17. Skylar

Chapter seventeen

Skylar

“ M onica Merriweather,” I shouted with glee as soon as I saw her fabulous self emerge from a horse-drawn covered coach. She wore stiletto ankle boots and dark sunglasses with a lavish faux-fur overcoat. Her kinky black hair was done up in braids that wove around her scalp like serpents, and her many piercings glinted in the afternoon sun as she flashed me a brilliant smile.

“Skylar Larkspur,” she shouted, matching my exuberance and throwing herself into my arms. We twirled together, wings alight and buzzing with affection, as a few locals stopped to stare at our happy reunion.

“You packed a lot of shit,” I said as I took one handle of the very large trunk the valet had unloaded. With his help, we hauled it onto the luggage trolley, compliments of the Purple Pegasus Motel .

“Just my entire closet and my shoes and my tattoo kit and all my makeup and hair products, and my special pillow and blanket and silk bonnet. You know, the essentials.”

“Are you going to give me a tattoo?” I asked, thrilled at the prospect.

“I’ve got this new ink that only shows up in the dark. Very sexy. I thought you might like to give it a whirl.”

“I’d love to,” I said, hugging her again. “Goddess, I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me too. I’ve missed you so much, Skybear. You look great, by the way. Have you changed up your skincare routine?”

“Not unless you count cum facials,” I said with a wink.

“You fucking slut,” she squealed and jabbed me in the gut. “Oh my Goddess, you don’t even know.”

“Know what?”

“Cedrych has been all over the Daily Scrolls , getting drunk and starting fights in taverns across Emrallt Valley. The rumor is that the queen has checked him into rehab.”

“He’s probably just restricted to his rooms in the palace,” I said, feeling a little bad for him, despite all the trouble he’d caused. “But Cedrych isn’t my problem anymore.”

“And thank the Goddess for that.” Linking her arm with mine, we dragged the trolley behind us as she caught me up on all the Valley gossip during our short walk to my motel room.

I’d taken on a second job of cleaning the other rooms in exchange for free rent. It was easy enough to do, and I rather liked making everything neat and tidy. I hadn’t told Hiero about my side hustle because I didn’t want him to worry I was working too hard, but I was building my savings, just as he’d instructed. I’d thought more than once about his offer to have me move in with him, but I wanted to work on myself for a bit, make sure I could be responsible without my Daddy having to clean up all of my messes.

“What have you done with my friend Skylar?” Monica asked when she saw my living quarters, cleaner than I’d ever kept a room before.

“It’s the new me,” I said, spreading my arms.

“Clearly,” she said and peeled back the duvet cover of the second bed to find a red thong I’d somehow forgotten.

“That’s just my bathing suit,” I said, snatching it from her.

“Great idea, let’s hit up the pool.”

Twenty minutes later, Monica was in her teeny bikini, and I was wearing my thong while we sipped rum drinks by the pool. Clementine, the motel owner, passed by and waved, thanking us for doing our duty to draw in more customers. I laughed gaily and told her to join us, but she said she had too much paperwork to do.

“So, tell me about him,” Monica said, her berry red lips sucking booze from the straw like it was a flower blossom. Her bejeweled sunglasses hid her eyes, but I could imagine they were brimming with curiosity.

“What do you want to know?”

“Don’t be cagey with me, young man. I want to know everything , obviously. ”

I smiled, feeling rather smug. “Well, I told you already he’s a minotaur.”

“Hot, yes.”

“And he owns the bar where I work.”

“And you met him when you were pickpocketing?”

“Yes, and I tried to blow him but he refused because he’s a gentleman.”

“Until you corrupted him, you hussy.”

I laughed and sipped my strawberry daiquiri. My nipples were tingling again, which was strange because Hiero wasn’t even in the vicinity. Just thinking about him must be causing the sensation.

“And now he’s my Daddy,” I said, for that bit of information was news to her.

“Really?” she asked, and I nodded. “So, this is a for-real thing then?”

I shrugged. “I want it to be. He said he wants to breed me and build me a house.”

“He what ?” she squawked, letting her sunglasses drop.

“I don’t know if we could have children, but I kind of like the idea.”

“Skylar Larkspur,” she said, loud enough for anyone to hear. “Are you telling me you left Emrallt Valley and less than a moon cycle later you’ve convinced a hot minotaur Daddy to knock you up? Are you planning to get cozy up here in the mountains? ”

I smiled sheepishly. “Maybe, but it’s probably just the sex talking, right? Men will say anything to get you in bed.” That had been my experience, though I hoped Hiero was the exception.

“Okay, but does he say these things before or after he comes?” she asked as if it was hard science.

I tried to recall the timeline, but our lovemaking was always a haze of mind-blowing pleasure and dizzying orgasms. There was something in the way he touched me though, that was unlike any lover I’d had before. He was careful and almost… reverent. I didn’t know how to describe it to Monica and it felt too personal besides.

“Both?” I answered. “When we’re alone together, he’s very open about his desires. At the bar, he’s a little more reserved, but he has to be. He’s the boss.”

“How big is his dick?” she asked.

“Monica,” I protested.

“Come on, give me a clue.” She held up her arm and tapped her wrist.

“Bigger,” I said, and she moved her finger closer to her elbow but not far enough. “Big enough and that’s all you need to know.”

“Your poor hole. You’d better be doing your exercises to keep it tight.”

I laughed because she wasn’t wrong.

“So,” she prompted, “you obviously feel some kind of way about him? ”

“I really like him.” More than like him, but I couldn’t admit it just yet, even to Monica. “He’s very sweet to me. Stern but kind, and I don’t want to do anything to hurt him or betray his trust.”

“Anything other than flaunting that fine ass in a thong where anyone can see.”

“He’s okay with that. He likes for me to express my sensuality, encourages it even. The words ‘proper’ and ‘appropriate’ haven’t even come up.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Any bitchy future in-laws to deal with?”

“He’s part of the Wolfsbane Clan, mostly cousins and his sister Enid. They’ve all been very nice to me. They have a big family. Hiero wants a lot of kids.”

My fingers drifted absently over my abdomen, where my skin would stretch and swell if we were ever to be successful at conceiving.

“Goddess above, you want to have this bull’s babies.”

I rolled over and buried my face in the crook of my arm, embarrassed by my own desires. She nudged my ribs. “You totally do, you hungry little breeder. He gave you baby fever and now it’s all you can think about.”

“Is not,” I protested, but my fantasies said otherwise. “It’s just, he makes me feel safe. I can finally imagine having a child without coming up with a hundred reasons why not.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s biological. But don’t you have an implant? ”

“Yes. I was thinking about having it removed.” I dared a glance at her, and she smiled wide.

“I think that’s a spectacular idea. Get him to knock you up and that house in the mountains is yours.”

“Not like that, Monica,” I said with a huff. “He’s not a mark or a john. He’s a good man and he deserves someone who can make him happy.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. And I only meant that a baby is a good way to catch a man.”

“Catch one maybe, but not to keep one, especially if he doesn’t want it. I always said I’d only have kids if I was with a loving partner in a loving home. I don’t want to do to some innocent child what my parents did to me.”

She reached out and pet my hair, and it reminded me of so many long nights where we’d huddled together in our drafty, rat-infested apartment and dreamed of something better for us both.

“You’ll be a great father, Skylar, whether you do it alone or with someone else. Now, I think we should drink to you finally getting rid of that no-good, two-timing prince and his bitchy-ass mother. Congrats for coming out here and really taking the bull by the horns.”

I shook my head at her terrible pun.

“Seriously, babe, you hit the bullseye with this one,” she continued. “You’ve proven there’s more than one way to be full of bull. ”

“Monica, enough,” I protested as we both dissolved into giggles.

We drank a little more, then took a break from the sun. I put away Monica’s many belongings while she set up her tattoo kit. When we were both mostly sober, I laid out on my belly on my second bed and Monica sat beside me and worked her magic. I shivered and sweated under the slow burn of her tattoo gun as it passed over my spine and the muscles of my lower back. When she’d finished, we closed the curtains and she angled her mirror so I could see my newest tattoo glowing in the dark: two bullhorns just beneath the base of my wings where Hiero might see them when he bred me from behind. My wings quivered, anticipating the next time my Daddy gave me the “ass-up” order. Would he like it? Was it too much?

“You finally got your tramp stamp,” Monica said, satisfied with her work. “If that doesn’t say, ‘I’m into you,’ I don’t know what does.”

“I love it,” I said, turning this way and that to admire it.

“I bet you do, you little slut. Now, no more stalling. It’s time for me to meet this minotaur with a cock of mythic proportions who has captured your tender heart. Let’s talk outfits…”