Page 19 of Tied In Tentacles
“Like altitude sickness here.”
“Yes. You would have to go through some process to adjust, but you could live there.”
“If my body tolerated the adjustments.” Justin added the sauce to the meat and shook his head. “I love to cook and your kitchen…”
“Not ideal, but what I need. I live alone and don’t have humans over often.”
“Now you have me, and I’ll be coming over to visit.”
“Until you return home.” Something Eteriion didn’t think about. He liked having Justin in his cabin. He made the place seem like the home it should be. Eteriion had always considered the cabin a place to stay while he fixed his ship, but as the years passed, he grew to realize he may never return home.
“I can come back. I have a car, and I know how to drive it.” Justin checked the wood on the stove, then checked the pasta. “Not far off.”
“I’ll get the plates.” Eteriion decided not to comment on Justin driving back here for the occasional visit. It could work in the short term, but how could they build a relationship… Why was he even thinking this way?
“Blue blood. What happens if you’re injured?”
“I go down and donate a pint of blood when needed, so there is always some available.” Eteriion grabbed the cutlery and placed them on the table as Justin dealt with the food. “I try to be as careful as possible.”
“I bet you do.” Justin came over with their food and sat next to Eteriion. “I’m assuming someone with medical skills knows about you, then?”
“One of them nursed me back to health. They had a crash course in alien anatomy.”
“Are we very different?” Justin ate some food and paused, then carried on eating. “Not too bad.”
“It’s from a jar and I have a six chambered heart compared to your four and obviously we breathe different parts of the air.”
“Does a six chambered heart mean your stamina is better? You can run farther and for longer?”
Eteriion nodded as he ate. “Yes, and I can go for longer without food and sleep, but that is because my digestive system functions better.”
“So, you’re able to break it down and store it in your body and then utilize it better.” Justin ate more pasta then asked, “Your body has evolved better or is more advanced?”
“Different because we’re from different planets with different environments.”
Nodding, Justin pushed his plate away, then sipped his water. “Different environmental pressures. Predators, weather, gravity.”
“Exactly. I’m considered average, too.”
“You’re like five inches taller than me and you’re average?” Justin shook his head and spluttered, “What the…huh?”
“I know. Here I’m taller than average. I like that.” Grinning, he laughed when Justin narrowed his eyes at him. “You like it too.”
“I like that you’re stronger than me. At my height and build, not many men can move me around, plus your tentacles come in very handy.” Justin arched an eyebrow. “Very handy.”
“You like what I can do with them.” Eteriion leaned back in his chair, a smug grin on his face. “I like using them to make you scream my name.”
“I do not scream your name,” Justin said indignantly. “I may say it loudly on occasion.”
Grinning widely, Eteriion watched Justin blush. “If you say so.”
“I do, and if you want me to say it loudly again, you’ll remember that.”
Laughing, Eteriion leaned close to Justin and whispered in his ear. “I like the way you say it. I like the way you squeeze me tight as you come.”
Eteriion heard the breath Justin took. “Eteriion…”
“Yes?”
