Page 6 of The Monster at the End of This Molt

"You need a shower." He nodded. "See you in a few minutes."

"You will wear clothes in my cabin." I tried to keep my voice as firm as I could, but I verged toward the upper registers of begging toward the end.

He opened his mouth to argue, and I stopped him with a shake of my head. "You will. No arguments. If you didn't bring sleep clothes, I'll find some for you."

"I can wear your clothes?" He sounded so hopeful.

I offered before my brain registered what I was saying. "You can wear whatever you want."

I led him into my bedroom and showed him my simple two-drawer dresser. While he looked over my selection, I grabbed the first shirt and pair of shorts on top to wear after my shower.

As I walked past him toward the door, I tried not to look at his gorgeous backside, and I ignored the citrusy scent of his slick.

"Don't forget your compression shorts." He'd brought at least one pair with him, since he'd been wearing them before his shower. According to Tuft, it was downright uncomfortable for an omega to walk around without the magical shorts that held in their slick.

As I showered, I did my best to ignore my aching cock. It didn't help that the entire enclosure smelled like Robin's cum. He'd been quick and quiet, but there was no hiding the delicious scent of his spend. I wanted to lick the wall beneath the shower knob, where the scent was strongest, but I couldn't remember the last time I'd cleaned my shower. I didn't want to waste the next few days fighting off some weird stomach bug when I could spend them with Robin.

I rushed through my ablutions, hopped into my clothes without thinking, let alone checking how I looked in the mirror. Same old me, same old clothes. The only new addition to my life was waiting outside, sitting on the couch in his compression shorts and nothing else. I raised an eyebrow at him, something I'd perfected as a human, but didn't do often as a kobold.

He laughed. "What? You said to wear them."

"And I offered you clothes to sleep in."

"No offense, but I usually sleep like this."

"No offense taken." I'd been the one to push my clothes on him, when any normal host would have given him a full tour of the place. Not much to see here, though. Like the alpha cabins outside the fortress, it only had three rooms. The main room combined the living, dining, and kitchen areas into one open space.

I busied myself with finding a second plate, since most of mine were in the dishwasher, and two cups for the freshly squeezed juice in the fridge. Everything I had here mimicked what I'd grown up with on Earth, except all my appliances ran on sustaining magic instead of a power grid.

I served our food on the coffee table and did my best not to ogle him while we ate. Afterward, I showed him how to work the pull-out while I filled the dishwasher and turned it on. By the time I finished and peeked into the living room, Robin was already asleep and drooling into my decorative pillow.

The domesticity of it all reminded me of sharing an apartment with my college roommate. The only difference was, I hadn't been attracted to my roommate.

How was I supposed to get through the next two years of daily temptation? Somehow, I'd gone from not believing in hell to living there.

ChapterThree

Robin

When I wokethe next morning, the cabin was empty. I knew without searching every room. I felt Weld's presence through our bond, and he was outside. Far, far outside. Damnit. If he'd chosen to run again …

No. He faded, as he did when teleporting or bouncing to another plane, and then he was so close, the bond stole my breath with sweet longing.

Quickly, I dressed in the grubbiest clothes I'd brought with me. I considered magicking myself some clothes, but around Weld, I worried my concentration wouldn't hold. I could imagine myself working along with other kobolds and suddenly not wearing pants. My laugh bordered on deranged. It was one of my recurring nightmares, after all.

My very real khaki cargo pants were tight over my compression shorts, which was the main reason I brought them. That dredged up an older nightmare where my pants split up the back when I bent over. Back in the days when I had a tail, that happened a lot. At least I had my shorts now.

I left my pique polo shirt untucked in case of any emergencies. My footwear spell needed an adjustment to turn my sneakers into work boots. Finally, I was ready to leave the cabin to find my fated mate.

The first person I found was the beta from the day before, Tim.

"You stayed with Weld last night," he said. "I see the resemblance now." He pointed at the green scales on my bare arms. "He never mentioned a mate."

There was nothing but open curiosity in Tim's tone, but the thought of Weld leaving home and living out here for twenty-some years, pretending he didn't have a fated mate … that pissed me off.

"Have you eaten breakfast?" Tim asked. "That's probably where Weld is."

I felt his presence in the direction Tim pointed, toward the long building with the omega guest rooms. "Breakfast sounds wonderful."

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