Page 20 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs (Haven Ever After #8)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CATHERINE

I don’t sleep well that night, not after Manorin shared his desire to go home. Even if the chances of him going back to Pine Gulch are small, they’re not zero. And more than that, it’s what he wants .

And if it’s what he wants, it’s what he should get.

I’m old and experienced enough to know that life is too short to settle for anything less than.

My power roils and simmers all night, ready to be unleashed.

As much as I’d like to do that, our lunchtime conversation holds me back despite our arrangement.

On some level, I recognize that Manorin’s going far beyond what a friends-with-benefits situation calls for.

So far, he’s feeding me and buying me flowers, and it feels far more like dating than sexcapades.

Sexcapades, I agreed to. We agreed no rules, just fun.

Dating has the potential to lead to feelings, and that seems like a bad idea considering what he shared over lunch.

I’m still mulling that over the following morning when I descend the stairs at the crack of dawn. For the first time in a while, I’m not looking forward to prepping the breakfast buffet for my guests .

I enter the kitchen to find Manorin there, leaning against the window as he grins at the kitty cat timer. Annabelle swings a cabinet open and tosses a bag of white table sugar at Manorin. He doesn’t seem to notice me enter, focused as he is on the tiny cat.

He easily catches it and sets it next to the timer, who meows angrily at him.

“No, Annabelle. This is Azuro coffee, which means no sugar needed.” He snorts out a laugh, the ring in his nose brushing against the flat surface. “Thank you, but no.”

I clear my throat, and he smiles up at me as if he knew I was there the entire time.

“Good morning, Sunshine.”

I love that nickname.

I saunter past him, unable to resist brushing my ass against his thigh as I lean into the cabinet, hunting for my favorite coffee mug. When I don’t find it there, I emerge from the cabinet with a confused look.

He sips his coffee. “You still thinking about what I said at lunch yesterday?”

“No,” I lie.

“You’re a terrible liar.” He takes another sip of his coffee, lifting the cup quickly out of the way when Annabelle tosses several sugar cubes from the container on the island. The cubes fall to the ground, and she shuffles them toward his feet. “Also, your inn is incorrigible.”

I laugh. “Much like me, I’m afraid. Set in my ways and persnickety.”

He gestures at the microwave. “Your coffee is in there. I came down a little early. Didn’t realize you were planning to sleep in.”

I scoff as I plant a hand on my hip. “It’s five forty-five, Manorin.”

“Nor,” he corrects. “And you used to get up at five. ”

I frown. “You’ve been down here since then, waiting? Surely you’ve got better things to do?”

He sets his coffee cup down on the island, covering it with one enormous hand as he stares at me. “I’m meeting the leadership folks at the stadium, but I want to take you out tonight on a date. A real date. No skyball chatter. Just romance. A continuation of the night before last.”

My mouth drops open. “Oh, are we finally going to get to the benefits portion of this friends-with-benefits situation?”

He rounds the island and looks down at me, crimson eyes flashing. His attraction would be obvious to me even if I didn’t have the ability to read him with my power.

“We’re doing too much dating,” I manage. “This is supposed to be no strings attached, right? Just fun and no emotions?”

He slides his free hand around my waist and pulls me close against his huge, hard body.

“And yet I still feel compelled to take you out. That’s because what’s between us is easy and natural.

I promise I’ll make it fun. If you don’t have a wonderful time, I won’t ask you out again.

You’ve got my word. We can just dirty fuck at night in your room. You can milk me dry, Sunshine.”

I…I can’t find a reason to say no to that because I want to go out with him, even though the logical side of my brain is looking for all the reasons this is a bad idea.

Before I can answer, Iggy shoves his way through the back door, flying with a hellhound puppy clutched in his arms. “Catherine! Catherine! Dad said we get to keep the puppies!”

Minnie lumbers in the open back door after him, red eyes focused on the pup in Iggy’s arms. I feel quite certain Alo and Miriam didn’t agree to keep all three hellhound puppies, but…

“It might not be up to you, kiddo,” Manorin says gently, dropping to a knee to scratch under Minnie’s chin.

“You know how Minnie’s bonded to you? That same thing could happen with these puppies and any monster they meet.

It makes sense for you to keep them for now.

You can help Minnie take care of them. But, one day, they’ll probably find their monster the same way Minnie found you. ”

Iggy’s smile falls, and he clutches the puppy to his face. It turns and licks at his mouth, mewling against him.

“I know, I just… Dad agreed we could keep them for a while, at least.” He looks at Manorin. “Do you want to hold one?”

Manorin chuckles but takes the puppy when Iggy holds it out to him. “What if this thing gets attached to me, and I have to keep it?”

I stare at him as he and Iggy go back and forth as to the advantages of being bonded with a hellhound.

There’s a softer side of Manorin that wasn’t there when we were younger.

He was aggressive, brash, and I thought I wanted someone more elegant and powerful.

When he asked me to get the traditional mating tattoo I said no—I wasn’t ready for it and it didn’t feel exactly right at the time.

When I glance up at him now, he’s holding the puppy with a wry look.

Iggy’s hanging on to one of Nor’s horns like it’s a gymnastics bar, swinging around it as he lashes his tail from side to side.

I shouldn’t make the same mistakes twice. Even if Nor and I only have fun for a short time, we’ll make good memories I can look back on.

“I’ll take you up on that dinner offer,” I say quietly.

“What offer?” Iggy shouts. “Is it something good? Can I have it too?”

Manorin laughs and hands the wriggling hellhound puppy back to Iggy. “No, you may not.” He pauses and stares at me, wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes as he smiles. “But you, Sunshine? Yeah, you can have it for sure.”