Page 38 of Married to My Grumpy Minotaur Boss

I sit carefully on the mattress beside her. She doesn’t wince when I lift the foot to place it in my lap, which is a good sign. She sucks in a breath when I gently twist the foot from side to side, though. “Still sore?”

“Yeah. A little. Not as bad as it was.”

I reach for the first aid pack and locate a bandage to bind her foot. Human feet are long and smooth and supple in ways a hoof isn’t. Almost like a hand. Justine has these long slender toes that are so delicate. I find myself touching her foot more than I need to. Eventually I cut off the bandage and secure it. “I don’t think you’ve done anything serious. Keep it elevated and it should be better in a few days.”

She nods. “Thank you.”

In the silence, a flurry of rain hits the corrugated iron roof of the cottage, making a patter. I’m just glad there aren’t more gaps for it to get in through.

Then I realize her foot is still in my lap.

I should move but oddly, I don’t want to stop touching her. I leave it a moment longer. “You sure you’re OK?”

She sighs. “This is less horrible than I thought. I was worried we’d be crawling into a cave or something!”

“Ha! I’m a minotaur, not an ogre, even though I guess you wouldn’t know it sometimes. I don’t do caves.”

She laughs.

I relax a little more.

“So you don’t go hiking with your dad anymore?” she asks.

“He died.” It’s blunt, but there’s no point beating about the bush.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Justine lays a hand on my arm.

Something about the quiet gesture is powerful and I swallow around a lump in my throat. “Yeah. He had a heart condition. It was sudden. One day he was fine, the next...”

I sink back against the wall. It’s been a while since I let myself think about this. I can feel my mind slipping back along that well worn track, though.

“I probably have it, too.” I don’t know where that comes from. I don’t think I’ve said that out loud to anyone. Not even Mom. I need to change the subject. “So what about you? Are you close to your family?”

Justine visibly takes a moment to process this shift of topic, but she doesn’t press me about what I said. Of course, she doesn’t. If I’ve learned anything about her over the last few days, it’s that she finds me intimidating and she’ll do whatever it takes to avoid upsetting me, including trying to walk on an injured foot.

“Not like I used to be,” she says. “I moved away from home two years ago. Turns out it wasn’t the greatest decision I ever made.”

I huff a laugh. “Moved for a guy?”

She squirms. “How did you know?”

“You seem the type.”

When I open my eyes, she’s watching me, but I can’t tell if she’s offended or embarrassed. The light from the fire makes her face hard to read. “Yeah. Anyway that didn’t work out.”

“What happened?” God knows, I’ve no need to pry, but we have to pass the time somehow.

“We argued,” she says. “I found a roommate and left. Feels pretty silly now. I’m not sure we were ever that compatible.”

“Why?” Something about this makes me curious. Then I remember the question she didn’t want to answer in the spa,how important to you is sex in a long term relationship. I take a stab. “The sex?”

“I—” She opens her mouth and shuts it again. Finally, she sighs. “He said I had a crazy high sex drive.” Justine covers her face with her hands, but I don’t need to see it to know it’s flaming red. Adorable. “That I had unreasonable expectations.”

“Why? You wanted him to go down on you, but you didn’t want to do the same in return?” She seems like the prudish type.

I realize my mistake when she doesn’t answer. I twist and look at her more closely. “What? Something kinky?” I chuckle to myself. I should stop. She looks distinctly uncomfortable. Only, I’m incredibly curious.

She slowly lowers her hands from her face. “It wasn’tmewho didn’t want to do things.”

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