Page 35 of Knocked up By the Minotaur

“I’m not saying you have or will do anything wrong,” I reiterate, already fighting with myself from crossing to his side of the table and sitting in his lap until that look on his face brightens once more. “But I… I can’t do casual. You’ve made your stance clear, and I respect that. Fair enough, you know? Everybody’s got to do what’s right for them, and you’ve never once tried to mislead me. But I don’t want to lead myself into a situation I know I can’t handle just because you have a magic cock, it’s not fair to me or to you. I like you a lot, and I don’t want to lose your friendship.”

His heavy brows crease, and his horns tip up as he looks back at me. “Don’t get me wrong,” he says carefully, quietly. “I’m not trying to pressure you, but… why can’t we have both? Friendship, andincredible, life-changing sex? Don’t you deserve to have some fun, too, after everything you’ve been through?”

His lips quirk up lopsidedly, and I roll my eyes in good humor. “Oh, so it’s all for my own good, is it?”

His eyes sparkle as his grin widens slightly. “Of course. I’m a generous male, after all.”

I snort. “Well, you definitely are that.”

“I’ll look after you, Grace. And when you’re ready, we can part ways on good terms.”

“How many women have you been with?” I ask seemingly out of the blue. “Dozens? Hundreds?” Slowly, one big shoulder shrugs, and I sigh. “See, that’s an answer all on its own. You’ve slept with so many people you’ve stopped counting.”

Something about him seems to wince, even though he doesn’t move, and I lean forward and grab his hand again. “I’m not judging you, Oli. Your history doesn’t bother me, but…” I try to formulate the words I need to express myself. “But I’ve been with four people total, in my entire lifetime. All of them long term relationships, and three out of four ended with me being betrayed. The first was just a run-of-the-mill cheating, I came home early from university one day to find him in bed with my roommate. The second time, I’d been in a relationship for eight years, engaged for three, when I was suddenly dumped in my first trimester of pregnancy. I later found out he up and left the country with his new girlfriend, who I suspect is a ladyboy, by the way. So I guess he must be happy in Thailand… That’s when Brad found me. And he’s been cheating on me for a year, though I’m starting to think it’s been longer.”

Oli’s eyes are on me, I sigh and continue.

“Of those three men, I knew I was being played long before the relationships ended. I sat there and tried to make it work long past its expiry date, and it’s because I find it difficult to let go. My heart is too… sentimental? Weak? I don’t know, but it won’t listen to reason. And I’m not here to try and trick you into a relationship or force you to give me more than you can, either. I don’t want to be a Sera.”

His gaze on mine is once more searching, intent and intimate. “You could never be like that female. You’re too good-hearted.”

I smile, feeling my chest warm at how sweet he is even in the face of his disappointment, and I squeeze his hand still in mine. It’s a shame he’s so intent on remaining single, because I’m starting to think he’d make an excellent partner.

The bell beside us chimes as the door opens, breaking our moment, and I hear a faint gasp behind me as Oli’s eyes dart suddenly to the side in surprise.

“S-sir?”

I look over to see a bright red snake-lady in the doorway, shock on her face as her eyes dart from Oli, to me, to our joined hands.

“Isha,” Oli says, offering a faint smile. “Nice to see you here this morning.”

“I—yes, it’s…” Her words trail away, and when her eyes move back to our joined hands, I notice them fill with tears. She turns away. “Oh, I just remembered… I have to… I’ll see you in the office on Monday, sir. Bye.”

And she slides out before anyone can say another word.

I look back at Oli, who has a slightly guilty expression. “I haven’t slept with her,” he says quietly.

“But she’s still in love with you,” I counter. “See? What chance do I have? I’ll be worshiping you in a week. You want me hinting that you should buy me a ring? Hmm?”

He chuckles, but won’t meet my eyes.

“You want me picking out baby cradles and asking when we’ll buy a house and a dog and… changing my relationship status on Facebook?”

His fingers tighten around mine but he doesn’t respond, or look back up, and I squeeze back and will my heart to stop fluttering at the feel of my hand cradled within his big warm palm. I let go now, while I still can.

“This is for the best. You’ll be back out there finding somebody else to be crazy kinky with in no time.”

Shut it, heart, I tell myself firmly as jealousy immediately flares within me. This is for the best.

I pull away, grabbing my coffee so that I don’t grab his hand again. I feel much less confident about all this than my blasé words might suggest, but I try to keep it off my face as he leans back as well, rubbing absently at his wrist, right at the missing tuft of fur where I scratched him the other day.

“Whatever you want, princess,” he says, but his usual warm tone is flat.

“We can still work together to get rid of our exes, right?” I ask, and it’s notbecause I don’t want to lose all the extra time I’ve been spending with him lately. It’s most definitely not. It’s simply about Brad. And Sera.

He smiles and finally looks back at me. “Whatever you want.”

“Alright.” I nod. “Good. Excellent. And don’t be awkward. I know I’m a once-in-a-lifetime catch, but you’re just going to have to learn to live without me.” I try to joke it off, and he chuckles, his eyes softening as he looks down at his mug again.

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