by Delaney Rain
“Come back into the water, Eric.”
He groaned and bent over, hands on his knees. “You said you were hungry. I have some tuna steaks in the freezer.” But getting up the hill to the house felt more like climbing Everest at the moment.
“Have you not noticed that I have been eating you?”
Eric fell over when his knees buckled, his out-flung hands saving him from smashing his face into the grass. “What?”
Ty giggled at him from the shallow water. “Your semen is a delicious treat.”
With a snort, Eric shook his head. “I thought I’d imagined that.”
“You did not.”
Apparently. “So that’s what you’re hungry for? You want to give me another blowjob?”
“After you get back into the water and stop being uncomfortable.”
As bribes went, it was a good one.
Eric didn’t bother getting back to his feet, but simply crawled through the grass and sand to reach Ty, who sort of dragged him into the water. With arms and tentacles wrapped around him and the warm sea buoying him, Eric felt instantly better.
“Looks like I have to stay here.”
“Good.”
“Oh?” Eric looked over his shoulder as Ty moved them into deeper water.
“It would worry me if I could not reach you.”
Ty was very protective. Eric had learned that yesterday—or was it this morning?—when a ballsy little fish had nipped at his leg and made him bleed. Seconds later, Ty had snatched the fish up in one of those spoon-shaped tentacles, crushed it, and flung its carcass clear out of the lagoon and into the open sea. So maybe they were a little over-protective, but Eric kind of liked that.
“Can’t have you worried,” he said as he relaxed back against Ty’s hold on him. “I’ll just be a super lazy incubator and let you wait on me hand and…tentacle.”
Ty didn’t get the joke, but they did do exactly that by making sure Eric had more elixir—which definitely helped that uncomfortable pressure turn totally erotic again. This time, when Ty rested Eric on a rock near the surface that was covered in bright green plant life, Eric paid attention as Ty went down on him.
Since they had gills, it didn’t matter how much of Eric was above the surface or below—Ty licked and sucked what they found where they found it. Eric’s balls got a lot of attention from Ty’s submerged mouth, like the things fascinated them. But it was the deep throating that really had Eric losing his mind. Apparently, Ty had zero gag reflex and they liked watching Eric writhe and holler as they swallowed him down over and over again.
“I’m c-coming!” But Eric didn’t really have to warn them since Ty was eager for it. The sudden increase in suction on his cock and the finger teasing the rim of his ass said that loud and clear. When Eric came, it was brilliantly intense, and Ty stayed down there slurping up their treat.
They cuddled afterward with Ty doing most of the holding up, while Eric leaned and dozed. He woke up in a different part of the lagoon twice, once to Ty nibbling sea plants near where the lagoon opened up to the sea, and once to Ty asking him to drink more elixir. Even though that relaxed Eric more than a good orgasm did, they talked a lot, too.
“You hitched a ride on a submarine?” Eric tried to imagine that and came up with a tiny Ty, tentacles spread and suctioning them to the side of a giant black tube full of danger and death.
“This is so strange?”
“Do you know what’s inside those?”
“Many people who think they are stealthier than they are. The waters echo with their constant talking and banging around.”
Eric learned quickly that there were certain types of humans that Ty absolutely did not like at all, namely the loud ones, but especially those on fishing boats.
“You got caught in a net?” That was an even worse image in Eric’s mind than the submarine had been. “Were you okay?”
“I was able to free myself, and those creatures caught with me fled as well. I have made every effort to damage the nets whenever I find them.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Well, they’re my people.”
“No, they are not like you.”
Ty was right. There was no way Eric could toss a net into the ocean and drag it for miles and miles. What if he caught a Cecaelia? A baby, like the ones inside him right now. Even a dolphin or a turtle would break his heart. Nope, he wasn’t like those fishermen.
“I eat the fish they catch, though. And we’re polluting the ocean, too. All humans are guilty of that.”
Ty tsked at him. “No, some of you are trying to help, and some of us are doing the same.”
“What do you mean?”
Ty cradled Eric in their arms and finger-combed his hair in the water, watching it like it fascinated them. “The tide is not the only force pushing the trash back to the beaches so it may be collected.”
It turned out Cecaelia were in on those efforts humans did take to collect the garbage. Most of it floated, so they’d find this or that and get it to the surface where new floating collection devices could scoop it up. They also helped what animal life was unlucky enough to be hurt by straws and nets and plastic bags. In fact, Ty had untangled a turtle’s head from a clump of fishing line on their way to Eric’s lagoon.
“What did you do with the fishing line?”
“I put it on the boat that took your visitors away. Hopefully, they will dispose of it properly.”
Eric let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “They might reuse it in some way. They actually taught me a lot about repurposing things. I made my chair from an old shipping crate we found in the house back when it was barely a cabin.”
“See? You are one of the good humans, Eric.”
He wasn’t so sure. Now that he knew there were sentient beings in the ocean, he felt a lot of guilt for not doing more to make the world cleaner. “Back in New York, I never gave one thought to the environment, except to sneer at the filth. I didn’t do anything about it, though.”
“And are you the same here?”
“No, but mostly because I can’t be. Nobody’s picking up my trash here and taking it out of sight for me. I have to compost or repurpose as much as I can. And I’ve changed what I buy to make that easier to do.”
Ty kissed him and caressed his worry lines away. “You are good, Eric. I would not have chosen you otherwise.”
Eric tried to let his guilt fade away. He was doing better than before. And the way Ty looked at him now made him feel like he was good. “Why did you choose me?”
“At first, I chose the lagoon as a safe place to weather a storm.”
“That bad one about a week ago?” He and the workers had all huddled inside his nearly finished house, keeping themselves busy with small projects on the interior while the storm had raged outside. “You’ve been here all this time?”
“I have. Once I saw you…” Ty grinned shyly. “You smile a great deal and are kind to others. You feed the fish even though they have plenty. You talk to the birds, fish, and perhaps even a cloud once.”
Eric snorted. “Well, that’s what happens when you’re alone a lot.”
“I thought you spoke to me, that you saw me.”
“Really?” He gasped, suddenly remembering. “I thought I saw an octopus! That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” he said with a grin that soon faded to a frown. “I did not understand what you meant by tentacle porn, though.”
Eric blushed brightly but he had just enough elixir coursing through him to have the words come tumbling out of him in explanation. Thankfully, Ty thought it was funny and a little flattering. Even better, they were happy to prop Eric in his chair and do wicked things to him with every available tentacle they had.
“You can come now, too, right? Ty?” Eric moaned as a particularly talented tentacle wrapped around his balls and gave him a squeeze.
“I can. Would you kiss me again?”
Eric nodde
d enthusiastically only to discover Ty didn’t mean on the mouth when they pulled that long cock up to rest it on Eric from groin to chest. So while Ty caressed and fondled every bit of Eric they could reach with hands and tentacles, Eric made out with the head of Ty’s cock and stroked the rest of it with both of his hands at once. Stuffing his tongue into the slit as far as he could go seemed to drive Ty wild, their cock pulsing like it tried to milk him. He had a fleeting thought about what that might feel like on his cock.
Suddenly, Ty gasped and looked at him with wide eyes just before a splash of fruity come shot out at Eric’s face.
Eric wasted no time in wrapping his lips around Ty’s cock and sucking, encouraging more of his tasty treat out. Ty threw their head back and hollered, their cock now gushing more than Eric could swallow at once. But he didn’t care, especially not when Ty leaned close and kissed him in between gasping breaths. The sea monster retreated, and Eric gathered Ty into his arms.
That was when Eric thought maybe he was falling in love.
It wasn’t so much a surprise as a bittersweet pang in the core of him. Right now, like this and here, they were everything the other needed. But what about later on? They’d talked about Ty and the hatchlings not leaving, but for how long? It was possible they’d want to go to what was left of Pacilona Nepthis at some point since Eric now knew that was the center of their world. All Cecaelia went there eventually to make connections and to learn. What would he do, follow in his yacht like the party guest that wouldn’t leave?
Eric kissed Ty’s forehead and accepted all of their weight as they fell asleep on him. He didn’t want to lose this, any of this, but if he had to, he was going to savor every moment while he had them.
Chapter Six
Eric was getting good at floating. Since relaxing was pretty much his job, he made a career out of expertly bobbing along the near-still waters of the lagoon. He didn’t get bored because he was so content and learning so much about Ty. But now Ty was off using the bathroom—so to speak—near the mouth of the lagoon by themselves when Eric suddenly felt like maybe he needed to go, too.
Which was odd since the elixir was supposed to stop that from happening.
A particularly strong stomach cramp made him grunt and flinch, sending him under for a moment. He came up and held onto Blowjob Rock, smoothing a palm down the slight bulge of his belly.
Something pushed back.
“Ty!”
After a startled noise, Ty swam back like a bullet from a gun. “What is wrong?”
Eric grimaced as another cramp had him wanting to double over. “I think they want out.”
With a gasp, Ty grabbed Eric up and hauled him over to his chair. Eric quickly found himself positioned with his legs over the arms, though Ty was focused on Eric’s ass for non-sexy reasons.
“Oh my god,” Eric said as another wave of pain had him wanting to push. “They’re coming out. Has it been long enough? Are they okay?”
Ty smiled at him like they thought he was cute. “Eight days have passed, Eric. They are more than ready now.”
“Oh, okay. Son of a—” A much stronger cramp stole his breath.
They smoothed their hands up and down Eric’s belly. “Give in to your instincts. If you must push, do so. Your body knows what it needs to do now.”
Eric nodded and gripped the chair just to have something to hold onto. When the next wave hit, he pushed and felt the eggs inside him move. “They’re coming,” he whispered between panted breaths.
Using some elixir and their fingers, Ty worked Eric’s hole open. It felt good, but Eric was entirely focused on the way the eggs rolled closer to freedom with each push. He could feel them turning over, moving down, and it was the oddest sensation. Grimacing, he tried not to clench when the first one stretched him wide and made its escape.
“Are they okay?” Eric tried to look, but couldn’t see passed his own groin. “Ty?”
They smiled at him, eyes bright. “All is well, Eric. Help the others out.”
He tried not to worry that there might be anything wrong with the eggs or the babies inside them. The rolling agony of expelling them helped with that, of course, but he was definitely fixated on the fact he was the first human host. He didn’t want to be the reason Ty didn’t have children right now.
Eventually, all six forced their way out of him, and Eric was left exhausted and feeling like he’d never use his ass for anything ever again. He panted up at the sky and swore he had a new respect for females everywhere. And he’d also never ever do anything like this again, no matter how much Ty begged.
Then Eric sat up, looked down, and watched Ty carefully open egg number six to help the tiny mersquid baby come out. They were so small, so delicate, this nearly transparent being that came out into the world for the first time with a smile on their face.
Eric choked up immediately as two long tentacles wrapped around Ty’s fingers and made the baby tip over. He couldn’t hear it, but he had a feeling the little one laughed as they swung upside down.
“Oh god,” Eric whispered. “They’re beautiful and perfect and adorable.”
“They are. Thank you, Eric.”
He leaned in and kissed Ty, discovered they were shaking, too, and clung to them for a moment more. When Eric moved back and carefully put his feet down, he sniffed loudly as he wiped tears from his eyes. His ass might be throbbing, but he didn’t care as he watched six little baby Tys cling to their fingers and tentacles like the barely discernible current was too much for them.
“Can I hold them?”
“Of course, but only underwater. Their lungs have not developed enough to breathe air yet.”
He didn’t have to worry about getting their attention because, as soon as he put his hands in the water, two of them snagged him with their long tentacles and used that grip to pull themselves to him. They felt like a palmful of wet noodles that wiggled, and Eric marveled at how he could see their tiny hearts beating.
Something fiercely protective exploded inside him and he was gripped by a terrible worry that even this lagoon wasn’t safe enough for them. Some of the fish were bigger than they were!
“Eric? What is wrong?”
“They’re so tiny and delicate.”
“Their skin will darken and toughen over the next few days and they will grow quickly.”
“But what about the fish? That one fish bit me.”
Ty’s expression was gentle indulgence. “The hatchlings know to swim away or hide, but you or I will always be with them now. They will be safe.”
He nodded as he gently caressed a bitty little belly and felt them jiggle with underwater laughter. He would try not to worry, but he had a feeling it would be a natural state for him from now on.
Ty leaned close and rubbed cheeks with Eric. “We should name them.”
“Okay. Did you have suggestions? Family names or something?”
Ty huffed a laugh. “Honestly, I have already been referring to them as One, Two, Three…”
Eric laughed, too, but now he had an idea. “There’s this movie I like that had the sons of the king named for the order of their birth. Primus, Secondus, um… Tertius, Quatrus, Cinqus, and… Sextus, I think.”
Ty’s smile was brilliant. “Then they have their names.”
“Yeah? Okay.” He looked down at them looking back at him. “Um, Ty? Which is which?”
With a chuckle, Ty encouraged each one to line up along his submerged arm. Ty pointed to each as they named them, and Eric was able to see their differences, subtle though they were. He had a feeling he was going to forget. Of course, his own parents had called him by the dog’s name and vice versa plenty of times, so maybe that was normal. Hopefully, these kids wouldn’t mind too much.
When Ty ducked under the water, Eric watched them repeat the pointing while the babies stared at them. Ty’s mouth moved like they were talking. Could they talk underwater? That was possible? Eric practically had to fold himself in half since he was sitting in his c
hair, but he got one ear in the water.
Ty’s voice was muffled and hard to understand, but they were definitely speaking. It was the tiny, higher pitched voices answering them that had Eric holding back a sudden sob. The babies could talk, too. They sounded like cartoon characters, young and squeaky, but some of his worry faded a bit. They were smart. These weren’t helpless human babies, but ones that could tell him what was wrong, what scared them, what they needed.
It was like finding out they came with instructions. Eric sat back with a laugh.
“Did you hear them?” Ty asked, grinning.
“I did! I know you said they’d have some of your memories, but I didn’t realize they’d be smart enough to use them and talk about them right away.” He sighed with relief. “They understand their names and ours and they’re hungry.”
“The world is new to them, but they have only to pause and remember to find many answers.” Ty looked over their shoulder toward the deeper water. “Can you hold them while I fetch food?”
“Yeah, of course. Back up a bit.”
Ty did, and Eric was able to sit shoulders deep in the water. Ty ducked under the surface, and a moment later, the babies switched from holding onto them to holding onto Eric. Having Sextus wrapped around his thumb stole Eric’s heart clean away from him forever.
“You’re all so adorable,” he said down to them.
They looked up at him, all smiles.
“Can you hear me?”
They each nodded, and Cinqus shot a tentacle up to bop Eric on the nose. He figured it was a love pat or maybe curiosity, so he took a deep breath and leaned down. Immediately, they stretched up to reach his face, so he brought them closer. The salt water made his eyes sting, but it was worth it to see them up close as they shared their discoveries.
“Eric makes bubbles!”
“Eric’s hair is like seaweed!”
“Eric has so many teeths!”
He was laughing when he came up for air, and Ty was there with a fistful of greenery and a small gray fish.
“Will you chew the plants while I prepare the fish?”