Chapter Eleven
Opening his eyes, Justin tried to move but found he couldn’t.
Eteriion lay behind him and had wrapped Justin up in his arms and tentacles.
Tentacles. Now that was a word he never thought he’d be saying to himself, or actually experiencing, but Eteriion’s tentacles held him close, and Justin found he liked it.
It made him feel safe and secure and warm. Eteriion gave off a lot of heat.
“Do you celebrate Christmas?”
Eteriion shifted behind him, his tentacles tightening, then relaxing. “A human custom I enjoy.” A soft kiss to the back of his neck had Justin smiling. “Do you? I know some don’t.”
“I love Christmas. I thought I would be having a miserable one when I came here.”
“Then you met me.”
Justin rolled over to face Eteriion, seeing the smug look on his face. “Hmm. I did. You and your tentacles.”
“You…freaked out.”
Snorting, Justin snuggled close, feeling Eteriion’s tentacles slide over his skin and hold him close. “I did. Never thought I’d be lying here with you, wrapped up in them.”
“Do they still bother you?”
Justin looked into Eteriion’s unique purple eyes. “I wouldn’t be here if they did. I like them and they’re part of you and in case you haven’t noticed, I like you.”
Eteriion grinned, then kissed Justin on the lips. “We should get up. I need to make sure everything works and then we can decorate the tree.”
“Everything works?” Justin tilted his head to one side when Eteriion kissed down his neck.
“Heating. Lights. Important things.” Eteriion’s tentacles slid around Justin’s body, laying him flat on the rug as Eteriion moved over him.
More kisses up his neck and across his jaw had Justin sighing.
He felt Eteriion’s dick rubbing in his hole, and he lifted his legs, wrapping them around Eteriion’s waist as he pushed inside.
Moaning, he closed his eyes and let Eteriion take control, the pleasure building slowly.
They weren’t in a hurry to reach the end, and Justin moaned softly when one of Eteriion’s tentacles slowly pumped his erection.
When he finally came, he gasped Eteriion’s name, shaking as his body came undone, and he lay panting, feeling Eteriion stutter then still above him. “That was a perfect way to start the day.”
Eteriion lifted his head and smiled down at him. “I like waking up next to you.” He eased out of Justin and stood, holding a tentacle out to him. Justin blinked, then chuckled as he let it wrap around his hand and wrist and pull him up off the floor.
“That might take some getting used to.”
“But not enough to put you off.”
“How many times have we had sex since I found out you’re an alien?” Justin followed Eteriion into his bedroom.
“Not enough.” Eteriion grinned. Walking into the bathroom, Eteriion turned the shower on and tested it. “We have warm water, so we’d better use it while we can.” Eteriion tugged him into the shower, and Justin yelped when the cool water hit his warm skin.
“It’s cold!”
Eteriion frowned down at him. “It’s not cold. It’s warm.”
Justin stared up at Eteriion, noticing the difference in their height again. “How tall are you?”
“Six feet, five inches.”
“I’m six feet and you seem way taller than me.”
“I like being bigger than you.” Eteriion moved Justin under the spray, and he gritted his teeth, hoping he’d adjust to the temperature. “I like being able to hold you.”
Justin blinked up at Eteriion and wiped the water from his eyes. “I am a man, you know. I don’t need protecting.” But it was nice to have this large alien want to hold him, and at six feet, there weren’t many men who could do that.
“But you do like me being able to hold you.” Eteriion tilted his head. “You do, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do, but how do you know that?”
“I can scent you. Your scent seems…less heavy. I don’t know how to describe it. You don’t seem sad or lonely when I hold you and you move closer to me. You sigh when my tentacles tighten around you.”
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes because Eteriion was speaking the truth, he murmured, “I do.” Time for some honesty.
“I’ve always wanted to be with someone who could manhandle me.
I always ended up being the top in my relationships, the one in control, when really, I wanted to be the one who gave up control.
I don’t want to be seen as weak though, because I’m not.
I’m still a man and I want to be treated as a man. ”
“I like you the way you are, and I like taking care of you.” Eteriion slid his hands down Justin’s arms and laced their fingers together.
“I like having you here with me, but I know you have to go.” Giving Justin a close-lipped smile, Eteriion let go of his hands and picked up the shampoo. “Let me take care of you while I can.”
Justin sucked his lips in, unsure what to say, so he nodded instead.
He closed his eyes as Eteriion washed his hair and then his body.
Once Justin was rinsed off, he went to do the same to Eteriion, but he gently shook his head.
Justin stood under the cooling spray as Eteriion washed, then took the towel when Eteriion passed it to him.
Once dry, he grabbed some clothes out of the bag he’d packed, and dressed.
Following Eteriion into the kitchen, he helped him make breakfast. Bacon and waffles with syrup and plenty of coffee.
When Justin sat at the table, he didn’t eat.
He watched Eteriion load his plate with bacon and a couple of waffles, then drown it all in syrup.
He slowly raised his eyes to meet Eteriion’s, who shrugged and ate his food. “Don’t let it go cold.”
“You like bacon? And syrup?”
“I like meat, and syrup goes nice with anything.”
“Anything?” Justin stared and gaped at Eteriion as he shoved more bacon and syrup into his mouth. “Syrup doesn’t go well with everything.”
“How do you humans say it? Your loss.”
Justin burst out laughing, then stopped when Eteriion poured more syrup on his bacon. “Have you heard of heart disease or diabetes?”
“Can’t get it. Human diseases.”
“What do you get?”
Eteriion finished chewing the food in his mouth and sat back in his chair. “We live longer than humans and our bodies are tougher. We can heal wounds that would end a human’s life. We were a warlike species, so our evolutionary paths have differed.”
“Warlike?” Justin leaned his elbows on the table. “Who were you at war with?”
“Other species capable of traveling through space.”
“There’s more than you?” Justin’s eyes widened. “Have they visited Earth?”
“Yes. You’re at a stage of development that interests us, but we have an agreement in place that we don’t interfere with worlds that aren’t as technologically advanced as us.”
“Now I feel all sorts of humble.” Justin sipped his coffee, then asked, “You have like a federation or something?”
“There is more than one planet capable of supporting intelligent life and we have formed a pact over certain issues, and one of them is not to interfere in developing planets, but to watch and observe.”
“Was that why you were here?”
“No. I needed time away. Things weren’t going well in my relationship, so I thought some time apart would help, but I crashed here instead.”
“So why haven’t you been rescued? If we’re being watched, why haven’t they come for you?” Justin sat back in his chair and watched Eteriion look away. “Did they know you were coming here? Or is there something else?”
“I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. I didn’t think I needed to. It was only a…vacation as you call it. That was five years ago.” Eteriion put his cutlery down and sighed, and Justin reached across the table to hold his hand. “Even I thought I would be home by now.”
“So why haven’t they come to rescue you? They must know you’re missing?”
“It comes down to the noninterference. You’re left to fend for yourself. It limits the risk of discovery. We wouldn’t want a telescope to see alien ships hovering around a planet. My issue is that I can’t find the right fuel source, so until I do, I’ll remain here.”
“But you have friends here now. They saved you and made sure you’re safe.”
“Yes, and I know how lucky I am to have been found by them.” Eteriion stared at his plate, and Justin could almost feel the sadness radiating from him. Even with friends, he was still alone.
“It’s not the same, though.”
“No. I spend my time here alone, but at least I’m not in some lab being experimented on.
” Pulling his hand away, Eteriion stood and took his half empty plate to the sink and scraped the food into the trash.
Justin sat and watched, his appetite gone.
To be alone on an alien world, far away from your own kind. How lonely must that be?
“I’m here,” he whispered.
“For a few days.” Eteriion’s words were quiet, but Justin heard them, and he wanted to dispute them, but Eteriion spoke the truth.
He would be leaving after Christmas, and his alien would be alone again.
He didn’t want to leave Eteriion, but they’d only met a few days ago.
It was far too soon to be thinking of relationships and living together, which meant Justin moving and changing his life around.
Plus, there was the whole alien issue as well. “I’ll be fine.”
“Will you? You seem so lonely to me.” Justin stood and walked over to Eteriion, embracing him from behind. The tentacles slid over his shoulders and down his back, and Justin smiled as they stroked him. “I don’t want you to be lonely.”
“Thank you for caring, but you have your life away from here.”
“And we only just met.”
“And you almost passed out when you saw my tentacles.”
“I wasn’t that bad.” Justin stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I handled it well, all things considered. I mean, it’s not like I tried to shoot you.”
“Do you have a gun?” Eteriion arched an eyebrow at him as he turned around and leaned on the counter.
“That’s beside the point. I had a mini freakout, but I got over it. Clearly, because I’m here with you now and we’ve had sex. Me and you. We’ve had sex more than once.”
“And hopefully more before you have to leave.” Eteriion’s tentacles pulled him closer, but Justin stepped back. When he saw the look of hurt on Eteriion’s face, he let his tentacles pull him closer. “I’ve hurt you.”
“No, you haven’t. I just…” Justin shook his head. “I hate knowing you’re up here alone and I know we’re only just met, but it…hurts to think that when I go home, you’ll be here.” Justin shook his head and let Eteriion wrap him in arms and tentacles. “I’ve known you days.”
“Let’s enjoy our time now. It won’t be long before we’re rescued. Once the town is cleared, they’ll make their way up here to the cabins and you’ll be able to enjoy your hot tub.”
“You could join me.” Justin smiled up at Eteriion, then sighed when they kissed. “We could do it naked.”
“And freak all the other humans out.” Eteriion kissed him again, deepening it as their tongues touched. They kissed for a couple of minutes until Eteriion eased back. “What should we do before we’re rescued?”
“Hmm.” Justin reached up and kissed Eteriion’s jaw. “I can think of a few things, but we’re overdressed for those.”
“It is winter.” Eteriion dipped his head and licked over Justin’s lips, then bit his chin. “We have to stay warm if we’re naked.”
“What should we do to keep warm?” Justin leaned back, groaning when Eteriion sucked the skin on his neck.
“Give me a few minutes and I’m sure I’ll come up with something.”