Chapter 9

Colby

Before I could get distracted even worse and end up giving myself nightmares, Saint wrapped me tighter and moved us toward the edge of the bed. “Yes. Our bathing rooms have been designed with additional necessary space.”

As he carried me around like I weighed less than a toddler, he waved a few loose limbs. “We require more volume.”

Oh yeah.

“I’m glad they thought about that then.” But thinking about how much space he needed made me realize my own shower would never fit the both of us…and I didn’t even have a bathtub. “It’s okay if we need to shower together instead.”

Saint picked up another bottle of water before turning and heading to a door on the other side of the room. “That will not be necessary, but your consideration is admirable. You do not have to ignore your desire, however.”

He always took what I wanted so seriously and never seemed to think it was ridiculous or unimportant. Part of me worried that I’d take advantage of that without realizing it, but part of me just wanted to revel in how important he thought I was.

It was going to be addicting.

“You have to tell me if what I want isn’t reasonable or practical. Once I get used to how wonderfully you treat me, I might not realize if something I’m asking for isn’t doable.” I thought that was a reasonable way to see things but his whole body twitched.

He was quiet for a few seconds as we walked into the bathroom, but as I got distracted by the over-the-top space, he figured out a response. “No.”

He was going to be a handful.

“That is not how submissives are treated, human mate or not.” His stubborn tone made me think we’d found something he was going to be unreasonable about. “I am to take care of your needs and provide what is called a safe space . Your submission is different than what I would see in our species, but that does not make it any less important.”

So we’d run into some kind of cultural issues?

“You have made me feel very important so far.” Giving him a quick peck as he turned on both taps of the biggest tub I’d ever seen, I slowly stroked over the tentacles I could easily reach. “You’re going to be a wonderful Dom for me.”

Mate?

Something.

He was going to be a wonderful something and we’d figure out what we were later.

That seemed like a future me problem. Current me was going to get in the oversized tub and hopefully see if I could talk my Dom into giving me another orgasm once I’d figured out the best way to make him happy.

Bathtub cuddles and a massage of some sort seemed like the best way to show him how happy he’d made me, but it might take a few sessions to figure out what worked best.

I was all for naked research that would hopefully end in orgasms.

Saint didn’t seem like he’d have a problem with that plan either.

“You are a wonderful submissive human, my Colby.” Running several limbs over me, Saint snuggled me tight as the water filled the tub. “Balancing out your need to actively submit with your emotional and physical availability will be something I consider, however.”

Huh?

My brain rolled that around for a moment as he finally set me down beside the tub and turned me toward the toilet. “Humans must evacuate on a regular basis.”

Go pee.

Got it.

While most of the room was one big open space that was about half the size of the rest of his apartment, the toilet was tucked behind a half wall. It gave just enough privacy to point out that he didn’t have any plans to give me privacy. I wasn’t pee-shy, though, so I pissed as I thought about what he’d said.

That was not a good idea.

“Your urine is not clear enough, my Colby.” Saint automatically steadied me as I jumped and wrapped one small tentacle around my dick, since it probably looked like I had no idea what I was doing. “You will consume more water.”

Fuck.

Yep, privacy wasn’t a thing…and I was going to have to pay more attention to my surroundings.

It was weird but we hadn’t actually reached a limit of mine, so I wasn’t sure what to say. “You’re right. Thank you.”

That worked for now and I’d figure out new limits eventually.

“Humans are fragile.” A now naked Saint patted my head again as he shook my dick. “I will keep you safe and healthy, my Colby.”

“That’s one of the things you guys do with your mates? I mean, the submissive ones?” I’d seen them mentioned in books and he’d made it sound like they were real, but I wanted to make sure. “Keeping them safe and healthy is primary, right?”

“Yes.” Flushing the toilet, Saint led me over to one of the double sinks and started washing my hands and the tentacle that had helped me out. “Submissives give of themselves until they have nothing left. They need care and limits to make sure their external focus does not do internal damage.”

I wanted to argue or push back against that at the very least, but more than a few of my relationships had gone badly because I’d felt so emotionally and physically drained I couldn’t cope. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but taking care of you is important to me.”

Saint smiled at me in the mirror as he dried my hands. “Yes, my Colby. We will balance your need to caretake with my need to keep you safe.”

He was clearly humoring his human, but I decided that was something we’d come back to later once I saw how out of hand it would get.

“Thank you, Sir.” Eventually it would get out of hand. Every relationship had something like that, but as far as stuff I’d argued about with dates and boyfriends, how much they wanted to keep me safe had never been an issue.

Looking very pleased at having won the debate with his human, Saint stroked over my head and picked me up again. That time he carried me to the tub and got us in without setting me down. I had to admit, my heart stopped for a moment, but he’d kept his human safe.

“Do you fear water, my Colby?” Saint lifted me out of the water as he studied my face. “I must know any rational or irrational fears.”

I wasn’t sure which one water would fall under but I shook my head. “No, I was worried about you slipping for a moment. Sorry.”

Technically, I probably didn’t have anything to apologize for, but I didn’t think about that until after I’d said it.

“Ah.” Lowering me down onto his lap, still mostly out of the water because clearly he didn’t quite trust my reactions, he took one of my hands and ran the tip of his tentacle over it. “You have no friction in water.”

“Yeah, we’re slippery when wet.” I managed not to snicker, but it was a close call. “You’re not slippery?”

He was smooth…really smooth and didn’t seem to need the lube we were so helpfully given, but he immediately started shaking his head. “Our bodies are highly proficient at adaptations.”

Turning over the tentacle that had been caressing my fingers, he made his nubby things get wider. “Oh, that makes sense.”

He could use them to grip just about anything…including a slippery tub.

Humans got the short end of the stick evolutionarily…we were horny, anxiety-riddled nuts with a thing for sticking our dicks in anything that looked interesting, and we only had fingers.

“Thank you for explaining that. I won’t needlessly worry about that in the future.” I’d find something else new and startling to panic over.

Being human was fun.

I was starting to see why Saint’s people always seemed concerned about us evolving from prey animals.

He actually seemed to believe me that time because he finally let me sit all the way in the water, but he still kept me wrapped up tight against his body. Actions spoke louder than words…especially with an alien who read your mind. So I leaned into him and showed him I was fine by relaxing and running my fingers over his tentacles.

That got his muscles to lose some of their tension and his hold eased enough for me to start enjoying how deep the water was.

Deep enough to float.

“Humans are unexpectedly buoyant.” Saint seemed surprised by that fact as he pushed one leg down, marveling as it popped back up. “Fascinating.”

“We only float in fairly deep bodies of water and we have to be relaxed for it to work. Your tub is just amazing.” The two faucets part was making a lot of sense. “But if I tensed my muscles and sat up, I’d be more stable. Promise. I’m just not worried about that because I know you’re going to keep me safe.”

And if I tried to sit up, he’d just wrap himself around me like some kind of bathtub seat for toddlers.

This way his protectiveness was romantic and sexy…and not a pain in the ass.

But it seemed like a distraction was in order since floating humans could probably easily be drowning humans in his mind. So I spread my hands wide and started stroking up the larger limb that was easiest to reach. “What parts of your tentacles feel best when I touch them? In the…romance novels I’ve read with you guys as main characters, it’s the tips and nubs underneath. I don’t know if that’s right, though.”

Assuming the dirty books I read were accurate wasn’t a good idea even if most of them hadn’t been wrong yet…well, most of the new ones.

There were at least a couple of authors who’d done some hands-on research in the name of accuracy, at the very least.

“Your research is impressive, my Colby.” Turning over the one I was caressing, he arched it up and flexed the nubs for me. “Learning to please your mate requires information gathering.”

Nodding as I gently caressed the nubs, I tried not to drift off mentally. “It doesn’t matter if your partner is human or not, research is important. A lot of younger humans read books on relationships and what to look for in a partner. But you guys don’t seem to need that.”

“No.” Saint might’ve said more, but I accidently distracted him by licking one of the nubs.

Oops.

“Oh, my Colby.” It wasn’t an oh fuck me baby kind of sound, but his made it clear he loved it and his limbs got even more relaxed. “You may continue to provide relaxing pleasure in that way. However, I must keep you safe and not… zone out as humans call it.”

His vocabulary was fun.

But since he seemed to go all runny when he got too relaxed, I was going to take him at his word about when to stop.

“Yes, Sir.” Quickly going back to my fun, I snuggled closer as he seemed to get wider and went back to work licking his nubs and slowly running my hands over every inch of him.

I loved learning what kind of touch made him sigh or what kind had him going meltier. My favorite part was figuring out which nubs were the most sensitive. There were definitely degrees but before I could come to any decisions, Saint decided to shift things up.

By shifting me.

His limb popped out of my mouth as he moved me around, sitting me up and straddling me on his lap. “You are highly accomplished with your mouth, my Colby.”

Too good judging by the way he’d taken away my toy and was firming up again.

“I liked playing with you.” I wasn’t sure how else to describe licking him since that hadn’t sounded romantic at all.

“I have enjoyed your play as well.” He seemed to think I was sweet based on how he ran a tentacle over my head and was wearing an indulgent smile. “You are very good to your mate.”

Still not going to ask.

“Thank you.” He let me give him a peck but quickly eased me back so I was straddled on his lap with easy access to all the areas he liked to caress. “Can I wash you?”

His head cocked and he looked so thoughtful he could’ve been a kid on a TV sitcom. I had to ask. “You practiced human mannerisms, right?”

Thankfully, he didn’t think the question was rude. “Yes, we have found that humans must see anticipated visual cues for comfort.”

Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.

“Our natural stillness created…emotional disturbances.” Saint gave a shrug like oh well humans are cute and kept going. “We have the ability to educate ourselves quickly.”

That was so true I almost laughed.

“You’re right. It does make it easier for me to read you.” I’d like to think that his natural stillness wouldn’t have bothered me, but he was also right about us being prey.

So yeah, we were going to keep the human mannerisms since he didn’t seem to mind.

“I am pleased to be able to provide you comfort.” He gave me more sweet caresses with some limbs, but others were stroking more interesting places. “Staying to research and learn was a decision that has provided much rewards.”

There was something almost gleeful on his face and my first thought was that he’d won a race or something.

Fuck it.

I’d ask.

“What kind of rewards?” I thought staying behind sounded lonely, but he wasn’t giving me that impression.

“You.” He seemed to think that was obvious. Which in this case it probably should’ve been. “Learning your language and researching your relationships was time-consuming as you would say.”

That didn’t seem to bother him, though, which made my worries vanish.

“It has, however, provided me with the opportunity to show you that I will be a good mate.” Doing a happy wiggle that I was pretty sure was natural for him, Saint looked pleased as fuck. “Many have not found ways of meeting potential human mates.”

And he’d found me quickly.

Yep, he’d won the race and found…whatever I was going to be to him.

“I’m glad you found me.” I tried to kiss him again, but he made a happy sound and tightened his tentacles.

My first instinct was to whine but that was quickly followed by a moan, so he knew he’d won this too. “Your reactions and emotions are beautiful, my mate.”

Yep, he knew he’d won and he was ready to gloat.

Yay.