Chapter 7

Colby

“How does my submissive delivery work?” I really needed to make sure the helper wasn’t going to walk in on us without some warning.

“The items we have requested will be placed outside the door.” Saint tapped it as he moved us into the curiously arranged room. “Human construction does not block the sound. I will hear him.”

For some reason, that made me want to laugh. “You guys must have good hearing.”

And something against having a couch.

His space seemed to be one large room with a kitchenette at one end and a tub at the other. It didn’t seem to be attached to any plumbing but it looked like a bathtub. In the middle was a small table and a large bed.

The only other furniture was a large bookshelf that took up one wall and was filled with books. There also seemed to be several different types of e-readers. “Your home is great but you’ve got so many books. That’s impressive.”

Oh, he loved that.

Puffing up his chest as he set me down, Saint looked very pleased with the praise. “Our species has not had information documented on dead plant life in a century. It is a wonderful experience.”

So he liked antiques too?

The smell of books?

He seemed kind of tactile, so maybe it was a touch thing.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying them.” And it gave me an idea about what to get him for Christmas. With a week to go, I hadn’t planned on buying for a boyfriend or partner…or whatever we were heading toward being.

“Can I look at your books?” If I was staying the night and he seemed like he was going to keep me, I was pretty sure that meant I could be nosy.

“Yes, my Colby.” His voice was soft and one of his smaller tentacles ran over my head. “You may study any part of my home.”

Yep, he was going to keep me.

Maybe that hadn’t been just a rumor…dirty books weren’t supposed to be instruction manuals.

“My space will always be open to my mate.”

I really should’ve paid more attention to the rumors running around online…and I was going to double-check to see if I’d been reading fiction or had somehow wandered into the nonfiction section.

“Thank you.” Keeping my response simple seemed like the best way not to have to talk about the way he kept using that word.

Watching me wander over to the shelf made him just as happy as cuddling me, though. And I had to admit, seeing him so excited made me excited…just in a very different way.

I was hoping that would go unnoticed as I browsed through his history books and everything from a Murder, She Wrote book to erotic romance novels.

Oh, I’d read that one.

“Do books arouse you? I have heard of humans becoming aroused by inanimate objects but I have not seen the phenomenon in person.” Saint walked into view with a curious look on his face and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what he was thinking.

“No.” That’d be hard to explain if I was, though. “I was aroused because I’d made you happy.”

I wasn’t sure that sounded any better, honestly.

“You were very happy and I like making you happy.” That part made perfect sense to me. “That feeling somehow gets translated into arousal, though. Maybe because you already arouse me and I like you? It’s definitely a sub thing and not just randomly attaching to everyone that’s happy around me, though.”

I didn’t get aroused when I made my boss happy, but he was kind of a dick.

“Human submission is highly varied. I have been told, however, that it is not always connected to sexual pleasure.” He didn’t question that, which I thought was kind of odd, but it didn’t seem like the time to ask questions.

It was definitely one I was going to look up online, though.

“I will be doing my best to connect submission and sexual pleasure in our mating bond, my Colby.” His tone said he’d already made that decision and talking him out of it would be a pain in the butt. “Human relationships progress more quickly and you bond more strongly when pleasure is involved.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong about that.

“As a species, you respond well to positive reinforcement.” He was confident about that too. “So I will be doing extensive reinforcement to attach you to me physically.”

That would’ve been less funny if he hadn’t picked me up and wrapped me in his limbs again. The literal way he attached me to him had me trying not to laugh.

“Humans are fascinating.” His tone said he honestly believed that, so I couldn’t be offended.

“You’re cute and I thought it was funny that you talked about attaching me to you physically as you picked me up.” Curling into him, since I kind of wanted to reinforce his holding and cuddling, I shrugged. “The way the words matched what you said but didn’t match is funny.”

“We do not see humor the same way in most cases, but I can follow the path of humor for you.” His words were nice but his head pat and back rub said I’d fallen into the cute but confusing category.

Or cute and something at the very least.

“I am pleased to have been able to provide you with nonsexual pleasure.” He always saw things in the best light. “Have you enjoyed browsing my books?”

“Yes.” I had every intention of telling him which ones were my favorite and trying to figure out which ones were his, but he went still before heading toward the door.

The human helper.

Yep.

I never heard anyone walking by, but when he opened the door, there was a small white box filled with snacks, lube, bottled water, and other random stuff we might need.

It was weird. I wasn’t going to deny that, but I was starting to think all dates should come with sex accessory boxes.

“Your building is quiet for humans.” Marveling at his strength and dexterity as he carried me, the box, and managed to shut the door, I couldn’t resist petting one of the tentacles wrapped around me. “The fact that you heard him dropping off the box is amazing.”

And would probably drive humans nuts.

“We have evolved very differently.” Nothing in his tone said he thought that was a bad thing, so I nodded as he carried me over to the counter and set our goodie box down. “Humans lack necessary skills a predator would need, but you have evolved with superior creativity and are greatly adaptable.”

We had our good points.

“And your motivation through sexual rewards and social customs are fascinating as well.” The head pat that came with his sentence was harder to sort out, but since he wasn’t wrong, I wasn’t going to put up a fuss.

We were highly motivated by sex and social shit.

“Our species finds that highly desirable in mates.” Softly stroking me with several limbs, he sent a shiver through me as he made it clear he liked having a new human something. “Our leaders felt that your entertainment media and vivid imagination would make our transition into your society easier. However, there have been unexpected benefits.”

“Bonus content, huh?” I wasn’t sure if he’d get the joke but he made a bubbly sound that was definitely laughter.

We were naughty in bed and had fun ideas, so the aliens wanted to come hang out.

Yep, sounded about right and better than the overly logical garbage the news had always peddled.

No one came to Earth to live because we had the best oceans in the universe or because we had Walmart and it would be easy to resettle.

“ Significant bonus content.” Shifting me around as he sat down on his bed, he draped me across his lap and started slowly caressing over me. “If I am understanding the humor correctly, you would be bonus content that we would enthusiastically sign up for a newsletter to access.”

So he’d be willing to get all the junk mail in the world to play with me?

He saw it as a commitment and wasn’t just going to flit around with his bonus content and leave?

Mates, huh?

“I’m glad I’m that serious for you, Sir.” I knew I was right about a few assumptions that were bouncing around in my head when he nodded and gave me his proud parent smile. “We’re not going to rush through reading your bonus story, though.”

The happy sound he made sent a shiver through me and somehow my dick managed to get even harder. But that might’ve been because Saint was stroking all around it without actually touching my bulge. “I promise to take my time and enjoy my story thoroughly.”

Tentacles rippled around me and the ones on my head even moved the little nubby things so he was massaging my scalp. It turned my whole body into mush and he took that as permission to start easing under my clothes and shifting them around. “I will caress every page and take in every word.”

One smaller limb pinched my nipple, and I didn’t even try to hold back the gasp that escaped. I knew he could feel what he was doing to me, so I gave him the sounds too. “Every word, my human.”

Because he liked them…a lot.

Every moan he got from me seemed to send something pleasurable through him. It might not have been sexual pleasure like he was giving me, but it was doing something good to him.

And pleasing him just made me feel even more incredible.

I’d made my Dom happy.

“Your pleasure is remarkable.” Larger limbs tightened around me, pinning me to him and slowly making me immobile. “Let us see how we can increase your sensations.”

Nubs plucked over me, caressing everywhere from my head to my toes.

When had I lost my shoes?

He had way too many limbs for me to keep track of what all of them were doing. It seemed to make my brain treat most of them like sexy background noise until they did something to focus all my attention on it.

Like when they decided that my shirt was completely unnecessary.

“Humans spend too much time clothed.” Studying my chest as he rolled me around to take off my shirt, he made a pleased sound as I snickered at the roller-coaster-like movement. “Bare skin provides information and allows me to give you additional stimuli.”

Because having his nubs ripple over me was like the craziest massage ever…and definitely one that would have a happy ending.

There wasn’t anything I had to respond to with words, so I just relaxed and moaned as he caressed over me. As careful as he was being of me, I didn’t mind letting him explore as his information went from theoretical to practical.

If he couldn’t learn from his mate, who could he learn from?

And it was kind of hot in an unexpected way.

He just got so fucking pleased with himself when he figured out the best way to tweak my nipples or when he discovered how sensitive the top of my ass was. “Humans have so many enjoyable nerve endings. Your species is so wonderfully designed.”

There was probably a humans are always horny joke in there somewhere, but he kept chasing away every thought.

And he was so excited about it that it never felt like a bad thing.

Limbs rippled again as my pants started sliding lower but Saint didn’t rush to get the rest of my fun parts bared for him. “You will remember the safewords, my Colby. They must be used if I do not pick up on your reaction first.”

Worry and panic would create physical reactions.

Okay, made sense he’d notice those early…maybe before I realized what was happening. The only time I’d ever had a bad reaction in a scene, it’d kind of snuck up on me even though looking back I should’ve noticed the signs.

Saint would notice the signs.

But he wasn’t a dickhead who liked pushing boundaries, so I wasn’t worried.

It was nice having a Dom who understood what it meant to actually be in control and how important that role was.

“I remember, Sir.” And I was going to remember the first time his tentacles wrapped around my dick, too. “That’s… Fuck…”

Saint made a pleased sound and his limbs carefully tightened until my brain started to turn off and the only thing working hard was my dick. When he stopped at that perfect place, it really hit me what he meant by being able to read my reactions.

As I just drifted in what had to be my favorite type of scene in the entire world, Saint’s tentacles started their slow rippling again. “Yes, that is right. I will hold you securely, my Colby.”

I was pretty sure I let out some kind of happy sound or sigh, but I wasn’t really in the right headspace to be confident about that. It’d been so long since I’d been restrained so perfectly, I had no desire to have a clear head.

Tentacles were so much better than arms.

And fingers would never compare to whatever his nubs were called.

I knew that because after a quiet reminder about safewords being important, one somehow became thin enough to have started fucking my slit like he’d been designed by the universe to be the perfect way to sound a human.

Amazing.

I’d have started bucking and wiggling if he hadn’t kept such a tight hold on me, but even Shibari ropes wouldn’t have restrained me the same way.

The utterly helpless feeling had my head going quiet and I couldn’t decide if I was more relaxed than I’d ever been or more turned on.

Both.

Somehow it was definitely both and it just got even more perfect as he used the tips of other tentacles to stroke over me. “Yes, good boy. Relax and submit. I will give you what is necessary to your happiness, my Colby.”

His.

I was his Colby, and at some point, I’d have to admit that he was necessary for my happiness.