Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
“Yes.” Flushing the toilet, Saint led me over to one of the double sinks and started washing my hands and the tentacle that had helped me out. “Submissives give of themselves until they have nothing left. They need care and limits to make sure their external focus does not do internal damage.”
I wanted to argue or push back against that at the very least, but more than a few of my relationships had gone badly because I’d felt so emotionally and physically drained I couldn’t cope. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but taking care of you is important to me.”
Saint smiled at me in the mirror as he dried my hands. “Yes, my Colby. We will balance your need to caretake with my need to keep you safe.”
He was clearly humoring his human, but I decided that was something we’d come back to later once I saw how out of hand it would get.
“Thank you, Sir.” Eventually it would get out of hand. Every relationship had something like that, but as far as stuff I’d argued about with dates and boyfriends, how much they wanted to keep me safe had never been an issue.
Looking very pleased at having won the debate with his human, Saint stroked over my head and picked me up again. That time he carried me to the tub and got us in without setting me down. I had to admit, my heart stopped for a moment, but he’d kept his human safe.
“Do you fear water, my Colby?” Saint lifted me out of the water as he studied my face. “I must know any rational or irrational fears.”
I wasn’t sure which one water would fall under but I shook my head. “No, I was worried about you slipping for a moment. Sorry.”
Technically, I probably didn’t have anything to apologize for, but I didn’t think about that until after I’d said it.
“Ah.” Lowering me down onto his lap, still mostly out of the water because clearly he didn’t quite trust my reactions, he took one of my hands and ran the tip of his tentacle over it. “You have no friction in water.”
“Yeah, we’re slippery when wet.” I managed not to snicker, but it was a close call. “You’re not slippery?”
He was smooth…really smooth and didn’t seem to need the lube we were so helpfully given, but he immediately started shaking his head. “Our bodies are highly proficient at adaptations.”
Turning over the tentacle that had been caressing my fingers, he made his nubby things get wider. “Oh, that makes sense.”
He could use them to grip just about anything…including a slippery tub.
Humans got the short end of the stick evolutionarily…we were horny, anxiety-riddled nuts with a thing for sticking our dicks in anything that looked interesting, and we only had fingers.
“Thank you for explaining that. I won’t needlessly worry about that in the future.” I’d find something else new and startling to panic over.
Being human was fun.
I was starting to see why Saint’s people always seemed concerned about us evolving from prey animals.
He actually seemed to believe me that time because he finally let me sit all the way in the water, but he still kept me wrapped up tight against his body. Actions spoke louder than words…especially with an alien who read your mind. So I leaned into him and showed him I was fine by relaxing and running my fingers over his tentacles.
That got his muscles to lose some of their tension and his hold eased enough for me to start enjoying how deep the water was.
Deep enough to float.
“Humans are unexpectedly buoyant.” Saint seemed surprised by that fact as he pushed one leg down, marveling as it popped back up. “Fascinating.”
“We only float in fairly deep bodies of water and we have to be relaxed for it to work. Your tub is just amazing.” The two faucets part was making a lot of sense. “But if I tensed my muscles and sat up, I’d be more stable. Promise. I’m just not worried about that because I know you’re going to keep me safe.”
And if I tried to sit up, he’d just wrap himself around me like some kind of bathtub seat for toddlers.
This way his protectiveness was romantic and sexy…and not a pain in the ass.
But it seemed like a distraction was in order since floating humans could probably easily be drowning humans in his mind. So I spread my hands wide and started stroking up the larger limb that was easiest to reach. “What parts of your tentacles feel best when I touch them? In the…romance novels I’ve read with you guys as main characters, it’s the tips and nubs underneath. I don’t know if that’s right, though.”
Assuming the dirty books I read were accurate wasn’t a good idea even if most of them hadn’t been wrong yet…well, most of the new ones.