Page 109 of Dancing for the Minotaur

He carried her to his own chamber, a larger space dominated by a broad, low bed grown from the same resilient heart-wood as the rest of the house. It was covered in blankets woven of heather-fur—a dense, soft plant that really did feel like fur. He placed her in the center, where she immediately drew her knees up, the towel still clutched around her.

“I will be right back,” Taurex said softly. “Will you be all right if I leave you for a moment?”

She hesitated, then nodded.

“As long as you’re not long.”

“I won’t be,” he promised.

“Good.”

Taurex retreated to a dressing alcove, pulling on a pair of loose, soft sleep trousers. He took a moment, bracing his hands on the wall, hanging his head and breathing deeply. The scent of her fear was fading, replaced by her natural fragrance and the clean smell of the moss-silk towel. It called to him on a level deeper than instinct.

Mate—she’s my mate! I need to make her mine so I can protect her!

Every instinct demanded it, but he couldn’t rush her—especially after what had almost happened to her in the bathing pool.

He took several steadying breaths, schooling his features into a mask of calm, before returning to the bed. Later—he would tell her later—and try to make her understand they belonged together.

27

TAUREX

Taurex slid in beside Terra, leaving a respectful space between them. He had barely settled against the pillows when she moved.

She turned to him, her eyes luminous in the dim light. Without a word, she closed the distance, curling her body against his side. One small hand came to rest on his chest, over his heart.

“Hold me, Taurex,” she whispered, a plea that shattered his last pretense of detachment. “Please.”

A low rumble of pure need vibrated in his chest—a sound he didn’t even try to suppress. She wanted to be close to him—she felt the bond that was trying to form—the bond that wouldn’t be completely real until he took her completely.

Carefully, as if handling spun glass, he brought his arms around her. One arm curled beneath her shoulders while the other draped over her waist, his large hand splaying across the towel at the small of her back. Gently, he drew her in, tucking her head beneath his chin.

Terra sighed—a sound of utter peace and contentment. She fit against him perfectly—every full, beautiful curve of her body aligning with the hard planes of his own as if she had been designed for this very purpose.

She was, his soul whispered. She is your fated mate—why don’t you tell her?

But he didn’t want to scare her. He needed to wait until just the right moment.

So Taurex simply held her, feeling the residual tremors finally still…feeling her breathing deepen and slow against his skin. She felt so fragile—so delicate and perfect in the circle of his arms.

A fierce, protective tenderness swelled inside him like a physical ache—a pressure behind his ribs that was both painful and exquisite. This was his mate, trusting him, seeking safety in his strength. The rightness of it was a truth so profound it filled him with longing.

He wanted to tell her. The words burned in his throat.

You are my fated mate. My other half. I have loved you since I first saw you, and I will love you until the sun no longer shines and the stars grow cold.

He wanted to whisper it into her hair, to seal the truth against her skin with a thousand kisses.

But again he held the words back—a silent sacrifice on the altar of her peace. She had been frightened tonight—not by a monster, but by a consequence of the bond she did not yet understand. The pleasure blooms never would have come for her if they hadn’t sensed the mate pheromones both he and Terra had both been putting out.

To speak of it now, though, would be another kind of invasion. He couldn’t risk it. He couldn’t bear to see the fragile trust she had in him replaced by fear.

So he simply held her and breathed in the scent of her—clean skin, a hint of floral, and underneath it all, the unique, intoxicating essence that was Terra.

He pressed his lips, very gently, to the crown of her damp hair.

I will wait for you, lovely one, he thought. Wait for as long as it takes—until you feel comfortable with me. Until you are ready to learn we belong together for all time.