Page 55 of Kringle and the Kraken

Instead, he worked my head and shaft with the same patient exploration he’d shown the rest of my body. His tongue lapped at the precum dripping from my slit, and the moans he let out as my flavor hit his tongue sent seismic shockwaves through my body until I was trembling with need.

Only then did he take pity on me and start sucking my cock in earnest, his cheeks hollowing as he took me to the back of his throat and tightened his lips around the base. Incoherent words slipped from my lips in torrents of praise and desperation as Kris’s mouth brought me to the edge of orgasm. Two of my tentacles and both of my hands were tangled in his hair, trying to hold him in place as one of Kris’s hands moved between my legs.

His fingers skimmed over the flesh behind my dick, pausing for a second when he didn’t find my balls where his were, but the moment of hesitation ended quickly, and his fingers slid toward my hole, his middle finger tracing the pucker as he sucked hard on my cock, his tongue massaging the underside as he pressed the tip of his finger inside my body.

“Kris! Fuck. I’m coming!” He received no other warning, and with my hands and tentacles gripping his head, there was no chance for him to pull off as I flooded his mouth with my cum. Kris’s throat worked around me as he swallowed, the pressure on my cock not letting up until I stopped twitching against his tongue.

I loosened my hold on his head, and he slowly slid off my dick, pressing a kiss to the head and licking away the last dark drops of my release. It took me a second too long to realize that two of my tentacles had found their way into Kris’s pants, and one was sticky with his cum.

He squirmed as I let go of his cock, bringing the cum-soaked appendage to my mouth and licking his cum away as I kept my gaze locked on him. His head was resting against my thigh, his beard rubbing over my skin as he caught his breath. One of my tentacles stroked over his face, and he leaned up into the touch, his eyes drifting closed.

We stayed like that for a long time, the only sounds in the room the crackling fire and our heavy breaths as my world righted itself after having been kicked off its axis. I had a feeling when it started turning again, Kris would be at the center, the sun which everything in my life revolved around.

And I wasn’t mad about it.

Long minutes later, Kris sat up and found my borrowed sweats. He bunched them up so I could put my feet into them and then got to his feet, taking my hand to help me stand and shimmy them up my body. My knees wobbled, but I stayed upright, and Kris handed me the T-shirt he plucked up off the coffee table. My tentacles had settled, now sated, and I tugged the shirt on over my head.

Kris tucked his cock back into his pants and zipped up, then flopped back onto the couch. I did the same, and he turned, pulling me back against his chest.

As the afterglow faded, the events from earlier in the evening resurfaced, and my anxiety about being able to save the town started swirling in my brain.

Like he’d plucked the thought from my head, Kris whispered against my ear. “You’re going to fix it, Levi. I know you are. And when you do, I’ll be right there. I promise it’s all going to be okay.”

His words settled my mind, and with his promise ringing in my ears, I fell asleep against his chest.

I could worry about saving the town tomorrow.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

KRIS

Over the nextcouple of days, Levi and I fell into a strange sort of routine. We’d wake up together, grab coffee and breakfast in town, then go our separate ways. Levi spent his days at his record shop while I was out at the tree farm. The semester was over, and all my final grades had been submitted, so I had nothing else to do except work with my family. But in the final lead-up to Christmas, even the Christmas tree business was starting to wane.

When we were both done for the day, I’d pick Levi up, we’d grab dinner—usually from Mizu Mizu—and head back to my house. After dinner, Levi would shift into his full kraken form and try to release his magic until he was exhausted. I’d wait on the beach, watching my boyfriend swim in his giant sea monster form while I sat in a camp chair I’d set up on the beach and worked on the present I was making for him by the light of an old camp lantern I’d dug out of my parents’ garage.

Levi would emerge from the water, frustrated and a little shaky, and I’d help him back up to the house and into a warm shower, then we’d hang out on the couch for a little while, each with a cup of my mom’s cocoa. Sometimes we kissed, sometimes we spent time exploring each other’s bodies, and sometimes,like tonight, we watched Christmas movies because much to my horror, Levi had decided he was a little obsessed with them. His favorite wasHow the Grinch Stole Christmas—the animated one, not the live action, though he’d made me watch both—and I wasn’t sure how many more times I was going to be able to listen to “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” before the song started haunting my dreams.

As all the Whos down in Whoville started singing their final song, I glanced over at Levi. His eyes were fixed on the TV, but I could tell he was a million miles away as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. He jumped when I put my hand over his and gave it a squeeze.

“What’s wrong?”

“Poseidonia starts the day after tomorrow.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I was hoping to have the talismans made by then. It’s been over a week since the last wraith attack, but I feel like another is coming, and they are just going to get worse until the ley line magic is fixed.”

“You’re doing the best you can, Levi.”

He pushed off the couch and started pacing, the tentacles that were usually wrapped around his arms lifting and writhing as he moved. “I know, but it’s not fucking good enough. If something happens to someone in town, and I have the power to stop it, I’ll never forgive myself.”

I let him pace for another second to work off some of his agitation, but then I stood and stopped him in his tracks. Levi’s tentacles wrapped around my biceps, and I held him in a tight hug. “What you are trying to do is huge, Levi. It’s a lot to ask of anyone.” I squeezed him tighter. “And you’ve already done more to protect this town than Calder Delmar ever has.”

Levi growled when I said his name, and I just held him tighter.

The credits for the movie rolled in the background, and when the streaming service home screen popped up, I kissed the top of Levi’s head. “Let’s call it an early night.”

Levi nodded, and his tentacles disentangled themselves from around my arms, his hand finding mine as I turned off the table lamp and we hit the stairs. We brushed our teeth side by side, another thing that had become part of our routine, then slipped into bed. Usually, I was the little spoon preferring to be wrapped up in Levi’s tentacles—because, yes, I was a little obsessed with them—but tonight, I could sense he needed something different. Before he could protest, I cuddled up to him, my front pressed against his back and my arm a tight band around his chest. Levi’s tentacles unfurled and twined around my arm over his chest.

Soon, Levi’s breathing evened out as he fell asleep, and I kept stroking over his tentacles until they relaxed and fell away. I stayed for a little while longer, making sure Levi was deeply asleep before I silently slid out of bed and padded downstairs. It had been hard to make a ton of progress on Levi’s present since we’d been spending so much time together, and there was only so much I could do on the beach. I spilled into an old pair of boots and crept out to my workshop.

As much as I tried to show Levi I wasn’t worried about the wraiths, his anxiety was starting to bleed into me. I knew he was putting an immense amount of pressure on himself, and I wished more than anything that there was something I could do to take on some of the burden, but since I was only human, and the talismans to protect the town required kraken magic, the only thing I could do was be supportive.

---