Page 10 of Deck the Skulls

“You guys own the whole building?” she asked. Sanguine was a nice bar, but it couldn’t possibly make enough to pay the mortgage on the entire building. Anatoly was the money guy, and Zan was the sweetheart who spent it.

As he led her back to the main area, a tall guy carrying several bags walked in. “Yo, Zan! I got your order!” He stopped short when he saw her, sniffed the air, then looked over to Zan with a questioning look.

Zan moved past her to take the bags of food. “Rissa, this is Will. He and his, uh, family own The Pack House restaurant. Will, this is Rissa. She’s going to be a bartender here.”

The guy was as big as Zan and maybe even a little more broad. Staying where she was, she raised her hand in a little wave. “Hi.”

Will gave Zan a startled look. “You hired help?”

Zan gave the guy a gentle shove with his shoulder. “Anatoly and I needed someone, and Rissa is perfect.”

“Oh!” Will smiled at her over his shoulder, and Zan nudged him out the open door. “It’s nice meeting you. Give these guys hell.”

Rissa laughed as Zan made a little growly sound and hip-checked Will the rest of the way out the door.

“Damn cheeky wolf,” he muttered as he walked back to her and put the food on the counter. He must call him a wolf because the restaurant was called The Pack House. It was cute.

She sat on one of the stools and watched him unbag box after box of food. By the time all the boxes were out her mouth was watering.

“Where’s Anatoly?” she asked. “Should we be sharing with him?”

“Naw. He’s still asleep,” Zan explained. “He needs all the beauty rest. I’ve never needed that much sleep.”

“Must be nice,” she mumbled, unsure if she was disappointed or relieved that he wasn’t here.

Once he had all the food boxes open, Rissa marveled at the sheer number of items. “Did you order the entire menu?”

“Almost,” he answered cheerfully. “Dig in!”

She snagged one of the boxes with a hamburger and fries and started eating. The moment the food hit her belly, she started feeling better. She was still tired, but at least the shaky feeling she’d experienced when she first walked in went away.

They ate in companionable silence. Rissa appreciated someone who could handle sitting and not talking. The lack of conversation felt peaceful instead of awkward.

When she’d eaten her fill, she sat back and rotated the stool so she was facing Zan. He was still shoveling down food as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. She watched him for a few minutes until he caught her looking and paused long enough to grin.

“Breakfast was a long time ago, and I only had four eggs and half a loaf of bread as toast, then I missed lunch. If you hadn’t agreed to eat with me, I might have starved to death!”

“If I ate like this all the time, I’d be as big as a house, not that I’m tiny now, but at least I’m only shed size,” she joked.

Going still, he slowly turned his head. Gone was his cheerful expression. Instead, his mouth was in a tight frown.

“What did you say?”

“Um, nothing really,” she said, trying to figure out what could’ve offended him. “I was saying you can eat a lot, but youstill look really good.” That was the truth. His muscles were straining the t-shirt he was wearing.

“That’s not what pissed me off,” he said. Sitting up, he dropped the sandwich in his hand and cleaned his fingers off on the napkin he’d tucked in the collar of his shirt.

“You can’t be angry at the joke about my size,” she said.

He gave her one slow nod. “Yeah, I’m pissed. You compared yourself to a shed. I never want to hear you say anything like that again.”

“It’s not a big deal, I—”

He growled, cutting her off. “Never again.” Moving in close, he leaned his big body over her. His proximity and scowl should’ve been intimidating, but for some reason, it wasn’t.

“You’re gorgeous,” he said, his voice low and intense. “You’re not the size of anything except perfection. Every curve on your body is a work of art meant to be admired. But I’d never put you in a museum. I want to keep you to myself. I’d touch, lick, and kiss every inch of you.”

He pulled in a long breath, his eyes half closed as if he was smelling something delicious.