Page 11 of A Minotaur Tale

"I see, so one partner gives this to the other to indicate... serious intent? Perhaps like a courtship?"

"Yes!" Asterion seemed so relieved, though his shout was abitjarring. "And it goes around your waist, so you don't need to show it if you don't want to. In fact, most people wear it next to their skin. If you decide that you'd like to marry, then you'd give it back tome, ideally by piercing me yourself, but I understand if that is a bit much when you weren't raised expecting that you might do that."

"Should I have something for you?” Cora was intrigued by the idea but felt immediately unsure about if it was something she should reciprocate.

"Normally, if you were a minotaur, yes, though both things sort of... move on their own time frame? Like, you aren't expected to have one ready for me, you'd give it to me when you felt ready to commit to me. It's a statement of your own investment to the relationship. In some cases, it doesn't even communicate exclusivity, depending on the couple, though in mine it does. You just... uh, say if it does or not, really. It's like a conversation. I give it to you, you either accept it or not, and then when and if you're ready, you reciprocate. Then, when we are certain, we give it back and get pierced."4

Cora pursed her lips. Honestly, it made a great deal of sense. She liked that it was stating one's own intentions and commitment, rather than asking for the same back immediately. "And if I refused to accept it?"

"It would mean that you weren't interested. That you weren’t interested in seeing where things went." His voice was soft, and sad. but he gave her the option nonetheless. He still held it, his hands running over the gold chain over and over, one after the other.

"In that case, I think you have something of mine..." she whispered.

Asterion smiled, wide and welcoming, heated and hopeful in a way that made her melt. For months she'd watched him, studied him from the corner of her eyes, and never had she seen him smile like that. Like everything in the world was exactly as it should be.

"That I do... May I put it on you? Over your clothes, I mean..."

Cora nodded, somewhat nervous to have his hands on her.

Instead of walking around her back, like she expected, Asterion approached her front. The chain looked so tiny in his hands that it practically disappeared. Heat pulsed off of him, and Cora burned with it. His arms wrapped around her back, encircling her with his chain. Asterion’s warm breath rustled the hairs on her head, tickling her with the reminder of hiscloseness. He didn't touch her as he looped the chain around her back, but she could feel how close he was, reinforced by the chain sliding against the fabric of her nightgown.

When his hands looped to the front, Cora was struck by how delicate his movements were. He had large hands with thick fingers, but he worked them deftly, looping the chain through the ring in a complex pattern that secured the thing. After, a length of chain hung down the front of her nightdress, ending just before her knees.

"We can tie that up, as well, if you'd like, but many people leave it hanging... as a reminder."

Indeed, the chain would hang low, between her legs, as she walked. If she weren't careful, when worn underneath her clothing, it would likely occasionally settle between them, nestled against her sex. She imagined going about her day, the constant reminder of him tickling and teasing her. She'd be a needy mess at the end of the day... And didn't that sound delicious?

Cora blew a slow breath out between her lips. "That would be a reminder for sure."

Asterion smiled a lot. It was ready and rarely left his face longer than a few minutes, so Cora had seen many versions of his smile. The look that came over his face then? The slow spreading of his lips in a way that dripped ofsatisfaction and sex? That wasn't a smile she'd ever seen but would love to see more of. He slipped a finger under the length of the chain, running it back and forth so that his finger just grazed the fabric of her nightgown.

"I suppose this is a good time to tell you that I don't mean to fight fair. I want you, Cora, and I'll fight dirty to keep you." His voice rolled through her, fanning the flames of desire that licked at her insides. Her mouth hung lax and she panted unsteady breaths.

"Fuck, Cora," he groaned, looking briefly at the ceiling as if trying to regain control of himself. "I thought you were beautiful the moment I saw you, but now? With your cheeks flushed and your hair mussed from the wind, and in a nightgown and wearing my chain? I've never seen anything I liked more."

Cora's mind flitted from thought to thought. From elation that someone seemed to see her and wanted what they saw, to nerves at the possibility of losing him. Concern at the overwhelming size of him, before she even had him, at his smell so close she could almost taste him.

Cora meant to say something smart, truly she did. Or perhaps she'd meant to say something witty. Instead, all that came out was a breathless "Ha!" that was less a laugh than a sound of disbelief.

With that thick finger still looped through her chain, Asterion applied the slightest pressure, inviting her closer to him. Cora stumbled as if she'd been tugged, but really, she'd already been swaying with her want, and that tiny movement was all it took to send her stumbling into his chest.

With slow, almost inexorable movement, Asterion lowered his head. Strands of his hair flopped over his forehead. Breaths shaking in and out of her, Cora tried to steady herself. Surely, he would kiss her now? The slow descent of his head toward hers meant nothing else, right? He met her eyes, shifting back-and-forth between hers, as if searching for something. When he had almost closed the gap, Asterion shut his eyes and tipped his forehead against her.

He was overwhelming. The scent, the heat of him, the singular small place where the back of his finger brushed her stomach. She had experienced arousal before, but this felt deeper. It was an aching need to be touched, for connection. Because, beyond how much she wanted him to touch her, Cora craved the acceptance and connection of sharing touchwith someone who truly seemed to value her for who she was.

Allowing her eyelids to flutter closed, Cora matched him, and waited. She was shocked when she first felt his touch on her forehead. He tipped his against hers and it was so beautifully, achingly intimate, but Cora worried she might cry. He was so close, it was overwhelming. Her entire body was sensitized and ready for him. Each molecule reached for him, sang for him.

Shifting his head, Asterion ran his nose against hers. She had never rubbed noses with anyone before, but as he ran the flattened warmth of his against hers, she thought, this is what love could feel like. It was only a taste, a preview of what the future could hold, but she was desperate for it.

When he spoke, Asterion’s words tickled against her lips, his breath warm, and sweet. “Please, can I kiss you, Cora?"

Asterion’s words scattered across her lips, across her nerves, and shattered through her. A lightning bolt, burning her to her core and rebuilding her from the ashes. It was a miracle that she was able to answer.

“Yes,” she said.

Asterion nuzzled his nose against hers again. Rubbing the soft, warm and slightly furred suede expanse of his against her own. Shesuppressed a giggle; she didn’t want him thinking that she didn’t take this seriously.

Cora closed her eyes, allowing the sensations to rush over her. Asterion’s warm breath, the steady, reassuring weight of his hand as it slipped around her waist. His other hand, snaking up her back to twine into her hair. And then, the delicious press of his lips against her, gentle and questing. His kiss was an invitation, a conversation.Will you join me? Will you fall with me into something unknown and exciting?In a dance as ancient as the very stones from which she formed, she answered.Yes, she said with each kiss. Yes, was the slide of her lips against his, her body melting into his embrace. Yes, was the parting of her lips and invitation for entrance.