Page 10 of A Minotaur Tale

"You what?" It was Cora's turn to blinknow.

"Well, I certainly can't have it flopping about, or God's help me,leadinganywhere!"

"Well, now I am just curious!" The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she realized that they were true... In more ways than one. Asterion intrigued her in a way that no one had in a long, long time.

She might have learned to be wary of people looking to her for casual sex, but that didn't mean she wasn't interested.3

And where Asterion was concerned, she was very interested. She bit her lip, her core heating at the thought.

"Well, I certainly won't object to you being curious, I just–well, I sort of assumed it might not be something you were interested in at all..."

"Oh?"

"At first, I wondered if you just didn't realize I was interested, if cultural differences were getting in the way. Then, after you seemed to understand, I messed up with the cookies, and then, well I backed off in hopes that you'd show me, if you were, I mean..."

"Asterion, I–I am afraid I am not very good at this sort of thing, so I'll just be honest. I haven't had good luck in this area. Others haven't been keen after really knowing me. From what I can tell, I am a relatively good time in bed, but I also realized, over time, that was all some people wanted me for. And if I am going to be involved with someone... I want more than that. I was trying to drive you away when I talked to you about mollusk reproduction, because that is who I am, and I couldn't bear liking you more than I already did if you were only going to leave when you saw the side of me people tend not to like."

Asterion's eyes were half-lidded and tender when he looked down at her, his warm hand coming up to cup her cheek. "So, what I am hearing is, you like me." He smiled and rubbed his thumb over her cheek. "I hate to tell you, it had the exact opposite effect. It solidified, for me, how much I wanted you. It meant a lot to me that you wanted to share what you liked, that you thought I was smart enough to understand."

"I did, I do–I mean I thought to use it to drive you away, of course, but only because people tend to find it incredibly boring... not because you wouldn't understand it."

"If someoneelse was talking about it, I probably would have found it boring, but you just got so excited that it was hard to not be interested. I suppose I also knew you liked fossils already because you have them everywhere, so that made it easier to know it mattered. Plus," his ears wiggled, and Cora thought he might do that when blushing. "Your nose does this adorable wrinkly thing when you get excited, so even if I got bored, I could always look at that."

Cora couldn't stop smiling for the entire drive home. When they pulled up to her door, there was a tension in her chest, at knowing Asterion might be leaving.

"What now? It's certainly past three..."

Three in the morning and here she was, asking to stay up later? What had come over her?

Then again, it wasn't as if the library were open in the morning, nor was she expected anywhere... she had no reason to wake early. The night had a magic to it that might fade in the light of day. What if she woke to find it nothing but a dream? No, she needed to savor the night, lest it all melt in the light of day.

"It is, which means it is time for your next gift," Asterion reached into his cloak and extracted a small box.

Cora's breath hitched. The entire night had been special, magical even, but somehow, jewelry seemed like a massive step that she wasn't certain she was ready for. Jewelry meant commitment. It meant claiming herself, publicly, for someone else. Her vision focused on the small velvet box. On how Asterion’s hands dwarfed it. How he could hide it away from everyone by curling his fingers. Asterion's hands shook as he held it out to her.

That shake, the trembling of his strong hands is what did her in. It's what convinced her that she should at least entertain the idea of looking at what he presented. Looking didn't mean accepting, didn't mean commitment. It meant...exploring. Entertaining the idea of moving forward in a real, tangible way. In a way that might allow her to get hurt, true, but also a way that could allow her intimacy in ways she had never known.

She'd shown Asterion the parts of her others had rejected, practically shoved them in his face.

And yet, there he stood, holding a small box with hands that shook so hard she feared he might drop it. Maybe he was as nervous as she was? Maybe the chance...might be worth it?

With her own unsteady hand, Cora bridged the distance between them, the milliseconds slowing so muchthat she noticed the dim purple glow of the street-crystals, the cheery dim orange of the crystals dotting the library. Meeting Asterion’s eyes, so openly vulnerable, unlocked a part of her she hadn't even known existed. A part that though she ignored, she'd also actively hid her entire life.

Vulnerability, after all, opened one to hurt. But, somehow, it also invited connection. Her hand rasped against the smooth leather box, and with a deep breath, she allowed herself to open it.

Inside, reflecting the light of the crystals, was a beautiful, smooth ring, with a bead of white marble in the center. The odd thing though, was how massive it was. "Asterion, this is beautiful but, I think it's–"

"A little large?"

"Well, yes."

He chuckled, removing the ring from the box. "It's not for you, long term at least." He held the ring up, in front of his face, under his nose. "It's a minotaur thing. I knew I should have given you the book first, but then I would have to stand here while you read it, and that felt stupid and–"

"Asterion, just tell me about it." She placed a hand on his arm and was shocked at how warm he felt.His skin was lightly furred, even where it looked like he wasn't, like a peach.

"Oh, quite. Well... this is sort of like a wedding ring, I suppose, but minotaurs wear them in our noses. Don't worry though it's not... I am not asking you to get married… right now at least. When we are seriously interested in someone, in pursuing something seriously, in a way we hope could end in marriage, a minotaur will gift their partner their ring. You're supposed to ensure it's specific to the person. This one is marble and gold like your skin, I had made especially for you. And then this–" He moved, and now that he pointed it out, Cora could see that there was a delicate gold chain dangling from it. "This allows you to keep it, until you decide that you do want to mate–er, marry. We can mate before then... I mean, if we mate..."

Asterion's face was bright red, his ears wiggling adorably as he fumbled his words.