Page 14

Chapter 14

Tully

T he moment stretches out in a strange sort of quiet. Like we are waiting for something big. Something life-altering. Argos’s breath is loud and uneven. His pupils widen, threatening to swallow his irises. He is taking his sweet time examining my neck, the swell of my chest, and the exposed lower half of my legs. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears, oddly loud, and I can smell only him. A touch of salty sweat, fire smoke, and sandalwood. His hands are lifted, fingers slightly curled. The light brown hair on his forearms rises like lightning is about to strike.

“Tully, I…”

His voice is hoarse, and the heat in his stare has my stomach flipping.

“Yes?” My voice doesn’t sound much better.

My body hums and I can’t break the eye contact.

Suddenly, we are kissing.

But not like usual kissing. This is violent. Arms wrapped like rope around muscles and lungs and bones. Teeth biting on lips and soft skin. I want to breathe him in, to eat him whole, to absorb him somehow. I’m smashed against his massive body and I’m still not close enough.

“Gods, Tull…” he grunts out as he slams me against the wall near the door.

I drive my tongue into his mouth and he returns the favor, his tongue much larger and longer. The heat of his mouth on mine has sweat beading on my lower back. His big hands slide down my body to cup my arse. He presses tightly against me and moans my name.

I tug my neckline down to expose my chest. I grab his head to direct that mouth to my nipple. He curses against my skin and nips at my breast. My core is molten.

“I still hate you,” I say, my breathy voice a betrayal to myself.

“Of course,” he says messily with my tit in his mouth.

I writhe against him, all thoughts whirling and insensible. It’s just his scent and his hands and his body and his lips.

“Hold on. I… Just a minute,” he whispers.

I moan and whimper. “You’re the worst.”

“I know. Just a second…”

He moves his hand between us, adjusts an erection that could change the world, and then he gives me friction exactly where I need it. I roll my hips and groan. Pleasure slams into me, like that lightning I was expecting really did strike. A climax drums and echoes through me, sharp and fast and nearly painful with its intensity. He is latched onto my neck, his teeth not quite breaking skin, and his body bucking.

“Damn it. I am about to?—”

His cock pushes against me even harder, larger. Then he freezes, releases me, and puts air between us. I can barely stand on my shaking legs and his hand grasps mine, his eyes on me as if checking to make sure I can stay upright while he frees himself from his trousers and…

“Oh,” I whisper.

His cock isn’t your run-of-the-mill appendage. “I’ve never seen a minotaur naked, so I didn’t realize.” Aside from the impressive size, there is a swollen area right at the base.

“It’s a knot,” he says.

He strokes himself once and the knot grows a fraction more. His throat moves in a swallow and I really just want him on the floor. Now. My heart hammers a frantic beat against my pulse points.

“How does it work?” I ask, my voice a touch shaky.

Hesitation shows in the pinch of his dark eyes and how his lips part as he tries to explain but can’t seem to find the right words.

“Tully, I. don’t know if we should…”

My heart is still crashing around inside my chest like a firecracker, but I force myself to calm down. “I’m listening.”

He tucks a strand of my crazy hair behind my ear while my mind spins around the word knot .

“You’re so deadly beautiful, Tully.” His eyes are sincere and kind.

The tension in the room shifts to something softer, something tentative and deeper. I take a breath and tug my clothing into place. When he pulls his trousers on, I try not to mourn the loss of what almost happened.

“Minotaurs can’t just have full sex with any creature,” he says. “We’re different.”

“Tell me everything. I mean, if you want to.”

He looks away, blowing out a breath. “I don’t think we are ready for that.”

I blink. Of course not. He doesn’t want this intimacy with me. We’re rivals. I don’t know why I thought I wanted it.

“Right. Agreed. Sorry about all of that.”

He takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger and forces me to look him in the eyes. “Don’t do that. I want this. I just need to figure some things out. All right? I’m not sorry this happened. Not even a little bit.”

“Me either actually.”

I’m as raw as an open wound and I hate this feeling. I don’t want these sensations of hope and worry and whatever this is. I laugh off my discomfort and straighten my skirts.

There’s a pounding at the door. “Eh, you two. We have some weather headed our way and it seems our handy weather-shielding gargoyle is out of pocket. Can I get your help?”