Assistant 23
Stop. Stop talking now. Before you say something even stupider.
The word broke free from my mouth, as if it had a will of its own, and its will was stronger than mine.
I was a linguist, damn it. I knew the importance of words. And the one I’d just let slip was a special one.
One I had never admitted to anyone before.
My chest tightened as my heart raced faster. It wasn’t quite anxiety, but something similar. Anticipation? Excitement?
What was there to be excited about? Farr’vye was obsessed with me, and I knew he cared, but to assume he loved me was a stretch.
I was me. Was I even lovable?
I hope I didn’t just make this weird…
“Never mind, forget I said anything,” I said quickly. “Please, just keep fucking me.”
“Human.”
I winced as Farr’vye’s voice, low and powerful, cut me to the core. Without the cute adjective attached to the word, it felt solemn and grave. It felt alien.
It forced me to remember where and what I was—a weak human stranded on an alien planet, pinned to the floor by a powerful older Maeleon, having an awkward conversation while his giant mystifying cock was inside me.
“Y-yeah?” I rasped.
He leaned forward, his snout approaching my face. My pulse went wild. A stupid thought flashed through my mind: Was he about to open his mouth and eat me?
Honestly? Not a bad way to go.
But then, Farr’vye kissed the tip of my nose.
I couldn’t hold back a tiny squeak of surprise.
“You are,” Farr’vye breathed, “adorable.”
“Bwuh?”
“I love you.”
Thunder boomed.
It rocked the floor with a strong tremor, shaking my entire body. Any other time, I might have screamed in terror. But right now, all I could think about was the words Farr’vye had just said to me.
“You…?” I repeated, barely audible over the rain beating down on the roof.
The orange depths of Farr’vye’s eyes were intensely vivid. They were surreal.
“I love you,” he said again, then chuckled. “Was that not obvious? I assumed it was clear enough.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I stared back up at him like an idiot.
A short silence stretched on. Torrential rain poured down on the village relentlessly, filling the air with a constant hum. But it was overpowered by the pounding of my own blood in my ears.
“Um,” I said eloquently.
“Let me show you.”
Farr’vye’s feelers wriggled toward me. Their scalloped edges pulsed with pink as they burrowed into the surface of my skin.
And as he poured his emotions into me, I felt them.
His love. His passionate, obsessive love that he’d harbored since the first time he’d laid eyes on me months ago.
The feelings surged through me like an overflowing river, coating my soul with his unfaltering affection.
I was swept away by his current like a dry leaf taken for a ride, but the rushing waters cradled me with care.
Tears ran down my cheeks.
Of course Farr’vye loved me. He’d already proven it a hundred times over.
“I’m dumb,” I stated.
He grinned. “Perhaps a bit slow.”
Finally, I said the correct words back: “I love you, too. By the way. Just in case you couldn’t tell.”
“I could tell,” Farr’vye agreed, his eyes sparkling like embers. “But it warms my heart to hear it from your lips.”
We stared at each other for a moment, basking in the glow of our mutual “I love you”s. Then I felt his cock twitch inside me, and I remembered we’d been in the middle of something before the schmoozefest began.
“So, uh. Are we going to keep…?”
“Fucking? Yes.”
Farr’vye withdrew his feelers, then slammed his hips forward. A massive shock wave of pleasure hit me. My vision blurred, and the only sound I could make was a weak, choked-out whimper.
He didn’t stop. My confession must’ve unlocked something in Farr’vye, because he fucked me like a wild animal in rut.
It was no longer gentle. My frame was lifted off the ground with each thrust, as if I were a toy meant for his pleasure.
But there was no pain, not even discomfort.
I was mindless from arousal. I would’ve easily given up everything to be his hole forever.
Farr’vye’s nostrils flared. He grunted, his tentacles tightening around my ankles as he raised my ass higher off the ground.
The pose he’d put me in was downright slutty.
My body was limp and pliant, eager to comply with whatever he wanted—and apparently, what he wanted was to fuck me into oblivion.
My moans started out as fully formed curse words and his name but quickly devolved into unintelligible warbles of lust. Farr’vye’s noises were downright animalistic—growls and grunts that sounded out of place coming from the same mouth that spoke so poetically.
Our sex sound symphony overpowered everything else.
I could no longer hear the rain or even the thunder.
Suddenly, Farr’vye went taut and roared.
A thick, warm liquid flooded my insides. With a mix of awe and mind-numbing arousal, I watched my belly swell with his cum. Farr’vye pulled out halfway during his orgasm. His cock sprang upright, shooting the rest of his honey-like ejaculate across my chest and the floor.
The viscous liquid was warm and heavy as it lay on top of—and inside—my body, as if Farr’vye’s essence were wrapped around mine. It was odd to think of it as comforting, but there was no other word to describe it.
Farr’vye released a shuddering sigh. Releasing his tentacles from my ankles, he used them to brace himself upright. His gaze was fond as he smiled down at me.
“Thank you for allowing me to indulge myself,” he said.
“Thank you for fucking me silly.”
He chuckled, stroking my cheek. His hand felt cool compared to the flushed temperature of my face.
“I love you,” he said again.
My heart fluttered. I’d never stop being shocked and delighted to hear him say that.
“I love you, too,” I murmured. I was unaccustomed to saying the words, but I was slowly coming around. It helped that he was easy to talk to. Not just about love, but about all things.
And there were things I hadn’t yet told him because I’d been too much of a coward. Now I was kicking myself for lacking the courage to communicate with the one person who loved me more than anything.
Outside, the rain continued to pour.
“Thank you for saving me from the storm,” I added sheepishly.
Farr’vye’s mouth curved into a wry grin. “I would say anytime, but I do not want you endangering yourself again. Am I clear?”
I nodded. “I won’t do that again. Promise.”
Farr’vye lay beside me and took me into his arms, pressing me possessively against his chest. My heart swelled. I felt like the most precious thing in existence.
“Wonderful,” he said.
“Will it rain all night?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
We listened to the rain for a few beats. Sometime in the last couple of hours, its constant hum had become cozy instead of anxiety inducing.
“Are there rainbows on Eukaria?” I asked.
I’d experienced a storm before, but when it was over, I’d been too frightened to poke my head out and scan the sky. Instead, I holed myself up for a couple of days just to make sure it was well and truly over.
With Farr’vye, I didn’t feel scared. I felt brave enough to try.
He must’ve recognized the word rainbow because he smiled warmly and replied, “Yes. Would you like to see one?”
The rain kept pouring. A dull boom of thunder cracked in the sky, already farther away. My eyelids felt heavy, and Farr’vye’s chest was the best pillow ever.
“Maybe after a nap,” I conceded.
Farr’vye wrapped his tentacles around my frame, bundling me up in all his appendages as if he’d never let go. And maybe he wouldn’t.
And maybe I didn’t want him to.
When I roused from my slumber, I found myself already clean and dressed in a fresh onesie. Farr’vye must’ve taken care of me while I was asleep. Just one more reason he was the best lover in the universe.
My heart floated. Lover. That word didn’t encompass everything he was to me. But what else could I call him? Boyfriend felt too shallow—and technically incorrect, given that Maeleons had no gender binaries, so he wasn’t really a boy at all.
Partner? It worked, but it felt a bit distant. Also lopsided, since we weren’t really equals. Farr’vye was always the one taking care of me while I flopped about like a fish out of water.
Mate…?
A warm, fuzzy feeling tingled in my ribs.
Mate was good.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
Farr’vye hugged me from behind. A smile spread across my face, alongside a blush. That was a morning greeting I could get used to.
I rubbed the leftover sleep from my eyes. “What time is it?”
“Nearly dawn,” he purred in my ear. “You slept through the night, my little human.”
I shivered pleasantly at his smooth voice, and the return of my pet name.
“Is the storm over?” I asked.
His long ear twitched as he listened more closely. Mine weren’t as sharp, but I couldn’t hear the rain pounding on the roof anymore.
“Sounds like it. I hear rain, but it is mild,” Farr’vye said. He pulled me up to my feet. “Shall we take a look together?”
I smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
As we opened the door of Farr’vye’s hut, I was greeted by the delicious scent of fresh post-rain air. It smelled so good, cleaner than any air I’d smelled before, and I filled my lungs with it.
Light rain continued to fall through broken clouds. The sun had not yet fully risen, casting only the first light across the purple and pink sky. The village was quiet. It seemed like Farr’vye and I were the only ones awake.
“The ground is still wet,” Farr’vye pointed out. That was the only explanation he gave before scooping me up into his arms and carrying me outside. I guess he didn’t want my foot covers getting damp.
Using a tentacle, he pulled the hood over my head.
“So your cute hair does not get wet,” he pointed out.
My response was a dumb, love-struck smile.
“You wish to see a rainbow, yes?” he asked.
I squinted with suspicious affection. “Why, can you make one magically appear?”
He chuckled. “I would, if possible, just for you.”
As if my chest didn’t feel fuzzy enough.
Farr’vye carried me to a small grassy hill within the village and stood on top of it. He ignored the drizzling rain that ran down his body but held me close to block me from getting wet. I noticed that all the cuts from the thorns had already healed, which I was grateful for.
He’s so kind, I thought suddenly.
The sky was lightening. The beautiful purples and pinks of sunrise melted into a calm gray-blue, and the scattered clouds let in rays of pure sunlight.
Farr’vye scanned the sky as if he could manifest a rainbow by the sheer force of his will.
“Farr’vye,” I said softly. “Um… there’s something I want to tell you.”
He stopped looking at the sky and immediately met my gaze. “Yes?”
Nerves hooked into my racing heart, but like the sun breaking through the clouds, Farr’vye’s intense gaze cleared away my anxiety.
I took a breath and said, “It’s… my name.”