Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Cole woke up not because he was cold, but because he was too hot, and Akai’s dick was nestled against his ass. His head rested on one of Akai’s arms while Akai’s other arm was wrapped around his chest, keeping him close like he was a living stuffed toy.
He wouldn’t mind being stuffed full of the dick that was only separated from his ass by the thin fabric of his pajama pants. He gave a test wiggle to see if Akai was awake or close to waking. They could be quiet, and it wasn’t light yet, though it wasn’t dark either. Sunrise couldn’t be far away.
Akai’s hand slid to his hip and held him tight against him. “Be still.” His lips brushed the back of Cole’s neck. “Some of us can hear far better than you.”
Cole could barely hear his words, but he understood and had more questions. Was Akai one of the types who could hear better than humans? “Can you?”
“Yes.”
Were monsters listening to them talk now? It was enough to cool his interest, but now he was awake, he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. “I should get up and get dressed. Breakfast will be on soon.” He kept his voice low but was sure someone was listening.
Akai sighed and rolled onto his back. Cole sat up and stared down at him. It was clear that Akai was reluctant to have breakfast, and if they’d been alone, he’d have asked what his problem was, as it had been his idea to rest there the night.
Was he embarrassed to be with a human?
With him?
Akai smiled at him. His hand trailed up Cole’s arm and then around the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. “You’d best get dressed before breakfast, or someone might think you are on the menu.”
His eyes widened. Did monsters really eat people?
Akai’s grin widened, and claws pressed into Cole’s ass cheek. “The way I like to eat you.”
“Oh.” His cheeks burned. He didn’t want another monster in his life. One was plenty.
“I look forward to distracting you later.” Akai released him.
Cole got up and grabbed his clothes before heading to the house to use the bathroom and dress in more than his pajama pants and T-shirt.
The scent of bacon, sausages, and eggs drifted toward him, and his stomach grumbled.
As much as he wanted to go into the dining room to eat, he needed to ditch his bundled-up pajamas, and he didn’t want to go into the dining room by himself.
Akai was dressed and had already rolled up the bedding and put it in the truck by the time Cole stepped back outside. He tossed his pajamas on the back seat and glanced over at the others still by the fire and figured that if he whispered, they’d be fine. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Akai glanced at the house.
“Liar. If you’ve changed your mind about me coming to solstice, just say so.”
Akai grabbed his hands. “No. I think you will like it. You will like breakfast too. And I want you to enjoy. It is me…I…” He swallowed and leaned down to whisper in his ear. “They all think you are my mate.”
“Why would they think that?” Was it because they were traveling together?
“Because I told them.”
“What?” His voice was too loud, and he sensed the attention of the other monsters.
“It was the only way we could stop here, and I wanted to see how you’d be around other monsters.” Akai didn’t look him in the eyes; his gaze was on the ground. “Please don’t dissuade them of the notion.”
“I won’t.” He smiled. Akai wanted him to play at being his mate, so that is exactly what he’d do.
Akai narrowed his eyes. “You are planning something.”
“Me? No, you are the planner and schemer.” He took a step back
“Cole…”
“Akai…” He kept his voice low. “Speak too loud, and everyone will hear.”
Akai muttered a curse. “Please do not do anything reckless.”
This entire road trip was reckless. He’d taken three weeks off work and may not have a job to return to.
He was taking a monster across several state lines, and now Akai had all the monsters here convinced that they were mates.
“Me? Your mate?” Cole placed his hand over his heart.
“Do you not trust me after everything we have been through?”
“You seem far too gleeful.”
Maybe he was laying it on too thick, but he didn’t care. Akai could be the one feeling awkward. “You don’t want your mate to be happy?”
“Of course I do.” Akai tilted his head as if sizing him up.
He’d played football against bigger guys…well, heavier ones if not taller ones, and Cole was pretty sure he could handle himself if things got physical. But there was only one way he wanted Akai to grab him, and it wasn’t in a tackle.
“Then what is your problem?” Cole lifted his eyebrows, grin in place.
“You have a look in your eyes, and not the one I like to see.”
“And which one is that?”
“The one when we are exploring, and you get excited about nests and rocks.” Akai stepped closer and placed his palm on Cole’s cheek.
“The one when I kiss you.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to Cole’s in a chaste kiss.
“They also think you found me injured and saved me. They cannot learn the truth.”
“I figured that.” He wasn’t a fucking idiot…
unless it involved Akai. Then he was willing to drop everything for more monster dick and a party.
But that wasn’t real life, even if they were pretending it was to make things easier.
It all felt very real. He clasped Akai’s hand. “Let’s get some breakfast, okay, mate?”
“Please stop saying that.”
“I thought you wanted it?”
Akai closed his eyes. “You say it like it’s a joke, and I do not want that.”
“But it’s okay to lie?”
Akai grimaced. “No. You make this very difficult.”
“This whole thing is difficult.” Was that a sign to stop or push harder? Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference. Was it an injury that could be run off, or one that needed treatment and rest? “I don’t want to argue on an empty stomach and without coffee. Can we agree on that?”
Akai nodded. “Can you clarify what we are arguing about?”
Cole shot him a glare. “No.”
“That is very unhelpful. How am I to construct arguments?”
“That right there. You don’t construct arguments, you talk about how you are feeling.”
“Oh.” Akai’s shoulders dropped. “That is definitely better on a full stomach, as it stops your opponent from flying away, so the issue must be resolved.” He glanced at Cole, then at the truck. “Perhaps I should hold onto the keys.”
“Not a chance, but I will not leave you by the side of the road.”
“I didn’t leave you.”
Cole blinked. Akai had left him on the side of the road seven years ago.
“I waited until the ambulance arrived.”
“I didn’t mean that.” It wasn’t that he’d forgotten; it was very hard to forget lying broken on the road. “Do you feel guilty about that?”
Akai shrugged, his wings opening slightly. “I do not know what else I could’ve done. I was too hurt and angry, and you were innocent. Perhaps I shouldn’t have done anything.”
“Then I’d be dead.”
“I meant before that. I should have left the car alone. Revenge didn’t change anything, but it caused me worry that someone might find out and I’ll be in trouble.”
Akai carried guilt about it, even if he didn’t call it that.
Cole gave his hand a tug, leading him toward the house. “While we are standing out here talking, they will be eating all the bacon.”
“They will not eat all the food. There will be more than enough.”
“And how much will we owe?”
Akai shook his head. “I have it covered.”
“How much do I owe you?”
“At least one blowjob, maybe two, and at some point, a fuck in the woods.”
Cole’s eyebrows lifted. “I am not fucking in the woods where monsters might stumble on us.”
“That is half the fun.”
“No. I already feel like a short, hairless freak.”
Akai kissed the top of his head. “Because you are. Although most of the water monsters have no hair, so you will be in good company with them.”
“So not helpful.” Cole forced his lips into a smile and stepped inside, following the scent of bacon and coffee, still leading Akai.
He stepped into the dining room and stopped. Akai ran into him, and the only reason he didn’t fall over was because Akai placed a hand on his shoulder.
One monster in his bed. Fine.
Three monsters under the stars. Mostly fine.
A dozen monsters in one dining room, helping themselves to platters of food. Not Fine.
There wasn’t any air in the room, and if Akai hadn’t been standing behind him, he’d have turned and run and hyperventilated from panic in private. As it was, he felt the panic swell to fill his chest. His pulse drowned out the noise of their voices as they all turned to look at him.
Akai licked the side of his neck, shattering the grip panic had on his body. His claws pricked into his shoulder. “The coffee is to the right if you’d like to grab some.”
Cole blinked, the pain of claws in his skin grounding him. “Yes, coffee.”
There was not enough coffee in the world to prepare him for this.
He was the only human, and they were all looking at them.
Or it felt as though they were. They had all seen humans before; it was humans who hadn’t seen them.
Akai followed him over to the coffee machine, and for a few moments, he had enough of a distraction that he was able to tamp down on the fear. Was it fear or shock?
What had he been expecting?
Could they all smell or hear his panic?
Akai glanced at him as if he expected Cole to bolt and run. “You wanted bacon.”
Yeah, this was on him. “I still do. Fried egg, bacon, and cheese in a bun. Best breakfast.” He was jabbering, and he wasn’t sure he could stop.
“I prefer your honey porridge.” Akai placed his hand on Cole’s lower back, moving him over so he could make coffee.
Cole took a sip, hoping that it would switch on his brain and make him behave normally. What was normal in a room full of monsters?
“How are you two going this morning?” a bigfoot said as he walked over. His hands were the size of dinner plates.
“Great.” Cole smiled and took a drink of coffee so he couldn’t say anything else.
“We are used to sleeping under the stars,” Akai lied smoothly.