A welcome sound came from over my shoulder, and a delicate forearm brushed against me as she set the bucket of tea on the table.
Soft. Oh, so soft.
Would her skin feel like that everywhere?
“I added extra clover honey, as I know you like it so much. Hope that’s okay,” she said in a small, frightened voice, making a move to place the bucket on the tabletop before me.
I bellowed my approval, and she dropped the vessel too soon, sloshing a cupful of the delicious tea on my lap. I noted the fear, stark and vivid, glittering in her eyes.
Foolish bull.
Camillia was still acclimating herself to life amongst minotaurs, and hadn’t grown accustomed to our oversized, noisy ways. “I didn’t mean to startle you, miss. It’s just a sound we make when we’re extraordinarily pleased and, believe me, your food and drink are most enjoyable.”
The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of her mouth before she turned her up-tilted breasts away from me and sashayed her curved hips back towards the kitchen.
A cacophony of curses came from the back kitchen just as my friend Basius Muntrack, a champion crossbowman and defender of the border, came in and sat down beside me. “Snow is falling outside. The weather has taken a sudden chill. Perhaps we’ll have a white Solstice Ball this year.”
His thoughts were interrupted by the second round of oaths coming from the back. “You stole my muffins, you scrounging parasite! All of them?”
“Is that the same delicate honey whose cooking makes angel kisses taste like centaur offal by comparison?”
Seeing the amusement in my friend’s eyes, I laughed. “Indeed. Her cooking is pleasant as can be, but her mouth swears like a sailor.”
Basius and I exchanged light conversation until eventually I told him about my frustration with my mother. “No matter how many times I tell her there is no getting back together with Lady Xelpria, she cannot accept that my engagement is over for good. The experience has turned me off from finding a permanent mate anytime soon. Why can’t she let it rest?”
Basius had a light gray, blue roan hide which was most coveted by lady minotaurs, and settling down wasn’t anywhere on his mind. His mouth quirked with humor. “Allow your mother to say her piece, no harm in that. And avoid your conniving ex to the best of your abilities.”
“Therein lies the quandary,” I said, taking a refreshing sip of the delicious liquid in front of me. “Not only will she not take no for an answer, there will be no avoiding my ex at the Winter Solstice Ball.”
He was sure of himself and his place in the universe, and his authority reassured me. “Perhaps it’s time you showed the both of them you’re ready to move on.” There was a trace of laughter in his voice. “Find another date for the ball and tell your mother you’ve become engaged to someone else, so she’ll finally stop pestering you about settling down.”
I watched a tipsy dwarf weave her way to the bathroom and thought about what Basius said for a moment.
“Such a thing would break my mother’s heart, learning I got engaged without her knowledge.”
My thoughts trailed off while I considered how satisfactory it would be to live unmolested about my single state.
Suddenly Camillia appeared to take Basius’s order, and I became so distracted by her soft curves that for once worries about my mother trying to get me back with my ex fled my mind.
All I could think about was how I wanted to get together with this gorgeous goddess.
Even for just one night.
