12. Jess

Gravod sounded deeply satisfied. I smiled. Then I frowned.

Through my post-orgasm haze, I realized he hadn't come yet.

I wanted him to, in a primal, fundamental way. It was more than keeping things balanced. I craved his pleasure, needed to hear him moan, make him come apart.

But I also had questions.

I reached past his reflective eyes to touch what I couldn't see, dragging a finger across his brow, down the side of his face. Over high, pronounced cheekbones and a firm jaw. His eyes closed as my fingertips passed over his soft lips.

"Your tongue…"

"My lithis."

"Lithis. I taste something when it's in my mouth."

I felt him nod under my hand as he opened his eyes again, staring down at me.

"Sagar. It helps ease mating."

My eyes went wide. "You mate in?—"

He laughed, a low, rumbling sound that had me squirming again.

"Lydaxians enjoy oral stimulation, but that's not how we mate. It's…foreplay." He stroked his fingers into my hair, continuing to talk as a tentacle tugged at one of my nipples, making me gasp. "Before mating, I'll fill your channel with my lithis. Your cervix has to be prepared with sagar for me to be able to seat my cock all the way. Then I can seal to you and release my seed."

"Cervix?" It came out high pitched. What the fuck? My heart rate went up. That might be a dealbreaker.

"The sagar ought to make it…comfortable. My cock is very large. It will fill you deeply, stretching you to your limit. The head will push against your cervix while my seal keeps us connected."

Okay. Yeah. None of that was calming me down.

"I might need a diagram."

Now I had to see his cock.

He started stroking my back, his fingers joined by tentacles that rubbed in circles and massaged my shoulders. I relaxed a little.

"It won't happen tonight. You have to be sure, about me, before we take that step." He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and sighed. "The act should be extremely pleasurable. But you've asked me to be truthful, and you deserve to know everything. We simply don't know how human females will respond to a Lydaxian mating."

They didn't know… "So, if we were to mate, we'd be the first?"

"Yes. We've been here for almost a year. Only Ryoch and I have found our likely mates."

Ryoch…

Oh my god. Char. I needed to talk to her.

Before I could follow that train of thought, a tentacle found its way around the waistband of my panties and started pulling them down my legs. The feel of the raised nubs and lace dragging against my skin muddled my brain.

I needed more information before I talked to Char anyway.

"Can I touch you?" I'd given him permission but hadn't really gotten his.

"Yes. Touch me, Jess. Anywhere you want."

Gravod's shining eyes went to the ceiling as I felt him turn over onto his back, offering me access to his body. It was a sign of trust. He was exposed like this, physically vulnerable. For me. With shaking hands, I started to explore.

His chest was just as firm and muscular as I'd imagined. My fingers trailed up over his shoulders and down his arms. In the dark, at least, it could have been a human man I was touching.

"Wha—"

My breath hitched as a fleshy lump pushed against my palm, shoving my hand away. No, not shoving… The lump narrowed and formed into a tip, and I felt those familiar rubbery bumps gently wrap around my wrist. Its grip was pleasant, affectionate even.

"My ta'laps." Gravod swallowed. He sounded resigned, like he was ready for me to bolt out of bed and run.

I wasn't disgusted, though. I was intrigued.

"How many do you have?"

He huffed, blinking in surprise at my question.

"I've never counted. They emerge as needed, from any point on my body. I've seen warriors with so many deployed, it was difficult to see their form underneath. Maybe hundreds in that case. But a normal number would be twenty or so."

An image came into my head of fighting octopus monsters, and I wondered how close that was to reality. Why wasn't I running yet? A tentacle started tracing its way up my leg, and I clenched, remembering how that had felt inside me.

Yeah. That's why.

"Hmm." I pulled my hand back slightly, and the ta'lap around my wrist loosened and fell away. "Can you control them?" I went back to running my hand down his arm, pausing as I encountered claw-like nails at the ends of his long fingers.

"Yes, to some degree. They're part of me. But their emergence is usually reflexive. A bit like the inner beast of a wolf shifter."

Record. Scratch.

My heart might have stopped for a second. Which was ridiculous, because I was groping an alien. I mean, should anything surprise me at this point?

"Wolf shifters?" I squeaked.

He seemed oblivious to my reaction. "The way their wolf is right at the surface, sometimes with a mind of its own. Our ta'laps are like that."

As if to illustrate his point, the tentacle climbing my leg started to pry my thighs apart.

Focus.

"Do you know some wolf shifters?"

My effort to sound casual must have failed, because he tensed. The tentacle between my legs stilled just before reaching my folds. I couldn't help a quiet groan of frustration.

Gravod didn't say anything for a while, then he let out a breath.

"They could kill me for telling you. But mates shouldn't have secrets." His glowing eyes met mine. "You likely have some understanding of the consequences if people were to discover our presence on this planet, or the existence of human shifters."

I shuddered, nodding. Yes, I knew. They'd be rounded up, killed. Or experimented on. Maybe it was better if he didn't tell me. But before I could stop him, he continued.

"To answer your question, yes. I know some wolf shifters. Bears too."

It was a compliment that he trusted me, but the burden of knowing made my throat dry.

"How about vampires?" I muttered, feeling dizzy.

"I don't think they get out much."

A short laugh escaped me.

Sure. Why the fuck not?