Page 14 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs
“I mean somethingcool, like Brimstone.” He rolls his eyes at Alo and me. “Can’t I just use cuss words at home? I promise not to say them at school. Kevin and I don’t even use them on the playground!”
I resist the urge to laugh as he picks up one of the puppies and cradles it to his neck. It nuzzles against him, whimpering as its long black tail flops quickly from side to side.
Reaching out, I stroke the pup’s black and red fur as Minnie watches intently, ready to spring into action if I become a threat.
“Hey.” I ruffle Iggy’s dark hair, careful not to jostle my margarita. “I’ve got a really cool new guest, an old friend named Manorin. I’m going to invite him to family dinner with the Hectors tomorrow. Would you like to come and tell him about the puppies? I think he’d be delighted to learn about them.”
The idea just came to me, and I love it. Manorin would be a fabulous choice for our new skyball coach, and if I can do anything to welcome him to Ever, it's to help him make friends. He’ll feel more invested, and maybe he’ll stay, and that’ll be good for the town.
And my deep, deep love of skyball.
“Yep,” Iggy says with a pop. “I’ll bring them over tomorrow. The triplets are gonna want to see them too. I bet they’ve never seen hellhound puppies before!”
“Shit, none of us have,” Alo says dryly. “Minnie alone was enough to spark terror in most of the Evertons when she arrived.”
I smile as I think back to Minnie’s arrival with Dirk, the elemental sylph who used to work for Hearth monster headquarters. He came here hunting a warlock who threatened to ruin everything I hold dear.
My former mate, Wesley.
Good riddance.
Shoving unpleasant thoughts away, I catch up with Miriam and Alo while Iggy plays with the puppies and shouts exuberantly at Minnie.
“Iggy’s birthday’s coming up,” Miriam says as he zooms in circles through the house. She looks at me. “He wants to have a party in the rose garden, if you’re okay with it.” She chuckles. “Apparently it’s good for hide and seek because his friends don’t want to go near the thorns.”
I beam as I sip at the margarita. “Perfectly reasonable of him. That sounds delightful.”
Alo leans against the island. “His invite list is about twenty kiddos long. You sure you’re alright with all of them running through your roses?”
The mental image of it is so adorable.
“Yeah.” I set the drink down. “Annabelle will love that, and, of course, the Hectors will be there. Wren can always fix the bushes up when the kids are done.”
“It’s gonna be awesome,” Iggy shrieks as he zooms back into the kitchen with a puppy slung over his shoulder. He rubs its tiny bum as if it were a baby, eyeing his father and schooling his expression to neutral. “Maybe I can even have a soda, like, the one day a year I get to.”
I resist a laugh. Iggy’s obsessed with soda and never allowed to have it.
Alo scowls but eventually relents. “Just one. ‘Cause that sugar high seems to go on for days.”
Iggy whoops and takes off again. Minnie grumbles from the security of her dog bed, as if asking Iggy to return her pup but not fussed enough to chase him for it.
Eventually, I take a second margarita to go and head home. When I get there, I consider scrawling a quick note for Manorin about dinner but decide I’ll ask him directly instead. I don’t examine that desire too closely as I leave the margarita in thekitchen, ascend the stairs, and knock quietly on the door to the rose-themed room.
I smell him before I see him. That same glycerin and pine musk I used to love when we were young and lustful. When he’s hot, it takes on a dark, needy edge that?—
The door swings open, and Manorin stands there shirtless, with said shirt in one hand. He grins and leans against the doorway, the tee dangling from his fingers. His chest is covered in pale brown fur, yet it does nothing to hide a body still tight with muscle. Somehow, Manorin’s even manlier than before.
Twin bars pierce his nipples, though—that’s new—and his jeans hug thighs so thick, I don’t know if I could wrap both arms around them.
He leans down. “Smells good when you stare at my body, Cath.” He wrinkles his snout. “Actually, you smell like tequila. You come up here for a good time, pretty girl?”
Such a flirt. I forgot howinsanelyflirtatious he is. Is he like this back home? Does he flirt with the females there?
It’s such a stark contrast to Vikand, who couldn’t string a flirtatious sentence together if he tried. I told myself I wanted that because Wesley was also a charmer. Such a charmer that I didn’t see the red flags until it was too late and monsters got hurt.
I choke grief back as I look up at Manorin.
His sexy smile falls, and he reaches out, capturing my chin between his fingers as crimson eyes scan my face. “Your scent changed. Is everything okay?”
