Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
DAX
Dax swallowed hard. The word had just slipped out, he hadn’t actually meant to say it. It wasn’t even what he actually wanted to say, but it was the more acceptable equivalent he could think of without freaking his poor mate out.
“Well… yeah… I’m not really the casual hookup type and–”
“Neither am I,” Mateo agreed. “I just– Are you sure? I’m kind of a mess right now.”
There was no way Dax was explaining the mate thing right after hooking up. Even his brother would agree that would be a bad idea and probably come off as a little creepy.
“I like your mess,” Dax said instead, resting his forehead against Mateo’s. “You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about, Mateo. Everyone has rough patches in their life.”
“Have you?” Mateo asked. He was trying to distract from the fact that he kept grimacing and still hadn’t explained why.
It took a minute for Dax to have enough brain cells to figure out what was wrong.
He blamed Mateo. The sexy man had scattered all of his higher thinking abilities with that orgasm.
He was surprised he could even think long enough to have this conversation.
“I have, but before we talk about that, did you want to clean up? You look uncomfortable.”
“You can see me?” Mateo squeaked. Actually squeaked. Dax had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from grinning like an idiot. What was it with this man and making the best sounds? Was it a human thing? Did all humans squeak?
Forcing himself not to say anything that might embarrass Mateo, he rolled them toward the edge of the bed and to their feet.
He only released his mate enough to let him walk on his own, worried the poor man would hurt himself stumbling through the dark, and guided them to the bathroom where Mateo flicked on a light.
Dax let out a low whistle. “Damn. That tub is almost nicer than mine.”
Mateo looked at the bath, then at Dax with a frown. “Really?”
“Really. Mine is bigger, but it doesn’t have jets like that. Have you used it yet?”
Somehow it didn’t surprise him when Mateo shook his head. He really needed to teach his mate how to relax properly. He moved toward the tub, looking over it curiously. He loved a good bath, but when Mateo stepped up beside him, he could tell he wasn’t fully on board.
“Let’s rinse off first, then we’ll test this thing out. It’s just wrong to leave such a beautiful tub unused,” Dax insisted.
That made Mateo snort, the tension around his eyes finally easing a little.
Now that Dax had an idea of how to make his mate feel more comfortable, he bustled around to make it happen, turning on the shower and the tub at the same time so the tub could fill while they rinsed off.
He paused when he realized Mateo was staring at him with a bemused expression on his face.
“What?”
Mateo’s lips quirked in a small smile as he shook his head. “Nothing.”
He didn’t wait around to explain, moving to snag a few towels from the small shelf by the door and setting them on the edge of the sink.
When he stepped under the shower spray, any hope Dax had about pestering his mate to explain the look disappeared.
There was just something about his mate wet and naked that scattered his brain cells.
It was a good thing Mateo wasn’t on the research team with him.
If they had to do under water experiments together, Dax would never get anything done.
The glass shower did absolutely nothing to hide his gorgeous wet frame, and Dax had to check his chin for drool, snapping out of his revelry at the sound of Mateo’s voice.
“Are we taking turns?” Mateo asked, glancing over his shoulder from where he stood under the spray.
Jumping a little, Dax rushed to join him, crowding his back and immediately running his hands over Mateo’s wet skin.
His wily mate sidestepped him before he could fully press himself against his back, putting Dax under the spray instead so he could rinse off the evidence of their earlier shenanigans.
If he wasn’t careful, he’d start replaying the memory, and his tentacles would take on a mind of their own with his need to touch his mate.
He tipped his head back under the water, trying his best not to think about the fact that he hadn’t gotten to be inside his mate.
He’d need to rectify that. If Mateo thought sex was good with just the kraken equivalent of frotting, he’d have his mind blown once Dax got his tentacle inside his–
Fingers on his cheek startled him out of his daydream, and he blinked his eyes open, finding Mateo touching him with a sort of reverence along the marks that showed up whenever he was in the water.
He was tentative at first, unsure of himself, but when Dax pressed his hand against Mateo’s, encouraging him to touch, he grew more bold, tracing along the marks down Dax’s neck and over his chest.
“You said they were magic, right? What are they for?”
“They’re not magic themselves, more like a physical representation of my magic. Since most of my magical ability occurs under water, they only show up when I’m in the water.”
Mateo’s other hand came up, tracing along the opposite side of his jaw.
Dax found his eyes fluttering closed for a different reason, just basking in the gentle touch and the way Mateo’s fingers tracing those marks felt a little like he was running his fingers along his soul.
Dax was so wrapped up in this man, it wasn’t even funny.
He’d need to figure out a way to tell him about the mate thing soon because he could very realistically see himself falling in love without any real effort on his part.
The mating bond drew them towards one another, but for all supernaturals, including krakens, love took time.
Dax didn’t think he’d need that much time at all.
“Are they sensitive?” Mateo asked curiously.
“No, not really,” he murmured.
His magic, which was hyper aware of water around him, let him know the bath was getting to the point where it’d overflow if they got in it, so he regretfully pulled Mateo’s hands away so he could escape the shower long enough to turn the water off and let the drain out for a few moments.
Once he was certain it wouldn’t make a mess, since that would likely only upset his fastidious mate, he put the drain stopper back in place and turned around, nearly bumping into Mateo who was directly behind him. He stared at the man incredulously.
“Seriously? How are you that quiet?”
A relaxed smile spread across Mateo’s face, making Dax’s heart flip flop in his chest. “I wasn’t being quiet. I turned off the water and everything. For a scientist, you’re really unobservant.”
With a dramatic gasp, Dax reeled back. “Mateo! How could you?”
Seeing his mate snicker, feeling the easy way he moved into Dax’s side when a tentacle wrapped around him and drew him closer, made Dax hopeful for the future.
Mateo was having a rough time, sure, but their connection was real.
If things between them stayed this easy, then the mate revelation might not send Mateo running for the hills after all.
He climbed into the tub, dragging Mateo with him, and held the man in his lap as he sank into the warm water, his front to Mateo’s back. Thanks to his magic, he adapted to all temperatures of water, but it was nice feeling the heat sink under his skin.
“How do you not spend all night in here?” he groaned, sinking lower until only his head was out of the water.
He had to practically lay in the tub to do it, but it was just big enough to allow him to do so.
His tub was bigger, and therefore better, but the smaller space had its perks.
Thanks to his position, Mateo was a few inches higher than Dax was, but in order to keep them both relaxed in the water, they had to be wrapped around each other, which he definitely wasn’t complaining about.
Was it possible the tub was big enough for Mateo to sit next to him? Maybe. But he wasn’t about to point that out.
Mateo shrugged. “It seemed like too much effort. I’d need to get in the shower anyway to clean off, so the idea of filling up the tub afterward wasn’t appealing. Besides, it’s not as fun if you’re sitting in there alone.”
Pursing his lips, Dax considered that. “Okay, I accept your premise. But that just means I get to come over to bathe with you more often. Baths are great ways to relax after a long work day.”
“Uh huh,” Mateo grinned over his shoulder. “And how much of that has to do with us being naked together?”
Feigning ignorance wouldn’t work so Dax just waggled his eyebrows at the beautiful man, elation swelling in his chest when Mateo laughed.
He slid his fingers into Mateo’s hair, drawing him in for a kiss because he couldn’t help himself, and sighed happily when Mateo turned over to give the kiss his full attention, his sleek muscular body laying on top of Dax.
“If we’re not careful, this bath is going to get messy,” Mateo murmured against his lips, though he didn’t try that hard to pull away.
His hands rested on Dax’s chest, trusting him to keep them far enough out of the water, while his legs tangled with Dax’s tentacles.
Wily mate was going to get him riled up again.
“I’ve got magic, remember?” Dax said between kisses. “The mess will be gone before you even notice it’s there.”
He was fully planning on giving Mateo a demonstration, maybe with another frotting session, when Mateo pushed up enough to look down at him. He looked embarrassed, but determined as he asked, “Can you show me how to touch you?”
Dax’s stomach tightened at the sexy request, and he nodded rapidly, taking one of Mateo’s hands and guiding it down his body and between his tentacles. “My mating tentacle is what I use for sex. It’s got a sort of pocket to keep it wet and– Ahh! Oh, goddess, keep doing that…”
While he’d been trying to explain kraken anatomy in a way a human could understand, Mateo had gotten brave, running his fingers along the pouch that protected his mating tentacle.
Dax hadn’t ever thought to stimulate that area, and he realized belatedly that he had been missing out.
His back arched so hard, he nearly bucked Mateo right off of him.
Why hadn’t he ever thought to do this before?
It was when his mate’s fingers slid along the opening of the pouch that Dax really lost it. A tentacle wrapped around Mateo’s wrist, stalling him before he could go any further, while Dax fought for breath.
“Did I hurt you?” Mateo asked, his tone filled with concern.
“No,” Dax panted. “I’ve just… never had someone touch me like that. I almost came and that would ruin the experiment.”
Mateo snorted. “Somehow, I don’t think you’d be terribly upset about that.”
Dax couldn’t disagree with him. Which begged the question: Why did he stop him?