Page 5 of The Rhino's Rose

The residents of Fate’s Falls are all good folks—it’s literally impossible to be here if you’re not—but it’s still a small town and not much remains a secret inside the magically protected boundary.

As my friend Alexis always says: The gossip is never malicious, but it’s often delicious.

If I had a shot with Cornelius, I would totally give everyone something to talk about. I’d beall overthat big hunk. There’d be no question in anyone’s mind that Cornelius and I were a hot-and-heavy couple—something I’m sure my adoptive father wouldn’t particularly love.

Not because Garion doesn’t want me to date; he does, I’m just not sure he’d approve of me dating our neighbor. Though, he hasn’t been enthusiastic about the handful of locals I’ve dated in the past few years, either. Those suitors were all perfectly fine. But “fine” doesn’t make my heart race or my body tingle.

Just thinking about Cornelius does both of those things. He’s always had that effect on me, since the first time we met, when I was nineteen years old.

I was out in the backyard of the house Garion and I have lived in since arriving in Fate’s Falls, working in my garden, when the sound of him talking to someone who had the deepest bass I’d ever heard broke through my daydreamy state. I assumed the voice must Garion’s gargoyle brother Guillaume, whom he hadn’t seen in six years and had just heard from the week before. Naturally, I brushed the dirt off my hands and headed around to the front of the house to meet my sort-of uncle.

And came face-to-face with Cornelius instead.

By that point in my life, I’d seen a lot of creatures of varying shapes and sizes. But I’d never seen a rhino man. I couldn’t even say hello to him because my jaw was hanging open. From the prominent single horn on his snout to his wider-than-a-door shoulders, barrel of a chest, massive hands, then all the way down his long, thick legs—I just stood there, speechless and checking him out. It wasn’t until he apologized for frightening me that I snapped to my senses.

“Oh, I’m not scared, not even a little bit,” I’d said, obviously a little too breathily, because Garion cleared his throat in the way only a gargoyle father figure can do.

For a fleeting moment, I would’ve sworn Cornelius’s small, brownish-gray eyes twinkled. Then I blinked, and the sparkle was gone.

Cornelius moved into the house next to us that day, and hasn’t given me a hint of twinkle since. He’s been friendly toward me in the way neighbors are—or more accurately, the way adult neighbors are toward children.“How’s sweet little Rose doing? Is your dad around?”His two go-to sentences anytime he has to do more than raise his hand to wave at me.

Two sentences that could be casual, but always strike me as pointed. Like he wants to make sure his stance of seeing me as the innocent daughter of his neighbor is never in question. Even now that I’m twenty-four.

Sighing, I shift position at the bay window so I have the best view of Cornelius lugging massive rocks into the store that’s under renovation across the street. Hebought the masonry business from its previous owner when he moved to Fate’s Falls. Sometimes he does the business-y stuff, other times he’s on the jobsite with the crew of two he inherited.

I’m glad today falls into the “other” column. If I can’t have the physical contact I’ve fantasized about, at least I get a good view of his thick, gray deliciousness for a few hours.

Or, make that a few minutes, since another customer is headed directly toward my shop. Ogling Cornelius’s mouthwatering physique will have to wait.

“Hi Lexi,” I say as the bell over the door chimes her entrance. Despite my frustration at the interruption of my stalking, the smile I give her is genuine.

There are several witches in Fate’s Falls, each nice in their own way, but Lexi Goodwin has been my favorite since the first time I met her—even though she wouldn’t bend the rules and let me into her store before I turned eighteen. Back then, I was only curious to see all the magically infused dildos on the shelves at Every Witch Way.

After I met Cornelius, I had a more specific reason for wanting to check out Lexi’s inventory. To my incredible disappointment, she didn’t—and still doesn’t—stock a rhino-man dildo. All of her products are created from molds of living creatures who’ve entered a license agreement, and to this day, she hasn’t had the opportunity to mold a rhino man’s cock.

Meaning, I still don’t know what one looks like, or how big it might be. Based on the size of every other partof Cornelius, I bet his cock is huge. Maybe too huge for a human-sized woman to take. It’s possible that’s the reason I’ve never seen him on a date. Fate’s Falls is home to a lot of species, but there are no rhino women in town.

“Yoo-hoo, Rose…” A green hand waving in front of my face accompanies the sing-song tone.

“Oh, sorry.” I blink my attention away from the flower shop’s front window. “I kind of zoned out there. Not enough caffeine this morning, I guess.”

Black-as-pitch eyebrows rise over glittering green eyes, and her lips curve into a knowing smile. “We both know you weren’t zoned out, you werezoning inon the delectable hunk of rhino-liciousness,” she says, pointing one purple-lacquered finger toward the window.

Jealousy slithers up my spine, but only for a split-second. Lexi is older than me, beautiful, outgoing, upfront and honest about literally everything, and makes no secret of being pro sexual enjoyment. She wouldn’t tease me about eyeballing Cornelius if she were interested in him.

“Have you taken this prime opportunity to get closer to him?” she asks when my response to her insinuation is silence.

Not only silence, there’s also a full-face blush happening, based on the heat flaring beneath my cheeks and forehead. The fair complexion that goes with being a redhead doesn’t pair well with my tendency toward embarrassing easily.

Lexi’s long, ebony hair shimmers as she shakes her head. “You’ve had it bad for that man since the day hemoved to town. Maybe he didn’t notice you then, but hello, look at you now. You’re a gorgeous young woman. So, why aren’t you across the street right now, offering him a cold drink and a hot view of your boobs?” She inclines her head, making a circular motion in the direction of my cleavage. “That dress isveryflattering.”

Additional heat floods my skin. This time, in the area currently under discussion. My boobs haven’t felt this hot since that time I tried to get Cornelius’s attention by sunbathing in the backyard, wearing the tiniest bikini I could find in the shops downtown.

“Thanks, but even if I knew what to do with this ‘opportunity,’” I say with air quotes, “the store has been busy all day and I can’t just close up or leave it unattended.”

“And now I’m the only one here, meaning it’s break time for you. Consider me your happy assistant for as long as needed.” Before I can process the meaning behind Lexi’s words, she cups my chin and draws it down, waves her fingers in front of my open mouth while incanting something in a language that definitely isn’t English. “There. All set.”

“W-what did you?—”

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