Page 24 of The Monster at the End of This Courtship

"What did he do that was more important than your hatchlings?" Axel frowned. "I don't know much about this kobold business, but Merritt wouldn't stop harping about how important it was to help our omegas through the egg-laying process." He cleared his throat and lowered his voice to sound more like his teacher. "From laying to hatching is your most important job as an alpha. Keep your omega healthy and happy."

"I was stubborn," I said. "I thought I could do it myself." I tried to smile before taking a bite of steak dipped in sauce.

"This is beyond first date conversation," Axel said, "but I need you to promise me. Whatever happens, we're in this together."

I glanced up from my plate, where I'd been rolling my fork to load it up with noodles. "I can't promise that yet." I kept talking to dissuade the hurt look on his face. "I want to, believe me."

"But?"

"I don't know you well enough." I had trust issues long before I met Weld. I also didn't want to screw this up, so I tried for damage control. "I mean, you're an alpha, and you're my mate, so you smell nice, and you're gorgeous."

He preened more with each descriptor, but he still looked upset with me as I scooped up more noodles and shoved them in my mouth.

"I'm sorry," I said after I swallowed them down without choking. "I really like you, and I don't want to screw this up."

He nodded thoughtfully as he speared an asparagus stem with his fork. We ate in silence, both of us focused on our delicious meals. His moan when he first tasted a carrot sautéed in honey made me blush. I blushed even harder when he fed one to me. Carrots weren't my favorite things, but this one tasted better than any I'd eaten before, on Earth or Ignitas.

After dinner, he led me to his couch in front of a laptop. It was a model from Earth with an adapter so it could run on magic. "You asked what I did for fun," he said. "I didn't do much back on Earth, to tell you the truth, but this computer is loaded with movies I never had a chance to watch. I was wondering if you wanted to watch one with me tonight."

"I would love that," I said. "Except …"

He cocked his chin and glared at me with a stern alpha look. Ooh. I liked that a little too much.

"I talk to the screen. A lot. It's worse if I've seen the movie. My college friends hated watching movies with me."

Axel leaned in and his alpha scent filled my nostrils, taking away some of my fear. This was my alpha. He wouldn't reject me over something as ridiculous as shouting, "Bye, bitch!" to Hans Gruber as he fell to his death, right?

"My friends had the same complaints about me." Axel laughed. "Sounds like we have something in common."

"What if that only makes us hate each other?" It wouldn't bother me if Axel talked all the way through movie after movie, but I was afraid I would grate on his last nerve. "I treat every movie like a showing ofRocky Horror Picture Show, if you know what I mean."

"Let's start there, then," he said. "I've never seen it."

That's how we ended up doing the time warp until eleven on a school night. I printed out the list of props, sayings, and actions for RHPS virgins while Axel made the popcorn, and then we began.

I'd never had so much fun watching a movie in my life, and that was saying something. I'd been to packed theater showings of RHPS on Earth, but nothing compared to Axel's unabashed joy as he followed along with my notes and laughed when he got lost. He laughed in all the right places, screamed at the characters on cue, and if we both shed a few tears for Frank-N-Furter, who could blame us?

Axel was still wiping his eyes while the credits rolled, so I cleaned up our mess of popcorn. Half was on the floor after we'd thrown it at the screen.

Axel came up behind me and nuzzled my neck as I rinsed our dishes. "The next movie we watch won't be so messy."

"Wow," I breathed, half because of the revelation and half because he was really turning me on. "You want to watch another movie with me?"

"Yes." He nibbled down the soft flesh just inside the scales at my neck, and I stretched to give him better access, arching my back and grabbing his hips to grind against him. His hard cock slotted against the seam of my pants, and I jerked away from him, almost racking my balls against a cupboard handle. I wanted to go slow, dammit. Still, I'd done that to him. I was happy to know I turned him on that much.

I spun in his arms and rested my hands on his shoulders, enjoying his body heat as it seeped into me. I met his gaze and leaned in, inhaling his alpha essence and waiting for a sign of consent. My breath hitched.

I considered asking if I could kiss him. I thought he was into me, but he hadn't made a move.

Then, he leaned forward and met me halfway with a gentle brush of lips. That was all the invitation I needed. I slid my hands into his hair and gripped the back of his head to hold him in place. He surprised me by sweeping his tongue across my bottom lip, and then he was kissing me for real.

My alpha knew how to kiss. My knees wobbled, and I leaned into him more with each touch of his tongue as it slid against mine.

He cradled my ass and picked me up like I weighed nothing. He moved so fast, my head spun a little when we dropped to the couch. I straddled his legs, and time slipped away from us. The next time I looked up, it was midnight.

"I should go home," I whispered.

I wanted him to ask me to stay, but I also wanted to give him the option to breathe. We needed to take things slow, and fucking after our first date was even faster than Weld and I had moved.

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