Page 50 of Dancing for the Minotaur

Because it was true—Terra was exactly what he needed. But what he needed wasn’t just an office manager—what he needed was a mate.

Taurex had been lonely so long it had become his status quo—a regular feature in his life he barely even thought about anymore. Now that he had found the woman he was certain was his fated mate, he was eager to make up for lost time…but he knew he couldn’t rush things. He had to take it slowly with Terra—she’d been hurt in the past. He’d seen that when he touched her hand.

She’d been thinking that no one else had ever said such things to her—that her ex-mate, Jackson, had been cruel and dismissive of her feelings and her desire to be loved and appreciated.

Well, Taurex told himself, he was going to show her more appreciation than she’d ever had in her life. And she deserved it! She’d already overhauled his business—he just wanted to let her do the same thing to the rest of his life.

Slowly, though, he told himself as he rode up the golden elevator back to the penthouse. Little by little I’ll bring her closer to me until she realizes that we’re meant to be together. Little by little she’ll fall in love.

He had no idea that his carefully laid plans would soon come crashing down around him and that he wouldn’t be able to take things slow for long.

16

TERRA

For the next two weeks, Terra felt like she was living some blissful dream. A dream where she no longer had to worry about money or having enough to pay the bills. She bought herself some nice new clothes that weren’t from Walmart for once and she got her kids some nice shoes to wear to school.

Taurex was true to his word—he gave her ten percent of every delinquent invoice she brought in and soon she had enough savings in the bank to make her feel truly secure for the first time in her life. She went and got her hair professionally styled and bought some makeup that wasn’t from the drugstore and began to feel like a real professional. She even started looking at cars—though she still wasn’t willing to buy a new one, she could now afford a really nice used one—maybe even a small SUV.

Every day at work, the big Monstrum was unfailingly polite and professional but somehow Terra found herself opening up to him more and more. He asked her about her life and her home, and she found she was willing to talk to him, even about her children.

Taurex, for his part, told her about the Monstrum Mother Ship and the various planets he’d visited, which fascinated Terra. She wanted to know all about his travels and the clients he saw on alien worlds.

“I’ve been stuck in Florida all my life,” she told him, as they ate lunch in his huge kitchen one day. “I’ve always wanted to see the world, but I could never afford to travel. I was always so jealous of women who could just jet off to Rome or Paris whenever they felt like it.”

“I’ll take you on a tour of the Monstrum Mother Ship, if you’d like some day,” he offered. “It’s orbiting Mars, the fourth planet in your solar system. That’s considerably further than either Rome or Paris.”

Terra smiled.

“I would love that, actually. Exploring an alien space ship would be such an adventure.”

“You’d have to be careful and stay with me,” he warned. “The Mother Ship holds dangers as well as delights. The Dark Side of the ship, especially, is a place to avoid.”

“I’ll stay away from it…if we ever go.” Terra sighed wistfully at the thought. It seemed like an exotic dream…one that could never truly come true.

That was what she thought, anyway, until one Saturday morning when Taurex called her out of the blue.

“Hi, Boss—is everything all right?” she asked, picking up. “Did that last batch of invoices not go out?”

“No, no, Terra—everything is fine with the business.” His voice was so deep it seemed to vibrate her whole body as she pressed the phone to her ear.

“Then why are you calling me on a Saturday?” She felt her heart flutter as she asked. For the last few days, she’d been getting the feeling that the big Monstrum wanted to ask her out on a date. And though she kept telling herself it would be professional suicide to go if he asked, she was inclined to say “yes.”

“Remember how I offered to take you on a tour of the Monstrum Mother Ship?” he asked. “Well, how would you like to go right now?”

“Right now?” Terra’s voice came out in an excited squeak.

“I know it’s short notice, but Commander Rarev, the Monstrum leader, has asked me to come for a meeting with him,” he said. “And I thought, since it’s the weekend⁠—”

“Yes!” Terra exclaimed, cutting him off. “Let me just tell my mom to watch the kids. How long will we be gone?”

“I’ll bring you back by Sunday evening, if that’s all right with you,” he told her.

An overnight stay? Terra bit her lower lip.

“Er…what are the sleeping arrangements going to be?” she asked carefully. She didn’t want him to just assume she was going to sleep with him. Though honestly, dreams of jumping his bones had started to creep into her fantasies more and more often lately.

“We will have separate sleeping accommodations,” he assured her. “I would never take advantage of you, Terra.”