Titan groaned, stifling a smile. “I don’t know.”
He pressed a kiss to Mathlin’s nape, flooding Mathlin’s stomach with butterflies.
Mathlin squirmed around to really look at him—and found the bandage around Titan’s bicep soaked through with blood.
With a start, Mathlin remembered Titan bracing his weight on that arm, flexing it and using it to touch Mathlin. “Hey!”
Titan winced. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Yes! You made your arm worse,” Mathlin spluttered. “You’re lucky I was trying to heal your other arm first, or I would’ve been so mad at you for wrecking this injury.”
Titan winced harder. “I promise to take better care of it. I just... I wasn’t thinking at all while I was in rut. My priority was making sure my cock was inside you.”
“Fine,” Mathlin grumbled, shivering at those memories. “I can’t say it was a terrible choice. But no more reckless use of your arms.”
“I promise,” Titan murmured, leaning in to nuzzle Mathlin’s shoulder.
Mathlin swallowed hard, reaching over to stop the bleeding.
They were so distracted by the injury, that when Titan finally pulled off the condom, neither of them noticed how it contained much less cum than it should have.
22
STRANGE SYMPTOMS
It didn’t hitMathlin until much later, that he hadslept with his boss.
“Ohgods,” he cried, almost dropping the first aid kit.
Titan came charging through the cabin. He skidded past the bathroom doorway and doubled back, stepping in to look around wildly. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Mathlin stared. Then he laughed awkwardly. “I’m not in danger. I just... realized something.”
Titan’s shoulders lowered slightly. “What did you realize?”
Should Mathlin mention it? Would Titan get angry? The words came tumbling out anyway. “I slept with you!”
The alpha froze, his eyes growing wide. “Yes...?”
“But you’re my boss! I’m not supposed to sleep with my boss, right? Everyone says that’s a bad thing.”
Titan paled. “Did you not want to? Did I force you into something against your will?”
“No! No no.” Mathlin waved his hands hurriedly. “You did nothing wrong! I just... I don’t know what to think of it. People are gonna tell me I did a bad thing, right? The boss/employee romance novels are always all, ‘This goes against HR regulations, you’re gonna be fired.’ Not that, uh, that was a romance or anything. It’s just sex, right?”
Titan watched him carefully. Slowly, he said, “I didn’t share your heat as your boss. I did it as your friend.”
Relief soaked into Mathlin’s chest, followed by an odd, hissing feeling that he didn’t understand. “Oh. My... friend? Not my alpha?”
He didn’t know wherethathad come from, either.
Should he even have said it?
“Fuck,” Mathlin blurted. “Was that the wrong thing to say? Maybe we can pretend the past ten seconds didn’t exist? I’ll wash my mouth with soap, I’ll—”
“No, Math, I...” Titan wet his lips, turning to face him fully. For the first time, hesitation flitted across his face. “I would love for you to be my omega. It’s just—” His voice cracked. “You have to know that I’m not able to provide for you like... like my brothers can, or my other friends. I’m not a lawyer anymore. I’m struggling—I’ve been struggling to get Twin Buns to a place where I can provide for an omega and... and a family. I don’t want to disappoint you.”
Mathlin’s chest hurt. He stepped closer, wrapping his arms tight around Titan’s waist. “I’ll help. I don’t need much, you know. I’ve spent a lot of time sleeping in holes in the ground.”
