Page 46 of Dancing for the Minotaur

“That is amazing,” he rumbled, looking at her with such obvious admiration that Terra felt an unexpected little glow inside her chest. Jackson had certainly never looked at her that way.

Even if she'd balanced their checking account down to the penny, that was simply something a wife was supposed to do. If she'd found a way to shave fifty dollars off the grocery bill, he'd complained that she'd bought the wrong cereal or a cheaper brand of beer. Whenever she'd talked about going back to college, he'd immediately asked who was going to watch the kids, as though the dream itself was selfish because it required him to participate in his own family.

Eventually Terra had stopped talking about the things she wanted to do and stopped expecting anyone to notice the things she did right. Somewhere along the way, she had almost forgotten there were things she was good at.

Now Taurex was looking at her as though she'd performed some kind of miracle.

“You recovered forty-three thousand dollars in one day,” he said.

She shrugged modestly.

“I sent an email.”

“That is all?”

“Pretty much.”

He shook his head slowly.

“Humans are strange.”

Terra smiled.

“I guess you could say that.”

“But why would they refuse to pay me but pay immediately when you ask?” he demanded.

She shrugged again.

“Maybe because my email included a late-payment warning.”

Taurex's eyebrows rose.

“What warning?”

“I told them that if the balance wasn't paid within five business days, Intergalactic Imports would suspend further shipments until the account was current.”

He stared at her.

“You threatened them?”

“Politely,” Terra emphasized. “Very politely.”

Taurex seemed to consider this, then gave a slow nod of approval.

“I like the way you conduct business.”

Terra smiled.

“That’s good to hear since you hired me as your office manager.”

He moved closer, and almost immediately Terra became aware of him again—not Taurex the businessman who couldn't manage his own filing system and not Taurex the owner of Intergalactic Imports, but Taurex the enormous Monstrum who had watched her come in the VIP lounge. The male whose touch somehow allowed him to see flashes of her mind and the stranger who had offered her a job before he had even figured out exactly what job he wanted her to do.

Her smile faded a little. There were still questions between them–big ones.

She still didn't understand the strange connection they'd formed, and she wasn't entirely sure she trusted him, no matter how respectful he'd been with her today. But something had changed during the hours they'd spent working together.

Terra had arrived that morning half expecting to discover that Taurex had invented a position simply because he wanted her nearby. Instead, she'd discovered a genuine business with genuine problems and a male who actually needed the skills she had spent years believing nobody valued.