Page 54 of The Monster at the End of This Courtship

"Promise not to laugh at how ridiculous they are?" I asked. Punky hadn't laughed once during our conversation, but Axel had covered his mouth with the back of his hand a few times.

"I won't, but Lark might when I tell him."

He nodded toward Axel, who didn't restrain himself this time. He laughed and shook Punky's hand.

When Punky offered his alpha's number to him, Axel said, "I already have it."

"Why do you have Lark's number?" I asked once Punky left.

"He gave it to me when we first went to Earth together, when I agreed to babysit for him."

I'd forgotten all about the text Axel had sent Lark to ask if I could come with him. I would have blamed it on the eggs, but I hadn't been pregnant yet. "He came with me to pick out the baby stuff, too."

"They like us!" I couldn't help it. My tears spilled over. I'd tried so hard to be popular on Ignitas, to regain what I'd lost on Earth. I thought I'd blown it completely by making fast enemies with Lark, all because I'd accepted Weld's offer to mate. "Is itdumb to think I've finally made it as a kobold because the cool kids like us?"

Axel laughed. "This is what it means to be an adult. We have real friends, not fake ones for show. They're also our community. There's no popularity contest." He kissed the top of my head and shoved me toward the bedroom, where our eggs waited. "You already won that, hands down, when you started recruiting for the recreation leagues."

I went back to the nest and smeared the gathered slick over our babies. I considered keeping the shorts on, but Axel pulled them off me and slid into the nest behind me, letting the morning sunlight shine on our eggs.

"Sleep. I'll give them the next round."

I thought I was too excited to sleep, with all the answers to my questions buzzing around in my head, but the solid warmth at my back and the happy eggs cradled to my chest lulled me to dreams of adorable football-sized lizard children with pointed ears and long tails.

I woke to the gentle swipe of Axel's fingers over my hole. He was only grabbing slick for the babies, but the sensation made me want more than his fingers. My moan turned into a whine when he instead gave his attention to our hungry eggs.

"Want you," I said.

"Now?"

"Gods, yes. Now. Want your knot. Except maybe not." As much as I wanted it, "I could get pregnant." Most likely, I was already fertile again. Some kobold pairs had children less than a year apart. While Punky had calmed my fears about fatherhood, I wasn't ready to try again so soon.

"Lark told me about a birth control spell." Axel's lips brushed against my nape as he spoke, making me shiver.

"Yeah?"

"He said you could use it, too, spell your channel so nothing goes into the birth canal."

"I'll try anything, if it means you'll give me your knot." Still, I carefully constructed the spell to contain Axel's cum and flush it out with my slick once we were done. More nourishment for the eggs.

"You all are about to get a show," Axel said to the eggs.

"No." I shook my head. "That is not allowed. No speaking to the eggs while we're fucking."

He chuckled. "As you wish. No more talking, after this." He licked the back of my neck and let out a long exhale, making the tiny hairs at my nape stand on end. "I love you."

"What?" I tried to turn, but he held me in place. "No talking, after you drop that?"

"I wanted to say it now, so you know it's real. I love you, Tuft. You and our babies. I wanted you to know."

"And I love you!" I shouted it because he'd told me I couldn't talk.

"Did you hear that, eggies? Tuft loves me, too." A spell shimmered over them. "Now they can't hear anything else, and they can't see out of their eggs. Happy?"

"So happy."

He nipped at my nape, and my toes curled. "It's true, you know. I love you."

"I love you, too." My last word was more of a moan as he slid inside me with one thrust. His magic met mine and warmth pooled around him inside me, threatening to push me over the edge before we'd even begun. "Oh, gods, yes, I love you."

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