Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Logan's fingers fidgeted with the stack of paper in his hands as he watched Valen clear away their breakfast dishes. It still amazed him how quickly his alien mate had adapted to domestic tasks. Soon they'd be leaving the cabin, heading back to his life in the city, and everything would change again.

"I, uh, made you something," Logan said, his voice catching slightly. "For Christmas."

Valen turned. "But I don't have anything for you."

"It's okay. I want you to have this." Logan held out the stack of hand-made coupons, bound together with twine he'd found in a kitchen drawer. "They're... promises. For when we start our life in the city."

Valen drifted closer, tentacles reaching for the small booklet. His topaz eyes widened as he read the first coupon—he'd learned to read extremely fast. "'One guided tour of downtown, including your first coffee shop experience.'" He flipped to the next one. "Movie night at a real theater." His gaze met Logan's. "You made a list of things to show me?"

"Things I want to share with you," Logan admitted. "But also things you'll need to know, for when we..." He swallowed, excitement and anxiety mixing in his chest. "For our future together."

"It'll be amazing." Valen's joy lit up everything inside of Logan. "I can't wait to see your city. Tell me again what you do there."

"Well," Logan said, amused, "I work at the university library. It's quiet most days, helping students find research materials, organizing the collections." He smiled. "You'll love it there. Whole floors of books, old manuscripts, digital archives of human knowledge..."

"I love it already." His accent sounded more natural now. "And you live..."

"In an apartment not far from campus. Nothing fancy, but it has big windows and a small balcony." Logan's hand found one of Valen's tentacles, squeezing gently. "We'll need to be careful, of course. You'll need a human form when we're out in public."

Valen's grinned. "Maybe that can be my gift to you. I'll let you choose."

The eagerness in Valen's voice made Logan's chest warm. Here was this alien prince, willing to change his entire form just to fit into Logan's world. Just to be with him.

Valen turned on the TV. The morning news flickered to life, showing a polished anchor with perfect hair delivering headlines about winter storms.

Without hesitation, Valen shifted, and Logan found himself standing next to an exact copy of the newscaster.

"Too noticeable," Logan said quickly. "We don't want anyone recognizing you from TV."

Valen changed back to his natural form with a ripple of energy, already flipping to another channel. A cooking show, featuring a celebrity chef with spiky blonde hair and intense expressions. Another shift, and that man stood beside Logan instead.

"That's, uh... that's Gordon Ramsay. Hot, but definitely not the best choice for blending in."

Valen hummed thoughtfully and kept surfing channels, pausing briefly on each to study the humans he saw. A weather reporter. A sitcom actor. A car commercial spokesman. With each new channel, he tried on a new form, like someone browsing through clothes at a store.

Logan found himself both fascinated and slightly unnerved watching his mate try on different human appearances so easily. It was strange seeing familiar and unfamiliar faces appear where Valen stood, but through their connection, he could still feel his mate's essence. Valen was curious, eager to learn, wanting to get this right.

"Wait," Valen said, pausing on a channel showing some kind of medical drama. "I like his eyes." He shifted, taking on the actor's warm brown eyes but combined it with the previous channel's news anchor's stronger jawline. "And maybe..." He flipped again, landing on a coffee commercial. The man in it had thick dark hair that fell slightly over his forehead. Another shift, and that hair appeared on his emerging composite face.

Logan watched, fascinated, as Valen created something entirely new.

But then Valen stopped and looked at Logan.

"What do you prefer?" Valen asked, and Logan felt his sincere desire to please, to find a form his mate would want to look at every day.

"I..." Logan hesitated, warmth spreading across his cheeks. "I like you in any form. You're still you."

"Logan." Valen brushed his arm gently. "You're allowed to have preferences." He gestured at the TV. "What appeals to you?"

Logan looked at the screen, then back at Valen's current borrowed features. "Well... I do like those eyes. But maybe a bit lighter? More amber than brown?" He watched as Valen adjusted the color, making them warmer, with hints of gold that reminded Logan of his natural topaz pupils. "Yes, like that. And maybe..." Logan leaned forward as Valen flipped to another channel, pointing at an actor in a commercial. "That nose? It's distinctive but not too much."

Valen made the adjustment, and Logan felt his mate's pleasure at his growing involvement. The nose did suit the face they were building, adding character to the classical features.

"What about the mouth?" Valen asked, switching channels again. He paused on each face they saw, letting Logan study them.

"That one," Logan said, surprising himself with his certainty. The man on screen had a gentle smile, the kind that started in one corner and seemed to hold secrets. "It's... expressive. Like you."

Valen incorporated it, then turned to Logan with that same smile, somehow both borrowed and entirely his own. Through their bond, Logan felt a spark of excitement. They were getting closer.

"The hair's still not quite right," Logan mused, more confident now. He watched as Valen flipped through channels, both of them searching. "There!" A character in some period drama had appeared, his dark hair falling in soft waves, longer than current fashion but not excessively so. "That style, but maybe a shade darker?"

Valen made the changes, and suddenly Logan's breath caught. The separate features they'd chosen had merged into something... someone... who looked both completely human and uniquely Valen. Those warm gold-flecked eyes, the secret smile, the dramatic sweep of nearly black hair… it all came together into a face that Logan could easily imagine walking beside him through the city streets, sitting across from him in coffee shops, drawing subtle second glances but not unwanted attention.

Through their bond, he felt Valen's own recognition. He liked this too.

Valen looked down at himself, flexing his fingers. "This is strange," he said. "Only two hands. How do you deal?"

Logan laughed. "Two hands are plenty."

Valen held one of those hands out to him. "Come here."

Logan's heart beat fast as he obliged and took the offered hand. It felt warm and solid. Human. But this man was still the alien he knew, radiating the same affection, the same desire to be close, even if his physical form had changed.

Logan reached up, letting his fingers trace the strong line of Valen's jaw, the soft curve of his mouth. "I like those lips."

""You do?" Valen smiled. "Then I shall keep them." He leaned closer and brushed those lips over Logan's own. "You like this too?"

Warmth sparked inside of Logan at the soft kiss. "Definitely."

He let himself be pulled against the newly transformed body, enjoying the sensation of Valen wrapping his arms around him. It was different, but not in a bad way. Just new.

His fingers touched the soft fabric of the sweater Valen was wearing. "What is this made of?" he asked.

"Part of my body," Valen said. "I can make it disappear." The next moment, Logan's fingers were touching naked skin—and muscles. Naturally Valen had given himself a six-pack like he'd seen on the athletes on TV.

"You're cheating." Logan laughed again.

"Do you not like it?"

"No, I love it." He traced the lines of those abs with his finger tips, enjoying the shudder that ran through Valen's body at the light touch. "We'll have to get you some actual clothes in the city."

"Clothes are overrated," Valen murmured, kissing his neck. "I like you better without them, too." As Valen spoke, his hands slipped under Logan's sweater, touching bare skin. "It feels nice under my fingertips."

"See? Hands aren't so bad." Logan smiled, glancing down Valen's body. He was wearing jeans. Not real jeans, of course. "What did you choose for downstairs?" Valen hadn't seen a lot of human dick, had he?

Valen smiled back at him. "I think a tool like that is better demonstrated in action."

He pulled Logan toward the bedroom and then onto the bed, covering Logan's body with his own. Their mouths found each other and kissed deeply as their legs tangled together. Logan sighed into the kiss, loving that sensation of another male body on top of his, hard lines digging into his own. It scratched an itch in him he hadn't realized was there until now. As much as he loved Valen in his tentacled form, this right here, skin on skin, fulfilled a much more basic need of his that he had ignored for too long.

Valen seemed to be enjoying himself as well, if the way he ground their bodies together meant anything. Whatever he had in his pants was growing hard as well, rubbing against Logan's own cock through layers of clothes.

Logan groaned. He needed those clothes out of the way, needed to feel Valen fully against his naked skin.

Valen seemed to pick up on his impatience because his jeans disappeared just like his sweater had, revealing a nice hard cock that made Logan's mouth water with want. It was thick and curved upward slightly, looking absolutely perfect as far as Logan was concerned.

"What do you think?" Valen asked as Logan reached out to stroke him. "Did I get it right?" He gasped at the touch and thrust into Logan's hand.

"Oh yes," Logan assured him, squeezing gently, enjoying the feel of it. "Where did you get your inspiration for this? You didn't see dick on TV, did you?"

"Not TV," Valen admitted. "I looked on your phone when you were sleeping last night. You have a very revealing search history."

Logan stared at Valen. "You went through my phone?"

"I only looked at your porn. Was that wrong?"

Logan stared at his alien mate a moment longer. "I'll forgive you if you put the knowledge you gained to good use," he muttered.

Valen grinned. "Gladly."

His hands found the button of Logan's jeans, popping it open with ease before pulling the zipper down slowly. Logan lifted his hips so Valen could pull the offending piece of fabric off, taking Logan's underwear along with it, leaving him naked beneath Valen's gaze. "Your cock is very nice too."

Logan's skin heated. "It's fairly regular." Even as he said it, though, his cock seemed to stand up more proudly under Valen's praise.

"No, it's very nice," Valen insisted, amber eyes holding Logan's gaze. "It's attached to you, and it makes you react so beautifully when I touch it." As if to give weight to his words, one hand closed over Logan's erection and began stroking it, making it jump in his fist as Logan let out a soft moan. Valen's lips twitched. "See?"

Logan huffed out a breathless laugh. "Okay, okay. You win. My cock is very nice."

Valen hummed his approval, bending forward to press a kiss to Logan's lips. At the same time, his thumb brushed over the slit in Logan's tip. Logan moaned into his mouth, pleasure sparking hotly through his veins, chasing the blood south and filling his erection completely.

When the kiss broke, Logan's breath was coming faster, need burning through his body once again. He reached for his partner, running his hands over Valen's chest, marveling at the smoothness of the skin, the firmness of the muscles under his palms. It all felt so warm and real.

His hand slid down to Valen's cock. The one he'd chosen to please Logan. It felt heavy in his hand, just as it should. "Fuck me with this," he whispered against Valen's lips.

"I will," Valen breathed, kissing him again before shifting to kneel between Logan's thighs. Logan spread for him, watching as his alien lover stroked himself with one hand and reached out to tease his rim with the fingers of the other.

The first push of two fingers had Logan moaning. His fingers had become slick without lube, easing their way inside him. "You're always tight," Valen murmured, "no matter how much I stretched you last time." He pressed a kiss to Logan's thigh. "I love that about your human body. Because I know how much you love it."

Logan shivered at Valen's words and his tone of voice as his fingers pushed deeper. He couldn't wait to feel that thick cock inside him, fucking deep into him.

Somehow, he wanted it even more than he'd wanted the tentacles, which was saying something.

Valen looked at him as if the thought registered with him, or maybe the desire did. "You'll have me," he promised. "Any way you want. I will always try to make you happy as best as I can."

"You make me very happy."

"Good." Valen added a third finger, twisting it inside Logan's passage and making him cry out at the stretch. His body burned, but he welcomed the pain, wanting Valen inside him more than anything else.

Finally, those fingers slipped free. Logan watched as Valen stroked himself once more and positioned the tip of his erection against his entrance. Then, he pressed forward, breaching his hole, pushing inside. Logan moaned, his back arching as he opened for Valen, taking every inch of that cock deep into his body. "God, yes, that's good..."

"You feel perfect around me," Valen murmured, bending down to press a kiss to Logan's lips. Logan sighed, opening up eagerly to the kiss, letting the sensations overwhelm him. He could feel Valen everywhere: on top of him, in his head, in his ass, stretching and filling him. He loved the sensation of being pinned down by Valen's weight, surrounded by him completely, skin on skin. He let his thoughts drift, and felt Valen there too. Felt his joy at pleasing Logan, his desire to fuck him, his lust, his love. So much love it made Logan dizzy.

He wrapped his thighs around Valen's hips and dug his heels into his lower back, urging him deeper, needing to feel all that cock buried inside him completely. Valen moaned, breaking their kiss to stare down at him. "Logan..." He pulled his hips back until his tip was the only thing left inside Logan before thrusting in again.

Logan cried out at the sudden movement, but the pleasure was so intense he couldn't help it.

"Is it good?" Valen whispered.

Was it good? It was incredible. "Yes," Logan said. "Yes, fuck me. Fuck me hard."

Valen moaned and began moving faster, driving into him harder with each stroke until Logan could no longer speak, only pant for breath as the pleasure built higher and higher inside him, burning him from the inside out.

He wanted Valen deeper, wanted all of him. He clung tightly to Valen's shoulders, trying to pull him closer, to take every inch of his lover's cock.

Valen growled softly and grabbed hold of Logan's hips, pulling them up until Logan's ass lifted off the bed entirely and Valen was able to slam into him at the perfect angle that had stars erupting behind Logan's eyelids with each thrust. His prostate throbbed with every hit, his cock leaking against his belly as his climax approached.

"Please, please, please," he chanted, desperate for release. He needed more, needed...

Valen slammed into him again and held. Logan whimpered desperately until Valen's cock swelled inside him, growing larger than it had been before, stretching his hole wider and pressing against his prostate relentlessly until Logan's vision blurred. His whole existence focused on that one point of contact, and when Valen finally moved again, his too thick cock sliding against Logan's prostate as it tugged his rim open, Logan came untouched. Pleasure crashed through his system, doubled by the pleasure of Valen's climax, pulsing hotly inside him as Valen emptied himself. Logan's cock jerked and spurted cum over his stomach as he rode out the aftershocks, gasping and clinging to his mate as Valen collapsed against him. He was shaking too, breathing harshly in Logan's ear.

After a few moments, he shifted, carefully slipping out of Logan's body before rolling them both onto their sides so they lay facing each other, foreheads almost touching. "How was that? Good enough without the tentacles?"

Logan gave a shaky laugh. His brain felt fuzzy around the edges, his mind still buzzing in the afterglow of their shared release. "I like the tentacles," he said. "But they're just a kink. This was... something else." He traced his fingers over the soft skin of Valen's cheek and smiled contentedly. "I like you like this."

Valen smiled back at him. "So no more tentacles?"

Logan chuckled and shook his head. "I didn't say that."

Valen pulled him against his chest and gave him another brief kiss. "I can be anything for you, any time. Any fantasy of yours, I'm happy to fulfill."

Logan sighed happily, relaxing against his mate. "You're already doing that."

"By lying in bed with you?"

"By being you," Logan corrected. "By being here with me on Christmas, by..." Logan licked his lips and gazed up at Valen. "By loving me."

"I do love you." Valen stroked his hand down Logan's back tenderly. "More than anything."

Logan nuzzled closer, feeling warm and sated and happy in a way he'd thought he'd never be again. "I love you too." He kissed Valen's skin. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Valen tightened his arms around him, and they remained like that for a very long time, lost in each other, having a very merry Christmas indeed.