I smiled around him, enjoying the power I had over this magnificent creature. One of his hands moved to my hair, guiding me gently as I found a rhythm that made him tense and shudder.
Too soon for my liking, he pulled back. “Not yet,” he said, his voice strained. “I want to be inside you again.”
He helped me to my feet and pressed me against the shower wall, claiming my mouth in a deep, passionate kiss before swinging me around and placing my hands on the wall. His strong hands moved over my hips, then spread my legs wide as he entered me from behind.
I moaned as he filled me completely, stretching me in the most delicious way. He started moving, and I gasped at the feeling of him so deep inside. Each thrust sent sparks of pleasure through me, and soon I was moving my hips to meet him, desperate for more.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered as he reached around to stroke my clit. “I can’t believe you’re real.”
His words sent me over the edge, and I cried out as another orgasm washed over me. He followed with a deep, guttural groan, and I felt the warmth of his release inside me.
We stood there for a long moment, water streaming over our bodies as we caught our breath. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight against him.
“I think we’re clean now,” I said when my breathing returned to normal. “Or at least the soap has been completely washed away.”
He chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound that vibrated through my entire body. “I think we need another shower after that.”
I laughed. “I’m going to be late for work.”
“I’ll make you something quick,” he promised as he turned off the water, wrapping a thick towel around his waist before he dressed and hurried off to the kitchen. Once he’d left, I took a moment to collect myself. This all felt so… domestic. Normal, even, despite the extraordinary circumstances. I was having breakfast with my minotaur boyfriend after spending the night making love in his labyrinthine home.
Boyfriend. Is that what he is now?
The label seemed simultaneously too juvenile and not significant enough for what was developing between us. I pushed the thought aside for later consideration and finished getting ready. My hair was drying into its usual wavy mess, but fortunately I’d brought toiletries and a change of clothes.
I followed the scent of cooking food through the twisting hallways, getting lost only once before finding my way to the kitchen. Rion stood at the stove, his back to me, flipping what looked like the perfect golden-brown pancake.
“That smells amazing,” I said, hopping up onto one of the barstools at the kitchen island.
He glanced over his shoulder with a smile. “Family recipe. There’s coffee in the pot if you want some.”
I poured myself a cup, adding a splash of cream from a small pitcher on the counter. “You think of everything.”
“I try.” He transferred the pancake to a growing stack on a plate, then poured more batter into the pan. “Did you sleep well?”
“Better than I have in ages,” I admitted, taking a sip of the coffee. It was perfect—rich and strong without being bitter. “Your bed is very comfortable.”
“The company wasn’t bad either,” he said with a sly glance.
I felt my cheeks heat but grinned back at him. “Not bad at all.”
He finished the last pancake and brought the stack to the island, along with a plate of bacon and a bowl of fresh berries. It was a feast fit for… well, a minotaur.
“This is incredible,” I said, helping myself to a pancake. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”
He sat beside me, his barstool creaking slightly under his weight. “My grandmother taught me the basics. The rest I picked up over time. When you live alone, you either learn to cook or eat terribly.”
We ate in comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds the clink of forks against plates and occasional appreciative noises from me. It struck me how comfortable we were together already, how natural it felt to share this morning routine.
“What’s your day like?” he asked, refilling my coffee cup without asking.
“Pretty standard.” I took another sip of coffee. “Mrs. Wilson will be back today, which means I’ll have to catch her up on everything that’s happened while she was gone.”
Everything except the part where I started dating a minotaur, probably.
“Mrs. Wilson?”
“My supervisor. She’s been on vacation for the past few weeks. Family emergency in Florida.” I speared a strawberry with my fork. “She’s nice enough, but very… particular about how the library is run.”
