“Yeah, because you don’t need to wear them.”
“You will not need clothes when you are with me.”
“Yeah, fuck off. I want clothes. And my toothbrush.”
I grab a bag and stuff a few items inside, making sure to grab the framed picture of my parents and me, then gesture toward the front door. “We need to stop by the gym next. I need to let Zane know what’s happening.”
Rathyn nods and takes the bag from me. It looks so small in his large hand, but he walks out of the apartment with an air of authority, and when we make it to the hired car, he gestures for me to tell the driver where to go.
As we head toward the gym, Rathyn’s tail wraps around my calf, and he leans toward me. He’s so warm that I feel suddenly comforted by the immense change happening in my life. It’s…a lot. Terrifying in some ways, but only because I never saw myself doing any of this.
Even with my desperation to leave the confines of my aunt and uncle’s house, I’ve never really felt free. I had my own place, but I was trapped by circumstance and by being broke. I had no relationships to speak of. No real friendships outside of Zane.
And now I was a monster’s companion. Signed on the dotted line.
“When we arrive home,” Rathyn says, startling me out of my thoughts, “I would like to begin collecting on our contract. We have many orgasms to get through today.”
“Oh, hell no. Fifteen orgasms in a few hours? You’re out of your mind.”
The car swerves slightly, and I blush wildly. Oh my god, I should not say that out loud. It makes me seem like some kind of cum slut. Or blow job slut.
Or shit. Maybe I’m just a slut for monsters.
“No. Not in a few hours. I would like to collect all of them at once.”
“Yeah, no. I may die if you do that.”
He growls deep in his chest. “Dying is not allowed.”
“That wasn’t in the contract. I am human, after all. We’re fragile and die young.”
He looks slightly upset by this, so I huff and then turn my gaze out the window. “Ugh, whatever. We’ll discuss it when we’re back at your place.”
His tail tightens slightly and then loosens when we pull up to The Anvil, and I hop out before he can stop me.
“You can wait here,” I start, but he’s already moving to get out behind me.
Rathyn’s lips curl down as he freezes halfway out the door. “No.”
“Seriously. I need to find my roommate and talk to him in private. I don’t need you looming over me.”
He sits back in the seat, but his tail flicks out toward me and then retracts. “My job is to loom. You are my companion.”
“I know, but I have to have a chat with my friend.Alone. Be right back.”
And then I rush off, slamming the door behind me so he can’t protest anymore. With a little too much oomph, I fling the gym door open and rush inside, my eyes immediately clocking Zane, who is on the treadmill, his skin glistening with sweat, his cheeks red from exertion. He must be really upset because he never runs this fast. He usually prefers a nice, stable trot.
I wave at Quilliyn at the front desk, and he gives me a small smile.
“Your friend is upset,” he says when I’m close enough to hear him.
“Yeah,” I grimace, “I can tell.”
Quilliyn leans a little closer, as if to tell me something, but then his gaze flicks behind me, and I see that Rath is in the doorway. Oh, for fuck’s sake. But there’s no time to tell him off because Zane is slamming down on the emergency stop button and rushing over to me.
He looks absolutely frantic. “What the fuck!” he shouts, stumbling toward me and grabbing on to my arms. “I thought you were dead.”
Rathyn huffs at that. “My companion will not die.”
