She bounded out of the car with enthusiasm, and I followed more slowly. The Eastshore winter had come and gone without the need for me to break out any cold-weather gear—guess I could blame my Alaskan blood for that—but there was still a nip in the early spring air. I watched Stevie shiver as she zipped up her leather jacket, although her attention was on the backhoe moving large cement blocks into place by the front of the parking area.
I cleared my throat. “It’s going to be a community center, yeah. I don’t know what else to call it.” When she glanced at me, I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans and realized I was feeling…shy? “There’s no indoor space on Eastshore to gather. There are plenty of churches, but even the government building is utilitarian.”
“Did you plan this?” She gestured toward where Brakkor was maneuvering the blocks.
Without answering her exactly, I jerked my head toward the building, inviting her in. “We needed a place to get together comfortably, you know? Like…community activities. Holiday events. Concerts—there’s a space in the back that could be a basketball court, but I had it designed with the acoustics in mind, and we could do seating?—”
When Stevie’s small hand landed on my arm, I stopped in my tracks. Her eyes were sparkling as she gazed up at me.
“We?” she murmured. When it was clear I didn’t understand, her lips curled. “You saidweneeded a place. You mean you and your guys—the orcs you saved?”
I shook my head. “No, I meanallof us. Eastshore has a large orc population, and it’s amazing that so many males have found their home here. They need a space outside of Giza’s tattoo parlor or Karnak’s studio, where they can remember who they are…” I wasn’t explaining well, and in frustration, I allowed my gaze to sweep over the half-completed building. “But this wasn’t supposed to be just for orcs. It’s for all of Eastshore. To come together.”
“Withthe orcs,” she whispered. Her fingers tightened on my arm just briefly. “You’re building a place where everyone can build community. Together. It’ll helpeveryonefeel more at peace.”
My lips tugged downward when her hand dropped away, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of her words, or because I wanted her to touch me again. Oralways.
MyKteerstirred in irritation.Kiss taste feel touch, it seemed to growl.
Luckily, we were saved by Brakkor, which isn’t a phrase I’d ever thought someone might say. The grumpy male had noticed us, turned off his backhoe, and was stomping over.
“You’re early,” he barked.
“No, I’m not.” I clasped his forearm, and when I noticed him eyeing Stevie with interest, I tamped down the urge to growl possessively. “This is Stevie. She wanted to tour the center too.”
“Did she.” Brakkor didn’t sound like he believed me. Fair enough; I didn’t sound like I believed me either.
Fucking focus, you idiot.I jerked my chin toward my friend.
“Stevie, this is Brakkor. He was our heavy equipment expert at the mine, but he and his brother moved out here when I did.”
I saw understanding dawn in her eyes. Yeah, they’d been two of the guys I’d helped to pull out of that disaster all those years ago. And yeah, they were two I felt responsible for, even now.
The other male grunted and jerked his chin toward the front door. “Korrad’s inside, waiting on you with Kowalski. I’m sure he’s got an extra hard hat for your female.”
Your female.
I’d known her for less than a day, and she’d tried to fuck me out of fifty thousand—literally. So why didn’t I hate the thought of Stevie asmine?
“Korrad was my safety inspector,” I told Stevie. “He’s Brakkor’s twin?—”
“He’s the prettier one,” the other male interrupted. “I’m smarter.”
When Stevie nodded seriously, as if she believed the bragging, I kept a straight face. “Today we’re going overthe interior designs. I want to leave a lot of the space as multipurpose, but there’s a few specific spaces I want to delineate?—”
“Like a gym.”
She’d totally derailed my train of thought. “What?”
“You know…” Stevie had one hand shoved in the pocket of her jacket, but the other encompassed the building with a wave. “A gym. Mirrors on the walls. Someplace to workout. There’s probably not enough room for a bunch of machines, but research has shown that a significant percentage of males report themselves to be calmer and more at peace when they have access and time for regular exercise.” She glanced at me. “Unless Eastshore already has a gym?”
I was staring at her. “A new one. I think I heard something about turning the old cannery into a gym.”
She nodded, pleased. “Okay, good. Then I suppose you don’t need to worry about a bunch of sweaty guys smelling up your space. But you could still do a dedicated room for working out, like yoga or tai chi.”
I heard Brakkor mutter, “Tai chi?” but I couldn’t look away from this strange, remarkable female in front of me.
She shrugged, as if the suggestion didn’t have much merit. “There are some communities who put a lot of value in starting the day with stretching like that.”
