Page 13 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs (Haven Ever After #8)

He shrugs and grabs the belt of my wrap dress, pulling me between his big thighs. He’s hot, even with all that fur and clothing between us. But his body’s still hard as a rock, his gaze reverent as he stares down at me. Big fingers come to my curls and twist the ends.

“She did. Cabinet door was a little loose, and you know I always carry a multitool, Cath.” He winks at the word “multitool,” and I resist a groan. Manorin doesn’t make many dad jokes, but I swear he can turn anything sexual.

He grins now. “Haven’t lost my touch, I see. You smell as good as your pies, Sunshine.”

“You shouldn’t call me that.”

His dark brows bunch together. “And why not?”

I wave my hands around, getting flustered at how easily he can get under my skin, all these hundreds of years later. “You called me that when we dated.”

He laughs. “Ain’t that kinda the point, Cath?

Because now that Gilbert has his fucking towels, I’m taking you to Herschel’s, and we’re gonna discuss an arrangement for the duration of my stay.

You’ve got needs, woman, and I can take care of those, even if it’s only for a little while.

” He leans down and nuzzles his way along my neck, his nose ring slightly less warm than his skin.

“Long as I’m here, Sunshine’s your new name. ”

He straightens. “Unless you want me to be your big, filthy secret. In which case, I’ll agree to call you by your given name in public.”

“Please do.” I step backward as my stomach rumbles. Am I really doing this? Considering taking him up on this friends-with-sexy-benefits situation?

As he holds his elbow out for my hand, I decide, yes, I definitely am.

I deserve a little fun.

H erschel’s is jam-packed by the time we get there, Herschel himself scrambling around to seat groups of monsters. Every table’s full, but when we arrive, Herschel seems unsurprised to see Manorin.

“Ah, good, you are here. Follow, follow!” He grabs two menus and waves us toward the back of the restaurant.

I glance up at Manorin, but he only grins down at me as he pulls me in front of him, guiding me through the busy restaurant.

And this is one of the things I loved about him when we dated. Manorin’s always been a planner—romance was his forte in a way Wesley never bothered with.

By the time Herschel leads us through the kitchen and up a tiny, twisty flight of stairs, I’m literally gobsmacked.

On the restaurant’s roof sits a tiny gazebo crawling with rose vines.

The red and white awning on the front of the building is tall enough that no one could see the gazebo except from above.

“I had no idea this was here,” I muse, shooting Herschel a look.

He blushes and waves his hands frantically around. “Ah, a secret, sweet Catherine. I reveal the gazebo only to those who take the time to plan something special.” He looks at Manorin. “Which he did. So…enjoy yourselves!”

But the surprises don’t stop there. A beautiful arrangement of pink roses sits in the center of the table, a card poking out the top. I recognize Ohken’s work, not to mention he’s the only florist in Ever.

I take the card, flipping it open as Manorin joins me. He presses one big hand between my shoulder blades, then slides up to grip the back of my neck. And just like that, my power flares to life again, loving how he touches so easily but in such a commanding way.

He brings his snout to my neck and nuzzles softly. “That’s it, Sunshine. That scent. Gods, there’s nothing like it.”

I hold in a moan, canting my head to one side to give him better access. He lets out a soft, grumbly growl as he nibbles the edge of my ear.

Footsteps echo toward us from the stairs, breaking the moment. He moves away from me and pulls out a chair. We manage to seat ourselves by the time the waitress arrives to take our orders.

Half an hour later, we’re on our second bottle of wine, and I’m laughing more easily than I have in years. We’ve already covered a dozen topics and caught up, and it’s really, really nice.

“So.” He leans onto the table with both forearms, a vicious glint in his crimson eyes. “I mentioned my proposition, Cath, but I was serious. Let’s have fun while I’m here.”

I take a sip of my wine, then set the glass down. “You can’t tie me to a bed for the next three weeks, Manorin.”

He chuckles. “Enticing as that sounds, three-week sexcapades are over on account of real life and all.” He shakes his head.

“No, I was thinking more like me creeping into your room every night and taking care of you. Maybe during the day sometimes too. You could come fuck me in the gym at the stadium. Gods know nobody else will be there, so we’d have the place to ourselves.

” His smile falls a little at the mention of the stadium.

I resist the urge to nip my lip, an old nervous habit. “We’d need rules,” I hedge instead .

He sits back, laying one enormous arm on the back of the chair next to his. “I’m listening.”

I clear my throat, pondering what sort of rules a dalliance like this might need. “Absolutely no strings attached,” I say finally. “You’re only here short term, for now, so no emotion, in as much as that’s possible.”

He grins. “There’s a lotta history between us, Cath, but I’ll do my level best not to fall in love again.”

When his nostrils flare, I straighten in my chair, knowing he’s scenting me. My scent is likely telling him what I haven’t said aloud yet—that my body, at the very least, is fully on board with whatever Manorin wants to do.

“No need for checking in or scheduling or any of that, either,” I say. “Let’s just let things happen naturally.”

He cocks his head to the side. “I’d like to spend time with you like this, too, Cath.” His smile goes slightly feral. “Even if we’re talking about work some of the time.”

I wave my hands around, trying to gather my thoughts. “I just mean we don’t need to make a huge production of it.”

He spears a bit of apple and munches it slowly.

“Seems to me like you’re trying to find rules and struggling to come up with good ones, so I’ll make this easy for you, Sunshine.

” He drops his fork and stares at me, and I feel that red stare straight to the middle of my bones.

“I’m gonna make this fun for you, but if you stop having fun at any point, you tell me. ”

Heat spreads through me, my cheeks flashing hot when Manorin doesn’t break the intense eye contact.

“Fine,” I say before I can rationalize this away. “Let’s just have fun, right?”

His smile grows wicked again. “No strings attached, Cath. Just lots and lots of delicious sex.”

We’re really doing this. Oh my gods.

I beam at him, tweaking my pheromones to the specific scent I know he loves .

His answering chuckle sends a needy flash of heat down my spine as pleasure swirls low in my belly.

I deserve fun at this point. If that’s what Manorin is offering, I should absolutely take it. This is nothing serious. Just two friends with a fun agreement.

Two friends who want to have really, really, really damn good sex.