Garrett swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. She spoke with such authority that he doubted he could ignore it even if he wanted to. “Do you like the work you do?”
“That’s better,” Bridgette said as she swirled the spices in her drink. “Do I enjoy earning coin? Yes. Do I enjoy having sex? Also yes. But are the men who come to me for sex any good at it? Rarely.”
Garrett couldn’t help but grin at her nonchalant attitude towards it all. In the week he’d worked there, he’d seen that her job was far more than sex for coin. It was conversation and empathy and… connection, even if that connection was with the mask she wore rather than the actual woman underneath.
She grinned at him over the rim of her cup. “Who did you lose your virginity to? A lovely orc lass?”
Garrett’s face flushed hot. “I-I can’t answer that.”
“Poor way to keep with the spirit of the game,” Bridgette said through a scowl. At his bashful silence, her eyes widened in understanding. “Gods be damned. You can’t seriously be telling me you’ve never had sex.”
Garrett’s face got, impossibly, hotter. “Half-orcs don’t exactly make the most desirable mates in my clan.” He could see her follow-up question burning to be let out, and he sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “We’re the mules of the high plains.”
“What, you’re stubborn and durable?” Bridgette asked.
Garrett gave a huff of a laugh. “We’re infertile.”
“Aaah,” Bridgette said in understanding. “So sex for pleasure isn’t something that orcs do?”
Garrett shook his head. “No, that definitely happens,” he said, but thejust not with mewas left unspoken. “But I have answered at least two of your questions now.”
He gathered the nerve to ask his next question, but he was interrupted when the door to the brothel opened. Four men entered in a flurry of wind and snow, breaking the peaceful quiet of the night.
Bridgette sighed before she drained the rest of her cup. “Duty calls,” she said and got to her feet. “Thanks for playing, Garrett. Maybe we can pick it up some other night.”
Garrett watched her go, and his question about whether she’d ever been in love was left unasked.
7
Snow coated the ground the next morning, and the chill that settled over Frostcliff in the storm’s wake made even Garrett shiver. Yet as he reached the back door of the brothel, he stopped short. Monika was feeling better if the volume of her voice was any indication. He couldn’t make out what the tirade was about, but when he checked the door, it was unlocked. He sighed, steeling himself before he pushed it open.
“-I house you, feed you, pay you your worth, andthisis how you repay me?” Monika shouted. Her voice was still hoarse, though Garrett couldn’t tell if it was the residual cold or if she’d yelled herself that way. “I will tear this place apart until I find out which one of you did it!”
“It was just a slow night, Monika!” Isolde said, voice pleading.
“Can’t steal coin that didn’t come through in the first place,” Bridgette added before there was the loud smack.
Garrett’s stomach dropped, and he hurried inside to see Monika standing over Bridgette. She held her cheek, eyes defiant as she looked up at the furious Madam.
“I leftyouin charge of the till, Bri.” Monika’s hand fisted in Bridgette’s silver hair, pulling hard. She gave her a shake as she demanded, “Where is it, girl?”
Bridgette let out a shout of pain, and Garrett moved before he’d given his feet permission. He grabbed Monika’s shoulder, but the tiny woman whirled around, shoving him away with surprising strength.
“You get your handsoffof me, or I will cut them off,” Monika snarled.
“Stay out of it, Garrett,” Bridgette said, a hint of pleading in her voice. He released Monika’s shoulder as Bridgette got back to her feet. “I didn’t steal any of your coin, Monika. We only had four men come in. They had a few drinks, wastedallof our time, and left.”
“It’s true, Monika,” Julienne piped up from beside her. “Half of us went to bed early.”
“And what aboutyou?” Monika demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Garrett.
For a second, he was speechless. The till was locked away under the counter, and nothing short of rifling through Bridgette’s clothes would have allowed him to even reach the key.
“Why would I steal from the one person in this godsforsaken town that’s willing to pay me more than an insult?” he snapped, but Monika didn’t seem convinced. He threw his hands up. “No! I did not somehow break into the till, steal your coin, and then repair the damn thing.”
Monika sneered but pulled her glare from Garrett to focus on the girls. “Then you’ll have no problem helping me search their rooms, will you?” she asked as she studied each face, looking for any sign of guilt.
Garrett glanced at Bridgette, but her mask had settled into place, betraying nothing. He let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. Whatever you need, Monika.”
