Page 58 of Starlight

“Great.” He shook his head. “Why would anyone bother?”

That was a question he couldn’t answer. “Why does anyone bother doing anything hard, Mr. Cabin-Builder?”

Cole smiled. “I built the cabin because I needed something that was mine.”

“So the reason is the same.” Akai shrugged.

Cole stared at him.

“You get access to the monster world, and I get better access to the human world…but only if we prove ourselves.”

Cole groaned. “I can honestly say I am sick and tired of needing to prove myself.”

“You want life handed to you on a silver plate?”

“Yeah, why not? Other people get an easy ride, so why not me?”

“That would be boring, and why would anyone be interested in someone with no story to tell?” Someone who hadn’t lived, only drifted where the air currents took them, never testing their wings.

“You talk like you want a mate, yet tell me you don’t.”

Akai snorted. “You don’t even give me that much.”

Was that a human thing? Or was Cole not interested? It was hard to tell. And just because he wasn’t right now didn’t mean he wouldn’t be ready in a week, or a month, or a year.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

He probably shouldn’t have slept in the same bed as Akai, given the way things were between them. It wasn’t an argument, as then it would’ve been easy to sleep in another room. If he’d decided that he didn’t want the hassle of monsters or the monster world, he could’ve walked away instead of getting into bed with it. He shouldn’t want any of it. It was weird and disruptive and exactly what he needed. But the talk of mates unsettled him as it sounded far more permanent than marriage.

Did monsters even date the way humans did?

He tried to imagine taking Akai to a club or out for dinner and failed. The monster didn’t fit into the human world, and there was no reason to assume he’d fit into the monster world any better.

What would he even do?

Akai pulled him closer and kissed the side of his neck as if the tension from last night had never existed. “Why are you awake so early?”

“Thinking about getting a start on the drive,” he lied. It would be easier to stay in the cabin, hidden away from everyone. Here, nothing else mattered, as they were insulated from what everyone else might say. The moment they left together, everything was up for grabs.

“We do not need to rush. We could drive at night.” His claws traced circles over Cole’s belly, leaving heated trails in their wake.

“I don’t want to be driving at night. Not only that, but you can’t check into motels until the afternoon, and you have to be out in the morning.” Not that Akai would be checking in. He would be.

“We do not have to use human motels. There are other options.”

“Your nests? That you can’t fly up to?”

“That is one option.” His hand moved lower, and for a moment, Cole considered throwing back the blankets and getting out of bed before Akai discovered how much Cole wanted to stay in bed. Yet at the same time, it was nice waking up next to someone, held in their embrace, and being wanted. He wanted to be able to close his eyes, relax, and enjoy, but it was so damn hard when he was worried about everything else. “We’ll figure it out.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because we have to if this is going to work.” Akai rolled and pulled Cole beneath him. “Because there is fun in figuring things out together.”

“Is there?” He was far too aware of Akai’s dick pressing against his thigh, and the way his was sandwiched between them.

“Yes.” Akai kissed him slowly. “If we can’t figure things out together, there is no point in being together.”

“Oh, so making me drive you is a test?”