Katarina took her kid by the hand, and they walked steadily up the steps, the light beams on them until they were through the front door. As it clicked shut behind them, Katarina exhaled heavily. Sinking back against the door, she let go of Isabella’s hand. The alluring scent of garlic and lots of butter only reminded her how hungry she was.Actually hungry.
“Yum!” Isabella squealed, rushing down the front hallway toward the kitchen at the back. Katarina laid her head back against the front door. It took all her strength to flip the deadbolt. The hungry spins were beginning to get to her. Her world was twisting and chills ran down her body.
“Hey! Welcome…you good?”
She peeled her eyes open to Jessie, caught on the last step of the stairs. He was still dripping from the mop of hair on his head, his horns nicely shined to match the shimmering of his hooves. The shop owner wore a pair of gray sweatpants but nothing above the belt. Katarina’s whole stomach clenched.
“Uh…yeah!” she lied, trying and failing to push off the door. It only made her stumble into the front closet. Jessie rushed to her side. Large, burning hot hands cupped her sides as her back hit the small crook between the front door and the closet. Jessie caught her in the halfway fall, where if she moved, she was either pressed against him or on the floor. That’s when she finally saw it. His aura. Most people had them. Gill’s was a murky green with flashes of yellow. Jessie’s was red, her favorite shade. Like ruby roses, like her best lipstick, like the most delicious thing in the realm and she wanted to sink her teeth into him.
“Momma! Dinner!” Isabella broke the freeze on time and Katarina went to put her hands to his damp chest and correct herself.
If I’m not careful, I’m going to eat this guy alive.
Cherry, like a tart with a crispy crust and a sugar glaze over the top of it, filled her mouth as she inhaled once. He tasted of summertime sweets and her fingers curled around his fur.What…what is…Katarina leaned in closer to him, his aura doubling around him. She inhaled again, eyes rolling back. Her fangs popped out as she pushed up on her toes, their noses brushing against each other.
Jessie’s mouth was half a breath away, his fingers tugging her close. Her toes curled in her sneakers as crackling energy ran up her spine.Kiss me, please, kiss me.However, the second she felt a hefty cock pressed against her stomach, the alarms went off. Not actual alarms, the internal ones that said a little girl was rushing down the hall at top speed.She can’t see this.
“Shit,” she hissed, stumbling out of his hands. “I’m—I’m.”
“Momma! Come, now!” A tiny pair of hands snatched her and tugged fiercely. She almost didn’t realize her stomach hurt less.You fed off him, you asshole!She was whisked away and fully missed the minotaur sinking against that wall, fists clenched and back tense.
Chapter Seven:
~Jessie~
Oh,Elliotisnevergoing to let me live this down now…Jessie inhaled deeply, staring at the front corner like he was in time out. If he looked down, he’d see his tented sweats. He’d been through a few heats. Five, at the very least, and all of them came about at theworsttime. First was in high school when the pretty cheerleader kissed him on the cheek for getting a book down off a tall shelf. A few days of awkwardly rubbing it out, he finally admitted to his folks about it. The last heat was two years ago, when Nikolai came home from the shop smelling of oil and sweat. A random Tuesday, where Jessie was on the couch, napping. Then, out of nowhere, he was pinning Nik to his mattress.
This time, all it took was a pretty smile and cute little fangs. Like she pulled a rip cord, and it was horny city for him. His knot was full in under 30 seconds, and he panted like a dog.I didn’t mean to…she just looked rough…then she fell.Who was he kidding? Jessie was always one weak ankle away from scooping up a damsel in distress. Elliot took all the gentleman traits with him, because this middle child was inches away from ripping Katarina back out there to finish what she started.
Breathe.He inhaled sharply through his nose.Now out.Heat was a heavy burden, pun intended. His older brother would laugh at him, which is exactly what he deserved.Dragon’s breath,but what would a kiss have been like…I gotta kiss her now. Just once; get it out of the system.
“Jess?” Nik’s soft rumble ran a shiver up his spine. Jessie twisted inch by inch to find his roomate looming in the living room doorway with an arched brow.
“I…uh…got a problem,” Jessie nodded down to the iron rod that hoisted his sweats high.
Nik’s eyes widened and eyebrows shot up on his face. “Oh.”
“Yeah, I just,” Jessie trailed off, leaning one way then the other to ensure Katarina and Isabella couldn’t see from the kitchen. Then he strode across the floor to hide his hips in the dark of the living room. “Look, she might have popped my knot.”
“Popped? Your…knot?” Nik squinted at him, as if each word were foreign to his mouth.
“Yeah, you know, how you popped it last time. It’s nothing serious, Ma says happens to unmated Minotaurs all the time. You’re just living your life then bam, knot.” Jessie grimaced as he looked down at his pelvis. His shower curtain rod wasn’t going anywhere soon, and he wasn’t about to stuff it under their cheap dining room table.I’m gonna need to eat upstairs, or after the girls go to bed.He glanced up at Nikolai.
Nikolai snickered, sitting on the arm of the couch. “Think you can survive another two hours?”
Jessie’s eyebrows shot up. “Two hours, why?”
Nik leaned backward, his ears twitching as if he were listening in. Then he leaned back forward and whispered, “Bedtime.”
“Nik, you don’t…” Jessie trailed off as Nik climbed to his feet. His stomach fluttered as Nik grabbed him by the waist. Their mouths crashed together, and Jessie’s head spun. If Katarina hadn’t popped it with her teasing touch, Nikolai surely would have with his rough kiss. It started as mostly teeth, then dissolved into brushing lips. Jessie sighed with relief into Nikolai’s mouth as a large hand wrapped around his cock. The burning warmth that pumped through his veins cooled down to a blissful, tingly feeling as Nik stroked him.
“Bedtime,” Nik reiterated once, his rumbling voice sending a shiver down Jessie’s back.
He let out a nervous, horny laugh. “I mean, who could say no to that?”
“Then don’t,” Nik teased with another hard kiss. He pulled away immediately afterwards and slipped away from him. “Or suffer, your choice.”
“Hey!” Jessie huffed, situating his sweats once more. They didn’t feel as comfy without a bugbear palm stroking his cock through them. Nik flashed him a knowing smirk before sauntering back into the kitchen. Jessie took a moment to get his lung function back.Cocky fucking bastard.He loved it, despite the complaints. Nik was that perfect confidence where he didn’t need to be flashy for people to know he was comfortable in his own skin. Fur? Fluff. In his sexuality and desires, and Jessie reminded himself if Nik wanted something, he’d say something.
