Page 17 of Jockstraps & Newspapers

Oh, oh boy. He scrambled to untuck her pants and underwear.

As much as he enjoyed her bare and open to him, they were in the parking lot.

Her car was still broken. And he owed her a much less horn dog apology.

Elliot helped her into her pants, holding them while she jumped into them.

Elliot scooped her up and sat her on her truck while he grabbed her sneakers.

Breathe, cool down, get it together. He let out a shaky breath.

"Cassie, I'm…I am sorry, about earlier. I knew that ignoring you was a sore spot, and I shouldn't have done that to you. "

She gave him a sweet look, her lips curled slightly with softened eyebrows. "I forgive you. I'm sorry for snapping."

He slipped her first sneaker onto her foot. "No worries, I knew you were feisty when I met you."

She rolled her eyes, swatting at him. Elliot chuckled, helping her into the other shoe before standing between her knees. His thighs against her license plate, he drowned in her gaze. She cupped his face, rubbing soothing circles into his cheekbones. "Do you feel better? Is the heat still bad?"

Shaking his head, he lunged in for a kiss.

No words, no thoughts, just her. Elliot inhaled sharply, soaking in the scent of her deodorant and skin.

Like sunshine and sunflowers, she engulfed him.

Arms wrapped around him, legs locked to his side, she kissed him as ferociously as he kissed her.

Her sweet tongue poked out, enticing him to play.

Elliot leaned into her. Touch for touch, groan for groan, he followed her until she physically pushed him back an inch.

Their foreheads resting together, she panted for air. "I take that as a yes?"

"It'll come back, but I’m good. You're so good. I'm good." He babbled while working to get any function back in his body. His legs were trembling from the strain in the most delicious way.

"Okay," she snorted, kissing his wet nose. "How long does a heat usually last?"

Wasn't that the question of the decade. "So, it can last from one knot to several."

"Knot?" She raised a brow, pulling her head from his and glancing down at his hips. "Was that the thing I saw you grab?"

"Yeah, my knot, it's…it's got to go inside you." He grimaced, waiting for her to laugh or call him absurd.

"Like? Uh…kinda like anal beads, where they get bigger gradually, right? But you just have the one?" She studied his face analytically.

"Kinda, yeah." He let out a weak laugh.

"Oh…why didn't you shove that bad boy in, then? If that's what you need?" She cocked a brow as her hands slid from his shoulders to the top of her trunk.

"Well, it's kinda huge," He wheezed, stepping back to give her room. "And, also, your cars cramped and I was…well…it takes prep and time and it doesn't always happen."

"Pfft," She waved off his comment, wiggling off her trunk.

Cassiopeia sauntered up to the front seat of her car and grabbed something.

"We'll have to try that again where your knees don't dent my frame and I can actually spread my legs, but if you've got to knot me, Elliot, you're gonna knot me.

Now, you need to get back to the field and you owe me a few answers. "

Elliot choked on his own tongue. "Cassie," he blurted out.

"What?" She hip checked her door shut. "My car's broke, it's going to stay broke, so let's finish practice, then we can worry about my death trap trash can later."

"I was—you're just going to? My…knot? Okay.

" The words fumbled out of his mouth. Why are you questioning the glorious journalist who clearly wants to bounce on your cock and makes your heart flutter?

She had a point. When she stormed off, he rushed to get Toad to watch over everyone so he could chase after her.

Boner or no boner, he felt awful for what he said.

She'd been vulnerable to him, and deserved to know the truth.

Elliot chased after her and found her still in the parking lot.

There was still a team on the field he needed to get through practice.

He took a deep breath, "Yeah, I should get back. "

"And answer these questions. Okay, so we stopped at getting on the team. What was the moment that made you see this as a viable career?" She jogged beside him toward the field.

"W hoa-whoa-whoa," Rex, the baby of the family, flopped out of the tow truck, sauntering up to Elliot. "Where did you say she took her car?"

Elliot sighed, knowing this would happen.

He made the mistake of calling the shop instead of Jessie directly for a tow.

Now, Rex, Jessie, and Pops were piling out of the tow truck.

A grimace never left his face as Cassie held up her phone to the shortest of the minotaurs.

Elliot stared directly at his father as the eldest minotaur stalked around Cassie's car like a predator, sniffing his prey.

Pops, aka Titan Bonesaw, was actually sniffing her car, prodding at it with his fingers, and making a disappointed 'tsking' sound.

"Pops, what are you doing?" Elliot huffed, refusing to take a step away from Cassie and leave her to fend for herself to the Bonesaw brothers.

"Mmm, Giorgi's Garage," Jessie squinted at Cassie's screen before twisting to speak to Pops. "They ripped her off."

"Like a bandaid." Pops glanced up from her wheel well. "Alignments off, car's leaking transmission, oil cap’s busted, that back tire is bald, and it smells like you're burning gas fast."

Pops strode away from the car and joined his sons at the front of the tow-truck.

He struck a rust-colored hand out to her.

He was mostly rusty red with a white spot over his right eye and on the back of his left leg.

Dressed in matching mechanic overalls like his sons, Titan bowed his head softly to Cassie. "Titan Bonesaw."

"Cassiopeia Darling." She shook his hand before sighing, "I know the alignment was bad, but I didn't have the change to fix it."

"You're really not going to have the coin to fix that tire.

Your vehicle is so old, those tires are a specialty order.

" He crossed his over his chest. Elliot watched like a toddler in trouble, wide-eyed and confused as his father practically ignored him till the last possible second.

Pops finally glanced his way and raised a brow.

"And why are you letting her drive this? "

"I didn't know," Elliot squawked, tossing his arms up.

"Mr. Bonesaw, Elliot and I, up until today, just used the portals here. But I drove today. As much as I'd love to have you all fix everything…I can't afford it." Elliot's hair stood on end as he whipped to face her. Cassie eyed him. "What?"

"You're not paying for this," all four Bonesaw minotaurs blurted out with a scoff.

Cassie rolled her eyes, "I can't let you just fix my car for free."

"You can," Elliot reminded her.

"And you will." Pops finished the statement with an air of finality. "Boys, I want a full workup the second we get back. Unfortunately, Ms. Darling, you’re not getting your car back tonight."

Cassie let out a heavy sigh, clearly letting them take over.

Elliot spared her an apologetic look before rushing to help Jessie latch the crane to her car.

She stood in the parking lot with her bag, watching the mechanics and her athlete minotaur get the car cranked up.

Jessie stopped at the back passenger door and looked up into the car.

With a low whistle, he looked back at Elliot.

"Remind me to add a new lining to the list. Looks like a wild squirrel got stuck in her back seat. "

Pops, without hesitation, slapped Jessie and Elliot up the backside of their heads. The two huffed, rubbing their head and glaring at the old man as he sauntered past. He spared them a disapproving star. "It wasn't a squirrel."

"What?" Jessie poked his head closer before clearly spotting the big stain on the lower seat. Elliot scowled in return to his brother's big, shit-eating grin. Jessie wiggled his brows at Elliot, dancing backwards on his hooves back toward the truck. "Oh, so she's that kinda friend, huh?"

"Shut. Up!" Elliot growled.

"What kind of friend?" Rex chirped, dropping to the ground behind the car. Jessie handed him the hook as Pops unwound it on the truck.

"A knotty friend," Jessie snickered. Elliot punched him square in the chest. Jessie wheezed, stumbling back into the tow truck with the same smugness oozing from him.

"Oooo, Elliot's got a giiiiirlfriend! Bet he was smooching her on the car and broke the oil cap with his heavy ass!" Rex giggled evilly from underneath the car. Elliot planted his right hoof underneath Rex's butt and shoved him fully under the car. "Oi! Who turned out the lights!"

"Boys!" Pops barked and the three went dead silent.

The elder Minotaur scoffed, shaking his head with disappointment.

"Elliot, get your brother out from under the car.

Jessie, get the car in neutral. Ms. Darling!

If you'd like to hop in the back of the truck, we'll head to the shop. Get you a rental."

Elliot glared at Jessie who punched at him, dancing out of his grasp as he sauntered to the front of the car. With a sigh, he pulled his youngest brother out from under the car by the hooves. Rex wiggled his brows up at Elliot suggestively. "So, uh, you gonna introduce Ms. Darling to Ma?"

Tonight was going to be rough.