Page 91 of Dancing for the Minotaur

Taurex followed her gaze, and his expression changed slightly.

Terra caught it and frowned at him.

“What? Was it something I said?”

“No, nothing.” He shook his head quickly.

“Taurex…I can tell you’re hiding something.” She poked him gently in one rock-hard ab with her finger. “Come on—spill it.”

He sighed.

“All right—those flowers aren’t just for decoration—they are pleasure blooms.”

“Pleasure blooms?” Terra asked. “What are those? I mean, what do they do?”

Because by now, she had learned that every single plant aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship had some kind of function.

Taurex was silent for a moment and Terra thought the big Monstrum looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“They…provide pleasure,” he said at last.

Terra put a hand on her hip.

“That explains absolutely nothing,” she pointed out.

He shrugged, still looking uncomfortable.

“It explains their purpose.”

Terra pointed through the window.

“The white ones or the red ones? Which ones provide pleasure and how?”

“Both—they both do,” Taurex said, without answering the second question.

Her eyebrows rose.

“Okay, now I’m curious.”

“I suspected you would be.”

Terra threw up her hands.

“Fine—keep your secrets. Can we soak in the pool after supper?”

Taurex hesitated.

“We can,” he said slowly. “But…”

“But what?” Terra asked impatiently.

He rubbed one hand over the base of his horn in that distracted way Terra had started to recognize.

“Well, I have not culled the pleasure blooms lately and they sometimes grow aggressive if left unattended for too long.”

Terra looked out the window again. The vines certainly looked healthy. In fact, several of the long red blooms had grown so close to the water that their tips nearly touched the surface.

“How aggressive can flowers be?” she wondered aloud.