Page 12 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs
The next half hour’s a blur as I grill Arkan within an inch of his life about the realities of this job. Some of it excites me. Some of it doesn’t.
My biggest worry is that he seems to be the only major champion of bringing bigtime skyball to Ever. Not surprising, but it doesn’t bode well. If Arkan were to be called to another haven to serve as Keeper there, my program’s major supporter would leave.
I don’t love that.
This isn’t just a team build; it’s a community build too.
Do I have that level of effort in me?
I consider that as Arkan and I part ways. Striding up Main Street, I look around. Ever’s really a gorgeous little place—all cozy small-town charm. Monsters wave to one another as they pass, calling each other by their first names. That reminds me of Pine Gulch. Hearth HQ, where I live now, is big and sprawling and cold. Everyone’s usually too busy fighting the wind and snow to exchange pleasantries in passing.
A shifter couple passes me, and the male nods deferentially, a little smirk on his face. I smile back, but as they go past, I hear his whispered explanation of who I am.
My smile grows broader. Some vain part of me loves to berecognized. I consider that as I make my way up the street, heading for the Annabelle Inn.
When I arrive, the lovely bed and breakfast waggles white shutters at me, pale pink siding rippling in a friendly way. Double glass-paned front doors swing open wide to reveal Catherine standing behind the check-in desk. She glances up with a thoughtful smile.
I miss admiring any more of the inn herself, because the innkeeper is so very, very delightful to look at.
Catherine’s once-dark waves are salt-and-pepper gray now, curled elegantly and hanging over one shoulder. High cheekbones accentuate a heart-shaped face and a chin with a tiny divot in it. Intelligent gray eyes give me an abrupt once-over even as her nostrils flare slightly.
How many times have I nuzzled my way up that elegant neck and bitten that chin? How many times have I scented her, marveling at how she could tweak the way she smelled to entice me?
She’s fuller-figured than when we were young, heavy breasts enough to fill even my large hands. The wrap dress she’s wearing only accentuates those plump curves.
I’ve always had a healthy libido but a short list of partners I was willing to share a bed with—another downside of the fame. But desire roars to life as Catherine rounds the check-in desk with a smile, opening her arms wide. “Manorin! Glad you made it!”
Dipping low, I sling my arms under hers and pull her up against my chest, hugging her tight to me. I’m selfish, because part of me just wants to feel her against me, this gorgeous succubus who ruled my heart all those centuries ago. I breathe in, her familiar scent a near physical caress.
When I put her down, her cheeks are pink, and she smooths her wrap dress.
Thinking back to earlier, I wink at her. “Your date ever come back, Cath? I didn’t happen to notice him.”
Her smile falls, and she rolls her eyes as she returns behind the check-in area.
“You know he didn’t, Manorin. Perhaps you should worry about your dating life, though, and not mine? Or just the skyball opportunity, since that’s why you’re here.”
I wave away the comment. “Ah, I’m only here for a few weeks. If I decide to stay, I’ll worry about it then.” I grin wickedly at her. “Told you he wasn’t for you. Looks like I was right.”
She matches my smile, her crisp apple scent growing stronger. “Manorin,friend, much as I’d love to catch up, Vikand isn’t a topic we need to discuss.”
I laugh and bend over the desk, leaning onto both beefy forearms. I know Catherine, and whether she means to or not, she’ll be reading my pheromones as we speak.
“Cath, what you need is someone big and strong with gorgeous horns to hold on to while he fucks you senseless. It’s not that guy.”
Her return smile is nearly feral, gray eyes flashing in the fading light. “And I suppose you think it might be you?”
I shrug. “At least you know we wouldn’t lack for chemistry.”
Around us, the inn creaks and groans. Catherine smiles sweetly up at me. “Credit card for incidentals, please.”
I hand the plastic over, staring at her while she enters the card into her computer.
“Your inn’s gorgeous, and I think she agrees with me.”
She looks up at me. “Isn’t she, though? This building has filled my heart fuller than anything in my entire life.”
I notice she ignores my comment about the Annabelle agreeing with me. The full heart comment feels like a barb, but I probably shouldn’t take it that way. Still, it brings me back toasking Catherine to get a minotaur mating tattoo, to be fully and irrevocably mine.
