Page 155 of Monsters in Love

She jerked her chin toward to the black stain that marked the ground where she had crushed the centipede. “Because of that,” she admitted quietly. “I wouldn’t have gotten off this bed at all after that thing if it weren’t for the fact that my body didn’t give me a lot of options in the matter.”

Dark horns swinging impressively as he turned his head, the minotaur stared at the crushed remains and frowned as he stalked toward it. He scuffed at the edge of it with one hoof, his nose wrinkling.

“Where did this come from?”

“The wall where you disappeared. I tried to find a way through and put my hand in a crevice to see if I could find a way to open the door you used. That thing was in there.” She shuddered, drawing the minotaur’s concerned gaze back to her, and she rubbed the back of her hand where the scratches still stung. “It was pretty horrible.”

His eyes dropped, and his brow lowered as he focused on her hand. She stilled, her heartbeat picking up as he eyed her hand. Faster than she could follow, he moved forward with a deadly speed that made her jump when he seized her arm, dragging her to him. A small scream rose from within her, but she managed to smother it when she saw the concerned way he observed the wounds, his claws hovering over them.

“What has happened?” he asked quietly.

She shuddered, remembering the feel of the pressure of something grabbing her. “I think I got my hand caught, and when I felt the centipede, this happened when I yanked my hand free. A stupid accident due to sticking my hands in holes where, of course, bugs will live.”

He gave her a confused look, his head tilting as his ears tipped toward her. With his large brown eyes, there was something almost sweet about it. The moment passed, however, when he released her arm and backed away from her, leaving her feeling strangely bereft at the absence of his warm hand touching her skin.

“We need to clean and bandage this. Come this way,” he murmured.

Vicky slipped from the bed and followed him through one of the tunnels. Within the first few feet, it hooked suddenly to the right before spilling out into a warmly lit room. Golden sunlight filled the entirety of the space, causing the spray from the spring to sparkle as it danced and the leaves of the abundant plants to gleam with a flush of health despite the fact that she could spy no source at all for the sun. Mouth parted in awe, she spun in place, staring at her surroundings.

“What is this place? It’s beautiful!”

“The garden chamber.” The minotaur’s voice held a note of restrained pride as he walked to a stone table nearly entirely obscured by growth and picked up a stone bowl. He seemed to pause for a moment as if considering his words. “Like my abode, this was designed by my sister’s magic. This is a safe place,” he assured her. “Nothing that dwells within the labyrinth can get in here.”

She shivered, rubbing her arms uncertainly. “That seems a bit impossible. The centipede got in,” she reminded him.

He glanced over at her as he headed toward a thick clump of plants. “More precisely, you pulled it in.”

Vicky gaped at him, affronted at being blamed for bringing the centipede in. “I did not! It crawled onto my hand!”

Bending to carefully snip off a sprig with his claws, he snorted. “It could not pass the wall. My sister’s magic prevented that. It was not until you put your hand in there that provided for it a manner of access.” He gave her a reproving look. “You are fortunate that it did not bite you as the labyrinth intended. Had it managed to keep its hold on you, you would not have escaped such consequences.”

She shook her head, unable to wrap her head around what she was hearing. “Wait. Are you saying that itdidgrab me? That the labyrinth is somehow… alive?”

“It has always been,” he explained quietly. Dropping another handful of sprigs into the bowl, he turned his head to give her a hard look. “It is why you must not leave my abode. You see now what dangers you may meet if you try to escape again.”

Escape?

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t trying to escape. I was afraid of being left alone in here and wanted to stay with you,” she blurted out.

His right ear flicked with uncertainty. “You wished to… be with me?”

Vicky looked at him, truly looked at him, and saw the flash of vulnerability in his eyes and the parting of his wide lips and her sarcastic retort died on her lips. Although towering over her at well over seven and a half feet tall and every inch of him packed with muscle, there was something so fragile about him in that moment, as if he couldn’t believe that someone actually wanted to be in his company.

She cleared her throat. “You were a bit of an ass with all this mine, mine stuff, but… I feel safe with you. I mean, look at you, you’re huge. And you not only saved me but didn’t hurt me like you could have.”

He glanced down at himself and nodded, his expression hardening with determination as he met her eyes. “I would not seek to hurt you. I wish to protect you.”

Vicky peered at him cautiously. “And this ‘mine’ business?”

The beast shrugged. “You are still mine, but I will not hurt what is mine.” Something passed over his expression that she couldn’t quite decipher, as if he were disturbed by a thought. “No matter what, I will not,” he reiterated. “But I will not apologize for my desire of you. It has been long since I have known a kind touch. Not since Ariadne.”

His words drifted off into silence as he stared off into the garden, like he was watching the shadows of the past that only he could see come alive.

She frowned and brushed her fingers over her pendant. “Ariadne? NottheAriadne, the daughter of Minos?”

The minotaur broken free from his inward visions, glanced at her sharply. “You know of Ariadne?”

She started to shake her head but nodded with bewilderment. “I mean, kind of. It’s an ancient myth. Minos built a labyrinth to cage his son whom the gods cursed with the likeness of a bull due to the love Queen Pasiphae consummated with a bull so that he might release his enemies within it to be destroyed.”

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