Page 80 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs
Cairn moves quickly, and Catherine never flinches. Not even when he’s tattooing the side of her neck. I’m sure that spot’s sensitive as hells, but she smiles the whole time. Now and again, gold flashes through her gaze as she looks at me.
When Cairn’s done, he holds a mirror up for her to see. She turns from side to side, admiring the shining silver braid that encircles her delicate throat. The skin is raw and red, but she runs her fingers along it, and the magic gleams bright as she touches it.
She looks up at me. “Will I feel you with me always?”
Cairn hops out of his seat and departs, smart man that he is. I sink onto his still-warm chair, straddling it as I hang over the back and grab her hand. Pulling it to my cheek, I nuzzle her palm, loving howmineshe smells.
“Yes.” I reach into my pocket with my free hand, pulling out a bright silver nose ring inlaid with black pegasite and tiny red diamonds. Handing it to her, I smile. “Mark me as yours, Sunshine.”
She takes the ring and leans forward, her breasts brushing against my chest as she unlocks my nose ring and gently removes it.
“You’re teasing me,” I murmur as she slips the new silver ring through and clicks it shut.
My Sunshine shimmies her breasts against me, sending white-hot heat shredding through my core as lust rises. The magic-imbued silver ring in my nose prompts a sensation like a warm hug around my entire body. Even when we’re far apart, I’ll always feel her with me, as if she were in my arms.
“Welcome to the Longhorn family, Miss Evrien,” I say with a smirk.
She runs her fingers along her new tattoo again, a dark gray brow rising. “Isn’t that Mrs. Evrien-Longhorn?”
I chuckle. “It’s whatever the fuck you want, woman. Let me take my wife home now, please. I am in desperate need of you and a bed.”
“Don’t forget to put healing cream on the tat for the next two days, though,” Cairn shouts from the front. “I’m trying not to hear y’all, but shifter hearing is horribly excellent. Manorin, come and pay your fucking bill and get outta here, would you?”
Catherine and I share a laugh as I help her up. We barely make it outta Cairn’s shop because I can’t stop staring at that silver band around her soft throat.
As we pass other monsters in the street, whispers rise aboutmy new silver nose ring and her tat. When we walk past Betty’s Bar, Furyon’s in the middle of the street chewing on a piece of wheat as he smirks at us.
He slips both hands into his jeans pockets as we stop in front of him. “Don’t think you newlyweds are gettin’ outta downtown without a celebratory drink. Get inside Betty’s, and let me buy you a round.”
Catherine’s bright laughter fills my soul with joy as we follow the dark elf into the saloon.Joyis what lies in our future, thank the gods and goddesses.
Viya will bring us the cool, healing wash of water.
Ratek, the gentle wind to ruffle our hair and kiss our cheeks.
Vejoom will steady the earth beneath our feet.
And Firbell will grant us the fire of determination and love.
And she and I deserve every minute of that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CATHERINE
“Put the puppies down, Ig!” Alo shouts as he tries to wrangle his six—no, today he’s seven—year old into a chair. Fifteen other seven-year-olds run in various states of disarray around us. Alo’s been trying to wrangle them to stop their game of hide and seek and come eat cake. Oh, I think it’s been about fifteen minutes, and he’s no closer to getting anyone to come sit.
Nor sits at the long table set up behind Annabelle, one big arm laid over the back. The female hellhound puppy lies on his chest, her head nestled between his pecs as she stares up at him.
“That puppy loves you,” Miriam says as she sits next to him and strokes the pup between the ears.
Nor glances over at me. “Sunshine, I think we mighta gotten ourselves a dog.”
I shake my head as I laugh. Manorin draws love to himself. I don’t know what it is about him. Annabelle loved him right away. This little pup does too. Iggy sat on him the day they met. Nor is a magnet.
On cue, the tattoo around my throat pings, sending a phantom hug sensation down my spine. Across the table fromme, Nor shivers. The pup nestles up higher and sticks her head along his jawline, her snout just under his ear.
Where the kitty cat timer is because of course. Yet another being madly in love with Manorin.
