It was more difficult than it ought to be, standing too close to Blaze. It seriously messed with her coordination and her concentration. He smelled so good, it made her heart flutter every time she inhaled. His eyes were always crinkled with his warm smile. His hands always seemed to find a way to graze her back or hand.
She didn’t mind the physical contact at all. It just made it impossible for her to focus on pouring beer into a tipped glass at just the right angle when his hand was pressed to her back. He might as well have cupped her ass while he was at it. Maybe it would have eased some of the crackling sexual tension between them.
This wasn’t an experience Astra had ever had before. Insane chemistry with someone she had just met. This was new, and it made her feel a little bit drunk. She hadn’t even had a sip of booze. Could she get a contact buzz from pouring drinks? Probably not.
When Blaze moved on to showing her the cash register, Astra balked.
“You have the oldest machine ever. You know, if you had a computerized system, you could easily track all of your purchases. You could see what moves more, and even see if there are trends in ordering. Like, if people drink more beer during the afternoon or have whiskey on Sundays.”
Blaze frowned. “I never thought of that. How did you just come up with that on the spot?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m a business owner, too, you silly wolf. We have a computer system that does all of our thinking for us. We were able to notice that people are likelier to get a massage during weekdays. So they’ll take time off of work to get a good rubdown.
"But the same clients are also more likely to book Reiki sessions after work Friday or early Saturday mornings. It’s made our scheduling so much easier. I’m telling you, the cost of going digital might seem a bit extravagant at first, but you will save money in the long run.”
“I guess it would help me know when to order in more booze. It could help stabilize the books even more.” He smiled at her, and it made her skin tingle. Everywhere. “Thanks, Astra.” He winked at her and turned toward the mirrored shelves to twist a few bottles around and dust off others.
“You didn’t want me to be behind your bar, and here I am, fixing your business.”
Blaze swatted at her ass with a dish rag, and Astra giggled, jumping out of his reach. “Is that how you treat your employees?” she teased.
“No,” he said, his eyes going darker. “Just my most important visitors.”
Astra was trying to decipher his meaning when the front door burst opened. A large group of five men made their way to a booth at the other end of the bar. Their conversation was loud and boisterous and they hollered for Blaze to come over.
He squeezed her arm. “Gimme one sec.”
She watched him join the group, and his voice was filled with laughter when he said, “You guys know we don’t open until three. You’re an hour early.”
“Oh, come on, Alpha,” a young red-haired man griped. “We just totally destroyed the Wenham pack in a game of baseball. We deserve some cold ones.”
Blaze crossed his arms, but Astra already knew he would give in. Not because he was a weak alpha, but because it would be a good trial run for her bartender skills. If she didn’t cut it, he might very well make her stay in the apartment during the evening.
All alone.
Away from his tight ass and dazzling smile.
“We need five of these,” he pointed to one of the draft spouts. “Think you can handle it?”
“You know I can.” Astra flipped her hair over her shoulder and got to work.
So maybe there were too much head on the beers, but she still didn’t drop one single glass on the floor. That was a victory. She placed the five glasses onto a large black tray. It took all of her concentration and two hands and a very long, slow walk to get the drinks to the group of already rowdy shifters.
“You’re new,” one of them said to her as he sniffed the air around her.
Astra knew it was a shifter thing.
“Yup. I’m Astra. Just holler if you need anything.”
She quickly retreated back behind the bar where Blaze was watching her.
“You know you bite your lower lip when you’re concentrating.”
Astra shook her head. “I don’t.” That had been a trait she'd had when she was a kid. She hadn’t done that in years. She had been teased about it in school, especially during math class. That algebra stuff meant a lot of lip biting.
“You do, but don’t worry. It’s adorable. Just make sure that you don’t hurt those lips. You know,” he leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear. “In case you want to do something else with those lips later.”
She inhaled in surprise and just about swallowed her tongue.
Of all the things Blaze could have said, that was the one thing she hadn't been expecting. She’d kissed him earlier, but they hadn’t really talked about it happening again.
There sure had been a lot of flirting all afternoon, but he hadn’t kissed her. The thought that he was thinking about her lips at all was a bit dizzying. Completely incapable of moving, she watched him retreat into the kitchen to check on the cook.
“Astra,” the group of shifters called out to her. “Bring us another round.”
It took even more concentration this time. She really didn’t want to bite her lip if she was going to be kissing Blaze later.
Chapter Ten
Astra
Tending bar was harder than she had thought. Not that she was going to back down. She told Blaze she could do it, and she would stick to her word. It wasn’t that she had to be on her feet. She had to do that in her own job as a massage therapist and Reiki healer. But this was a lot of running around while trying to balance plates of food and trays of drinks.
Blaze was a pro at mixing some of the drinks that were lost on Astra. She’d always thought it was as simple as pouring a shot of liqueur and a mix in with it, but it wasn’t. Blaze poured, mixed, crushed mint leaves, drizzled syrups with grace and agility. How was it even possible to see the beauty of his wolf in his human shape?
Astra would swear that she could. She tried to keep most of her attention on the bar, away from Blaze.
It was a good distraction from the fact that at any moment, a member of the Order of Salem could walk in and decide to take her out. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy in a shifter bar. And not when Blaze was always keeping an eye on her, but the thought that someone wanted her dead was still very present in her mind.
It helped that the dinner rush was way busier than she had anticipated. Who knew shifters would love to eat supper in a bar? The cook, a shifter named Beatrice, worked quickly, and Astra could barely keep up with tending the bar and delivering food to the tables.
“You need to hire another person. You need a waiter or something. It’s too much for two people. Please don’t tell me you usually do this alone?”
“Jett and I manage,” he answered with a shrug.
“Remember how we were talking about making things more functional here? I’m telling you, a third person would make service faster, which would mean better tips. And that’s money in your pocket.”
He seemed to think about it for a few moments. “Again, that makes a lot of sense. Maybe I could hire one of the younger wolves to step in every now and again.”