Avet, Danica - Ain't No Bull [The Veil 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Danica Avet Page A

by kicking Lisa’s ass.
    Before he’d let them talk to her though, he’d have to stake a claim. Eyeing the satiny soft skin beneath her ear, he longed to take a bite even though he’d told her minotaurs didn’t bite. It had been a truth at the time, but after watching her fight, after smelling her rosy musk, he was tempted to do as his wolf, cat, and bear cousins did and leave his mark on her.
    Hell, his mouth was watering at the idea.
    Someone bumped into him. “Move out of the way, lad, we want to meet the Amazon,” a Scottish-accented voice said from behind him.
    Grant leaned his forehead on the top of Isola’s head, wishing the rest of the shifters would go away so he could woo his female. But the persistent tapping him on his shoulder told him they wouldn’t leave her alone until matters were settled.
    He knew who the shifter was. The male worked for Grant once in a while when he needed extra muscle on the job, but right now, Nelson Anders was a male trying to horn in on Grant’s territory.
    Pressing a soft, butterfly kiss to the crown of Isola’s head, Grant took a deep breath. And shifted into his minotaur form, a roar of possessive rage escaping him as he whirled to face the threat to his female.

Chapter Twelve

    Izzy sipped yet another drink with outward calm. She wasn’t going to look behind her to see Grant tearing the bar apart. No she wasn’t. Because if she did, she’d forget all about that “m” word his mother had tossed around and grab that big bull by the horns. The wet heat between her legs was ready for him, for everything he could give her, but her head wouldn’t let her give in. Ever.
    The scars on her back throbbed with each beat of her heart, a harsh reminder of what happened when you got close to a shifter with a protective family. She didn’t need to relearn the lesson with a horn in her ass. Grant was off-limits. Which is probably why I want him so much, she thought with a snort.
    She frowned at her drink. “Duffy, I don’ shink thish drink is working,” she slurred at the demon.
    He grunted at her. “Why?”
    “’Cause I can still shink straight.”
    Ricky, who’d stayed behind while Grant fought, laughed loudly. “I think that’s your problem, missy,” he shouted over the roars and snarls filling the bar. “You don’t think at all. What did you imagine these shifters would do when you walked in with that petting zoo line?”
    Izzy shrugged. “It was better to have them pished off and not thinking than rational and able to smell how closh I was to wetting my pants.” She finished the broken drink.
    “So you were scared?” Duffy grunted as he plunked another Atomic Bomb in front of her.
    “Shit yeah,” she slurred, swigging back some of the fresh drink. “Ahh, this is the besh drink, Puffy.”
    “It’s Duffy, lady.”
    “Dash what I shaid. Puffy. Any-hoo, I might have shelf-control issues, but I’m not shtupid. Shtupid.” She frowned. “Dash a funny word. Shtupid.”
    The sounds behind her were dying down, but she still refused to look.
    “Why won’t you look?” Ricky asked her curiously.
    Izzy blinked up at him, really seeing him for the first time. “Yer hawt, Ricky!” she exclaimed loudly, nearly falling from her stool in stunned amazement. “Yer a hawt honey bear.” She laughed at herself.
    He rolled his eyes, though the tips of his ears turned red. “Why won’t you look behind you?”
    “How did you know I won’t look?” she demanded. The last she’d heard, bears couldn’t read minds.
    “Bears can’t read minds, Isola.”
    She gasped in shock.
    Ricky sighed. “You said it out loud,” he told her patiently.
    “Oh.” She relaxed on her stool again, her ears attuned to the noisy fighting behind her. She hoped Grant wasn’t getting hurt. She really wasn’t sure she could fight after two of Duffy’s drinks in her.
    “Isola?” Ricky prompted, nudging her with his hip.
    She swayed on her stool and frowned at him. “Huh?”
    He gave a