Page 21 of Tied In Tentacles
Justin stared up at Eteriion, noticing the difference in their height again. “How tall are you?”
“Six feet, five inches.”
“I’m six feet and you seem way taller than me.”
“I like being bigger than you.” Eteriion moved Justin under the spray, and he gritted his teeth, hoping he’d adjust to the temperature. “I like being able to hold you.”
Justin blinked up at Eteriion and wiped the water from his eyes. “I am a man, you know. I don’t need protecting.” But it was nice to have this large alien want to hold him, and at six feet, there weren’t many men who could do that.
“But you do like me being able to hold you.” Eteriion tilted his head. “You do, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do, but how do you know that?”
“I can scent you. Your scent seems…less heavy. I don’t know how to describe it. You don’t seem sad or lonely when I hold you and you move closer to me. You sigh when my tentacles tighten around you.”
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes because Eteriion was speaking the truth, he murmured, “I do.” Time for some honesty. “I’ve always wanted to be with someone who could manhandle me. I always ended up being the top in my relationships, the one in control, when really, I wanted to be the one who gave up control. I don’t want to be seen as weak though, because I’m not. I’m still a man and I want to be treated as a man.”
“I like you the way you are, and I like taking care of you.” Eteriion slid his hands down Justin’s arms and laced their fingers together. “I like having you here with me, but I know you have to go.” Giving Justin a close-lipped smile, Eteriion let go of his hands and picked up the shampoo. “Let me take care of you while I can.”
Justin sucked his lips in, unsure what to say, so he nodded instead. He closed his eyes as Eteriion washed his hair and then his body. Once Justin was rinsed off, he went to do the same to Eteriion, but he gently shook his head. Justin stood under the cooling spray as Eteriion washed, then took the towel when Eteriion passed it to him.
Once dry, he grabbed some clothes out of the bag he’d packed, and dressed. Following Eteriion into the kitchen, he helped him make breakfast. Bacon and waffles with syrup and plenty of coffee. When Justin sat at the table, he didn’t eat. He watched Eteriion load his plate with bacon and a couple of waffles, then drown it all in syrup. He slowly raised his eyes to meet Eteriion’s, who shrugged and ate his food. “Don’t let it go cold.”
“You like bacon? And syrup?”
“I like meat, and syrup goes nice with anything.”
“Anything?” Justin stared and gaped at Eteriion as he shoved more bacon and syrup into his mouth. “Syrup doesn’t go well with everything.”
“How do you humans say it? Your loss.”
Justin burst out laughing, then stopped when Eteriion poured more syrup on his bacon. “Have you heard of heart disease or diabetes?”
“Can’t get it. Human diseases.”
“What do you get?”
Eteriion finished chewing the food in his mouth and sat back in his chair. “We live longer than humans and our bodies aretougher. We can heal wounds that would end a human’s life. We were a warlike species, so our evolutionary paths have differed.”
“Warlike?” Justin leaned his elbows on the table. “Who were you at war with?”
“Other species capable of traveling through space.”
“There’s more than you?” Justin’s eyes widened. “Have they visited Earth?”
“Yes. You’re at a stage of development that interests us, but we have an agreement in place that we don’t interfere with worlds that aren’t as technologically advanced as us.”
“Now I feel all sorts of humble.” Justin sipped his coffee, then asked, “You have like a federation or something?”
“There is more than one planet capable of supporting intelligent life and we have formed a pact over certain issues, and one of them is not to interfere in developing planets, but to watch and observe.”
“Was that why you were here?”
“No. I needed time away. Things weren’t going well in my relationship, so I thought some time apart would help, but I crashed here instead.”
“So why haven’t you been rescued? If we’re being watched, why haven’t they come for you?” Justin sat back in his chair and watched Eteriion look away. “Did they know you were coming here? Or is there something else?”
“I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. I didn’t think I needed to. It was only a…vacation as you call it. That was five years ago.” Eteriion put his cutlery down and sighed, and Justin reached across the table to hold his hand. “Even I thought I would be home by now.”
