Page 4 of Bound to the Minotaur (Hillcrest Hollow Shifters #2)

Gregory

She was dreaming when I walked out of my room early that morning.

Her body was curled into a tight ball beneath the blankets, and her eyelids twitched rapidly as they followed the ghostly images in her mind.

Dreams had power, and it left an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach to see her traveling that world alone.

No, not alone. Avis was with her, I noticed.

He lay sprawled at her feet, taking up almost as much space on my couch as she was. He’d take care of her in there.

I turned to the kitchen on quiet feet, not used to all this sneaking around.

My forehead still itched, and my rest had been short and rather pointless.

Every moment had been filled with her need for protection.

Tired, I turned on my coffeemaker and stared listlessly at my overflowing fruit bowl—courtesy of our resident nymph, Rosy.

I was never without fresh produce, which she grew herself and had her mate, Chardum, drop off for me regularly.

I wasn’t quite sure why they did that; it wasn’t like we were friends.

I remembered Char from before, though, back when Rosy’s father had been the town’s resident nymph and provided protection and prosperity to our lands. Maybe that’s all this was: loyalty to an acquaintanceship from long ago.

The coffee was done percolating by the time I’d finished pondering that.

I poured a cup for myself out of habit, then took a second cup down with a glance at my fitfully sleeping guest. She probably wanted cream in that—and something girly like pumpkin spice.

Well, I was fresh out of both, so she’d have to drink it black.

What was I going to do with her now? That car was busted until the parts arrived, but more importantly, it had definitely been sabotaged. There was a disconcerting array of boxes and things piled inside it, too; her whole life condensed to just a few items.

No matter how badly I wanted to return to my life of quiet solitude, I couldn’t bring myself to kick her out into the wild unknown with such a threat looming over her pretty head.

I jerked back against the counter in surprise at the thought.

Pretty? Since when had I begun to notice how beautiful my sleeping guest was?

That was the last thing I needed to be paying attention to.

The cat was out of the bag now, and Avis knew it.

He was giving me the most piercing stare from where he lay at Kess’s feet.

Shit, and now I was thinking of her by name, too.

Which could only mean I’d gotten invested a little too much, such was the nature of my beast. Rubbing at my itchy forehead, I focused hard on keeping the pull of my other nature restrained.

I couldn’t sprout a set of horns where the human could see.

Holding my mug of steaming black brew in both hands, I circled the counter and moved to stand at the foot of the couch.

It was too much of a temptation to stand there and stare my fill while she was still unaware.

What was she dreaming about? It was making her shift restlessly beneath the blankets.

Being chased? That made my blood pound in my veins with an excitement that was hard to temper.

I tried to firmly tell myself that she wasn’t dreaming of my maze and me, of the great hunt, but of those who had sought to kill her on that dark road last night. It didn’t help.

A wave of possessiveness washed over me that was as strong as the desire to protect her. I didn’t like either feeling; they would shake up the careful order in my world, and I didn’t want that. I wasn’t ready for that, or for the moment when she abruptly opened her eyes.

Caught red-handed, I didn’t back away like I should.

I just stood there and kept on staring, taking in the dark circles under her pretty blue eyes, the wispy way her blonde hair framed her dainty face.

She blinked at me sleepily, her mouth soft and pink, her expression confused.

Then, she reached blindly for the coffee table to snatch up her glasses and push them onto her nose.

Her eyes were larger now, and much sharper as they focused on me.

“Gregory,” I said, my eyes slipping from her face to focus on something else oddly shaped that she’d left on my coffee table: a pile of fine chain links that glimmered silver, and pretty, colorful shapes in delicate arches and flowery designs.

A necklace, but one carefully shaped out of polished scrap metal, some of it painted.

If not for the very feminine design, it could have been my own work.

“Is that your name?” she said huskily, her voice still rusty from sleep—a bedroom voice that shot heat straight to my cock, which responded far too eagerly.

I gave her a glare, as if it were her fault, then nodded once before stalking away, unwilling to deal with the floodgates opening on my dormant desires.

No, done with that. No women, no trouble—remember?

The rustling sounds behind me indicated that she was getting up, maybe even following me.

I didn’t look back. “Thank you for the coffee,” she said from somewhere to my left, while I pretended to be fully absorbed with the contents of my fridge.

She made a delicate sipping noise, followed by a moan.

My head bonked into the top of the fridge when I abruptly straightened and winced as my pants grew painfully tight. Damn it. I had to get rid of her now.

“I need to make a call. Excuse me a moment,” she said, oblivious to what she’d done to me with that single moan of pleasure.

Pleasure from the ultra-black coffee I’d brewed.

Apparently, she was not a frivolous coffee drinker after all.

Not that there was anything wrong with that, per se, but I liked it too much that she appreciated the strong brew I’d made from the specialty beans I’d freshly ground yesterday.

“Hm.” That was all I gave her. She took it to mean that the conversation was over, which I appreciated.

She lingered only a moment longer before slipping down the hallway, phone clutched in one hand.

No explanation. I didn’t want one, this was none of my business.

But I couldn’t help but wonder who it was she needed to speak to, anyway.

I didn’t mean to listen. Honestly. But sound carried too well in the cabin, and I wasn’t about to walk outside and leave her alone again, not after last night.

My hearing—it had saved more lives than I cared to count.

Right now, it meant there wasn’t any escaping this, but there was no pretending I didn’t want to hear what she was saying anyway, either.

I turned to the sink to wash dishes I hadn’t used, anything to stay busy.

“I’m so sorry I won’t make it this morning,” she said softly into the phone.

Her voice was gentle, polite. A touch too eager.

I had no trouble picking out the rapid beating of her heart, the soft whisper of her hand on her sweater as she rubbed it nervously.

“There’s been some car trouble, but—” A pause, in it, the rapid patter of a sharp voice on the other end, too fast for me to quite make out.

My shoulders tensed. That didn’t sound good.

“No, I… But I thought we—” Her voice cracked a little as she began spluttering objections.

“You told me last week it was practically certain—” Long silence.

Even I could hear the clipped tone of the voice on the other end.

Sharp. Dismissive, as if Kess’s rejection wasn’t even worth raising a voice over.

My grip on the sink tightened until the ceramic bowl I’d been holding cracked straight through.

“I understand,” she whispered. Click. I turned the faucet on full blast to drown out the quiet sound of her heartbreak.

Footsteps shuffled back into the living room.

Avis was ahead of her, tail high and swishing like he had something to prove.

He jumped onto the counter beside me and meowed—a sharp, pointed sound.

I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t stand the picture that had already formed in my mind, and I didn’t want to know if it was true or not. She didn’t make a sound, but the air felt too tight. Like grief had turned physical.

“Do you know of a hotel or B I had a feeling Kess was far too genuine for that kind of thing.

“You can come with me,” I blurted. Her mouth shut.

“While I run errands.” I wasn’t even planning on errands, but now I was.

Hell, I’d invent some if I had to. It wasn’t like I could do more for her car right now without the parts I’d ordered.

And the last thing I should do was work on my maze or my artwork with her around; that would be a disaster.

“I…” she started, caught off guard. She made me thump my chest with a fist, because it felt like I’d just swallowed a bug. Why did that sudden smile of pleasure hit me like that? Like a punch in the freaking gut?

“Don’t argue,” I muttered, already grabbing my coat from the hook. “Just get your shoes.” Then I was out the door, the frame rattling behind me harder than I had meant. Cool morning air slapped me in the face, but it didn’t settle the burn crawling up my spine.

Soft. I was getting soft. She had blue eyes, for crying out loud. Like that meant anything. Like it justified the ache I felt watching her brave her way through rejection with her head still held high.

This wasn’t safe. Not for me. Not for her.

I scowled at the gravel, then kicked it like it had insulted me personally.

I was thinking with the wrong head. This was going to end with me hurt if I wasn’t careful.

I was out of the protecting job, that’s why I’d moved here.

No more rescuing damsels like the rest of my kind were naturally drawn to do.

This was why we build mazes: to hide, to protect ourselves when we burned out.

Not so helpfully, my mind supplied me with another reason why Minotaurs liked their labyrinths: mating.

I was painfully aware of the door opening and closing behind me as Kess followed me out into the crisp morning air.

I could hear her shiver against the cold, brisk breeze, but also gasp in awe when she caught sight of the trees and the hill leading down toward town.

It was a beautiful view, one that enamored me even after all these years.

The town wasn’t even close to what it had looked like in its glory days.

Buildings were abandoned and had fallen into disrepair.

With autumn bereaving the trees of their leaves, it looked barren and cold.

None of the life and prosperity that our new resident nymph had been bringing back was visible, with everything starting its dormant phase.

But it was still breathtaking to look into the valley and see the quaint little place.