Page 61 of Moody as a Minotaur

He bit his bottom lip and nodded. “Okay. Thanks, Levi.”

I nodded sharply. I wanted to tell him to quit fussing with the blankets and come sleep with me in my bed. Iwanted to tear off his shirt and see if I was right about his chest hair. I wanted to…

“Uh. Okay.”

“Thanks for this, Levi.”

Ugh. He kept saying my name. It made me want to hear him pant it or scream it or…

I hurried toward my bedroom area and shoved my clothes into the hamper. Then I spun around because I realized I wasn’t a very good host. No surprise there. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had stayed in my inner sanctuary.

What might he need? What did people usually complain about at the motel?

“Do you think you need more blankets? Is that pillow okay? Do you want a softer one? A firmer one? Thinner? Thicker? Oh. Do you want a glass of water?”

“Everything is good.” Parker smiled at me and waved away my concerns. Then he crawled under the covers. He wiggled around a little to get comfortable, then he sighed. Was that a contented sigh? Or a discontented one? I didn’t know.

And why was I still staring at him on the sofa?

I climbed into bed and dove under my own covers. I turned out the other lights with a flick of the switch beside my headboard. The wedge of light from the bathroom sliced across the dark room, but that wasn’t what kept me awake.

Nope. It was Parker.

He wasn’t overly loud; he wasn’t snoring, nor was he talking in his sleep. But I could hear him breathing and the faint rustle of his blankets when he changedpositions. And knowing he was there, a few feet away, was the best kind of temptation. Or was it the worst?

But he wasn’t staying with me because he was actually my boyfriend. We were pretending, no matter how he’d responded to that kiss. Fuck. I never should have done that.

He was here tonight for protection against the hunters. And I would protect him. With everything I had. Even my life.

“Hey, Levi? You still awake?” Parker asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’m truly sorry I laughed earlier. I wasn’t laughing at you. I just… It was a lot to take in all at once, and my mind kind of went into overdrive creating what-if scenarios.”

“It’s fine.”

“No really,” he said. “You’re, uh, very impressive as a minotaur. I’ve never seen one before, not in real life… Well, I guess you knew that, because like obviously I hadn’t. But still, yeah. Impressive.”

I snorted, even as my cheeks heated, and a warm sensation fluttered through me.

“Anyway, I wanted to make sure you knew that. Because ever since everything happened this afternoon, I keep feeling like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. But I’m not scared. Not of this whole magic thing, and definitely not of you. I’m not with those hunters and I’m not going to let them hurt you. Okay?”

My fingers tightened in bed linens. I didn’t know what he expected me to say. I could tell him that he was still in shock and that he shouldn’t make promises like that untilhe understood what he was saying. I opted for the easy response instead. “Okay.”

“Good night, Levi,” he whispered.

“Good night, Parker.”

I released a shaky breath, then I closed my eyes and prayed to the Eternal Magic for sleep. Because the only way I was going to get any rest was through magical intervention.

22

SNORING, HOME INVASIONS, AND OTHER CATASTROPHES

LEVI

Parker snored. It wasn’t a great snuffling kind of snore, nor was it like a duck horn, but the soft whistle-like sound was enough to break up the rhythmic hush of his breathing. He hadn’t slept much the night before, so I suspected that was the reason for his unintentional serenade. Or would he do this every night?