Page 3 of Horns for the Holidays

For a split second, I felt better. Then a pained bellow filled the air.

Oh, no. Oh, shit. Oh,fuck.

I rushed to the railing, my stomach plummeting faster than that damn orange.Please let it hit a chair. Or a potted plant. Anything but?—

My eyes widened in horror.

There, on the terrace directly below me, lounged the unmistakable figure of Kotos Mavridis. All seven-plus feet of him, muscles rippling and curved horns gleaming in the sunlight.

And he was clutching his crotch, face contorted in agony.

I’d pegged my boss in the nuts with a piece of fruit.

Merry fucking Christmas, indeed.

CHAPTER TWO

KOTOS

Pain exploded through my groin, vision going white as I buckled in half. What the fuck? My hands cupped my aching balls, as though holding them tight enough might ease the torment ripping through my gut.

A lone orange rolled along the deck, wobbling to a stop against the edge of my private pool.

I snapped my head up, searching for the source of the attack. A flash of auburn caught my eye. There, on the balcony above—a woman. Gorgeous, despite the dark circles under her eyes and the disheveled appearance.

Of course. Another opportunist, thinking she could worm her way into my good graces—or my bed. Maybe both.

They truly would try anything, wouldn’t they?

I’d dealt with her type before. Paparazzi, gold-diggers, thrill-seekers... all hoping to get a piece of the last minotaur. To them, I wasn’t a person. I was a conquest, a story, a godsdamn sideshow attraction.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I yelled, my voice echoing across the private terrace. The words came out more of a pained wheeze than the commanding tone I’d intended.

She opened her mouth, stumbling over what I assumed were excuses. I cut her off with a snarl. “Do you make a habit of assaulting people, or am I just lucky?”

The sarcasm dripping from my voice seemed to flip a switch. Her apologetic expression hardened. “Excuse me? I’mtryingto apologize. I didn’t know anyone was even down?—”

“Listen, sweetheart,” I growled, straightening to my full height. Let her see exactly who she was dealing with. “If this is your idea of making an impression, you’ve succeeded. Congratulations. Now kindly fuck off before I have security escort you from the premises.”

Her eyes narrowed, cheeks blazing pink. Fire glinted in their green depths. Her tiny fists clenched so hard at her sides, I wondered if she might chuck another orange at me.

“You arrogant ass,” she spat. “Has it occurred to you that not everything revolves around your oversized ego? It was an accident. But clearly, you’re too self-absorbed to consider that possibility.”

I blinked, taken aback by her boldness. Most people groveled when faced with my anger. Yet here she was, yelling at me. Like I deserved to be used as target practice.

“How dare you—” I started, but she cut me off.

“Oh, fuck off,” she snarled, spinning on her heel. The balcony doors slammed behind her with a resounding bang.

I stared at the spot where she’d stood, mouth agape. No one spoke to me like that. No one. The sheer audacity... it was almost refreshing. She hadn’t backed down from me. Not even a little. In fact, she’d risen to meet me, toe to hoof.

Who the hell was she?

My phone rattled on the table, snapping me from my thoughts. I reached for it, then scowled at the message from Maya, my assistant.

URGENT: Shadow Daddies offering free trials this week for all MythMatch users in the area. Analytics showing drops in active users over the last hour. Rumored to be a precursor to a pop-up event.

“Fuck!” The curse ripped from my throat. Of course, Devlin would pull this shit now. That conniving sea witch never missed an opportunity to weasel into my business.

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