Page 17 of Horns for the Holidays

I nodded, a familiar weight settling on my shoulders. “It’s why I value my privacy so highly. The expectations, the constant scrutiny, everyone wondering if they’ll be the one to spark myinterest... and part of me wondering the same. Easier to keep it locked away on the other side of a very tall, thick wall.”

“With your employees scattered to the winds and limited to email communication,” Laramie added wryly. “Keeping everyone at arm’s length. Never getting too close.”

She saw right through me. “But not tonight.”

“How does a minotaur know?” The soft glow of the fairy lights caught the gold flecks in her green eyes, making them sparkle like emeralds. “When they’ve found their mate?”

The pulsing music faded to a distant throb as I studied her face. The curve of her lips. The flutter of her pulse at her throat. Every instinct screamed at me to close the distance. To claim her lips with mine and show herexactlyhow a minotaur recognized his mate.

“It’s... instinctual,” I said, voice dropping to a low rumble. “A pull so strong it’s impossible to ignore. You can feel it in your bones.”

Her cheeks flushed pink. “What else?”

“Scent is part of it,” I confessed, leaning in to skim the tip of my nose up the column of her neck. “They smell... irresistible. Like everything you’ve ever wanted wrapped in sunshine.”

Her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip, and I stifled a groan. Gods, the things I wanted to do to that mouth.

“Touch,” I added. I traced a finger along her wrist, feeling her shiver. “Even the smallest contact feels electric.”

She exhaled unsteadily, her eyes never leaving mine. “And?”

“And...” My thumb circled her palm, and she gave a breathless sigh. The mate bond thrummed between us, demanding action. “When did you last check your email?”

CHAPTER SIX

LARAMIE

For a moment, I couldn’t process the question. My mind was too focused on the heat of his body against mine, the way his finger trailed a maddening spiral off my palm and to my thigh.

Then it clicked.

The letter of recommendation. The challenge to convince me to stay.

Oh.Oh.

This was... unexpected. Not unwelcome, necessarily, but unexpected. I needed to think this through logically. Reasonably.

Then his fingers grabbed a handful of my dress, and all semblance of reason flew out the window.

“Is this how you’re convincing me to stay?” I asked, proud of how steady my voice sounded despite the tremor in my hands.

Kotos’ eyes darkened, and he shifted closer. Close enough to feel the heat radiating off him, the subtle shift of muscles under his suit jacket. “That depends,” he murmured, his breath hot against my ear. “Is it working?”

Yes.

Absolutely yes.

Fuck, absolutely yes.

“This is all part of our research,” Kotos continued, his voice pitched low enough that only I could hear. “Understanding Shadow Daddies’ appeal is part of our job, isn’t it?”

I nodded, not trusting my voice. Kotos’ hand slipped under the hem of my dress to my knee. Slowly, achingly slowly, he began trailing his fingertips higher.

“See that couple there?” He nodded toward a dark corner where a man had his companion pressed against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist. “They certainly seem to be enjoying the ambiance.”

His hand slid higher, teasing the sensitive skin of my inner thigh. A rush of arousal coursed through me, making my head spin.

“And over there.” The throuple in the alcove across from us had progressed beyond heavy petting. The woman’s head was thrown back in ecstasy as one of the orcs knelt between her legs.

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