Page 39 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs (Haven Ever After #8)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CATHERINE

I step through the newly created portal, my shoes crunching on the tiny pebbles littering the rocky surface just before the cliff.

This view—our view—is perfection, and I couldn’t have lived with myself if I stole one of Manorin’s greatest dreams from him. Not even if he swore up and down every day that the dream didn’t fit him without me in it.

He gasps, pulling me against his big body. His chest heaves, his warm breath tickling the side of my neck. Big fingers curl into my belly and hold me tightly against him.

“Catherine…I…I’m at a loss for words.”

I spin in his arms, putting a finger through his ring and guiding his focus to me.

His black pupils overtake the crimson of his irises—he loves to be tugged around by his nose ring.

“You belong to me, and as much as it’s your job to make me happy, it’s mine to do the same for you.

” I slide a hand up his shirt, over miles of abs to rest over his rapidly beating heart.

“I could never let you give this up, Manorin, not for anything, not even me. So I made us this portal. We can come and go any time we want, but eventually Evenia will find out about i?—”

He silences me by bending down and nuzzling my mouth with his big lips, the closest thing he has to a kiss. He nips at my chin and bends lower, licking a hot path down the front of my neck then back up beneath my ear.

“You’re breaking a million rules, Sunshine. Will there be consequences for that?”

“Mmm.” I lean to the side, giving him an easier path to bite and nibble his way along my skin. “Not for me, there won’t. I’d like to see Evenia try.” It’s laughable, really.

I’m not going to bring up the portal, but I suspect she’ll find out. It’s mine and Manorin’s, and I’ll never tell another soul about it. Still, I know she built safeguards into the system when we originally created it.

“I want us to build here,” I say quietly. “I want us to build the property you always dreamed of, and we can come here anytime we want, Nor.” I wave around us. “You have Annabelle’s heart and the timer, so she’s with us still. It’ll be perfect. We can have our cake and eat it too.”

He sinks to the ground and pulls me into his lap, my back to his chest. “Thank you, mate,” he whispers into my ear. “You two are my gifts, and I’m not entirely sure I deserve them.”

I shrug and smile at him over my shoulder. “I suppose you’ll have to work really really hard to make sure you do deserve us, then.” I wink. “ Really fucking hard , Nor.”

He chuckles into my ear, nipping at my sensitive skin. “I’m really fucking hard right now, Sunshine. Shall I start focusing on being worthy?”

Before I can answer, he rips off a piece of clothing and tosses it on the ground in front of us. In a swift move, he pushes me forward onto my knees and flips my skirt up, burying his big snout between my thighs and licking .

“Right there,” I encourage him as he licks a delicious path up my pussy.

A possessive, deep rumble is my mate’s only answer.

And it’s the only answer I’ll ever need.

Two months later

I ’ve truly come to love our weekends in Pine Gulch.

This haven is homey and charming in such unique ways from Ever.

The downtown area has her own entire sassy personality, and it reminds me so much of being home with Annabelle.

Some weekends we arrive via the portal I created.

Other times, we come through the official portal station so as not to arouse suspicion.

It took about a month for a local troll builder to build our new place to Manorin’s specifications. It’s stunning.

“Can’t beat that view, hmm, Sunshine?” Manorin crosses the dark stone kitchen floor as we stare out the giant singular piece of glass that forms an entire wall of this floor of our underground house.

The wooden ceiling beams creak and groan.

“She’s happy we’re here.”

On cue, the string of bells over our staircase entryway rings.

“Annabelle misses you,” I say, winking at Manorin. “I’m beginning to think she loves you more than me.”

“Never,” he scoffs, setting a coffee down in front of me. “But she does love me a whole, whole lot, and there’s a lotta me to love.”

I turn to look at the pretty wooden heart he mounted over the expansive glass window. Annabelle’s never out of mind here, even if all of her can’t be with us physically. The timer comes with us on every trip, though.

Stepping to the huge glass wall, I stare out at the cliff face around us, marveling at how nearly the entire home is built underground. The only thing up above us is a huge greenhouse with our portal hidden at one end. When we want to sneak here, it’s easy enough to do.

No harm, no foul.

The round communication disk on our wall lights up, Evenia’s name hovering above it—speaking of foul.

I knew this was coming, but I’m ready for it.

I’ve been planning out how this whole entire thing will go.

With the help of a few friends, of course.

Some of whom are standing at the ready to help me deal with her.

I press a button on my comm watch to send a quick message.

Manorin glances at it, then me, before crossing the kitchen to lift the comm disk from its holder. He lets it ring as he returns and sets it down in front of me.

“Want me to stay?”

I smile at him. “Sit wherever you like, my heart.”

He stalks to the end of our dining table and sits with his coffee, one hand behind his head as he stares with glittering crimson eyes.

Gods, he’s so handsome.

I sigh as I press the button to answer Evenia.

A hologram of the dark-haired vampire who runs the haven system snaps into place. She looks absolutely livid, dark brows formed into a harsh vee as she stares at me.

“How could you, Catherine?”

I take a sip of my coffee, determined to make her spell out my infractions. I suspected she had a way to be notified of new portals to the system after the same thing happened during last year’s skyball tournament .

“I’m afraid you’ll have to be a little clearer, Evenia,” I say sweetly, smiling as if it’s any old regular day.

“You painted a godsdamned portal into existence somewhere, and that poses a threat to our fucking security. Take it down, at once.”

“I won’t.” I smile again. “There’s no threat, and I won’t paint another one, but I need this one.”

“Absolutely not,” she hisses. “You’ll take it down, or el?—”

I let my smile fall. “Or else what , Evenia?” My words drip with acid as I spit them at her. “You’ll give someone else a portable portal generator and direct them to toss me into a dark hole somewhere?”

Her mouth drops open. “Of course not.” The quietness of her words tells me everything I need to know.

I lift my chin. “I know for a fact that you gave the portal generator to King Caralorn in Ever. He then used that portal to mount an attack against his niece, Amatheia, which was thwarted. But she very nearly got dumped right into the open ocean into a new mer clan that wasn’t made aware she was coming.

She’d have been killed if she’d fallen out of the sky right into their kingdom.

You knew all of that, and you did it anyway. ”

Her protective white eyelid flashes over her irises. “I was keeping the peace.”

I lift a brow. “You orchestrated an attack within a haven, Evenia. You know the rules about that because you wrote them with me, all those centuries ago.”

She snorts. “You’re breaking a rule right now, Catherine, creating portals you’re not allowed to create.”

“Ah.” I lift a finger to correct her. “The difference is that the law clearly states I cannot create new haven portals without going through the planning process. I didn’t do that.

This portal’s personal, starting inside a locked room at the Annabelle Inn and ending in my home in Pine Gulch.

No one else will ever see it or know of its existence. ”

“Pot or kettle,” she says with a dismissive wave. “We’re at an impasse then, Catherine. I suppose I could allow you to?—”

I rise to loom over her hologram. “You still rule because I allow it to be so, Evenia. You have remained in power this long only because I do not want that role for myself. The true mother of the haven system is me, and if I wanted to, say, paint a dark hole and trap you inside it for the rest of your very long days, I could. Do you understand?”

I lean closer to the hologram and point a red-nailed finger at her.

“You have ruled only because of your role in the system’s creation.

But the reality is that we no longer need you, and you’ve broken the trust of monsters everywhere with your actions against Amatheia of House Zeniphon.

As of today, you are relieved of duty. Formal paperwork will follow.

I believe Betmal’s got it drawn up and sitting at the ready with the same lawyer who drew up your separation papers. ”

She bristles. “The absolute nerve to have conversations about me behind my back.”

I set my coffee cup down, letting my smile fall.

“As it turns out, Morgan and Lou Hector have a lot of interest in running things. Being that Morgan’s mate is your son, and he’s already been a beloved keeper for centuries, I don’t think we’ll have any problems when they take over your role.

And Lou’s a blue witch, the only one who’s ever agreed to live within the haven system.

If she makes it safer for blue witches to not worry about being pressed into service as your watchdogs, more blues will come into the system.

The havens will be safer than they’ve ever been.

” I grin. “There’s literally no downside.

Plus the girls will have my guidance and Betmal’s.

He and I have discussed this, of course. ”

Evenia’s mouth drops open. “A coup, Catherine? After all these years we’ve worked together? ”

“A coup, bitch.” I bat my eyelashes at her as I pull a victorious smile to my lips. “I have long waited for the day where you’d fuck up and a good replacement was available. Today’s that day.”

“And what?” Her expression goes bored. “Can I assume you want to throw me into Belcastle as well?”

“Not Belcastle, no,” a male voice rings out behind Evenia, and she spins, mouth dropping open. “Betmal?” She’s aghast as my friend appears in the comm disk space behind her.

I don’t recognize this version of Betmal. He stands with his arms by his sides looking like he’s about to pounce, the white eyelids covering his crimson iris. He bears both fangs.

“You tried to hurt my mate, to take her from me, to scare her.” He flicks his fingers, and dark claws slide out long from the tips. Slowly, one at a time, he unfurls his giant shadow wings until they shroud Evenia in darkness.

“Well,” I say with a chuckle, “looks like you’ve got your hands full, Evenia.” I glance at Betmal, who’s glaring at his former mate with hatred in his eyes. “Have fun, my friend.”

“Oh, I will,” he purrs cruelly. After a moment, white eyes flick to mine. “Catch up over lunch next week, darling?”

“Let’s,” I say as I click off. The beginnings of a shriek are all I hear as I direct the comm disk to end the call.

Slow clapping echoes from the far end of our long breakfast table. Manorin smirks at me as I rise and walk down the length of the table to join him. He flares his nostrils and grabs his giant coffee mug in both huge hands, the kitty cat timer nestled under one of his tapered, fuzzy ears.

“That was magnificent, Cath,” he says quietly. “Absolutely fucking breathtaking.”

I shoot him a smug smile and grab his coffee cup, taking a sip of the Azuro dark roast.

He pats the table in front of him. “Come sit here, sweet girl, and let your mate feast. ”

I hand him the coffee mug, which he sets aside. The kitty cat timer slides down his neck and chest to the table and rolls away.

Nor grabs my shirt, ripping it down the middle and pulling me to the edge of the table. “Mine,” he growls as he bends low over my chest, pulling a taut nipple into his mouth.

“Yours at last.” I reach up and grab ahold of one of his beautiful long horns as I lose myself to the pleasure of his masterful tongue.