13. Chapter 13

W e ended up surfing the waves ten more times. The muscles in my arms burned from holding them wider than usual to accommodate Nemo’s body, but I loved it. I fucking loved every second of it. Surfing was a solitary thing typically, and I usually appreciated that, but having Nemo with me, seeing him radiate with glee from the thrill of it, and feeling him pressed against me the entire time, made it an altogether different experience. A truly incredible one.

The only downside was I’d been achingly hard through most of it. At one point, I was certain I was going to come in my wetsuit with his perfect ass bouncing against my cock. It had taken a herculean effort to get my mind off it because that wasn’t a mess I wanted to deal with before work .

Nemo was practically glowing by the time we were done. He was breathtaking. And of course, his linen pants were soaked, leaving nothing to the imagination as they adhered to him. Fuck, the sight of him practically had me salivating.

Once I had my shop opened, I gave him a dry pair to change into, or that image of bending him over the counter might come true. But that wasn’t how I wanted our first time together to go.

Luckily, the shipment I’d been expecting had come, and it had been a good distraction… for both of us. Nemo seemed excited to learn how to help. Before long, my first customer had come through the door.

It had been a busy day, and I was glad I didn’t stay closed for the day. Nemo had taken to organizing and shelving products really well. He seemed perfectly pleased with the task. Precise too, facing everything forward exactly right. He stuck his tongue out as he concentrated on sorting bracelets and was just so fucking adorable.

Having him here certainly made the day go by a lot easier. I usually didn’t mind the quiet times and the solitude, but his presence made everything brighter. I even let him have a go at ringing a customer up after he’d watched me do it several times. He wasn’t good with money yet—I imagined there hadn’t been much opportunity to count cash at the bottom of the sea—but he was so pleased with himself, and proudly announced ‘ Happy Holidays!’ to every single person.

If I were a rational human being, there was no way I could fall for him as quickly as I had, but rational went out the window after having been spooned by dozens of cirri all night. What did rational matter? Because I was… falling for him. Completely, madly, wonderfully, falling for him.

By the time we got home, Nemo was yawning. “I didn’t know working could be so exhausting.”

I snorted. “Yes, it can be. It was a very busy day. You did great, though. I’m so proud of you.”

Nemo beamed up at me through sleep-heavy eyes. “Thank you, Cory. I’m proud of myself, too. I think we should celebrate with sex.”

The way he said it as a factual statement had a laugh popping out of me as I threw my arms around him and lifted him off his feet. “You are a quick learner.”

“Yes, I am.” He smiled widely.

“First dinner, then we’ll see what happens.” I set him back down on the floor of our apartment. Our apartment. Funny how easily that thought came to me, how much he filled the place and made it feel like it was ours together.

“Can I turn on the Christmas tree?”

“Sure thing, little one. I’m going to change and then I’ll fix something to eat.”

The lights turned on, illuminating the apartment in multi-colored hues. A smile stayed on my face as I undressed. I could feel Nemo watching me, his eyes boring into my ass as I bent over and pulled up my flannel pajama pants. Fuck, if that didn’t make my blood rush south. At this rate, I was about ready to bypass dinner and jump straight to dessert, but the soul-deep need to take care of Nemo forced the thought aside. It didn’t mean I couldn’t make it a quick dinner, though.

Boxed spaghetti noodles and jarred sauce. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was fast and easy. I could cook, but the hungry stare in Nemo’s eyes when I turned around after changing was living rent-free in my head, and I was ready to move things along.

He’d been suspicious of the spaghetti at first. I hadn’t thought about the noodles looking like cirri. But after assuring him it wasn’t, he seemed to enjoy it. I loved watching him discover new foods, loved watching him do pretty much anything, really.

After dinner, Nemo helped me wash the dishes. He seemed to enjoy helping. Everything was so new it didn’t feel like a chore to him. Not working, not cleaning up. He found joy in these things I often took for granted.

Once we were done, he stood in front of the Christmas tree, staring at the seahorse with a half-hearted smile. I knew it reminded him of the sea, for good and bad. I hated not being able to do anything to get him back to the ocean. Selfishly, I wanted him to stay right here, but I knew he belonged to the ocean .

I stood behind him and circled my arms around his middle. Nemo sighed and leaned against me, his head falling on my shoulder. I kissed the top of his brown hair. “What are you thinking about?”

He was quiet for a moment. “The sea.”

I bent my head lower, kissing the side of his temple. “I figured as much. Is there anything you want to talk about? Or anything I can do?”

“I think tomorrow, when we go out surfing, I might shift and swim, to try to feel for my shell again.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” There had been a moment before we caught the first wave that I feared he would leap into the water and never look back. Instead, he stayed with me. I kissed next to his eye. He closed them and made a soft hum. Nemo tilted his neck to allow me more room.

When he spoke again, his airy voice came out a little thicker. “That is my plan for tomorrow, but for tonight…” Instead of finishing his thought, he pushed his ass back against my crotch, the flannel rubbing against my sensitive skin, causing us both to moan. I slid my hands down to grip his hips, pulling him closer.

“Is this what you want, Nemo?”

He sucked in a sharp breath. “Yes.”

I was dying to get between the perfect soft mounds of his ass, but there was something I needed to do first. Turning him around in my arms, I bent over him and kissed him hard. His mouth opened immediately, inviting me in. His lips were so soft, his tongue explored mine more confidently, and his taste had a hint of brine that went straight to my cock.

Nemo threw his arms around my neck, pulling my mouth tighter onto his until there was practically no room to even catch a breath. He was my oxygen, and I was his. I moved us backward until the edge of the couch hit the back of my legs. I would have dropped to my knees before him if I’d been able to. Instead, I broke our kiss and sat down on the edge of the couch, spreading my legs and pulling him to stand between them.

“Stay right here,” I said firmly. He watched my fingers slip beneath his waistband and slide the linen pants down, letting his cock spring free. “Do you remember what I told you yesterday?”

“You told me a lot of things yesterday, Cory.”

I smirked. “True. But remember, if there’s anything you don’t like, you can tell me to stop.”

His eyes darkened with hunger, and he nodded. He looked wild with lust, and the Christmas lights shining behind him made the contrast even more erotic. I lowered my eyes to feast on his beautiful dick that stood hard and strong before me. Glancing up, I licked my lips, watching him as I leaned forward and ran my tongue along the head.

“Oh!” He let out a surprised shout, but he didn’t give any indication he wanted me to stop. Thank fuck, because he tasted so good, and I needed more. Again, I teased the head of his cock, swirling my tongue around it. Nemo groaned obscenely, and he stepped closer, clearly wanting more.

When I opened my mouth and took the whole head into my mouth, his hips bucked, and his hands landed on my shoulders. “Ah! Cory!”

I hummed around him and began to swallow him down. The deeper I went, the tighter his grip on my shoulders. His fingers pressed in so much I thought they might leave bruises. The thought had my dick throbbing in my pants.

Nemo was breathing hard, but still hadn't made any move to stop me. So I gave in to what I’d been craving. I dove down, letting my tongue work around his shaft, and pumped with my mouth. He groaned loudly with each bob of my head. I was sure the neighbors could hear everything with how loud he was being, but I didn’t care. I fucking loved it.

When I went down to his base, his cock hitting the back of my throat, a fluttering over my stomach had me groaning around him. I knew what it was this time. I had felt it enough to understand a cirrus was reaching into my pants, followed by more until I felt the pants being pulled down and my cock freed.

Grooved tendrils found their way to my cock and when they wrapped around it, I very nearly came on the spot. At least ten cirri were twined around me, and when I felt them secrete their mucus, adhering to my cock, I popped off Nemo to let out a loud groan.

“Oh, fuck!” I felt the cirri pause, but I shook my head frantically and grabbed Nemo’s ass before he could ask if it was okay. “Don’t you dare stop.”

He grinned down at me, but his mouth fell open when I took his cock back into my mouth. The cirri squeezed, working together, as they slid up and down my cock, like several hands working me at once. Fuck, it was almost overwhelming. I focused on the weight of Nemo on my tongue, feeling him in my throat, as the cirri pumped me. I hollowed my cheeks, increasing suction, as it felt like the same was being done to my cock.

Nemo shouted and spilled down my throat. I worked him, swallowing every drop. The cirri twisted and worked faster until it was too much and I came hard, spurts hitting my chin and Nemo’s balls. I pulled off then, needing to catch my breath as aftershocks shook me to the core.

Falling against the back of the couch, I couldn’t even care about the mess we’d made. Nemo straddled me and climbed onto my lap. He wiped my chin with his hand before nuzzling up against me.

“That was incredible.”

“Mmm,” Nemo hummed and wiggled closer. “Your mouth felt really good on my cock. So warm and wet. I liked it a lot. ”

I chuckled happily and squeezed my arms around him. Always so direct. “I liked it, too. You tasted so good. And your cirri? Holy shit, Nemo, that was amazing.”

“I couldn’t stop them. They were too excited.”

“Fuck, if it’s going to be like that, I don’t ever want you to stop them. At least, not when we’re in private.”

I felt him let out a contented sigh and sink into me. “Do you know they send me messages and images? While your mouth was on me, I was feeling your pleasure, too. It was…wonderful. I want more.”

What would that be like? To feel your partner’s pleasure as your own? Fuck, this little man was such an amazing being, and he seemed unstoppable.

“More, huh? You sure about that?”

“Mmm. Yes. I want to feel you in every part of me, to feel your pleasure with my body and my mind.”

“Every part of you?” I slid my hand over his ass and dipped a finger between his cheeks. He let out a soft gasp and pushed back against my hand.

“Yes, Cory. I want to be filled with you in every way I can. I want to mate with you.” The desperation in his voice had my cock recharged and ready to go much more quickly than it might normally, especially after such a big orgasm.

I pushed against the back of the couch, holding under Nemo’s ass, and stood with him, letting my pajama pants fall to the floor. He wrapped his arms and legs around me, clinging like a koala, as I stepped out of my pants and walked him to the bed.

Lowering him to the mattress, I grabbed a tube of lube out of my nightstand and realized I didn’t have any condoms. It had been a while since my last hookup, and it hadn’t been on my mind to restock. It was Nemo’s first time, though, and I had used protection since the last time I tested. Still, I didn’t want to take advantage of his na?veté. I sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand over my hair.

“Nemo, before we do this, I want to make sure we are being smart and safe. Humans can sometimes transmit infections or viruses through sex. I was tested a while back and am negative for infections, so I can’t pass anything on to you. But I want to give you the option to protect yourself. If you would like to, I can get a condom, which acts as a barrier and helps prevent infections from passing.”

Nemo’s eyes softened, and he rested his hand on mine. “I have heard of such things, but sea shifters can’t contract human illnesses. We are an ancient race that have outlived many other species through time. Nautili even saw the creation and destruction of dinosaurs. Not me personally, mind you. I am merely a youngling of twenty-nine years. You are so very kind to think of me and my safety, though. I can’t tell you how much I admire your care.”

He leaned forward and kissed me, pouring so much gratitude and affection into it that it made my heart leap in my chest. I twisted, pushing him back onto the bed, and was about to lean down over him, but I hesitated. I loved being on top, diving between my partner’s legs while watching their face, but my knee no longer allowed me to take this position. It couldn’t handle me putting my weight on it like that, which was one of the challenges I'd faced when it came to hookups.

At my hesitation, Nemo scanned over me with his head tilted. He must have noticed the way my knee hovered an inch off the bed because he gave a quick nod, and before I knew it, his cirri were stretching out of him. Dozens of them reached up to meet my knee, cushioning it, and wrapping around it. The relief was instant, as was the reaction my cock had; perked up and excited to be handled in this way.

The cirri seemed to understand and anticipate my movement, as I pushed Nemo’s legs wider and braced myself above him. My knee was suspended, weightless, yet still with enough traction to control my actions.

Leaning over Nemo, I couldn’t help but be in utter awe of his beauty, especially with the way he looked at me. I bent down and kissed him, silently thanking him for knowing what I needed. It was the first time in eight years I'd been able to lean over a lover comfortably like this without worry or pain. I kissed him with thanks for rescuing me in the first place, for allowing me to have a bad knee, instead of the alternative where I wouldn’t be here at all. Here with him was the greatest thing I could imagine. I poured my gratitude into him, poured the love that swelled in my chest, love that was too soon, and yet I’d been ready for it since he first appeared to me.

As we kissed, I lifted one of his legs and rolled my hips forward, my cock sliding over his. I swallowed his gasp, loving the hum that sounded in the back of his throat.

I placed his leg against my hip, and he took my hint, hooking it over me. Reaching between us, I slid my hand down his smooth torso, loving the way his skin reacted to my touch. More cirri came out, slithering out and flicking their ends over my skin, tasting, sending images to Nemo.

He closed his eyes and arched his back as they roamed over every inch of my body, all while the ones supporting my knee never stopped. It was like having a hundred fingers touching me all at once, setting every cell in my body aflame.

I kissed him once more before pushing up to reach for the lube. Cirri wrapped around my waist, my legs, my arms, surrounding me. It was an unreal sight, and something I didn’t expect would be so fucking sexy.

Nemo watched our bodies being twined together with a lust-drunk smile. “They like you, Cory.”

“I like them, too.” I smiled back at him and ran a hand over the grooved tentacles around my waist. They did that contraction thing I loved when I touched them. It reminded me of a sea anemone closing when they were touched. It sent shivers of pleasure through me, but Nemo was the one to groan.

With lube coating my fingers, I settled back over him and reached between his legs. He jumped at first when I circled his rim, but then he relaxed and pulled his other leg up higher. “I need to get you ready for me. Is this okay?”

He watched me intently, but gave a nod. When I pushed my finger inside, his mouth opened wide. I pushed deeper, and a hum rumbled in the back of his throat. “Yes. Okay, Good. Great. More.”

I smirked to myself at his reaction. I loved getting to be the first one to see him like this and hoped to be the only one. He was mine . His pleasure was mine. His heart, his body, his cirri were mine . A possessiveness I’d never experienced before took hold of me. I couldn’t explain it. It was there, crawling up from the very depths. With Nemo splayed out before me, and my finger working into his hole, it locked it into place. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t think I even wanted to. I wanted to lay claim to him, to make him mine.

I pushed another finger in, and Nemo arched his back, pushing into my hand. I pressed in deeper, brushing across a spot that had Nemo yelp in surprise. “Ah! What was that?”

“That was your prostate or p-spot. Do you like it?” I rubbed over it again, wringing a keening sound from him .

“Yes. Oh! Yes. Feels. Good.” His words came out in panting breaths.

“Just wait, Nemo.” I bent down and captured his mouth, swallowing all the wonderful sounds he made, when I inserted a third finger, stretching his entrance for me. Nemo reached down and grabbed his cock, clearly desperate to get off. But I wasn’t ready to let that happen just yet. I pulled gently out of him, causing him to inhale sharply. I grabbed his hand and moved it from his cock. “Not yet, sweetheart.”

The whimper he let out made me chuckle. I couldn’t blame him, though. I was just as horny and ready as he was. Holding my shaft, I lined up the head with his hole. Nemo’s hands slid up my back until they hooked under my armpits. “Please, Cory. I need you. I need to feel you inside me, to feel you everywhere.”

“I need you, too, Nemo.” I kissed him again and lunged forward. He let out a loud moan as my cock slid past the outer ring. He was so tight and hugged my cock so perfectly I nearly went cross-eyed at the pressure of his body squeezing around me. “Fuck, you feel so good.”

“More. Cory. Deeper,” he panted, his voice thick and desperate.

I carefully thrust deeper until I was seated fully inside of him. Nemo breathed heavily, but he gave me a nod, and I began to move. I pulled out slowly before driving all the way back in .

“ Ngh !” Nemo made uncontrollable noises that went straight to my dick, cheering it on. As I began to pump harder, Nemo clung to me with arms and legs, holding on for dear life. The cirri supporting my knee wrapped tighter around it and helped propel my action, urging me deeper into Nemo’s body.

A click sounded that I was too lost in him to recognize until I felt lube drizzle down between my cheeks. Nemo’s hands were still under my arms, and a moment later, I lunged forward with a gasp as I felt a cirrus probe my rim. I had bottomed in the past, especially when I was younger, but had taken to topping more frequently. The thought of his tentacles exploring me had me burning up with desire.

I continued to rock into Nemo’s body even as a second cirrus entered me. “Holy shit!” I paused my movement as they pushed in deeper, sweeping across my prostate.

“Is this okay?” Nemo asked, looking up at me with those beautiful brown eyes.

“Fuck, yes. Shit, it’s…yeah, I’m good.” I couldn’t even form words with all the sensations happening at once. My cock buried deep inside of him, and my hole getting explored by his cirri. It was a lot, but holy fuck, it was incredible.

The cirri pulled out of me, making me gasp. I rested my forehead on Nemo’s. Soon, they were back, but there were more. It felt like four of them had joined together to form a single member, and they pushed inside of me, filling me. Nemo and I moaned in tandem, and I began rocking back against the cirri, and forward into him. We were in a closed circuit, him and I. I was in him, he was in me. It was exhilarating, but it also made me feel a connection stronger than ever. We were bonded, so entwined that there was no start or end to us.

I didn’t think it could get any better, but I was proved wrong as cool secretions seeped into my hole, and the grooved tentacles locked onto my channel, sucking and holding onto me. “Oh my God!” I hissed. The suction on my prostate was so intense it made my vision go blurry. I drove hard into Nemo and exploded, fireworks bursting behind my eyes. I was being massaged from within, milking everything out of me, as I filled Nemo.

He was panting and heaving, and warmth coated my belly as Nemo released with a shout. I lowered myself to rest on my forearms, trying to regain consciousness. The suction in my ass released, making me cry out again as another spurt of come shot out of me.

Nemo’s legs relaxed and fell to the side. He rubbed circles on my back as I stayed lying on top of him, too spent and blitzed out to do anything else. Words tumbled out of my mouth without thought. “I love you, Nemo.”

I heard them in the distance, but I was in too euphoric of a state to worry about it. Nemo let out a happy sigh, and whispered, “I love you, too. You are my mate, Cory. ”

I closed my eyes and smiled. Somewhere in my head, I knew it was too soon for such confessions, and maybe if it had been someone else and I’d just fucked and been fucked to oblivion all at once, the words might have been sex-induced and not had any meaning. But they did. They did with him, and he was so direct, I knew it was real to him, too. He wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t mean it.

I forced myself out of my serene state before I lost to it completely and succumbed to sleep right there on top of Nemo. He whined in protest when I pushed off him and all his cirri retreated, letting me go. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right back, little one.”

My legs wobbled when I stood, but I maintained my balance and went to the bathroom, returning with a damp towel to clean us both up. After I was done, I dropped the towel on the floor to deal with later and slid into bed beside Nemo.

“Can we be spoons again?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.”

He turned on his side and wiggled back toward me. I snuggled in tight, tucking my knees behind his, and wrapping my arms around him. There wasn’t an inch where our bodies didn’t touch. Nemo sighed and folded his arms over mine, as his cirri wrapped around me once more, holding me tight against him. It was quickly becoming such a natural experience to be embraced by his cirri, I couldn't fathom sleeping without being surrounded by him from all sides.

“Do you really love me, Cory?” His voice was so quiet, I almost didn’t hear him.

“I do, Nemo. I can’t explain it, but I do. I feel like you were meant to be here, to be with me. I want you to be mine.” It was the kind of thing you didn’t say unless you knew, with certainty, the other person was on the same page. But at this point, I couldn’t be anything but completely honest with him.

“Nautili shifters have mates. One mate for their entire life. One being they are fated to find and be with. They have a special connection. If they get separated, they will always find their way back to each other.”

I knew there were a lot of animal species that mated for life. It was something I’d often found myself longing for. To have a special connection and a lifelong partner. It was then his words came back to me. He’d called me his mate. His mate . The word took on a new meaning now, an understanding of the weight it carried.

Mate.

Forever.

The thought should scare me, but it didn’t. I wanted it. I wanted all of it. I never thought I would find a connection like this, but then there was no one like Nemo. No one, anywhere. And he was mine. This wonderful, beautiful, funny, amazing man—nautilus shifter—was mine.