The Collector 4: Eight Arms to Hold You

by Ally Blue

  Too anxious to sit there any longer, Austin decided to head on over to Luke’s cabin. At the morning’s dive team meeting, Jordan had decided they would wait until ten to dive, saying she had to consult with Smith regarding the work plan for the next couple of days. That would give Austin two hours with Luke before he had to leave for the morning’s dive.

  The thought of the things they’d done the night before, and the things they had yet to try together, made him smile. Tossing back the rest of his coffee, he stood and strode out of the dining hall.

  The passageways seemed endless, twisting like an expensively appointed maze. Austin felt unaccountably jumpy. The closer he got to Luke’s cabin, the worse the unusual anxiety got. By the time he turned the corner to Luke’s hallway, his heart was racing and his breath was coming short.

  He frowned, wiping his sweating palms on his jeans. It didn’t make any sense. Austin was a calm person by nature. He’d handled more than one diving emergency without losing his cool. So why did he feel so on edge just from walking to his lover’s quarters?

  Too much coffee, maybe. It was a perfectly logical explanation; he’d had four cups of strong black coffee, which was at least twice as much as usual for him. However, some sixth sense told him that wasn’t it.

  Something’s happened to Luke. The thought was unbearable. Austin jogged the last twenty feet, glanced around to make sure the corridor was empty, and tapped on Luke’s door.

  Slow, heavy footsteps sounded on the other side, nothing like Luke’s light, graceful tread. Before Austin could form any thoughts about what it might mean, the door cracked open and Smith’s face peered out.

  Austin blinked, shocked. “Smith. What are…”

  “Shut up and get in here.”

  Swinging the door open, Smith clamped a big hand around Austin’s wrist and dragged him inside. Austin gaped at him. He was about to demand to know what Smith was doing in Luke’s room, when his gaze fell on the bed. With a soft cry of dismay, Austin crossed the room in a few long strides and sat on the edge of Luke’s bed. Luke lay on top of the covers, half dressed and barefoot. His eyes were closed and he lay alarmingly still.

  “What happened?” Austin laid a hand on Luke’s cheek. The white skin was cold to the touch. “Christ, what’s wrong with him?”

  “I found him unconscious in the hallway. His hair’s wet, I think h ... Smith stopped. When he spoke again, his voice was guarded. “He goes swimming sometimes.”

  Austin turned and gave Smith a sharp look. The man’s dark eyes were hard and blank. Does he know? Austin wondered.

  Luke murmured something Austin couldn’t hear. Austin whipped around again, heart in his throat. “Luke? Jesus, are you all right?”

  Luke’s eyes opened, and he gave Austin a weak smile. “I’ll be okay. Just tired. I always get this way after a shift. Getting worse, though. Never passed out before.”

  Austin drew a sharp breath. Smith’s here, he mouthed silently, cutting his eyes to his left, where Smith stood behind him.

  “It’s okay, both of you know.” Moving with painful slowness, Luke pushed himself to a sitting position. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he leaned against Austin’s shoulder. “God, I’m so weak.”

  Smith cleared his throat. “I have to go meet with your father, Luke. You okay?”

  “Yes.” Luke waved a hand toward the door. “Thank you for helping me, Smith. Now go on, I’m fine. I don’t want you to get in trouble with Father on my account. ”

  Smith stood there for a moment, staring at Luke with an inscrutable expression, then turned on his heel and strode out the door without a word. It slammed behind him.

  Austin stared after him, astonished. “What the hell’s wrong with him?”

  Sighing, Luke curled himself into Austin’s embrace. “He worries about me. He just doesn’t know how to say so, or what to do about it.”

  “He’s not the only one.” Austin wrapped his arms around Luke and kissed the top of his head. “I talked to Niko Vonovich at breakfast today. He said there’s a lot of people on this ship who would help you if they could. Maybe we should take advantage of that.”

  “Defying my father is dangerous. I can’t ask anyone else to do that.”

  “I know. I’m not saying we should necessarily. But if the opportunity comes up, and Vonovich or someone else offers, I don’t think we should say no.”

  “I don’t know, Austin.”

  Austin decided not to push it right then. We’ll probably be on our own anyway. Tilting Luke’s chin, Austin kissed his too-pale lips. “Why’d you pass out, Luke? Is something wrong?”

  A crease appeared between Luke’s brows. “I don’t know. It’s only started happening in the last few months. At first I’d just feel a little tired after a shift. But now it’s gotten to where I’m so exhausted I can barely move after. I feel great while I’m in octopus form, but as soon as I shift back I feel terrible. I’m back to normal after a few hours of rest, but the amount of rest I need to recover is getting longer too. None of Father’s doctors can figure it out. Of course it doesn’t help that my physiology isn’t exactly human.”

  Fear fluttered in Austin’s belly. “When we get out of here, we’ll ask Dr. Martin. Maybe he can help.”

  “I hope so.” Luke smiled, tracing the line of Austin’s jaw with his fingers. “I found the idol, Austin. I know where it is.”

  Austin’s mouth fell open. “Really? That’s fantastic!”

  “It’s inside a patch of coral at three hundred feet.” Luke took Austin’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “It’s still in the box, inside a compartment in the coral. I couldn’t get it out. We’ll need tools to chip away the coral so we can get to the box.”

  Austin nodded. “Okay. We’ll go down tonight and get it, then take the tender straight to the mainland. When would be the best time?”

  Luke’s eyes narrowed in thought. “I’m always in my cabin by seven anyway, and right now I’m supposed to be confined to quarters except when I’m doing my night dives. You’re free after dinner, and Father would have no reason to come looking for you. Why don’t we meet at the dive platform at eight tonight? The forecast is for forty degrees and rain, so the crew will be inside.”

  “That’s perfect. By the time we surface, everyone else should be asleep except the night bridge crew. We can take the runabout and be miles away before anyone notices.” Lifting their joined hands, Austin kissed Luke’s knuckles. “We can pack our stuff and leave it in the lockers.”

  “Good idea.” Luke leaned close and rubbed his cheek against Austin’s. “Just think, Austin. This time tomorrow, we’ll be free. We can go anywhere we want. Do anything we want. We can be together all the time.”

  “I know.” Austin buried his nose in Luke’s hair and took a deep breath. Luke smelled like the ocean, and his skin was sticky with salt. “I can’t wait to get you out of here. Get you somewhere safe, where I can take care of you and have you all to myself.”

  Luke laughed, the sound low and husky in Austin’s ear. “I need a shower before I go to sleep. Want to join me?”

  The seduction in Luke’s voice started a hot glow in Austin’s groin. “Sure you feel up to that?”

  “Well, I’m sure I need to sleep for a few hours. And I’m sure I want to get clean before I get in bed.” Luke bent and kissed Austin’s throat, the touch of his cool lips and the faint flicker of his tongue sending shockwaves down Austin’s spine. “But I’m still so weak and tired.” Luke’s fingers crept up the front of Austin’s shirt and slid over his chest, thumb rubbing his nipple into a hard nub. “I need your help.” Luke nipped Austin’s earlobe, making him hiss. “Won’t you help me shower, Austin?”

  Growling, Austin grabbed Luke by the waist and rolled him over, pinning him to the mattress. “You,” he breathed, lowering his mouth to brush Luke’s, “are an evil tease.”

  Luke grinned, dark eyes dancing. “Who’s teasing?”

  Austin groaned as Luke’s hands slid down his back to
squeeze his ass. “You were unconscious a few minutes ago. We shouldn’t do this.”

  “I want to.” Holding Austin’s gaze with his, Luke wrapped his long legs around Austin’s waist. “What we’re about to do tonight is dangerous. We have to face the fact that we might not survive.” He raised a hand to caress Austin’s face. “Love me, Austin. Right now.” Pulling Austin’s face to his, he licked Austin’s bottom lip. “Please. I need you. I love you.”

  Luke’s mouth pressed to Austin’s, tongue pushing in, and Austin’s misgivings melted away. Cupping Luke’s cheek in his palm, he closed his eyes and took the kiss deep.

  They undressed each other in between kisses and caresses, tossing their clothes in a heap on the floor. Leaning across Luke’s nude body, Austin reached into the bedside drawer and fished around until he found one of the little lube packets Luke kept in there. He scrambled to his feet, then helped Luke stand and wrapped both arms around him, running his hands down the curve of Luke’s bare back.

  “Lean on me,” Austin murmured, nuzzling behind Luke’s ear. “I’ll help you into the shower.”

  Luke slipped an arm around Austin’s waist. “Will you wash me?”

  “Are you kidding?” Turning to walk backward, Austin wrapped his arms around Luke and walked them toward the bathroom. “Just the idea of washing you makes me hard.”

  Grinning, Luke snaked his free hand down to give a couple of hard tugs on Austin’s cock. “I see that.”

  Austin laughed and kissed Luke’s smiling mouth. Luke opened for him with a soft sigh, and they stumbled through the bathroom door locked into a deep kiss. Not wanting to let go, Austin fumbled behind him for the shower controls and managed to get the water on. Steam billowed out. Luke whirled them around, pushing Austin against the wall and pressing their bodies together. Austin moaned into Luke’s mouth and rolled his hips, loving the feel of Luke’s erection against his.

  Breaking the kiss, Luke reached over and adjusted the water temperature. “In,” he ordered, giving Austin’s balls a light squeeze. “God, I need you.”

  Austin stepped into the shower, taking Luke with him. Luke pulled the plastic curtain shut, enclosing them in a magical white space of steam and water and desire.

  Austin claimed a hard, wet kiss, then turned Luke around, took Luke’s hands and planted them on the molded white fiberglass above his head. He set the packet of lube on the shelf beside Luke’s shampoo.

  “Don’t move,” Austin murmured, brushing his lips against the back of Luke’s neck. “Just feel.”

  He picked up the soap and rubbed it between his hands, then set the bar back in its place. The thick, creamy lather smelled of mint and greenery. Pressing himself against Luke’s back, Austin slipped his arms around Luke and began slowly washing his chest and abdomen.

  Luke let out a soft gasp as Austin gently pinched a nipple. “Austi ...

  “Right here.” Austin dropped an open-mouthed kiss on Luke’s shoulder. He wrapped his soapy fingers around Luke’s prick, smiling at the way Luke keened and thrust into his hand. “Be still, baby. You don’t want to come just yet, do you?”

  Luke shook his head so hard strands of dripping hair slapped Austin’s cheek. “N ... no. Want you inside me.”

  “Let me wash you first,” Austin whispered, stroking Luke’s shaft from root to tip. He ran his thumb around the edge of Luke’s foreskin where it had peeled back to expose the head of Luke’s cock. Luke let out a little cry and sagged in Austin’s arms. Austin held him close with an arm around his waist. “Are you okay? We don’t have to do this here.”

  “Fine, I’m fine,” Luke panted, his body trembling against Austin’s. “I ... I feel stronger. You make me stronger, Austin, please, want your cock in me now, to make me strong, God, pleas ...

  Luke’s breathless pleas made Austin feel hot and tingling all over. Letting go of Luke’s cock, Austin tilted his head back with a hand under his chin and kissed him, shutting off the babbling flow of words. “Let me finish washing you, Luke. Let me touch you.”

  Luke whimpered but didn’t protest. Grabbing the bar of soap again, Austin worked up a copious amount of frothy, fresh-scented lather between his hands. The bar slipped from his grasp, and he let it fall to the shower floor. Pressing his palms flat against Luke’s sides, he ran his hands over Luke’s ribcage, into the hollows under his arms, up over the sleek muscles of his arms to his long fingers where they clenched against the shower wall. He covered Luke’s hands with his for a moment before tracing his hands back down Luke’s arms and over his shoulders to wash his back. Luke’s skin slipped silky soft under his slippery hands, the hard muscles of his back rippling under Austin’s touch. Austin could smell Luke’s arousal, could practically feel the force of Luke’s need beating at his brow.

  Obeying a sudden keen urge, Austin sank to his knees behind Luke. He planted a soft kiss on one firm buttock. The water pounded on his back and cascaded down his ass, teasing him with its intimate caress.

  “Spread your legs,” he said, staring up through the steam at the graceful curve of Luke’s back.

  Luke obediently slid his feet apart. He leaned forward, resting his elbows against the wall, and peered at Austin from under his arm. “Austin?”

  Austin smiled at the shy request in Luke’s voice. “Yes.” He retrieved the soap from the shower floor and began lathering Luke’s legs. He took his time, moving with agonizing slowness over the taut muscles. The fine hairs tickled his palms.When his fingers hit the curve of Luke’s ass, Austin kept going, spreading his fingers to cover Luke’s buttocks. His thumbs traced up Luke’s crease, brushing the tight little hole.

  Luke let out a low moan. “God, Austin ... O ...

  “Mmmm,” Austin rumbled, enjoying the way Luke shook as he rubbed his thumb in tiny circles against Luke’s entrance. Cupping a hand under the flow from the shower head, Austin gathered a palmful of water, then another and another, to rinse the soap from Luke’s ass. “Brace yourself.”

  Luke twisted around enough to give Austin a dazed, puzzled look. “What?”

  In answer, Austin spread Luke’s buttocks and flicked his tongue over Luke’s hole.

  “Oh God!” Luke wailed, clawing the shower wall. “God, Austin, yes, yes, mor ...

  Austin hummed and stiffened his tongue, circling the tip against Luke’s tight entrance until the muscles relaxed enough to let him in. He moaned when his tongue slid inside. Luke tasted sharp and smoky and just a little sweet, the remains of soap a faint trace of bitterness overlaying Luke’s natural flavor. Austin dug his fingers into Luke’s buttocks, thumbs spreading them wide. He felt drunk and dazed, wanting to drown in Luke’s intoxicating taste, in his sweet lusty noises, in the wet heat surrounding them. Thoughts of the adventure to come fell away, lost in a haze of pleasure and need.

  “Austin, please,” Luke panted. “So close. Gonna come. God, hurry.”

  A vision of himself plastered against Luke’s back, pounding into him, sent a wave of heat through Austin’s blood. The mental image pulled him to his feet and guided his hand to the packet of lube waiting on the shower shelf. Ripping itopen, he squeezed the contents onto his fingers. He reached up to shove the showerhead aside to keep the lube from washing away, then shoved two slick fingers into Luke’s ass.

  “Oh!” Luke gasped, head falling back. “Oh. Oh. Yes.”

  Austin added a third finger, his need urging him on. He latched his mouth onto Luke’s neck, sucking gently so he wouldn’t leave a mark. His fingertips brushed Luke’s gland, and Luke arched against him, moaning, one hand reaching back to tangle into Austin’s hair.

  “Are you ready?” Austin whispered, though the answer was crystal clear in Luke’s gasping breaths and the way his hole pulsed around Austin’s fingers.

  Luke swallowed, throat working. “Yes. Oh. Austin. Fuck me. Fuck me. God please!”

  The quaver in Luke’s voice set Austin on fire. Spreading Luke open, he positioned his cockhead at Luke’s entrance and pushed. They moaned in concert as h
e slid inside, seating himself deep in Luke’s body. Austin wound one arm around Luke’s hips and the other around his chest, keeping him close. It felt so right to hold him like that, with Luke’s hand clenched in his hair and his cock buried in Luke’s body, making love in the steam and the heat.

  Austin dropped a hand down to grasp Luke’s cock. He curled his fingers around the wide shaft, tearing a guttural cry from Luke’s throat. The sound of it sent electric jolts through Austin’s bones. His hips jerked, moving his cock inside Luke and making them both gasp. Luke whimpered and pressed back against Austin, and Austin’s tenuous control dissolved. Keeping one arm firmly around Luke’s hips, Austin began fucking him in short, quick jabs, stroking his cock in a hard, staggered rhythm.

  Luke flung his head back, tendrils of dripping blond hair clinging to his cheeks and neck, black eyes wide and unseeing. His chest heaved, panting “oh ... oh ... o ... with every thrust of Austin’s prick into his ass.

  As Austin’s orgasm coiled in his gut, time seemed to stop between one thrust and the next. He had all of eternity to memorize this moment. Each detail etched itself into his brain with cut-glass clarity ‑‑ the hiss of the shower’s spray, the smell of mint soap and cock, the faint musky-sweet taste of Luke’s anus lingering on his tongue. Luke’s mouth was open, a lock of pale wet hair caught in the corner. A droplet of water gathered where the fine strands curved against Luke’s skin. It rolled down his cheek, hung glistening from his jaw for a trembling second, then fell in slow motion to shatter against his shoulder, and time lurched into motion again.

  “Oooooh, oh God!” Luke cried, and came, fucking Austin’s hand as his release pulsed out of him. The way his ass tightened in rhythmic waves brought Austin to the edge and pushed him over. His vision blurred and his body shook as he came deep inside Luke’s body.

  Lifting his hand, Austin licked Luke’s semen off of his fingers. Luke turned his head and planted a wet kiss on his lips. “You taste like come,” he murmured, licking at the corner of Austin’s mouth.