the emotions he’d been pushing down all night. “He is, but… we’re so different. I’m not sure it will work out.”
Saying the words—even so softly he could barely hear himself—was like a knife to his gut. Was that the magic of the mating, or was that just Marcus being so sweet and beautiful and generous that Robson hadn’t stood a chance? Either way… it scared him how deep he was already in it with him.
“Different is good,” she said, squeezing his wrist.
He stared at her slender fingers, remembering the way Marcus had done the same thing at the rec center, holding Robson’s hand and squeezing it to offer comfort. He’d done it so effortlessly, making it easy for Robson to respond in kind.
“What if we can’t get past our differences though?” he whispered harshly, swiping at his tired eyes and pretending there wasn’t dampness on his fingers afterward.
“Have you even tried, mi sol?”
No. No, I haven’t. I ran away. Marcus had sent Robson a text during his shift, but Robson hadn’t responded, not sure what to say to his gentle Are you alright?
When he didn’t answer, she gave him a knowing look and stood. “If he’s special, then he is worth trying for, hm?”
She brushed a hand through his hair on her way out, leaving him alone with his spiraling thoughts and with a decision to make.
The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Marcus, but after everything else he’d learned and had to wrap his head around, he’d for some reason been completely blindsided by the idea of Marcus wanting to bite and… knot him.
During his lunch break, Robson had done some googling to make sure that meant what he thought it did and had been disturbed by some of the websites he’d happened upon. But Marcus didn’t disturb him. And when he really sat there and thought about it, about Marcus sinking inside Robson’s body and then having his cock expand and fill Robson as full as he could get…
Shivering, he shot to his feet. He trudged up the steps to his bedroom, mind going in circles. Basically any thoughts of him and Marcus having sex would turn him on, but did that mean he wouldn’t freak out in the middle of them actually having sex?
Fuck, what if his body couldn’t take it? He stopped at the end of his bed, shirt unbuttoned and half hanging off his body. What if his body physically couldn’t take it? No one at the class had said anything about whether shifters were specially equipped to take their partners’ magic dicks, but what if they were and it was just a given?
Grumbling to himself, he finished stripping and then climbed into bed with his phone in hand. He’d seen a website with specialty dildos when he’d been researching earlier, and he’d been tempted to express order one so he could try one of the knotting ones out on himself. That way he’d know before he and Marcus got that far whether he’d like it or not.
But the idea of using a toy like that, to test himself out before having sex with Marcus, left him feeling cold and completely unaroused.
No, he was going right to the source.
Robson: Are you at the manor yet?
He’d thought he might have to wait a little while for a response. Even if Marcus saw the message right away, Robson wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d ignored him for a while after Robson hadn’t responded to him all night.
But he should have known his sweet Marcus wasn’t like that.
Marcus: I was just about to leave. Everything okay?
He couldn’t help but smile as he typed.
Robson: Everything’s fine. I just wanted to talk to you, maybe ask some questions about yesterday. Do you have time?
Jolting at the sudden ringing, he swiped to answer his phone. “Hey.”
“I always have time for you, Robson,” Marcus said, his voice a little hesitant.
Grinning, Robson settled into his pillow more, tucking his free hand behind his head. “I don’t want to make you late. Are you sure?”
He could almost hear Marcus frown through the phone. “Of course. I don’t have any scheduled meetings this morning. My work can wait until I arrive.”
Something about that struck Robson as odd. “Don’t you have to be there by a certain time? Punch in?”
“Punch… in?”
Biting his lip, Robson was reminded of their conversation at the rec center about money laundering. “Have you ever had a real job, Marcus?”
There was silence for a few moments. “I assume you mean