Chapter 5
Chapter Five
JAKE
Jake was underwater; that much was clear. Rays of sun shone down around him, but it was a faint, distant light, filtered through a mile of open water, landing on patches of coral and stone to paint shimmering landscapes.
The ocean was alive. Fish swam past, silent but gleeful, and colorful creatures crawled on the sea floor many feet beneath him. Seaweed waved like grass in an eerie slow-motion wind.
His chest clenched with anxiety as he thought of breathing. He opened his mouth to take in air, the panic building, but water invaded his lungs as he did.
Somehow, there was no desperate drowning sensation, no fading sight as his brain was deprived of oxygen. He was breathing water. It was surprisingly easy. In and out, the cool liquid filled his lungs, and he was fine.
Better than fine. Invigorated.
Something brushed against his leg. He glanced down to catch sight of a long, silver tentacle snaking its way around his ankle.
This is bad.
Before Jake could react, before he could swim a single stroke, tentacles were encircling him, the invasion tickling his skin. He struggled, pulling away as much as he could, but soon he was totally restrained. Tentacles encircled his wrists, his thighs, even his torso.
Trapped. He wanted to scream, to call out, but no sound came. His airways, his lungs, his vocal cords filled with water.
Then Doren appeared in front of him, and a wave of calm rolled through his body.
They were beautiful. Still clad in sun-yellow board shorts, their smile was even brighter than Jake remembered. They floated just a few feet away, and Jake luxuriated in the chance to let his eyes roam, studying Doren’s tattoos further.
They were so intricate, emphasizing the lean muscle of Doren’s chest and torso. Doren might not have been bulky, but they were strong, and Jake imagined them taking him in their arms. Holding them close. Safe.
“Of course I wish to hold you, handsome,” Doren’s voice rang out in his mind. “I want to do so much more than that.”
Hearing Doren in his head sent tingles coursing through his body, and his cock hardened in his…shit, he wasn’t wearing pants. He stared down at his semi, both turned on and embarrassed to be naked next to a clothed Doren.
“I’m waiting…” Doren’s tone was warm and enticing. Jake couldn’t help himself. He reached his arms out, and Doren grabbed his hands, gripping and pulling Jake toward themself with a powerful confidence.
Doren’s arms were around him now, wrapping his hands around his lower back, squeezing his furry belly against theirs. Jake’s cock was fully hard now and pressing against Doren’s thigh, but as Doren trailed kisses down Jake’s neck, he couldn’t find it in him to be embarrassed.
Jake was leaking a steady flow of precum into the shifting water, and he shivered as Doren’s smooth hands found his ass cheeks.
Doren fondled him with a care that Jake had never experienced.
Phil had been into Jake’s butt, but only had one mode: hard and fast. That was fun sometimes, but what Jake craved was to have his ass worshipped.
Doren’s subtle, teasing touches hinted they might be the one to do that.
“You feel so good,” Doren whispered into Jake’s mind. Each of Doren’s words was like a mini-orgasm in Jake’s brain, setting off a cascade of pleasure and need.
Jake pressed himself tighter into Doren, wrapping his arms around Doren and grinding his cock into their swimsuit-covered thigh. He’d give anything for Doren to take off their trunks.
“Ooh, do you want to get yourself off on me, hottie? Yes, grind into me, bring yourself to the edge.”
A word of permission was all Jake needed, and he pushed his dick against Doren again. Their hands came to rest on Jake’s love handles as he did, but there was no judgement there, not like with Phil. No, Doren caressed them, treasuring them as they did every other part of Jake’s body.
The touch spurred Jake onward, and Doren encouraged him, speaking into Jake’s mind even as he stuck his tongue in Jake’s ear, sparking an excruciating burst of pleasure that was almost too much for him.
“That’s right, sweetheart, I want to feel you come apart in my arms. Your orgasm belongs to me.”
Jake was so close, on the edge of climax, but couldn’t quite tumble off the cliff. Frustration was building as he continued to grind his pelvis into Doren, desperate for the release. For a moment, he worried he wouldn’t get it.
Then something new caressed his right butt cheek. Doren’s hands were still on his hips, so what the hell was that? Was it…
Fuck, it was a tentacle! Jake almost stopped everything, but even though the texture was strange against his skin, it was silky and amazing.
Jake was almost there. Water rushed around them as he continued to thrust, Doren’s tongue teasing his ear and his neck, and just as he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, the tip of the tentacle brushed against his hole.
With a soundless scream, Jake poured out his release into the ocean waters, his body trembling with the intensity.
“Good job, baby.” Pride echoed in Doren’s mind-voice, and that made everything perfect. “I hope you’ll let me do that when—”
Bang!
Jake nearly fell out of the bed as the terrifying noise punctured the air of the unfamiliar beach house. The hiss next to him let Jake know that Miranda Priestly was not a fan of it either.
Bang! Bang!
Wiping the sleep from his eyes, it took a moment to understand what he was hearing. It was…wood banging? Or someone shooting at the house? Or—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Shit. It was knocking. Someone was knocking at the door.
“Hold on!” Jake called out, jumping out of bed and orienting himself. Glancing at his phone, he realized that he’d slept almost twenty-four hours. He’d arrived at about eleven a.m., and instead of taking the quick nap he’d planned on, he’d been out the entire night.
That wasn’t good. He hoped it was a fluke, but sleeping that much was a big warning sign for him. He could be entering a deeper depressive cycle. Not that he didn’t have his reasons, considering the circumstances, but being depressed wouldn’t help the situation.
He rushed down the narrow staircase to the first floor, striding toward the door. An old woman was visible through the glass. With pure white hair, and wearing a navy fisherman’s bucket hat and a cream sweater dotted in tiny illustrated lighthouses, she cut quite the figure.
Pulling open the door, Jake forced a smile. His hair was wild, he was sure, and these were clearly pajamas, but hopefully she wouldn’t judge him for that.
“Uh…hi? Can I help you?”
“Why, yes, you can, young man!” the older woman said, rushing past Jake and making a beeline for the kitchen counter. It was then Jake noticed she was carrying a…pie? Had she brought pie?
“I’m, uh, Jake. My grandmother owns this beach house, and I’m staying for the winter.” The woman nodded, saying nothing as she rifled through the kitchen drawers. “Who are you?”
“Dorothea. A local, and one of the Watchers.” Opening a drawer and finding what she was looking for, Dorothea squealed, removing a big knife and brandishing it. “I hope you like blueberry.”
Jake’s eyes went wide. Blueberry pie was his favorite. How had she known? Questions about why this old woman was in his house, or what the hell a Watcher was, were gone from his mind. He was going to get blueberry pie!
“I love blueberry pie!”
Pulling two plates from the cupboard, Dorothea beckoned for Jake to sit at the kitchen table before cutting two pieces and plopping them onto the plates with aplomb. Grabbing two small forks, she set one in front of Jake and sat across from him with the other one.
“Well, dig in. I baked it this morning.” Without waiting, Dorothea stabbed into the pie with her fork, brought it to her mouth, and sighed.
Jake couldn’t hold off any longer. He took a bite and let out a moan. It was embarrassingly loud, but he couldn’t help it. The sweet warm burst of the blueberries and the solid crunch of the flaky crust were a joyous combination. After he was done, the blood rushed to his face. “Sorry…”
“Don’t worry your head over it, young man,” Dorothea said, balancing another bite on her fork. “I bake a pie every morning, and I still let out a few sounds of appreciation when I have my first bite. It’s better than sex. And I should know. I’ve had a lot of sex in my lifetime.”
Jake’s face was getting warmer and warmer, but that didn’t stop him from devouring the delicious pie. The two sat in silence for a few minutes as they ate, basking in the joy of the pastry together. Honestly, the blueberry pie was the best thing to happen to Jake in a few weeks.
As he finished up, a wave of self-consciousness hit him, followed by suspicion. What was this woman doing in his grandmother’s house?
“Can I, uh, help you with something?”
The question not even registering on her face, Dorothea stood and collected the dishes, bringing them over to the sink. She turned on the hot water to wash them, leaving Jake to stare. He should get up and help her, right? Dorothea was a guest in his home.
Except was she? He hadn’t invited her in, regardless of how much he loved the blueberry pie. Was she a weirdo, or was this just how all Mainers were?
He was about to press her further when she pulled out a kitchen towel from a nearby drawer and finally answered his question.
“You can consider me the welcome wagon, sweetheart.” She kept her gaze trained on the section of beach that was visible through the window over the sink, even as she dried the plates and forks.
“Only a few young folks stay the winter.
It's mostly just us old-timers, and we like to make sure new people are comfortable. And keep an eye on things.”
“The Watchers?” Jake asked, remembering how Dorothea had identified herself when she’d come in.
She nodded, still staring out at the ocean, continuing to run the towel over an already-dry dish.