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'Thank you,' he'd said. Bastard.
"Please," I whispered.
Laszlo cleared his throat. "Minotaurs are comparatively simple to the rest of us. They scent their mate almost immediately, the bond entirely instinctive. Unfortunately, they have quite a reputation for aggressive behavior in that regard. Generally, they're a very…impatient race."
I huffed, and Laszlo stifled his laugh.
"Yes, Asterion seems to be an exception. There's not much in the way of courting for a minotaur. They usually discover their mate and claim them immediately."
"Do they bite like werewolves and dragons?" I asked.
Laszlo shook his head, and I was momentarily distracted by the bits of straw and hay that were starting to collect in his hair. It was rare to see him disheveled, and it made me want to climb on top of him and make him even more so.
"They…they coat their mates in their scent," Laszlo said, and I blinked at the slight stiffness of his speech. "They release onto their mate, let it soak in."
I stiffened.
The hot spill over my belly, soaking through my thin slip, slick over my stomach and breasts and down to my thighs.
"I shouldn't have said anything."
I shook myself and focused on Laszlo once more, trying to clear the dark and hot fog of the memory of Asterion gushing over me. Marking me.Claimingme.
Bastard!
"Did you know?" I asked, leaning in to kiss Laszlo's chin to soften the tense bite of my voice.
He huffed. "It was obvious, and it was meant to be. A less than subtle request for me to…keep my distance."
I gasped and sat up. "You mean—Ohhhh!" I growled, and Laszlo smiled.
"It was a challenge for me, I assure you. And then Conall decided to stir the pot."
I gaped down at Laszlo. "He knew too. He knew that Asterion had claimed me, and then he…"
"I'm not sure if he thought he was teaching Asterion a lesson, or if he'd already started feeling the mating urges toward you, or…if he simply knew what you needed, and wasn't afraid of challenging Asterion in order to offer it to you."
"These absurd…" I made a choked sound of struggle as I fought for the word. "Machinations! Marking me, leaving me, dancing around one another and not simplytellingme what-what—Argh!"
My fists were clenched, but my heart was pounding. Below me in the cozy nest of hay, Laszlo folded his arms behind his head, a slightly smug smile on his face in spite of my temper. I glared at him for a moment, but my anger ought to be directed elsewhere, and it softened quickly.
"Thank you. You and Hywel have always been honest with me, and I appreciate that, even if I wasn't always ready."
"Well, in Conall's case, we have an advantage of experience and wisdom. As for Asterion…" Laszlo shrugged. "Bullheaded."
I snorted at that and sighed. "He did tell me, I think, but not in a way where he was actually trying to make meunderstand. And that night…he left."
"Perhaps he thought you would need time," Laszlo suggested.
I opened my mouth to object and then shut it with a snap. I wasn't ready. Over and over again, I'd told Asterion I wasn't ready. I would not be loved, I couldn't return the feelings, I didn't want to be claimed. He'd said it before he left again, he'd told me I was his…
And I'd told him I wanted to be fucked.
And in the days that passed, Conall had all but mated me, Laszlo and I exchanged feathers, and Hywel courted me about as his queen.
"Damn," I whispered, settling back into Laszlo.
He kissed the top of my head. "Don't be hard on yourself, dear one. You had more than enough to occupy your mind. Asterion will wait for you until the end of time."
