Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Jett
It’s been a few hours and the awkwardness of earlier has faded away. I think I’m getting used to having Landon in my space. I’ll even go so far as to admit he’s a welcome presence. I’m enjoying spending time with him and getting to know him.
Landon is bright, just like his scent. He makes me smile more easily. He makes it easy to laugh. I wouldn’t say I’ve had a bad life, but I know I’m often cold or standoffish. I like animals much more than people. Landon, for whatever reason, feels different.
“Do you like soup?”
Landon tilts his head to the side, reminding me of a puppy who’s just been asked if he wants to go for a walk. It’s very cute. “Who doesn’t like soup?”
“People are allowed their preferences,” I say, softly adding, “even if those preferences are wrong.”
Landon laughs, coming to stand next to me in the kitchen and grabbing my shoulder. Then he leans against the counter, watching me work. I like that. He’s here beside me but he’s not getting in my way or attempting to ‘help’ me cook.
I also find that I really like the way he touches me. Every time, my body warms and something zings through the pit of my stomach, like electricity. The feeling is addicting.
I’ve never felt like this about someone before.
I’ve never developed feelings for another person.
I’ve never craved them the way I seem to be craving Landon.
Already, I can’t stop thinking about other types of touches or wondering what his lips would feel like against my own.
My body feels like it has a mind of its own, like my tentacles might pop out at any time and wrap around Landon’s body, pulling him until our fronts are pressed together so tight that I could feel his erection press against my hip.
“Jett?”
I snap out of my thoughts, looking over at Landon. I can feel my cheeks heating and I do my best to act casual despite the way my brain feels like it’s being turned into scrambled eggs.
“What?”
“I asked if you were okay. You were staring at that onion for a really long time.”
“Sorry, just got lost in thoughts.”
“That’s okay. Seems to be good thoughts,” he says with a grin that makes me flush even brighter.
“I think I’ll make a stew, if that’s okay. I have leftover roast in my fridge. I’ll throw in some onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, and then cover it all with gravy and stock.”
“Jesus, man. You’re gonna make me drool all over myself. That sounds delicious!”
And there my mind goes again, thinking about Landon drooling which shouldn’t be sexy yet somehow in my mind is?
This is all so confusing! I’ve spent the last twenty-nine years blissfully ignorant about all this stuff and now suddenly, my body feels like it’s coming alive in a brand new way for the very first time and I can’t even control it.
Landon is the one with all the control and he doesn’t even realize it.
I get to work chopping everything into bite sized pieces and tossing it onto a pot. Despite Landon and his wonderful scent being close by, I handle cutting everything without getting distracted.
“Are you originally from here or did you move here?”
Landon smiles over at me. He does that, smiles when I talk. I don’t know what that means but I like it.
“I moved here,” Landon explains. “I went to college here actually. Got a scholarship and everything. I have an English Lit degree. I just kinda fell in love with the area and as soon as this place went on the market, I knew it was meant to be.”
“How did your parents react?”
“Oh, they were beside themselves at first. They didn’t want me to see it but they were hoping I’d move back home once I graduated. I was very much a velcro kid growing up, attached to them at the hip but once I went to college, I realized having my space wasn’t such a bad thing.”
I nod my head as I dump the gravy into the pot, stirring everything together. “I imagine it was hard at first, for all of you, but your relationship sounds incredibly mature. I like that you can have that with them.”
“Me too. I love them to pieces. They make sure to come visit me at least once a year and I go see them as well. They live in a big city and it always feels so strange going back. Too much going on, you know?”
“I understand what you mean,” I tell him. “There’s something very peaceful about being out here. I like animals more than people. I don’t think I would do well in a bustling city.”
“I think you’d make it work if you had to,” he says, reaching over and giving me a quick touch against my arm. Warmth surges through me, threatening to take me to my knees.
I give Landon a small smile, hoping he’ll ignore the color of my cheeks. “It’s kind of you to think so.”
“Gods, this smells incredible,” Landon says, his statement proven further by the sound of his stomach rumbling. He looks down at himself, like he can barely believe the noise came from him. I can’t help but laugh. Thankfully, Landon knows I’m not laughing at him and he joins in with me.
I stir our stew as it simmers, everything coming together perfectly. It doesn’t take long before it’s completely done and I can plate up our food. We take our bowls into the living room, eating in front of the fire.
I’m so used to being alone yet somehow, spending time with Landon doesn’t seem that bad.
He somehow fits, sliding into place beside me at the fire.
His presence is soothing. If it was anyone else beside me, I’m sure them being here would be oppressive, like they’re taking up my space.
That’s not at all what I feel towards Landon.
I have no idea what makes him special, but there’s certainly something.
When I was a little boy, I remember seeing a cartoon of a fox who had heart eyes and would follow the girl fox around.
It was like he could follow her perfume and her scent put him under a love spell.
That’s how I feel about Landon’s scent. I feel drawn to it in a way that’s unexplainable.
Not only is my mind captivated by this man, but I think my body is as well.
I feel warm and tingly around him. My hands long to touch him.
My stomach quivers when he smiles at me.
And all of that is without thinking about my cock which keeps stirring despite my best efforts to ignore it.
I have never in my life felt like this before.
It’s equal parts exciting and terrifying.
“This is amazing,” Landon says, digging into his bowl. “You’re an excellent cook, Jett. Thank you.”
“It was nothing,” I tell him right away, brushing off his praise. I look out the window, unable to meet his pretty blue eyes. The snow is still falling. By now, the snow must be up to the window and if this keeps up until morning, we won’t be able to get the door open with how high it’ll be.
“Do you always do that?” Landon asks, snapping me back into the present.
“What?”
“Ignore when people compliment you? It’s not nothing, at least not to me. You’re feeding me and clothing me and taking care of me when it would have been easier to send me on my way back to my house.” He clears his throat and looks down at the bowl in his lap. “You’re really amazing.”
My heart skips a beat. The warmth that was hanging out in my stomach from just being near Landon bursts into an inferno. My hands clench around my bowl so hard I’m worried I might actually break it. I don’t understand my own feelings anymore. I’m overwhelmed with all of these new sensations.
“Thank you,” I say, standing up abruptly. “I’m full. I think I’ll go to bed. Do you need anything?”
Landon stares up at me with wide eyes. Instead of talking, he just shakes his head.
I hurry off into the kitchen, unable to catch my breath.
His words play over and over in my head, forcing my heart to gallop and my lungs to seize.
Fuck, what does any of this mean? Why does my chest feel like this?
Why does my inner octopus beg to be let out so we can wrap all of our arms around Landon and hold on forever?
I put the stew away in the fridge and head towards my bedroom. Landon is already curled up on the couch, his back facing me. I want to say something but think better of it, quickly stepping into my room and shutting the door behind me.
I shouldn’t have run like that but I didn’t want Landon to see me losing my shit. I didn’t want to freak him out by having such a strong reaction to a simple compliment.
Taking out my phone, I quickly dial my sister. As the phone rings, I start to pace my room, walking back and forth next to my bed. I’m filled with nervous energy but at the same time, I’m once again rock hard in my pants. Fuck this. Fuck all of this.
“Hello? Jett? Is everything alright?”
“Hey. Yeah, everything is okay. Kinda. Maybe?”
“Maybe? What’s going on? Is it the snow? Are you safe?”
Fuck, I didn’t even think about how this call would make her think something was wrong with this snowstorm.
“Everything is fine,” I tell her right away, not wanting to worry her further. “I’m having an issue but I’m safe. I promise.”
“Okay,” she says, letting out a long breath. “ Talk to me, Jett.”
I start at the beginning, explaining that Landon showed up at my door right as the snow started to fall. I tell her about him a little bit and then I start to describe how having him in my space is making me feel.
Something must be wrong. I’ve never had anything like this happen before. I can’t seem to wrap my head around it. My body doesn’t feel like my own. I’m so fucking confused.
“I feel like something is wrong with me,” I say softly. “My heart keeps racing, my stomach is a mess, my instincts are all over the place. It’s like having him here is changing me! Or maybe I have the flu? Is this just a weird fever dream, Himari? I don’t understand.”
“Oh, Jett.”
“Oh gods, that doesn’t sound good! I’ve told you this all before but I’ve never been interested in people before.
No one has ever made me want to, shit what’s the phrase you use?
‘Jump their bones’ and now all of a sudden I feel all these weird feelings around Landon.
Is it him? Is it me? Is it the snowstorm?
Has the government finally gone too far and added aphrodisiacs into the snow? ”
At that, my sister bursts out laughing. “Jett! Oh my gods! No, they haven’t added something to the snow.”
“Then what’s going on?”
“I have a theory but I’m not sure how you’re gonna take it.”
“I’m all ears.”
There’s a moment of silence, like she’s trying to find the right words for me to understand. When she finally speaks again, her voice is gentle.
“I think your body is reacting to Landon’s presence. I don’t think this is all in your head. Sometimes, as an octopus shifter, our bodies know when someone is ours long before our mind wraps itself around that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you should get to know Landon better. I think you should trust your gut. I think maybe you never felt strongly about other people because you were destined to find Landon.”
My pacing stops and I stare at the wall, frozen, trying to wrap my head around Himari’s words. Could she be right? Could my shifter side be making me feel like this because it somehow knows Landon is the one for me? Could I trust these feelings?
“Is this what it was like when you met Pierce?”
“Something similar,” she says with a warm chuckle. “Thankfully Landon is a shifter so he will probably be way more understanding about these things than Pierce was.”
“That’s true,” I say slowly, all of this sinking in. “So you think I should just embrace these feelings?”
“I don’t want to push you into doing anything you’re not comfortable with,” she says, “but I also think you’ll regret not giving this a chance. It sounds like your octopus knows what he wants and it would be a shame to dismiss it just because it’s a little uncomfortable.”
“Okay,” I finally say. I feel my body unclench. “Thank you for talking me through this.”
“Anytime, Jett. I love you very much and it brings me great joy to hear that you’ve maybe found your person.” I smile at the sentiment, my chest feeling fluttery for an entirely different reason. “Please keep me updated on how things go.”
“I will. I love you too.”
After I hang up the phone, I let out a long breath. I’m suddenly exhausted, coming down from the high-strung emotional state I was just in. Everything was so chaotic just a moment ago but now, they feel like they’re settling, falling into place exactly where they’re supposed to be.
Despite never sleeping beside another person since I was a child with my siblings, as I get into bed, I can’t help but wonder how it would feel to have Landon here beside me.