Page 11 of The Monster at the End of This Molt

I caressed his face from his jaw to his forehead and smoothed his hair back behind a pointy ear. "I care. I'm taking the day off to spend it with you."

He blinked up at me. "You work Saturdays?"

"I'll work every day until I get that fucking tractor up and running."

He sighed. "The tractor's more important than I am."

The Earth machine was the only obstacle between me and a lifetime with Robin. I didn't expect him to understand, especially since I hadn't explained it to him, but I'd hoped he would see how important it was to me.

"Not today." I gently wiped a stray tear from his cheek. "Today, we're flying to see the ocean."

He scoffed. "I've seen plenty of oceans back on Earth."

"Earth's oceans are nothing like this." I hoped. Ignitas's oceans were deeper than Earth's, making them a much deeper blue right off shore, fading to black the further from land we flew. "I'll show you." I hoisted him until he sat beside me with his body angled away.

He leaned backward against my shoulder. "Did you take Lemon to see the ocean?"

I laughed. "No." The thought of letting the sour-faced omega near my dragonet was absurd. "Kermit doesn't like other kobolds."

When Mac had said the little dragonet would probably end up dragon food if he didn't bond with someone, I'd felt bad for him. Why Kermit had chosen me, I never knew. Maybe it was our similar coloring. The dragonet was a bright green, like my hair. I'd been instantly drawn to him.

We didn't have the same level of bond as most kobolds and dragonets, thanks to my lack of magic, but he was fiercely loyal to me. Once we bonded, he wouldn't let any other kobold ride him, not even Mac.

When I introduced them, Kermit surprised me by butting his head against Robin's chest and begging for pets. Robin laughed and stroked along the raised auditory ridges, making Kermit purr.

"What have you done to my dragonet?" I patted Kermit's flank, and he turned to hiss at me.

"Nothing. I mean, I might have a little jerky left in my pocket from the last time I rode a dragonet."

I was the worst host. I hadn't even asked Robin how he'd gotten here. "Do you have your own?"

"No. I borrowed one from Mac." He held the jerky between his thumb and forefinger, and Kermit daintily grasped it between his teeth. Then, he swung his neck up to his full height and nudged his chin back, swallowing the treat whole.

I used the distraction and a burst of magic to call his saddle and harness from the barn. It was a spell Mac used all day long to prepare his dragonets for flight, but it took most of my magic stores. I had no magic left for an inter-dimensional space, but that didn't seem to matter with Kermit. With the same care he'd used to take the treat from Robin, he lifted our basket and angled his neck until he could place it … somewhere. It looked like his neck passed directly through his chest without leaving a mark on him.

"You're a clever dragonet, aren't you?" Robin cooed, giving Kermit more head pats.

"Kermit also loves the ocean." If I didn't remind him, he would beg for pets all day. At the promise of all the fish he could eat, he pranced and nudged Robin toward his flank and the saddle.

Tim made two-seat saddles for dragonets, but I didn't own one. I'd never needed one before. Instead, I scooted all the way to the back lip of the single seat, resting my butt against the hard leather ridge. I motioned for Robin to sit in front of me. He stood in the saddle a moment too long, giving me the perfect image of his round ass in my face. The thick smell of his slick wafted toward me on the morning breeze. By the time his ass finally landed on the seat, my cock was hard as iron and trapped between our bodies. Robin wiggled in the seat, and jolts of pleasure shot up my spine.

I was the one causing our delay this time. With a tug on the neck harness, Kermit launched into the air.

Soon, the cliff dropped out from beneath us and the red sand faded into dark water. I loosened my grip so Kermit could fish to his heart's content, splashing us with seawater and making Robin laugh, even as he dug his claws into my thighs. During one adventurous dive, I wrapped my arms around him. I didn't let go, even when the giant swordfish in Kermit's mouth splashed us both in the face.

Robin placed his arms over mine, hugging them to his chest. In that moment, everything in the world was right.

ChapterFive

Robin

At first,I'd been terrified of the ocean. It looked so deep, and with the way Kermit kept diving into it with his long neck or dipping his legs in to snatch fish right out of the water, I conjured a new waking nightmare where I fell head-first into the depths. Then Weld wrapped his arms around me, and I felt safer than ever before.

My life hadn't been one of strife or terror, by any means, but I'd always felt a little uneasy around my family and friends. It felt like a piece of me was missing.

Weld was it, my missing piece. And even though I knew his cock would fit perfectly inside me and his knot would bring me intense pleasure unlike anything I'd ever known, this feeling of safety and acceptance came from a higher place in my chest where our bond lived, not from my desire to mate.

Obviously, I wanted the sex, the mark, and the mating, too. For now, I enjoyed spending time with my mate. I soaked in every experience he showed me of the lovely place he'd chosen for his hideaway.

---