Page 56 of Minding the Minotaur
Already I’m kicking myself, but his laser gaze is boring into me, and my brain suddenly scrambles. I gulp out, “Apparently they were witches, warlocks, and the like, w-who, erm, practiced evil magic to help humans keep the monsters underground and—” My brain says to shut up, but my mouth says, “And maybe they still exist… in Sparkle.”
“Who told you that?”
I open my mouth and shut it. I can’t admit I’ve been in the back room of Digger’s Diner, drinking grappa and socializingwith Arlo’s friends, can I? I shrug. “Oh, you know, heard it on the grapevine…” He’s still staring at me hard, brows drawn. “The er, lizard man got chatting one day, that’s all.”
Jax’s lips twist. “Nothing but monster ramblings. They’re a superstitious bunch. Little green faeries did it, or behemoths from the Pit. Some of them even think they could survive out there on Earth.” He barks a laugh. “They have secret squirrel clubs that meet to discuss it:life beyond the Labyrinth. As if. They like to believe that shit. It gives them hope that there’s some kind of divine reason they’re stuck down here and we’re up there. But you know what?”
“What?”
“There is no rhyme or reason to it, Blondie. Sparkle City, the domes, the Labyrinth. It’s all just random, it could just as easily not exist at all.”
Jax uncoils his long legs and stands up. “Nothing has any meaning.” He takes out the pouch of tobacco from his jeans pocket and waves it at me. “Except this.” He ambles over to the door and turns around just before he exits. “Clem sends her love, by the way. Says she’s missing you.”
“Tell her I miss her too.”
He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. I don’t know why, but my gaze strays to the collar of his black shirt. There are two raised welts, just visible on the pale skin skirting his left collarbone.
Not one, but two scars, quite close together.
They make me think of bite marks.
CHAPTER 18
ARLO
“Fuckkkkkkk. Oh yeah baby… Oh yeah.”
I tongue fuck Sammy harder as I come. Her spread thighs quiver as she joins me with her own release, and I hear the splat of my sperm hitting the walls of the glass receptacle I’m grasping in my fist. Somehow, in all this, I have the presence of mind to swap to the second vial, and that gets heavy too as I twitch out the final ribbons of cum.
Sammy is moaning softly, and my face is soaked with her juices, but eventually she slides off me, takes the bottles and puts them on the table.
Then she comes back, straddles me on the plinth, and lies her head on my chest. She spreads her legs over my spent groin, and we lie there all musky, sweat-sheened and limp as I stroke her golden hair.
“How was that?”
“Soooo good,” she sighs.
“It’s not exactly romantic, though,” I sigh, after a moment.
She raises her head off my chest and glances up at me, her eyes lazy from her release. “It’s amazing, whatever it is.” But I detect a wistful note in her voice. I know she wants more than this, as much as I do.
“It doesn’t feel right anymore Sammy,” I suddenly burst out.
She shoots up so fast, I’m left with nothing but a cold whoosh of air. I blink to see her standing naked and resplendent, hands splayed on her hips and a definite scowl on her pretty face. “Are you saying we have to stop?”
“No, gods no, babe.” I sit up, swing my legs off the plinth and grope for her hand. “I’m saying I want so muchmore.”
She relaxes a little, her small hand gloving into mine.
I like that it matters to her so much that she got all huffy, but I really don’t want to upset her. I stroke her fingers.
“I need to stop doing this real soon.” I grimace toward the bottles of milky liquid. “So we can… make love properly.”
He face softens. “You know I want that too, but your family need the money.” She sits down next to me on the plinth and plays with my fingers. “I guess I’m getting anxious about—after this job finishes next week—what that means for us.”
There’s so little of my house arrest left. Whoever could have predicted that I’d dread it coming to an end. But her reaction also gives me courage to open up more.
“So you really would be prepared to stay longer?”
