15. Comfort

CHAPTER 15

Moss

Max and I groaned as we lowered ourselves into the hot water. Steam drifted around us, our muscles exhausted for reasons I wished were more exciting than cleaning up the mess Dio made.

"At least he didn't fuck up the bathroom too bad," I mumbled, glancing around.

This room had mostly been spared. For that, I could be thankful.

Max nodded as he sank down. "Agreed."

My office and living room had taken the brunt of Dio's wrath.

"Try to put it out of your mind," Max reminded me softly.

It was hard to do.

I should have realized that once Max put his mind to something, he was determined to get it done. The sun would be rising soon, but my home was clean and somewhat empty given that we'd gotten rid of everything broken. We'd gathered a lot into bags, disposed of them, and repeated the process over and over. Every shard of glass, every snapped piece of furniture—all of it was gone.

It felt like I'd just moved in.

It hurt. It hurt more than I could admit, but I kept reminding myself that it was just items.

It was all replaceable.

Max, however, was not. And neither were the rest of the Galactic Gems. I was worried about them. Worried about everything. I couldn't stand the thought of someone being hurt because of this.

I'd been trying to understand Dio's motives. For hours, I'd tried to put myself in his shoes, to understand where I'd gone wrong. But ultimately, it felt like he'd done this out of pure spite or hatred, and I couldn't figure out if it was more than him simply hating the performers for whatever reason.

"You have that look again," Max whispered.

I swallowed hard. "I can't put everything out of my mind."

"It's been hours, my love, and nothing else can change for now. I don't think either one of us will figure this guy out."

"Agreed," I sighed.

I pressed my lips together, letting the heat permeate through me.

"I want to hold you," I murmured.

Max nodded, already moving.

"Come to me," I said.

He waded across the pool to me, sliding his arms around my waist as I pulled him into my lap. I rested my chin on his shoulder and closed my eyes, breathing in his comforting scent.

Maybe I could put things out of my mind if he were with me. It was easier to focus on Max.

"It's going to be okay," he said. "We can talk to Madam later today. I'm sure she'll be concerned, but she'll know what to do. This isn't the first emergency any of us have dealt with."

"You need sleep first," I reminded him.

"I need to be with you," he countered.

I swallowed hard and nodded. I leaned back against the side of the pool, admiring him, feeling him. I could stay like this forever, simply basking in his presence and enjoying the feeling of not being alone.

What was I going to do when he was gone?

The thought was just another knife piercing me.

Max ran his hands over my chest, oblivious to the way my own thoughts and feelings were tearing me up inside. I wanted him so badly. Forever and always.

His lips brushed mine gently, but I needed more. I wanted more. I deepened it, our tongues rolling together. He moaned and rocked his hips, grinding against me.

"I need you," I panted.

"I'm yours," he said. "All yours."

A low growl left me as I kissed down his body. He still had marks from where I'd bitten him. I kissed them now, making my way down to his nipples. I swirled my tongue, listening to his breath hitch and moans slip out.

I loved it when he made those sounds.

He reached down between us, gripping my top tentacle and stroking. His head fell back as he groaned, his body shivering against me.

"Max," I rasped.

He lifted himself up, already knowing what I needed. I gripped his ass cheeks, parting them as my tentacles worked together, writhing against him before slowly pushing in.

We gasped together as he sank down.

"Too much?" I asked.

"No," he groaned.

My fingertips dug into his hips as I held him in place, his body stretching around me. I kissed the base of his throat, feeling his pulse against my lips.

"Oh gods," he grunted, planting his palms on my shoulders. "Bite me."

The heat between us grew, full of lust and potent desire. I bared my fangs, scraping their sharp tips against his fragile skin. He moaned as he started to move his body, rocking back and forth.

My tentacles moved inside of him as I sank my teeth into the base of his throat. He screamed, the deep cry ending on the softest of moans.

"I'm not going to last long," I rasped. His blood wet my lips, the metallic taste making me hunger for more.

Pollinay. Mate.

I wanted to mate with him completely, to tie our souls together forever.

I groaned against him, thrusting my hips up as he rode me. The water sloshed around us and I grabbed onto him, lifting and turning. I bent him over the edge of the pool and thrust in deeper.

"Fuck," he whimpered. "Harder."

I dragged my nails down his back, leaving long red streaks. He let out a gasp, pushing his ass back against me as he took me. My tentacles throbbed inside of him, writhing as I pumped in and out.

I leaned over him, reaching around and gripping his cock. I stroked him as I took him, fucking him harder than I had before.

My lips skated over his shoulders, leaving butterfly kisses, lingering as I continued to pleasure him. I was already close to the edge, and I was holding on, forcing myself not to come yet.

I wanted to last as long as I possibly could.

Mate. Mate. Mate. It kept coursing through my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about it with him, thinking about completing the ritual. I wanted to be connected to him on a deeper level. On a level that I couldn't possibly understand, but I craved so desperately.

I kept fighting myself on it. Every time I had these thoughts, I tamed them.

What would happen if I stopped fighting myself?

Max whimpered, his muscles rippling. After the nightmare that had turned into this night, being with him felt like the best sort of dream. One I never wanted to end.

"Oh gods," he groaned.

With one more thrust, I couldn't stop myself any longer. I gasped as I came, my head tilting back as I filled him. I felt him come too, his seed dripping over my hand in spurts.

I brought my hand to my mouth, licking up every drop. The taste of him sat on my tongue as I leaned back, breathing in his erotic scent. He was breathing hard, his pants filling the room. I stroked his back, and then gently eased out of him.

Before he could go anywhere, I wrapped my arms around his hips and lifted him out of the pool, putting him on all fours where his ass was facing me. He gasped as I leaned forward, sinking my tongue inside of him.

I could taste myself inside of him, and that turned me on. I ran my tongue around the rim of his ass, feasting on him. I moaned, pushing my tongue deeper into him. My seed dripped out, filling my mouth.

"Fuck," he grunted. "That feels so good."

I plunged deeper, closing my eyes as I ate him out. When the last of my come was gone I pulled back, licking my lips.

Max turned around and I pulled him back into the hot water. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close as we floated towards the center, both of us coming down from the high of coming so hard.

I could feel him getting more and more tired. He needed to sleep soon.

"I'll grab the soaps," I said.

I got out of the pool for a moment, grabbed our soap, and then returned. Within a few minutes, the two of us were scrubbed down and clean, and ready to get into bed. We dried off and made our way towards the bedroom, now which mostly just consisted of the bed itself.

Max practically dove for his side, flopping down with a grin. He patted the blankets beside him and I got in next to him, pulling them around us.

"Will you sleep?" he whispered.

"I'll nap," I murmured. "Tonight was a lot. I appreciate you more than I can express for staying with me and helping me get things together and for being with me."

"Of course," Max said. "We'll get through this and once they catch Dio, it'll all be fine."

He wasn't wrong. Once they caught him, everything on that front would hopefully go back to normal. But the only thing was, the longer we spent together, the closer we got to Max leaving.

The closer we got to him being gone from the galaxy at least until they came back the next time. And I wasn't sure that I could wait that long to see him again.

What if he didn't even want to see me again?

I wasn't sure where all of the insecurities were coming from. Maybe it was because I hadn't been in a relationship in a long time, or maybe it was because this one already meant so much to me. But I had all these doubts plaguing me.

I wasn't sure if I was good enough. I wasn't sure if Max would even want to stay with me.

After what happened tonight, part of me wanted to just leave this place. Everything was gone, and it would be easier to start over. Right?

Would I travel the galaxies with Max? Would he even want me to? Would Madam Moonie let me join their spaceship? I had all of these questions, and unless I spoke them out loud, I would never get the answer. But the idea of asking scared me. The idea of making him feel like he had to be with me didn't feel right.

"You have a look on your face again," he whispered sleepily. He let out a soft yawn, his eyes starting to drift shut. "Whatever you're thinking about, I promise you it'll be okay."

"But you don't know what I'm thinking about," I chuckled.

He smirked and gave a dramatic shrug. "Maybe I do. Maybe I can read minds."

"You're very silly and very cute when you've been thoroughly fucked and are sleepy."

His smirk turned to a broad grin. "Mhmm. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," I purred.

He could always fall asleep so fast. I shook my head as he drifted off, a soft snore following. What would he dream about? Would he think about me? Human dreams had always fascinated me to think about, since Arborians were not the same. It would take me longer to fall asleep, especially as I mentally worked through everything that had happened again.

I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Max and I had been here.

I swallowed hard, tracing his face with my gaze. His long lashes, his bright hair, golden skin. Sometimes I found humans so strange to look at, but so beautiful in their strangeness.

The night had been hard, but Max had stayed with me through every moment of it. He'd comforted me. And he'd kept me from falling apart.

I smiled and closed my eyes, trying to focus on resting, if only for an hour or so. It wasn't quite time for my rest yet, but it wouldn't hurt to nap some.

Falling asleep next to someone I was falling in love with just felt right.