23. Art

Art

I kind of get it. When Dean is sitting in his parents' crowded living room, our families crammed into the tiny space, his face alight with happiness, the magic of Christmas makes sense to me. It still isn't my holiday, and I'd never celebrate it without him, but it's nice when Dean is around.

After all the cookies have been eaten, and it's time to go back home, Dean and I cuddle on his couch. The silence and the warmth of his body feel good after such a busy day. He rubs his hand along my back and kisses the top of my head. I feel loved. It's such an intense sensation, I don't know what to do with all the emotion in my chest.

"I would like to fuck you with my tentacles, Dean Miller."

He laughs. "Would you, now?"

"Yes. Forcefully."

He wraps his arms around me and squeezes me tight. "Good. I want that too. Should we go to your apartment to do it in the tub or stay here?"

I have to think about that for a minute. Underwater sex is inherently better, but I'm feeling too lazy to go to my apartment. "Here."

He considers me for a moment. "How would you feel about humoring a silly fantasy of mine?"

"What kind of fantasy?"

He shrugs. "I've always wanted to have sex in front of the Christmas tree. It seems cozy."

"The things I want to do to you right now are not cozy," I warn him.

He laughs again. "Okay. But could we still do it in front of the Christmas tree? I'll lay out a blanket."

I nod. "If you would like to have sex in front of a houseplant, then I can agree to that. It certainly isn't any stranger than the things I've asked to do with you."

He holds back a smile. That facial expression is familiar to me now. He does it when I amuse him, but he doesn't want to show it. There's a warmth to the way he schools his features, as if he finds the whole process endearing.

People have teased me and even tried to fire me because of how awkward I am, but Dean seems to enjoy it. That makes me feel safe with him.

"Please get on your hands and knees with your pants off," I say.

Heat burns in his eyes. "Okay. I can do that."

He lays down a blanket in front of the tree, just like he promised. Then he stares into my eyes as he takes off his clothing, piece by piece. He takes off his sweater and socks too, until he's standing completely naked in front of the tree. Only the twinkling lights strung around its branches illuminate the room, leaving the right side of his body in shadow. He looks like a planet only partially lit up by the sun. He's as beautiful as a planet, too, with the same majesty and mystery. I can barely breathe while looking at him like that.

I've never believed in god or fate. Most cephalopods don't. But here in this moment, I wonder if Dean is the reason why the ocean never felt lonely to me. If it had, I would've contacted the matchmaker and ended up in a relationship with someone else.

I still don't believe in fate, but I want to. Just for tonight.

He lowers himself onto his knees, then reaches forward and presses his hands onto the blanket. The curve of his ass in the dim light is so lovely that I can do nothing but stare for a moment. The light pink marks from my suckers dot his skin, and I don't think I'll ever get over how wonderful that is.

I kneel down next to him and run my fingers along the curve of his ass. "This shape deserves its own name."

"You mean a half circle? An arch? A half-moon?" he teases.

"No. Something unique to your ass."

His lips quirk up on one side. "Is that right? How about now?" He lowers his chest, until only his ass is sticking up in the air. The new position highlights the contrast between the soft globes of his ass cheeks and the firmness of his thighs.

"That shape also deserves its own name," I say.

He laughs.

"I feel like a scientist who has found a brand new plant no one has ever seen before," I tell him.

"I hate to break it to you, but other people have seen my ass before."

I press my lips together, not sure how to express what I'm feeling. "I… don't think they have. Not like me, I mean. I appreciate your ass more than they did."

This time he doesn't laugh. He smiles at me and reaches back to grasp one of my tentacles. "I think that's true."

"It isn't in a cephalopod's nature to fall in love more than once." It's a scary thing to admit out loud. Of course, he must know that already, with my parents being so intense and the way our mating rituals work. But it still must be said. He has to know how vulnerable I am with him now.

"It's okay, Art. Your heart is safe with me."

The softness of his voice and the way his body is positioned make it easy to believe him. He's prostrating himself before me—letting me have him in the most intimate of ways. But it isn't just this moment that makes me believe him. It's the way he introduced me to his parents and how eagerly he's shared his favorite holiday with me. Dean is a generous and kind person. I think he's telling me the truth.

I run my tentacles along his back, gently at first. He closes his eyes, his body relaxing. I drag my suckers along his skin, letting them taste and latch onto him. He takes in a sharp breath.

"Do you know how cephalopods breed their mates?" I ask.

He smiles. "You could show me."

"It's kind of messy. It's not an everyday thing. It might be overwhelming for you."

He opens his eyes. "Art, I want to be overwhelmed by you."

"If it becomes too much, you can tell me. I will withdraw," I assure him.

"I know, babe. I trust you."

The endearment takes me off guard. It feels like a claiming of sorts. Not an "I love you" or the official start of a relationship, but the beginning of something else—something deeper.

I move in closer, until I'm directly behind Dean. He widens his knees until I can see the most intimate part of him. His puckered skin and lightly dusted hair is mesmerizing. I place my hands on his ass cheeks and ease them apart to see him better. "I enjoy looking at you."

"Yeah? Do you enjoy being fully clothed while I'm lying here naked?"

I hear the jest in his voice. He's telling a joke. But I do enjoy it.

"Yes. It is exciting to me. It makes me want to ravage you."

He shudders. The involuntary movement is as sexy as his naked body. There's something primal about it.

"That's hot," he says. "You could hold me down, you know. With your tentacles. To ravage me."

"Is that a request, Dean Miller?"

He nods.

"And you will not think less of me if I give in to my… baser instincts? Because if I am breeding you, it will be harder for me to hold back."

He lets out a shaky breath. "Good."

I wrap a tentacle around each of his wrists to keep them in place. It's a heady feeling to see him so powerless underneath me. It's emotional too. Giving himself over to me is such an intimate act. It makes me feel incredibly close to him.

I wrap two tentacles around his ankles and splay one across his back to keep him down.

"You are mine," I whisper.

"Yes. I'm yours."

I slide a tentacle up and down his crease, smearing plenty of lubricant in my wake. His body is pliant and relaxed as I ease inside him. His surrender is complete in every way. Penetrating him like this is a kind of claim that I feel deep in my soul.

I take my time opening him up, first with the thinnest part of one tentacle, then coiling it deeper inside him, the way I've done before. He does nothing but lie there and whimper. I'm so attuned to his body that each sound from his mouth is like a loud exclamation. I withdraw the first tentacle and ease in with the second, spreading around more lubricant. When I enter him with both at the same time he lets out a soft moan.

Dean likes to take me deep. I plunge as deep as I dare to go. His fingers scrabble at the rug underneath us, and I worry I may have gone too far.

"Is it too much?" I ask.

He shakes his head. He opens his mouth silently, and it feels like a request. My tentacles respond before I can even register it by bringing his wrists together. One of them holds him down, while the other enters his mouth. It forces itself all the way to his throat, almost choking him. I close my eyes as I savor the flavor of his mouth, his skin, and the deepest part of his body.

"You taste so good," I say. "Like… home."

I fuck him in earnest now, sucking on the skin of his wrists and ankles with a pressure I know will leave marks. I need to claim his skin, too. I slip the thinnest part of a third tentacle into his ass, and he tenses for just a moment. I almost ask if he wants me to stop, but he relaxes and pushes his hips back, his desire clear. He tenses again when I circle my last tentacle around his cock and tease his slit with my tip.

"Is that too much?" I ask.

He shakes his head again.

I have all of my tentacles inside him now, except for the ones holding him down. It's euphoric to use every one of them to claim him. I rut my cock against his right ass cheek, and the delicious friction is wonderful.

"I'm going to breed you. Fill you up with my seed." I love the way his body trembles at my words. It's like my voice is another tentacle easing inside him. My body crests, and this time, I allow the bliss to surge through my tentacles, until they're all thick with my release. Dean cries out as the tentacles inside him expand and dump my seed into him—his mouth, his slit, his ass. The ones in his ass expand again and again, pouring my essence into his gut. He claws at the ground, his knuckles turning white.

My release oozes over the floor where my tentacles were holding down his wrists and ankles. It's everywhere. My dick spurts over his back, and I can't help but cry out too. I've never experienced anything like it. My dad warned me that mating with someone was special—that it would make my heart yearn for them forever.

I collapse on top of him, desperate to be even closer. "I love you, Dean. I love you so much."

The tentacle inside his mouth retreats because my heart needs to hear those words from him too. He gasps for a moment, then presses a kiss to the tentacle in question. "I love you too," he rasps out. "God, that was amazing."

I slowly withdraw from his ass. My release gushes out, pooling underneath us. I hold him tightly with all my tentacles and close my eyes. The lights of the Christmas tree still flicker beside us, our Christmas gifts to one another tucked underneath. This is the perfect ending to a perfect day.

"I guess Christmas will be our anniversary," I say. "Now that we're officially mates."

He smiles. "I love that."

I do too. The whole world will celebrate with us every year.

THE END