Katarina giggled and his body relaxed. “Yeah, poor thing’s been cooped up here with two mechanics. Needs a good few laps with a preschooler, ought to socialize him plenty. I’ll get out of your hair, I just need to find my shorts and where the heck my child lost my phone…”
He was fishing out a pair of pants and a T-shirt, trying not to turn around. It almost worked till he heard her grumble and hiss from somewhere in the room. He glanced over his shoulder. She was on hands and knees, reaching for something under the bed. Nikolai crept across the room and knelt beside her. “You got it?”
“Yeah—uh…no. No, I don’t. I see it, but I’ve got these tiny arms and I think… fuck.”
“What’s wrong?” Nikolai glanced at her but saw the problem. Her t-shirt and hair were caught on a few of the many springs for the bedframe. Cheap frame; took five seconds to put together, and Nik got what he paid for. While it was good for his back, he lost chunks of fur to those damn springs. “Hold still, I got you.”
“Dragon’s breath, today is just not my day,” she huffed, going slightly limp under the bed as Nikolai picked at pieces of her damp hair. The t-shirt would be easier to untangle, but she had so much hair. So much as a tug and she’d lose a clump of hair. From his current angle it wasn’t all that great. He let out a sigh. She called out from under the bed. “What?”
“Uh, just hold still,” he grumbled, crawling behind her. The only way to see where all her hair was to lean over the back of her and pick it out. Unfortunately, that put the front of his thighs against her backside.
Katarina let out a bark of a laugh, “I swear to all the fucking dragons in this realm and the next, Nikolai if you pull a porn move on me—”
“You want out or not?” He swallowed hard as she shifted against him. It immediately went where it shouldn’t and he was trying everything to keep it down.Grandma’s feet, sticky fingers, ducklings, anything.His body hummed as he untwisted her hair from around the cheap coils before he could finally untwist the fabric from the metal.
The second she was free, Nikolai grabbed her by the hips and tugged her out…lest she get tangled again. She was cackling the whole way as he immediately dove under and snatched up the traitorous device from under his bed. Unlike Jessie who probably had dirty clothes and other lost things under his, Nik kept his room pristine. The only thing under his bed was her phone and a bracelet, likely belonging to one of them. He dragged both of them back out.
“There,” he huffed, dropping the items into her shaking hands.
Katarina still trembled from laughter as she glanced up at him through that fringe of hair. “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just…”
“There wasn’t a better way,” he grimaced, scratching the back of his head. “Needed a good angle at it.”
“Mmm, so the best angle was from the back? I agree, good for leverage too. But, you know, next time, take a girl to dinner first.” she teased, her ruby eyes glowing with delight as his body ignited. Katarina plopped both the bracelet and phone on top of the bed. He watched with hunger as she climbed to her feet. She offered him a hand that he took more for politeness than out of need. His knees cracked, echoing off the walls. Katarina moved, like she was going to give him back his hand, but something changed. Her face fell and Nikolai eyed her with worry. In an instant, her skin paled and her eyes were glassy. She wobbled on her own legs and Nikolai swooped in to catch her. Like she’d lost all the blood to her head, she sank into his arms.
“Katarina?” He whispered.
She let out a woozy wheeze, a hand to her forehead. “Whoa, yeah, that was a doozy. Must have stood up too…fast… Hey, does anyone tell you how good you smell? Like really good. I mean, you smell like oakmoss, and those expensive colognes with woodsmoke and…and…”
She trailed off as she pitched her body forward into his chest. Nikolai held still, his body rigid and hunched, as she pressed her face to his throat. Inhaling deep, a low moan came out of hermouth and that’s when he lost control of his precariously concealed cock. Her body was too warm, like a roaring fire pressed against him. There was barely a thing between them, and he already knew how soft she was. Fingers curling in his fur, she clutched him tight and pressed her face firmly against his jugular. Her second moan, soft and guttural, was enough to pitch him into oblivion.
“Why do both of you smell so fucking good,” she hissed under her breath.
“I…bathe?” He swallowed over his tongue, hoping to any deity that would listen that she couldn’t feel the iron rod forming against her belly.
Katarina giggled, “Not like that. Sorry, I must be hungrier than I thought. I really…shit, I really need to make that appointment. I’m so sorry.”
Nikolai swallowed hard as she pulled back, hands to her face with a gentle rubbing motion. He opened his mouth several times, but nothing came out. Not until she finally dropped her hands and stared up at him with those glittering rubies. It was a nearly strangled, “Appointment?”
“Yeah, uh, to see my healer. I haven’t been feeding enough and it’s starting to take a toll. I’m not saying it to guilt you, or anything, I’m just not thinking straight. I’m so sorry.” She brushed her hair back, away from her face.
Nikolai blinked once,not eating enough?There was no way, he fed her twice yesterday and knew for a fact that she’d eaten. He stammered, “Do you want me…to make something? We have eggs, those are good protein.”
Katarina sputtered, hands rushing to her mouth to cover up her laughter. Nik chuckled nervously, unsure what he said. Only after a long minute, the lightbulb went off. It was only after he saw her tail sticking up and her little horns, that he even thought about it like that.Oh! That kind of hungry!“Oh! I—”
Katarina shook her head, wheezing, “No, thank you, I needed that.”
Sheswiped tears away from her eyes as she trembled all over from her laughter. It looked good on her, to see her cheeks flushed again, to see her smiling from ear to ear…to see her, gazing up at him. It filled his stomach with angry butterflies.
Nikolai, endlessly calm, cool, and collected, was flustered when it came to people he actually liked. He was deadpan with the general public. But a goofy minotaur who had a mean right hook and was deadly loyal? A pretty eyed, flirty succubus who could use a good home? Dragons above, save him.
“What else do you need?” he breathed.
“What?” she blurted out.
His gaze fell to the tip of her tail, swishing back and forth slowly like a cat. Then it trailed up from her barely covered thighs and where the shirt was tented around her breasts. By the time his gaze met hers, Nikolai said everything he needed to say. Her fingers were in his fur again, her nails scraping against his skin and leaving it raw. Katarina led him backward the two steps to the edge of his bed before they both toppled back against it. She climbed over him, and it was over. Her lips crashed into his and his hands grabbed ahold of the very hair he saved from certain doom. It was silky smooth and cold, easily collecting in his palms as he dragged her closer.
A burning inferno of a woman, with hips that rutted against him. He groaned into her mouth, helpless to do much more than grind back against her. The friction was enough to make his hair stand on end. Flimsy fabric was all that separated him from burying himself to the hilt. And he held no doubt that she wasjust as warmwrapped around his cock as she was against his chest. Her mouth was a dizzying carousel that he chased over and over until she broke first. Katarina panted for air, her hands pressing firmly against his chest.
