Chapter 12 #2
Tears were streaming from Jake’s eyes now, although he couldn’t remember when they’d started. No one had ever made him feel like this. No boyfriend had ever taken care of him in this way. He’d always been the one doing the caretaking, which he didn’t mind, but that wasn’t him anymore.
Now he was Doren’s.
He was hurtling toward the edge, which…wasn’t possible? Nothing was touching his dick! But that didn’t matter. The tip of the tentacle ruthlessly hit his prostate, and as it did, Jake’s balls tightened and the base of his spine tingled.
“Holy shit, I’m gonna—”
He wasn’t able to finish the sentence as a geyser of cum exploded from him, shooting up onto his stomach in long white ropes. A hoarse shout accompanied the orgasm, and Jake’s universe went white.
It was all too much at once. His brain and his body decided together that it was time to give up. Before he knew it, consciousness slipped away as he allowed himself to be cradled in his lover’s tentacles.
When Jake came to, he was no longer downstairs in the living room of the beach house.
Instead, he was lying on top of the covers of his enormous bed, cuddled against Doren, his ass resting against Doren’s crotch.
The morning sun poured into the bedroom, bathing everything in a comforting amber.
Jake let out a deep sigh and slipped out of Doren’s embrace.
God, his alien was beautiful. With all their tentacles now retracted, Doren was their full human self, and they were a sight for sore eyes.
Miles of beautiful, sun-kissed skin covering the long, lean muscles of a swimmer’s build.
Fine blonde hair in all the right places.
And that face. Even asleep, it held the promise of a smile.
From his position on the bed, Jake caught a flash of light on the face of his phone. Scooting over to it, he saw that it was a call from his grandmother. Grabbing the phone, he headed down the stairs as he answered it.
“Gram?”
“Jakie! I’m so happy to hear your voice, you little asshole!”
Flinching at her volume and overexuberance, Jake headed straight for the coffee maker. “Hi, Gram. What’s going on?”
“I can’t just want to hear my favorite grandson’s voice?” The loud sound of chewing followed her question. Maybe nuts? She loved her cashews.
“First off, I’m your only grandson. Second, if you didn’t have an agenda, I’d be worried an alien had taken you over.” Jake grimaced a little at his own words. He actually did have an alien asleep in the beach house, which was…well, he didn’t know what Gram’s reaction would be to that.
“Sure, but you don’t have to say it out loud like that.” Another handful of nuts.
Jake chuckled lightly. “I do love you, Gram.”
“Oh, I know. Everyone loves me. I’m having to beat ‘em off with a stick at the senior center.”
Jake groaned, but couldn’t help but smile. “Glad you’re having fun. Don’t need to hear about it.”
The noise of a door creaking open came through the phone receiver, followed by his grandmother yelling into the room behind her. “Just go home, Fred. I don’t want you to make me breakfast, and I’m sure as hell not cooking for you.”
She let out a loud sigh as she brought the receiver back to her mouth. Jake focused in on the drip of the coffee into the quarter-filled pot, trying to block out whatever sexy shenanigans were going on in Massachusetts.
“Anyway, I’m calling to make sure you’re still driving down for Christmas dinner next week. The cat will be fine alone for a day. Or if it’s a problem, we can keep her in the spare bedroom.”
Jake hummed under his breath, considering his grandmother’s question. He would hate to miss Christmas dinner with her, but he wondered about Doren. Would the alien have anywhere to be on Christmas? Would they care it was Christmas at all?
Jake wasn’t religious himself, but he adored the holiday with its pageantry and its message of peace and goodwill. He didn’t want Doren to be lonely on Christmas. He’d been looking forward to spending the day with them.
But this was his grandmother. She was his only genuine family.
“Of course, Gram. I’ll come down. MP will be fine alone at the beach house for a day.”
Jake’s grandmother didn’t reply for a long moment, and he wondered if she was still trying to get rid of Fred. Finally, she said, “That was a long pause. Did you find yourself a beau in Linwood Falls?”
Dammit, she was practically psychic when it came to him. Just once, it would be great to keep something from her, for a little while at least. Jake sighed, which was followed by the beeping of the coffee maker announcing the contents were ready.
“I’ve started seeing someone new, yes. But it’s only been a couple of weeks.”
“You know everyone is welcome at my house for Christmas, Jakie.” Her welcoming words had an accusatory undertone. “There’s no reason for your beau to stay away.”
“Beau is such a weird word,” Jake replied, trying to deflect her questioning, even though he knew it would do no good.
“Don’t distract me, jerk. I know all your little games. Invite your person down. Hell, invite their whole family.”
“Doren’s family probably has its own traditions, so–”
“Doren, huh? What an unusual name!” Shit. He hadn’t meant to let that slip out. “Well, I bet Doren’s family would appreciate an incredible home-cooked meal. And no beau wants to be without their sweetie on Christmas day.”
Jake ground his teeth together. “Please stop calling Doren my ‘beau.’ It makes me feel like I’m in a Tennessee Williams play.
And are you sure you want an entire group of people there?
Not that I necessarily think they’ll say yes, but your house isn’t that big.
What if your paramours want to be there? What about poor Fred?”
His grandmother scoffed, and Jake poured coffee into the biggest mug he could find. He guessed this would be a three-pot day.
“Fred has a spinster sister he’ll be spending Christmas with. Besides, he’s just a fuck-buddy.”
“Gram!” Jake spat out the mouthful of coffee he’d sipped before she delivered that bombshell.
“Hush, honey. Just ask Doren about joining us.”
“Fine, I will.” The worst part was that he couldn’t lie to her. If he neglected to ask, she’d know, and she’d call him out on it. “See you next week. I love you.”
“Love you, baby.” Gram hung up on him, and he sucked down several gulps of coffee. There wasn’t enough Java in the world to deal with his stubborn grandmother.
“Will what?” Doren’s voice behind him made his shoulders slump. Couldn’t he get just a few minutes of coffee time before having to navigate this conversation? It looked like the answer was no.
Jake turned and faced his sweet “beau,” who was clothed in a blue-and-white striped bathrobe that must have been left in the bathroom for guests.
Jake hadn’t even noticed it before, but he was thankful for it now.
It revealed Doren’s shapely legs in an absolutely scandalous way.
Thank goodness for tall lovers and short bathrobes.
“I promised Gram that I’d invite you for Christmas dinner. And your whole family.”
Doren stared at him blankly. “I don’t…”
“It’s fine if the answer is ‘no.’” Jake pulled out another mug to make coffee for his lover. “My grandmother is pushy, but she’s not mean. She’s just interested in my life, and she’d want to make sure your family felt included, especially if they didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
Doren reached out and took the mug from Jake’s hand and sipped the hot liquid, confusion camping out in his eyes.
“I’m uncertain they’d be willing. Even if I could convince them to ascend to the surface, Massachusetts is much further from their home than Linwood Falls.”
Jake reached out and wrapped his arms around Doren’s waist, kissing the alien on the cheek even as he held his mug away from them to avoid spillage. “It’s not a big deal if they don’t come.”
Doren nodded, but didn’t seem convinced. “Ever since Ren…”
Stepping back, Jake stared deep into Doren’s eyes. “Who’s Ren?”
Sinking down onto a kitchen chair, Doren tapped at the wooden tabletop.
“They are my father’s sibling. They miscalculated and exposed themself to the wrong person, who contacted the human police.
Ren was attacked. Shot at and injured quite severely.
They haven’t returned to the surface since. They haven’t been the same.”
Pulling up another chair to sit right next to Doren, Jake kissed their neck. “I’m so sorry, baby. That’s awful. You were so brave to tell me about your species.”
“Well, if you recall, I didn’t have a choice,” Doren said, chuckling. “Bard became inebriated and blew my cover. But it would be a positive development for my parents to leave the depths. If they met the family of the man I’m falling for, that would be even better.”
An explosion of warmth spread through Jake at Doren’s words, and he immediately covered it with a joke. “Oh, really? And who’s that?”
“You, you jerk!” Doren slapped Jake’s arm gently before kissing him. The kiss was warm and sweet, a promise of many more to come.
“Do you think you’ll ask them?” Jake studied Doren’s face as he asked the question. The idea unsettled Doren. Jake could tell.
“Yes.” Doren ran their thumb over the top of Jake’s hand. “But I shall do it the day before. The more time they have to ponder the issue, the more likely it is they’ll back out.”
Jake nodded, and Doren said nothing more. Their eyes were unfocused, and Jake was sure they were perseverating on the things their family might say.
That wasn’t helpful, so Jake made fierce eye contact with Doren, speaking in a low, intense tone. “I’m falling in love with you too, by the way.”
Turning beet red, Doren’s breath hitched at Jake’s words. It was the sweetest sound he’d heard in a long, long time.