27. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
Leif
Not for a second did Aliko look at me like he expected me to profess my love back to him.
But I should have.
Because I realized the first day being here with him that I love him. I was just scared to tell him, too. Now it feels like I can’t, even though I know that’s silly. I should tell him. He deserves to know.
I look up at him, cuddled close to his side in this large bed. He’s asleep on his back, in his half-kraken form, arms wrapped around me like they always are—that one tentacle is still holding my cock, keeping it warm as usual.
As masculine as he is, there is no other word that sums him up more than beautiful. Yes, he’s a monster, but not in a negative way. There is nothing bad about him, there is nothing monstrous. He is a beautiful creature that I am lucky to be with.
He deserves to know my feelings, despite my nerves or whatever else is holding me back. Aliko was brave enough to be vulnerable with me. I can give him that in return.
“Aliko,” I whisper, pressing my hand to the center of his chest. He doesn’t stir, so I call his name again. “Aliko.”
He grunts, and I throw a leg over him, straddling his waist. He thrusts up, a low grunt leaving his throat as his human hands come up to hold me tight. I kiss his lips, and it’s the second kiss that he wakes up more and kisses me back.
“Aliko,” I say, pulling back and resting my forehead on his. “I need to tell you something.”
He hugs me tighter, his mouth going to my neck. He kisses and licks, his dick hardening between us as he grinds against me.
“Aliko, I need to tell you that I love you, too.”
He pauses, his entire body just… stopping. I pull back to look in his blue eyes. He looks almost confused.
“You love me too?” he asks, his voice rough from sleep.
I kiss the corner of his mouth. “I do,” I whisper. “I wanted to tell you the other day, but I was scared.”
“Scared of what?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I don’t know. It feels silly now.”
Because I know it’s just the shit in my head. The exact things I was telling him not to feed into. I do that sometimes too.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “All that matters is us.”
He hugs me tight, kissing me all over, then he rolls us so he’s on top, his giant body covering mine, his weight heavy but comforting.
“You love me,” he whispers, kissing down my neck and my bare chest.
“I love you,” I say.
He makes his way to my belly button, licking around it before taking my dick into his mouth. He suckles on the tip before taking me deep, working up a rhythm that has me coming in two minutes.
Aliko crawls back up my body, kissing me again. “You love me.”
I laugh, breathless. “And you love me.”
He nods, burying his face against my neck.
“Let me take care of you,” I say, tapping his hip.
He shakes his head. “Later. Right now, I want to hold you.”
And he does, holding me like he doesn’t want to let go—like he’s never going to let go.
We spend the day in bed, only leaving to eat food, but we go right back. Cuddling. Fucking. Kissing. Sleeping. It’s perfect. The last full day we have in the house, and this is just the way to spend it.
The next morning, Aliko swims for hours, knowing he won’t have this opportunity for a while, not until after the tour, when we go back to California—where I agreed to live with him.
This is crazy, right? It really is.
But we still need to talk about something—and that’s telling everyone.
We have three shows left of this tour, all in Boston.
We explored so many parts of Massachusetts while being here.
It’s full of so much history and because it’s small, we were able to do a lot.
Boston was a day trip. Salem was another.
We went to P-town, which was an experience because there was some kind of celebration going on.
I wish we had more time to spend there, because the people were amazing. Pride stuff everywhere.
Aliko took me out to dinner at a fancy restaurant in Boston that we both dressed up for.
It’s hard to believe that this is my life now—being wined and dined by a famous monster rock star.
Hard to believe I even enjoy things like this.
It was never something I was into before, but being spoiled by Aliko is something I’ll never get enough of.
Now we’re back in his hotel room, lying together in bed, my body thoroughly sore from being fucked by him.
I love the way he can go from fucking me like an animal to cuddling me like a teddy bear.
“We need to talk to the crew,” I say. “And tell the guys.”
“Yeah,” he says. “After.”
I laugh. “I didn’t mean right now.” He grunts his acknowledgement. He’s falling asleep, and I should do the same. It’s late. “We need to talk to them before the tour ends, so we can figure out future plans.”
“We can tell them in the morning.”
“Do you…” I lick my lips. “Do you think I’ll lose my job?”
“No,” he says firmly. “I’ll make sure you don’t.”
“But what if—”
“No,” he says again, this time almost aggressively. “I will handle it. You will keep working for the band and you will stay my drum tech. I don’t want you working for anyone else. I don’t want you touching anyone else’s kit. You’re mine.”
I can’t help but smile as I settle into his arms, hugging him close.
And the next morning, we do tell the crew. We talk to the band manager and the crew manager. Aliko makes it very clear what he expects to happen, and no one questions him. No one says a damn word.
Just like that.
Just like that.
We haven’t said anything to the guys in the band yet. Aliko wants to wait until the tour is over. He doesn’t want them to think he’s distracted or anything, even though the other guys definitely have their own sort of relationship things going on, too. I mean, Kael has a kid? News to us.
Me telling Aliko that I accept him and that I love him doesn’t fix all of his problems. Those are things he needs to work on himself, and he’s still worried about being accepted by them. I can’t push him.
“So, that explains it,” Cody says after I’ve told him what’s been going on.
“Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
“Nah, I get it. I’d keep that close to the chest too. Not something you need people gossiping about.”
“Exactly. Thank you for understanding,” I say carefully.
I wasn’t sure how he would take it, not that his opinion matters, but still.
Cody is the closest thing I have to a friend on this tour, outside of Aliko, of course, and I don’t have friends at home either.
There are people I catch up with and hang out with when I’m home, but we aren’t close.
Just people I knew through school, my parents’ friends’ kids, stuff like that.
Cody’s opinion mattered in the way that I’d have been upset if he was mad about this—I still would choose Aliko, though.
The people who matter to me are here, and I want them to accept my relationship with Aliko, because that’s what it is.
It’s much more than the simple hookup we thought it was.
When I think back on it, it’s almost laughable that we kept telling ourselves that for so long.
At what point was this ever just a hookup?
I can see a future with Aliko. Something real.
Something that works. Something that we can figure out together.
We’ve made some solid plans for after the tour, like me moving in with him, but I know it’s not that simple.
A relationship takes a lot of work, especially with the jobs we have.
Hopefully they keep me on for future tours—which is something Aliko said he expects—but I know how people can be and maybe some of the higher ups won’t like that.
It would suck to be apart for so long, especially if I take a job on another tour that doesn’t run the same time as his.
When would we see each other? I could get another job, but I love my job. I don’t want to do that.
Hopefully I won’t have to. Hopefully this is something that we can just work out and won’t be an issue. Aliko made his expectations clear, and I just have to hope that it’s enough.
Is this fast? Yes, it is. But ever since I first set eyes on him, I knew there was something about him that was special.
I’ve spent so much time with him lately that I know that I want to be with him forever.
Besides, the house is big enough that if he pisses me off, I’ll just go sleep in one of the five guest rooms—because of course someone needs that many guest rooms.
“You still planning on working for them?” Cody asks, reaching for his bottle of water. His plate sits empty in front of him, remnants of the salad dressing and pieces of carrots he couldn’t grab with the fork lingering.
“Definitely.”
“Good because they signed me on for the next two years.”
My eyes widen. “So, they’re definitely doing more tours?”
He shrugs. “They didn’t say it was specifically for this band, but yeah… it feels that way. Just don’t say anything.” His eyes narrow. “They haven’t spoken to you yet?”
I shake my head. “No, but I’m not worried about it.”
Whatever happens, we will figure it out.
“No, that is so ugly,” I say, taking the tablet from Aliko’s hand.
“Ugly? I think it’s beautiful.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s gaudy.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means there’s too much happening and somehow all of it is shiny.”
“I like the sparkling gold waves.”
“You would,” I mutter, scrolling through to look at other paintings. “Here, how about this one? It’s abstract, still has gold but a lot less, plus some teal and blue so it’ll match the theme.”
He takes the tablet and looks it over. Finally, he nods, giving me a smile.
“I like it.”
I smile back and lean in to kiss him.
Lying in bed, picking out decorations and furniture for our house is one of the best things we have ever done together. It all feels so right.
I’ve lived in my house for a few years, but it never felt like home.
Home was on the road, touring with bands.
It’s where I’ve felt most at ease, and though I don’t think that’ll change, I do think having a stable home, one that feels like a home, will.
I think the place that Aliko and I are making will be our home.
A different type of home than the road, and that’s okay.
It’ll be something that’s just ours, where we can always be ourselves.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask, glancing up at Aliko.
He frowns slightly. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I want to?”
“You’re a kraken. You belong in the ocean. And now you’re planning to stay on land indefinitely… with me.”
“We will be near the ocean for me to get what I need.”
“But what if you want to go back? What if you go back to your family?”
He shakes his head. “I will not. Yes, I have to go back to check in and give them some sort of story of why I will not return, but… I never felt welcome there. That isn’t the life I want to live, I know that much.” Aliko cups my cheeks, making me look at him. “I want to be here, on land, with you.”
He doesn’t give me any time to respond; he leans down to kiss me and then all worry of him leaving disappears.
I drop the tablet beside me and wrap my arms around him. The kiss is deep, slow, but passionate. And when he finally pulls away, I rest my cheek on his chest and that’s how we stay for the rest of the night.