neck and to my mouth. He crushed his mouth into mine, devouring me eagerly, stroking his tongue inside and tangling it with mine. I curled my fingers into his hair, pulling him even tighter to me, wanting to press every part of my body against his. His arms tightened around my waist, and I felt him growing hard between us.

I kissed his neck, and he buried his nose in my hair.

"You didn't shower. You smell of us." His voice came out low and tortured.

"Is that bad?" I asked, confused, pausing my kisses down his neck.

"It is just going to distract me," he murmured.

"Mmm," I hummed as I continued kissing his neck. "Well, you will just have to think about what is in store for tonight."

"Oh? Have you come up with any other date ideas?" He chuckled.

"Emla has been fiddling around with mead recipes, and I thought maybe we could go berry picking to do a berry mead. She said only one type grows this time of year, and the bushes are wild just a bit south of the village." I pulled away. "How does that sound?"

"I think it sounds like we should probably go earlier rather than later—you can't berry pick in the dark." He gave me a wag of his brows, causing me to laugh. He clearly wanted to explore more now that we'd started down that path.

"And it wouldn't have anything to do with your impatience to be alone again?" I smirked.

"Not one bit," he said before pulling me in for another deep kiss.

I loved that Steve was no longer shy about touching me. I stroked along the inside of his mouth with my tongue, earning a deep groan from him. I was growing flushed and could feel myself starting to dampen my underwear. I pulled away.

"We need to stop before anyone else shows up," I breathed.

He let me go and stepped back. I clapped my hand over my mouth to stifle an eruption of giggles at the sight of the enormous erection tenting his pants.

"Um… can you do something about that?" I asked, waving vaguely at his dick.

"Hey, this is your fault!" He ran a hand down his face in embarrassment as he tried to adjust himself to make it less noticeable.

It did nothing. If anything, it made his erection more noticeable.

"Sorry, not sorry." I laughed, trying to feel bad for his predicament but failing. "Think about old people or something. Old orcs! Think about old wrinkly orcs!"

Steve gave a weak chuckle, a hand still covering his face. He took a couple of deep breaths and looked down to see nothing had changed.

"I'm going to stroll around the bar and inspect the exterior walls, ensuring all the lacquer has dried well," he grumbled.

As he walked away, I could hear him mumbling, "Old orkin, old wrinkly orkin."

I was still chuckling when Joey strolled up, right as Steve slipped around the backside of the bar.

"What are you so happy about? And why weren't you at breakfast?" She squinted suspiciously.

"Oh, I am just—er—really excited that it is starting to get warmer?" I fumbled.

"And breakfast?" she asked, brow cocked.

"I went early. I wanted to see what the bar looked like as the sun rose."

What the fuck am I talking about? I wanted to see the bar at sunrise? I would need to get better at lying to Joey real fast.

"Suuuure…" was all she said before heading into the bar.

I grimaced as I watched her walk away. I didn't want to keep things from Joey, but I didn't want our budding relationship to be the talk of the tribe. She didn't seem mad, just as if she didn't believe me in the least. She would be the first person to know—when it was time.

All of my helpers started showing up, including Steve's gang. Reykr came up to me immediately.

"Steve wasn't at breakfast and was gone when I woke up this morning," he said brusquely. "Do you know where he is?"

"I haven't seen him. Maybe he went to the showers early?" I suggested.

This was a much better lie than watching the sunrise over the bar. Bonehead, Billie.

Reykr cocked his head to the side, squinting as if he was deciding whether or not he trusted my lie. Then, to my great embarrassment, he leaned in and smelled me. Not too close, but enough to make it weird. His eyes went wide, but he said nothing.

"Um, are you smelling me? Because maybe that is normal for orkin, but that is definitely not normal for humans." I raised my brows, disturbed.

"Sorry, I just thought—you know what, never mind." Without further ado, he walked away from me to join the group.

I worried. What if he could smell Steve on me? I knew that orkin had a better sense of smell than humans did, but I didn't really think anything of it until just now. Fuck. A shower would be necessary after our berry-picking date tonight.

Osif arrived, and we began working on the interior walls. Steve joined us just a few minutes after we had all started, and no one seemed to notice. He gave me a heated look as he walked in and then looked crestfallen when he saw he couldn't work beside me. I had Tyr to my left and Berit to my right. Steve would have to pick a different spot to work. I sighed but knew it was probably for the best not to spend the entire morning with him

We all focused on sanding down the walls for several hours. Tyr, Berit, and I made small talk, but it was all surface-level. I hadn't gotten to know them like I had gotten to know Steve or even Reykr. I had grouped them in my head as "dumb jock types" which probably wasn't fair, but they didn't seem to have much to add to the conversation whenever we spoke, and they always traveled in a pack.

I focused on sanding down the exposed wood. Trying to get some conversation rolling while doing the tedious work, I started with the best question I could think of.

"So what did y'all have for breakfast?" I cringed inwardly at how inane the question was.

"Gautr," they responded in unison.

"Is it the same as the gautr you have at home?" I asked, hoping I could learn more about them and the Snaerfire.

"Not quite," said Tyr. "I don't think we have the same dried fruit up in the mountains as you have down here, but it is close enough. Your cooks are excellent."

"Is how we eat different from how you eat at Snaerfírar? Do you all eat together?"

I'd never specifically asked Steve if they all ate communally because I assumed it was a standard orkin practice.

"Já, though our longhouse is smaller than yours," Berit answered. "But it has fireplaces at both ends because of the cold."

"Do you miss it?" I asked. They'd now been at Fyrifírar for more than a month, and while I knew Steve was more than happy to be here, I often wondered if the others were only staying because of him.

"Já, but I don't miss the cold." Tyr said, "The warmer season is already starting here. It will be cold for at least another several weeks in Snaerfírar."

He moved closer to me as he spoke and I could almost feel him taking a whiff of my hair. I tensed as I waited for him to say anything. He just raised his brows at me and said nothing.

"Okay, that is the second time one of you has smelled me today," I said, calling out the creepy behavior. "It is considered weird at best and outright rude at worst to smell someone during casual conversation."

Berit looked alarmed and placed his hands up in the air as if to say, I come in peace.

"Sorry, we do have a keen sense of smell, and you smell different today," he explained, still looking concerned that I might slap him.

"Good different or bad different?" I asked.

"Um…" He was purposely not meeting my gaze.

Did I smell bad ? I knew I hadn't showered last night after our date, but I had showered right before. There was no way I smelled like stale sweat or a locker room.

"Well…" I prompted Berit as he just stared at me like an idiot.

"Not bad," he clarified. "Definitely not bad. Just different." Tyr nodded along with him.

"Well, could you refrain from smelling me in the future?" I asked. "It gives off major creeper vibes."

"Major what?" Berit looked confused.

Ah, here was where their lack of knowledge of slang was sometimes annoying. "It just makes you seem like you don't have good intentions, and it feels like you're invading my personal space," I explained.

I was used to weird patrons who got way too close to me or, worse, touched me when they were trying to order. This gave me immediate flashbacks to a regular who liked grabbing my arm whenever he wanted another beer. I was not a fan. The two of them stared at me like idiots with their mouths open. They clearly needed time to process my boundaries.

"Why don't we just get back to work?" I asked.

I was fine not getting to know them more if they were going to be weird. I wasn't interested in friendship with two male orkin who would likely leave at the season's end.

I could ignore them and focus on my work. We had the entire interior of the building to sand down. I could focus on work. Osif had claimed the actual bar top for himself. I saw him crouched over it, sanding meticulously, completely absorbed in his task. Steve, Joey, and Reykr were together, and I was surprised to see them working in complete silence. Usually, you had to stuff something in Joey's mouth to get her to stop talking. I briefly considered joining them to break the silence but decided to let it be. Maybe they were just absorbed in their work. I shrugged and returned to the patch of the wall I was working on. Perhaps Joey was harboring something for daddy-vibes Reykr.

By lunchtime, my arm was numb from sanding, and I was starving, having not actually had breakfast. Luckily, one of Osif's carpenters had grabbed lunch for all of us, and we sat out on the grass outside, enjoying the warm weather while we ate. I was still with Tyr, and Berit, and I sighed when Steve sat down with Reykr, Joey, and Osif. More uncomfortable small talk. At least they hadn't tried to smell me again since this morning.

"What kind of alcohol will you carry in the bar?" Berit asked.

I was surprised but pleased at his further attempt to make conversation.

"Emla said mead is what is most common here and what she knows how to make. So, I'll start with that before I expand. I am going to look at different flavorings, though. This afternoon, I'm going to try the berry patch Emla suggested. It's just a bit outside of the tribe." I took a sip of water

"Ooh, could we join you?" Tyr asked eagerly.

Fuckity fuck sticks. Dating someone in the same group of "friends" where we saw each other every day was already proving to be a challenge, and we'd only had one date. Thinking on my feet, I threw out another lie. "Ah, actually, I am going with Joey. She and I need some girl time. We haven't gotten to hang out with the two of us in a while because we've been so busy with the bar." I tried to keep the hesitation out of my voice.

I groaned inwardly. I guessed I was telling Joey today.

Tyr and Berit accepted my explanation and went back to their lunch. Breathing a sigh of relief, my eyes strayed over to Steve to find him staring at me with barely concealed hunger on his face. I felt myself flush and gave him a look that I hoped conveyed, stop being so obvious . I went back to my food. I tried not to think about how difficult this was and instead focused on my berry-picking date. I wondered if we'd pick any berries.