3. Olivia

CHAPTER 3

OLIVIA

O h god, oh god, oh god.

This isn't happening. This can't be happening. I squeeze my eyes shut, counting to ten. When I open them, he'll be gone. The room will be normal. I'll wake up drooling on some dusty tome in the library basement.

One... two... three...

I peek.

Nope. Still here. And still a freaking minotaur.

"You okay there, sweetheart?" His voice is deep, rumbling, and far too amused for my liking. "You look a little... overwhelmed."

I snort. Understatement of the century.

Holy fucking cannolis, it speaks. He speaks. And he's so ... muscular. Language Liv! And uh, not the time for your dark fantasies!

"Overwhelmed?" I am half surprised at this point that I can speak. This almost feels like it could be real. "No, no, I'm fine. Totally fine. Just chatting with a bull-headed Adonis among a few dozen piles of beer crates. Perfectly normal Friday night. "

He chuckles, and I hate how the sound sends a shiver down my spine. "Adonis? Really?"

The beast somehow manages to crack a charming smile.

Why am I feeling tingles all through my body?

"How are you speaking?"

I am vaguely aware I am challenging my hallucination.

I wish I could make myself faint.

"With my mouth?" He says, looking at me for all the world as if I am the anomaly in this situation.

"Breathe Liv..." I squeak, backing away. On top of a crate to my right I spot a sort of heavy earthenware stein.

Maybe?

In desperation I pick it up firmly in both hands.

This has to work!

"I'm not thirsty anymore!" I say in my most assertive tone, which admittedly is not super impressive. Nothing happens. "Knowledge is totally overrated." I notice a look somewhere between wonder, amusement, and confusion on my minotaur friend's face. "Ignorance is bliss! Take me back!" Nothing.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart.

Okay, Liv. Think. There has to be a rational explanation for all this. Maybe I've been drugged?

No, I didn't even drink anything.

A psychotic break makes much more sense.

If I can even use the word ‘sense' in this situation at all.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. This is insane.

Or am I'm insane?

I have to get out of here. But if it's a psychotic break, is it even real?

I am tired of thinking.

The minotaur – Kalen, he said his name was – takes a step towards me, his hands raised in a placating gesture.

His horns are impressive though .

What does that even mean? Clearly, I have lost it, but that isn't stopping the way even his voice seems to be sending tingles shooting through my body.

"Look, you must be from the outside, I mean obviously. This must be a lot to take in, but I promise I'm not going to hurt you."

What the hell is he talking about? The outside? Outside where ?

That's it, it's now or never I decide.

You're going to try and escape a hallucination?

Shush you!

Without thinking any more, I make a break for it, darting past him towards the stairs. For a big guy, he's surprisingly quick. His hand catches my arm, and I feel a jolt of electricity at his touch.

Oh my god. What the hell was that?

My blouse tears as I wrench away, leaving me feeling exposed in more ways than one.

Wonderful.

I stumble up the steps, heart pounding. Maybe if I can just get outside, everything will make sense again. But as I reach the top, I peer out the crack in the door and I freeze. The room beyond is filled with... creatures. Beasts of every description.

Monsters.

Oh, for fuck's sake.

Things that shouldn't exist outside of fairytales and nightmares.

A scaly, reptilian bartender is mixing drinks. A group of what look like honest-to-god fairies are huddled around a table. Is that an ogre in the corner? And what the hell is Chewbacca doing here?

Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god.

Out of the frying pan into the fire.

Why is this happening to me? I've always tried to be a good girl .. .

Crazy thoughts fly through my head as I spin back around. I mean to retreat but instead I crash straight into a wall of muscle.

His muscle. Kalen.

His arms wrap around me immediately, steadying me, and suddenly I can't breathe for an entirely different reason.

His is powerful beyond measure, and yet his touch is so gentle ...

Our eyes lock, and it's like the world stops spinning. I've never felt anything like this before. It's terrifying and exhilarating all at once. Every nerve in my body seems to come alive, hyper-aware of everywhere we're touching. It's like being struck by lightning. His smoky, spicy scent fills my nostrils. Warmth radiates off him. I feel a connection so profound it scares me. And the tingles. Oh god my lady parts are practically on fire.

In a good way. A very good way.

What is happening to me?

"Easy there, sweetheart," he murmurs, his breath warm against my ear. "You okay?"

No. No, I am not okay. I am the furthest thing from okay. I'm in some kind of monster bar, pressed up against a minotaur who makes me feel things ... very naughty things ... that I can't seem to get enough of.

All I manage is a weak nod.

Kalen's eyes drift down, taking in my torn blouse. A mischievous grin spreads across his face. "This might work out perfectly. If anyone asks, you're the new exotic dancer."

I gasp, indignation momentarily overriding my panic.

And something more. That is one thing I have never been mistaken for. And I would never ... or would I?

"Excuse me? I'll have you know I'm a highly educated historian!"

He chuckles, the sound rumbling through his chest. "Even better. Nothing sexier than a smart woman. "

I feel my face flame. Is he... flirting with me? Did he call me sexy? No, impossible. And yet ... the way he's looking at me ...

"I don't understand," I whisper, more to myself than him. "How is any of this real?"

His expression softens. "I don't know if it helps, but I am as shocked as you are, okay? Your kind are not meant to be here. At least they haven't been until very recently ... But you're safe with me, I promise."

I barely register his words, too distracted by the warmth of his hands on my waist.

Oh my god, the minotaur has me in his grasp.

But it is not bad. Quite the opposite.

His touch is sending shockwaves of pleasure straight through me. And the way he speaks, the gentleness in his tone. I do feel safe. Crazily, unexplainably ... ridiculously safe.

"Listen," Kalen says, his voice low and urgent.

I also can't believe I am talking to a bull-headed beast.

A very hot bull-headed beast.

"The village just got over another human's appearance ... or is sort of in the middle of it. I don't know ... but she's not dead, so I guess you're not in danger. I don't think ..."

"You don't think! And she isn't dead? What does that mean? Is that supposed to be a bonus!"

"Well, see Thokk put her on a leash right away, and I think that was key to her getting off on the right foot. You know, like it set the proper tone ..."

"The proper tone! Absolutely not!"

These are monsters! Barbarian monsters!

"Okay, okay, relax. Look, point is I can't have a human show up on opening night. It would cause an uproar. And could be dangerous. The town is still reeling ... it's a long story ..."

As he guides me back down the stairs, my mind is reeling, trying to make sense of everything. But in truth, almost inexplicably, all I can focus on is the gentle pressure of his hand on my lower back, and the way it makes my skin tingle.

What is wrong with me? I've suspected I might be a bit repressed, but not like crazily desperate or anything. But here I am, in the middle of some kind of fantastical crisis, and all I can think about is how flipping hot this bull-man is?

A Bull-man.

I repeat the phrase in my head.

This is bonkers.

"You don't have a maze, right?"

"What?"

"And I'll have you know I'm not a virgin," I blurt out.

Kalen blinks. His surprise seems genuine. "Uh, good to know? Look, we really need to—"

So, it seems the appetite for virgins and the maze are just stories of mythology.

At least he is not the minotaur. That would definitely be bad.

Okay, so he's probably not going to eat you.

See, things are looking up already.

But as we reach the bottom of the stairs, I can't help but steal another glance at him. Our eyes meet, and I feel that spark again. More than a spark. That connection. I feel like he can see right into my soul.

Among other places.

I just can't explain it. Why do I just feel like he knows me? Like he sees right through all my carefully constructed walls, right to the woman I've always been too afraid to be?

Because this time you have had an honest to goodness nervous breakdown.

I have kind of always wondered what it would be like.

Apparently, it involves having encounters with uber-hot bull-headed men bound in muscles .

Who knew.

Vaguely I think, that had I known, I would have arranged for a breakdown a long time ago.