Page 81 of Monster. Me.

I jump up, and inside hops my… beloved auburn furball.

"Wait," I say. "Don’t change yet, I like these little cuddle sessions."

I settle Marlow on my chest and start enthusiastically petting and messing up his thick, silky fur.

Marlow turns on his wonderful purring motor, the sound I absolutely love. It has deep, vibrating low tones that give me a lot of pleasure and relax me so much.

And on top of that, the kneading with his paws, absolutely adorable!

From time to time, I kiss his fluffy head and scratch him behind the ears and under the chin, and he lets me do it with his eyes half-closed in pleasure. What an adorable shifter; I can’t get over it.

Finally, after a long relaxing session, I get my fill of this nice moment and let Marlow transform into his human form.

He does it while still sitting on my chest, which, I have to admit… is very nice, especially since he’s naked.

First we exchange a few hot kisses, because of course we do.

And yet I can sense a slight tension in him.

It’s interesting how well I can read him. I can tell pretty easily that he’s somewhat upset; it’s almost seeping into my nervous system.

"Is everything okay, Marlow? Is what happened yesterday bothering you?"

"Absolutely not," he replies. "Something bad took place between Rupert and me. He did—"

Marlow presses his lips together and turns his head away, looking to the side.

"Something shitty, and then I beat the shit out of him. Pretty badly too, since he ended up in the hospital. I had to see Doctor Lomax and explain—"

"What did Rupert do?" I insist, because I can feel Marlow is making it sound a little less serious than I sense it was, but he shakes his head firmly.

"I don’t want to waste another second on that asshole. Let him deal with his Caspian and Juan. We’ll just coexist in this room like roommates. He was only here for the money from the beginning of this program anyway, so… fuck him."

"Okay, but—"

Marlow is already glancing toward my laptop and says, "Can I use it for a moment?"

"You won’t find any porn on it," I say with a smile and wink at him. "I can just play it in my head if I need to, for jerking off."

He snorts. "That’s not what I’m looking for. I want to check the website of a certain company that operates around here."

A little surprised, I nod. "Sure, but on one condition: while you’re looking for it, you’ll stay naked the whole time…"

Marlow lets out an amused little puff of laughter and actually gets up and walks over to the laptop naked, giving me the chance to look at his amazing, graceful figure and his perfectly shaped hips. His ass catches my attention, and when he sits down, I catch a brief glimpse of his pretty hole.

He opens the website of Santoro Timber and Constructions.

He taps the screen and says, "I met two guys from this company. I have their business cards. One is an older beta, Renato, and the other is a quiet alpha, his nephew Mauro. They seemed fine, and I don’t think they would have a problem with people who aren’t exactly ordinary…" he adds with emphasis. "Both of them are… something unusual. Hard to explain, but magical ABOs. They told me they’re looking for people to work at their sawmill and on construction sites. Carpenters. They build wooden houses; there are lots of vacation cabins around here, and they also do projects for private clients. They have a building supply store too…"

I just sit there gawking at him, unsure where he's going with this. Marlow's cheeks are lightly flushed, and he keeps tapping a finger against the desk in a slightly nervous way, like he's a little embarrassed, but about what? Then, all of a sudden, he lets out a breath.

"You know, if in two months you decide this area isn’t completely out of the question for you, maybe you could find work here?"

For a few more seconds, I stay silent, completely stunned, before I fully realize what is hidden behind his words.

Really? It’s hard to believe.

Is he… is he saying this because he wants me to…?